We lived in Old Delhi. I was 11 years of age. Every Sunday evening my folks would pack us all into a Morris Oxford taxi for the trip to church. A fervent Canadian pastor-evangelist would lead the services. He still receives our newsletters. I owe him a great deal. Thank-you, Uncle Murray. He often gave strong appeals at the end of his gospel-centered messages – and I often responded. He ‘saw my hand (while every head was bowed and every eye closed)’ on many occasions, even though he may not remember.
While I do not have a dramatic testimony with a lightning-strike conversion experience that took me from the darkest night to the brightest noon – as I get older, I am increasingly grateful for the gracious dawning of the day which took over my heart. Slowly and securely, my heart turned towards God and I have been kept by Christ in the power of the Spirit ever since.
nice chatting
Paul
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
Football helps me train preachers. See, when you speak to me about football—or, ‘footie’—I need to know where your feet are before I can understand what you mean. Are your feet in Ireland, or Brazil, or the USA, or NZ—or in crazy Australia? It must be the most fanatical sporting nation in the world. Within…
Having been born in 1959, I don’t remember much about the 1960s. But I have heard a lot. Hippies. Drugs. Rock ‘n Roll. Assassinations. Moon-walking. A quick trip across to ChatGPT informs me immediately that it was ‘a transformative decade across the world’—marked by the civil rights and feminist movements, Cold War tensions, consumerism and…
The older I get the more I remember with affection those who have made a real difference in the often bumpy road of discipleship. God is surely at work in people around us, as well as in us. These folks are mostly older, but not always … some of them are even younger than me . Their extent of their impact often dawns many many years later. And, as well as remembering with affection, there's a thankfulness to God – my 'glass darkly' is His 20/20, as always.
My one regret is that I didn't take you to see this little place. I really thought it would be long gone by now.
Very informative post. I really do hope and pray this stuff works..
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