I thought that Testify Tuesday had a ring to it and I have some various videos, pics and more importantly testimonies of God's grace and mercy in my life and others that He had blessed me by allowing to meet and fellowship with over the years.
Psalms 89:1 - I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
God is faithfully working around the world in the lives of people - saving, transforming, forgiving, healing, cleansing, restoring, equipping, calling, guiding, loving, answering, comforting, empowering, strengthening, using, encouraging and so much more.
These things that God is doing are well worthy of our Boasting on Him all the day long (Ps 44:8).
I am sure if you can watch the video below that it will be an absolute blessing to you - it was shot in Zambia in March of 2005.
Joseph Mubanga is a young man who graduated from North Star Bible Institute in Zambia. He is a spirit filled man who loves Christ with a zeal and sincerity that is humbling to those who are in his presence. God had equipped him with spiritual giftedness in preaching, singing (as seen above), translating and prayer. Brother Joseph quickly became a friend to Andy Hinds and myself as he translated for us during the conference. The truth is that he should have been doing his own preaching and translating. We were blessed and honored to be a part of his ordination and commissioning ceremony at Kafulafuta and then brought him with us to his field of ministry in Livingston at the end of our trip. Pray for brother Joseph. He is now married and has a son, his ministry is going well and the vision that the Lord has given him for Livingston is truly an encouragement and challenge.
A couple memories that I have of Joseph were when he opened up his notepad with his vision for Livingston - it was two pages of some of the loftiest ministry goals you could imagine - Praise God that Joseph knows that he has a big God that could do all that and more. Would that we were all that expectant, amen?!
I also remember his response when I gave him a Bible. His was worn out and falling apart and here he was going to his mission field. Like all of us spoiled Americans, I had multiple Bibles with me. Upon giving it to him - he did not look at me, shake my hand or acknowledge me at all. I was nothing but the vessel that God used to bless him. His response imediately was to praise God, he started thanking his Father God the moment He took that Bible in his hands. What a powerful lesson that was also in my life.
Last one - as we were walking one day down a dirt road between services - Joseph shared with Andy and I about how God would wake him up to pray, sometimes for hours at a time. He shared how he really wanted to be married but he believed that God would give him a wife that would wake up with him and pray by his side. He also shared how he prays that God will someday allow him to stay in fervent prayer for a full 24hrs. You may say that could sound like hypocritical or boasting type statements - if you spend 5 minutes with Joseph you'd know that he is for real and that his desire is to just commune with and intercede to God as much as he can - yep, another humbling moment. I cant say if his prayer was answered about his wife or not but I expect that a man with a heart like that for God and a prayer of that type is likely to have been answered by our great God.
As we prepare for the Philippines, it is a blessing to be able to praise God for allowing me to meet this man and know that these experiences are something God allowed in my life so I can learn from them. As I rejoiced in these thoughts today, these accounts and challenges became more of a motivational factor for our calling in the mountain regions of Luzon Island.
Have a testimony? I'd love to have some comments of what God is/has done in your lives or who God has used to influence you. Take some time to brag on God, I'd love to hear about what God is doing!
boast on God today - after all - it is Testify Tuesday...
2 comments:
Aaron,
I still remember the first time hearing Joseph pray at the morning devotion at the Institute. I remember feeling out of place when he did, thinking, What am I doing here?! Then, later on finding out he was our translator.
I still have the picture of that notebook. We should check up with him on it, and see how he's doing!
Probably the greatest impact his testimony had on me was the story you told about you giving him your Bible. I remember sitting next to him when you handed it to him, and how without missing a beat he was saying, Thank you, Father God! It's not like (what I would have done) he thought for a minute and figured he would be perceived as spiritual if he said this... he truly recognized it immediately as having come from Father God.
And I still picture his face buried in his hands praying for our services.
Thanks for the reminders!
Praise the LORD - last I heard Joseph continues to do well in Livingtone!
I had a similar experience with my students... one day while walking down a trail, I was thinking how my students were not doing as well academically as I hoped - after a few minutes I noticed a few of them in front of me... they noticed me and invited me for their evening secret prayer time. Turns out, there was a small group of students that would go off to a very secluded area in the bush and just pray... and pray... and pray. Afterwards - I thought, well, maybe they are doing better than I thought!!
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