A Miracle Story From My Friend Jay

Recently I received the miracle story below from my friend in India, Jayakumar Ramachandran. Jay leads Bible Believing Churches and Mission in Bangalore, S. India. He is an engineer by background, not given to believe or relate every supposed miracle story he might hear. I trust Jay and thought that this week while I’m on vacation with Carolyn, you might enjoy reading Jay’s recent miracle story

Jayakumar Ramachandran (Jay)

On 22 April I landed at Imphal city, the capital of Manipur state. The purpose of this visit was to speak in an alumnus conference of a seminary and to give the keynote address at their graduation ceremony. This seminary serves the community at a hill town called TAMENGLONG which is the headquarters of the district.

The President of the seminary came to pick me up from the airport, and informed me about a storm that had hit the town on the 20th of April, due to which the hill town that I was heading to had lost all electric and telephonic connection, thereby disconnecting itself from the neighboring areas all the way to the plateau.

Within 30 minutes of entering into my host’s home, I began to hear thunders and it started raining again with heavy lightening. It would be very hard for you to believe if I told you the amount of rain water I saw that day. My friend said that he had never seen such rain in all his life of 43 years.

On 23rd morning as I was getting ready for the conference I heard that most of the plateau and all the valleys were flooding. Since all the alumni had arrived before my arrival – our conference wasn’t disturbed. It went on well with the support of a good power generator. The Graduation also went on well the next day.

As planned, I was about to leave for Imphal on 25th in order to fly back to Bangalore. The first challenge was the unknown condition of the route as a result of the flood’s impact.

Since there was a wedding I had to solemnize at Bangalore on the 27th could not be postponed, I was not in a position to do alternate arrangements too, so I was compelled to leave on the 25th.

Network disconnection made all my efforts in contacting others futile. These factors led me to undertake the risky travel on 25th by 4.00 PM.

I just said – “Lord you know my commitments and situation – please make my way back home to fulfill my commitment and so that the wedding will go on well with no interruption.”

The first setback was a Bolero van which was fixed for my travel had some issues and thus became unusable. They found another one. There were two ways to reach Imphal from Tamenglong – one was a longer route while the other was a shorter one. The shorter one passes through a thick jungle and narrow roads.

There were two underground outfits that have their strong influence in this part of the region as well. These outfits are well known to hijack and use strangers for ransom. The driver opted for the second one, which is shorter in spite of my hesitance. I could not communicate to him my dislike for his route option as we had a language barrier between us. My journey in an unknown road thus had started. On the way, I realized to my dismay that I did not even carry a bottle of water with me.

After we crossed around 5 kilometers, I began to doubt the driver’s skill at driving as he looked drunk. I also noticed the damages incurred due to the flood such as landslides. As we were driving on, we had a downpour again—it was partly hailstorms. Exactly at the 15th kilometer the driver slipped away from the road and ran over a pile of stones and as a result, the van got stuck between the stones.

It was early evening but darkness had already begun to hover around. The temperature outside was around 16 degrees Celsius [61 degrees Fahrenheit]; no light, hailstorm, and leeches all around. The driver asked me to get down and push the vehicle along with his helper. I did it – but in minutes, I jumped back to the van as I could not stand the conditions outside.

Alas, we were able to clear the stones and pushed out the van. Again after another 10 minutes the driver drove the car into deep silt. The sediment was from a nearby flow of water from a hill. All the four wheels were covered by the sediments within a short time.

We were sure that this time we can’t do anything to restore the van. The Driver muttered something which communicated to me that he was helpless. He said he would need 15 people to take the van from the sludge. He and his helper pulled out a tarpaulin and covered themselves by it and within a moment they were fast asleep.

This is where Jay’s miracle story gets really interesting!

I was sitting in the car with just a thin slack shirt on me. My shoes were full of mud. I was freezing. I thought that it would be my last night alive. I even made a calculation and thought that I would possibly survive until 11.00 PM that night. I wanted to hear my wife but no network; thirsty no water; I could sense my blood sugars rising. What else could one do in this atmosphere – other than falling at the feet of the Lord?

At that moment I prayed this – “Lord, do something – I have no hopes whatsoever – you are my only hope now – do a miracle (I repeatedly said that many times) – I do not want to die with pastoral commitments undone – do a miracle.”

