Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9
“Faced with something really worthwhile (noble ideas, apostolic tasks, and God above all), a great soul gives of his own without reserve: money, effort, time. He knows well and understands the words of our Lord. No matter how much he gives, he will receive more. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back. We should ask ourselves if we give what is ours with generosity. What is more, we should ask whether we give ourselves, whether we follow the path, the specific vocation our Lord asks of each of us, with promptness and sure steps.”
Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 3 (London: Scepter, 1990) 372.
We did it! We activated NobleRank as the peer accountability group for accrediting churches and ministries in India. Now the real work begins for Arpit and Joycia to help organizations get through the process. God help them.
Our meetings created a large queue. How large? Praise God the governance seminar Monday surfaced the first candidates. Then the IMA (India Missions Association) will have 25-50 agencies apply from their 8 regions.
Don’t miss how significant this. IMA is the largest mission association in the world. It has 317 organizations sending 60,000+ foreign missionaries and serving 300,000+ national missionaries.
We attempted something big for God this week and He worked mightily. We came here at great expense and effort. We gave of ourselves sacrificially to attend meetings and he blessed beyond comprehension.
Personally, I am praising God that He has used our humble efforts to raise the sights of His people to following standards for helping the church flourish in the largest population country in the world, 1.6+ billion people.
The lesson: focus on what is noble regardless of what anyone else is doing. And give generously of yourself and your resources. And do this with confidence that the God of peace is with you.