After a few minutes, I literally began to experience warmth around me. I could not believe it. The van was in a jungle, surrounded by pouring rain with heavy sleets, extremely cold weather around, pitch dark, driver and his helper finely insulated with tarpaulin – but here I was sitting with a thin slack on me – but experiencing God sent warmth. His warmth continued till I got out of the van. I was covered by His warmth for a total of 12 hours.

By 5.00 AM, the driver and his helpers left me alone and got out of the van in order to search for people to come and push the car out of the mud. By this time, the silt got collected and covered up to a quarter portion of the van door. I was totally helpless; did not know if I would reach Imphal.

The second miracle followed by 6.00 AM. I saw another van coming behind. The one who was driving got down from his van in order to see my van. He saw me but I did not intend to get out as I did not know him.

Then to my surprise, he said loudly, “Sir, is it you? How come you are here?” Then he came toward my van and understood my helpless condition. He stretched out his hand and helped me in transferring me and my bag to his van. It was surprising as he was heading toward Imphal too.

I later came to know that, he is also a pastor working for the Manipur Baptist Convention. He recognized me as I had ministered in one of their mission conferences in 2008. I shared the whole story to him. He and his wife were so thrilled to hear that I was able to survive the whole night, in spite of extreme cold, by the gracious provision of God’s warmth.

I was with them in their van now and another challenge came before me. There was a huge landslide that had jeopardized our travel again. Soon I saw few other vans stopped behind us as we were detained. My eyes were searching for a sip of water; as my stomach was growling since I had not eaten for the past 18 hours.

From one of the vans a young man got down and walked toward me with a friendly smile. I then came to know that he was a sibling of a graduate at the seminary, where I preached earlier that week. By that time, the one who was driving my second van, the pastor had decided to detour to Imphal, as he found no possibilities of the road being cleared in the immediate future.

This young man as he was leaving took two bottles of milk and gave it to me. Provision of ‘milk’ in the midst of the jungle! – unbelievable. The Pastor’s wife gave me two slices of bread, which she had left over in her basket. I was strengthened a bit after this. After 8 – 9 hours of a detoured drive, I was able to reach Imphal on the 25th around 11:00 PM.

Undergoing this rich experience with God, my faith and commitment was strengthened again. I want to testify the following.

Pillars of cloud and fire sent to Moses and to his people are true – God is able to do it.An invisible air-cooler set around Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as they were in the fiery furnace is true – God is able to do it. He can change the nature, systems, and even science if He intends to do. He is immutable; He does miracles even today; He cares for His children; His ears are attentive to hear from His people.

What is my challenge to you?

Make God “your Hope” as and when you reach hopeless situation of life. Your hopeless situation is to teach you to put your hope in Him. Be sensitive to your commitments; be ambitious to fulfill them – do not be negligent. Tell him your problems and wait for His ways and time. Practice hospitality to strangers. Be sensitive to your phone rings. Someone may want to speak to you before his or her last breath. Do not use phones for selfish purposes as many business minded people do. Remember you are an ambassador for Christ.

Thank you, Jay, for this inspiring miracle story!

For another wonderful miracle story, see The Oranges by my friend Jim Carpenter.

For the true story of my great grandfather and a shipwreck rivaling the Titanic (not a miracle story, just a fascinating story) click HERE.

BTW, I don’t believe every miracle story I read or hear. But this miracle story and the story by my friend Jim are from reliable sources that I trust.

What Is The Church Supposed To Be?

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The Bible doesn’t contain a concise definition of the church. Defining the local church requires looking at many Scripture passages. Lack of careful study of these passages leads to either oversimplification or over-complexity of the church.

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For example, some oversimplify by defining the church merely as “when two or three are gathered in my name…” (Matthew 18:20a). The problem with defining the church this simply is if you consider the totality of the Bible, there is so much more to a church.

If my wife and I are praying in our car, are we a church because the two of us are “gathered in His name?” Most would certainly say “no.”

Reports of “church planting movements” usually mean that there are many house-sized groups of Christians gathered. While this is wonderful, these gatherings might more closely resemble small groups within a local church than each of them being local churches.

Carolyn and I are members of New Song Church in Oceanside, California where we have several hundred small groups. But by the inadequate definition “where two or three are gathered,” we could say we have hundreds of “churches” in New Song Church. That would be confusing and misleading.

Carolyn leads one of the small groups which has about 30 women on the roster. Indeed, it is bigger than many “house churches,” but does that make it a church?

On the other hand, we must not overcomplicate the church. Some define a “local church” with stipulations that are nowhere found in the Bible:

a church building, a choir, a denominational affiliation, stained glass, a traditional Sunday School program, a Sunday bulletin, incorporation through a constitution and by-laws.

While these might prove helpful, they are not part of a biblical definition of church.

At Dynamic Church Planting International I led the development of a “Biblical definition of local church.”

The concise definition of a local church is this:

“A church is a group of believers in Christ who meet for biblical worship, learning, and mission.”

This definition is short so it can be easily related. However, it is vitally important to have a clear expanded understanding of what each part of the definition means.

Why? Because without clarification and delineation, it’s like saying the definition of an adult is someone who has reached 18 years of age. That’s a good start, but there is so much more: an adult typically has their own home, handles their finances, works a regular job, usually gets married, has children, contributes to society, and so on.

Thus, the following clarifications add the meat on the bones of the short definition of the church above:

• A church: Sometimes the Greek word translated “church” (EKKLESIA) refers to the universal church (all born again believers), but more commonly it refers to a local church, which is our meaning (1 Peter 2:9, 1 Corinthians 1:2).

• is a group of believers: To be a true believer one must be “born again” (John 3:7). This distinguishes the true church from groups and cults that can wrongly label themselves a “church.”

• who meet for biblical worship: Usually this means meeting at least weekly to practice singing, prayer, the Ordinances, exhorting and encouraging each other, giving, exercising spiritual gifts and other forms of worship. The goal of this worship is to glorify God. Biblical worship also seeks to fulfill the Greatest Commandments: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

• learning: Each church is to be coordinated and led by godly and gifted leaders. These leaders are commonly called “elders” (PRESBUTEROS) or “shepherds” (POIMEN). A third Greek word used of the same office is EPISCOPOS which signifies managing or overseeing the manpower, money, gifts of the Spirit and other resources for the good of the church. Other names for church leadership gifts and offices are also mentioned in the New Testament (Ephesians 4:11-13 “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers;” Romans 12:4-8). Regardless of their office and gifting, it is clear that spiritual maturity and character should be the hallmarks of whoever is leading the church (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1). The term “elder” is always plural except for two times when it refers to the office of elder. It wasn’t until the second century that some churches had a single elder/shepherd.[1] “The consistent New Testament pattern is a plurality of elders.[2]” While not all churches in Bible times paid their professional elders/shepherds enough to live on and sometimes leaders like Paul had to become “tentmakers” by earning their living in other ways, a church is charged with adequate compensation of its staff elders/shepherds (1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 Corinthians 9:14b). These leaders must communicate the Word and lead the congregation.Shepherds/elders, like Timothy, must “be devoted to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13). Typically, there is a primary teaching and leading shepherd/elder (1 Timothy 5:17) who leads a team of other lay and/or professional elders/shepherds who are “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2) but who handle other ministry responsibilities and assist in leadership (Hebrews 13:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). They provide advice, partnership and accountability for each other. Sometimes there may be a team of primary teachers, as in the Antioch church (Acts 13:1). Part of the leadership role is to provide protection for the church through the correction of church discipline, (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 11-13; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 2:15, 3:10; 1 Peter 5:2).

• and mission: We glorify God by fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission. Every believer and every church should “…go and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19-20). Thus, the church’s objective is to spread to all people the joy of knowing and serving Christ. In order to accomplish this, the pattern of Acts is to go from town to town, lead people to Jesus and plant churches where believers become mature disciples who multiply Christians and churches.

Could others have a similar but different definition of church, based on Scripture? Yes!

Usually, they express the same convictions with different wordings. Other times they agree in most every aspect, but have a different understanding of a smaller point such as the sacraments. For example, they might believe that churches should practice foot washing.

Should it bother us that some have slightly different definitions of the church? I don’t think so for the following reasons:

• God could have given us a stated definition of the church in the Bible. But He chose not to. Thus, He left it open to some interpretation. I don’t know why, but I do know He didn’t make a mistake. Thus, I embrace the differences.

• There is beauty in our diversity.

I see different churches like different families within an extended family.

My parents had 5 children. Eventually, each of us married and had children. Our families are unique in many ways. No one expects us to be the same, and there is beauty in our diversity. We live in different houses, emphasize different values in education, like to do different things on vacations, spend our money in different ways, and so on.

Likewise, I love the diversity in the family of God. As long as we subscribe to the foundational doctrines of Biblical teaching, it is good that different churches see things differently and do things differently:

• Some are casual and some are formal.

• Some are loud and others quieter.

• Some traditional and some contemporary.

• Some contemplative and some directive.

In our individuality, we appeal to different people.

The beauty of a field of wildflowers is their variety. Likewise, there is beauty in churches seeing and doing things differently.

For more help with the church see these resources on my website:

• How to face Church Conflicts with Confidence

• How to Get More Out of a Church Service Even if you Don’t Enjoy Going

• 4 Reasons We Must Start New Churches Now

• The Top Ten Reasons to Plant New Churches Now

• Podcast: Which denomination is right?

• Vlog: God Loves All Kinds of Churches

• Vlog: Abandoned Churches aren’t necessarily a bad thing.

[1] Robert Saucy, The Church in God’s Program (Chicago: Moody, 1972), 148. [2] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 913

Who Needs Humility?

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The way Americans view humility is interesting. We dislike arrogance, yet people support a brash candidate who calls a Vietnam POW a “loser” because he was shot down and spent 5 years in a prison camp. We applaud modesty, yet enjoy watching the famous boxer Muhammad Ali exclaim “I am the greatest.” Seems we can’t help but ask: who needs humility?

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I’m pondering this incongruity about humility. Is it good? Is it important? Is it bad? Is it harmful?

Biblically speaking, there is no confusion. The Bible is clear about who needs humility. We all do!

God says that humility isn’t just a suggestion, it is absolutely vital and the key to true greatness. 

Today I’d like to share 3 answers to the question:  Who needs humility?

01. We all need humility if we’re going to be truly great.

“The one who is least among all of you is the one who is greatest.” (see Luke 9:46-48 GW)

“Whoever wants to be most important among you will be a slave for everyone.” (Mark 10:44 GW)

These statements might seem contradictory, but they are biblical truth.

They have been confirmed by researchers.

Jim Collins in Good to Great has called the very best business leaders Level 5 Leaders. They are leaders who build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Collins points out that this is often in opposition to thinking that a great CEO has an extreme, egocentric personality.

Collins and his colleagues are only affirming what the Bible has been teaching for thousands of years! To be the greatest we must be humble.

02. We all need humility if we’re going to keep from falling.

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 ESV)

Jesus said “Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.” (see Luke 14:7-11 GW)

This reason we need humility can be demonstrated in history and in everyday experience.

Hitler went against the advice of his generals and arrogantly continued the battle of Stalingrad even though the generals begged him to accept defeat. As a result, 100,000 additional German and Russian lives were lost at Stalingrad!

The same kind of thing happens when we refuse to admit our way might be wrong and therefore make mistakes:

• We overestimate our physical prowess and get injured.

• We refuse to heed warnings about texting and driving and crash.

• We misjudge our financial capacity and overspend.

But when we’re humble, we humbly listen to wise counsel and avoid mistakes.

03. We all need humility if we’re going to please our Lord.

“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” (see 1 Peter 5:5-7 KJV)

“So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. I’ve given you an example that you should follow.” (see John 13:12-17 GW)

“Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.” (Romans 12:10 CEV)

Even if we think that meekness equals weakness, Christ-followers must be humble, submissive servants who honor others above ourselves.

This isn’t just a good idea, it’s God’s command! 

My inclination is to:

• Be served rather than to serve

• Be honored rather than honor

• Work to rise in status instead of lowering myself

But no matter how I might feel, God’s Word is clear. My task is:

• To serve as a slave of others

• To honor others above myself

• To take a lower seat than I think I deserve

The result? When I leave it in God’s hands, He has told us that “Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.” (Luke 14:11 GW)

This surprising result is illustrated in the life of Christ. In Philippians 2 we’re told how Jesus lowered Himself like no one else ever will or could. As God the Son, He came to earth as a child, grew up to serve others and then died on the cross for our sins!

The result:

“Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor     and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,     in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,     to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11 NLT)

What is the point of this passage? Interestingly, although it is one of the great passages about who Jesus was, the point is this: “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” (Philippians 2:5 NLT)

Who needs humility? We all do if we’re going to please the Lord and rise to our highest level!

For more help, here are other articles I’ve written on humility, pride, confidence, humiliation and acceptance:

• What is the Worst Sin in the World?

• Having Just One Person to Please Brings Peace

• How to Survive Rejection and Find Acceptance Today

• How Reluctant Leaders Become Confident Achievers for God

• 3 Contradictions of Scripture

• How to Find Confidence in a Critical World and Stay Humble

• 6 Strategies to Handle Insults Without Becoming a Doormat

• Video: Have You Been Pecked At?