I met with Bob today, and we talked for several hours. He still needs to humble himself and be teachable. He came to church this past Sunday; pray that he comes again this Sunday.
Also, I think I'm still recovering from my recent illness. Pray for me that I would recover completely soon and that I would be strengthened for my ministries on Sunday.
Showing posts with label Bob. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob. Show all posts
Friday, October 23, 2009
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Pray for Bob
Some of you know some of Bob's background. We really need to pray for him and the family. He has told his family again that they cannot attend church. He has also been drinking a lot again. I have not seen him for about a month. I will make a point to see the family this week.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Details of Bob's salvation
It was not so many weeks ago that Ganaa (also known as Bolroo) was baptized. She was saved when we first met her in 2001. (She was Kristie's language tutor and helped me as well.) However, she was not a very mature Christian.
It took us a long time to see her baptized. We certainly encouraged her to be baptized; however, she usually had some excuse. We fully expected her to come to our previous baptismal service and be baptized and were disappointed when she missed.
I have also witnessed to her husband Bob many times. As a matter of fact, Bob was the first person to whom I witnessed in Mongolian. In 2005-2006 when we were on furlough, we asked our supporters to pray for his salvation.
It seemed to us that immediately after her baptism her problems increased. I was sure glad I did not promise my listeners that if they were baptized all their problems would go away. On the advice of his drinking buddies her husband told her the next day that she would have to choose between Jesus and him. Then he called me and asked my family to stop having Ganaa teach our children Mongolian.
The day after that, Ganaa, Kristie, and I met. It was amazing to see the peace that Ganaa had as she told us that Bob told her that if she followed Christ she would need to leave the house. She told us plainly, "I will follow Jesus even if I have to move out." She was seeking advice on what she ought to do. We began to pray with her that God would soften Bob's heart.
On the Saturday following I was going out to visit people. I was not sure if I should visit Bob's house or not and finally decided against it because I was concerned that a visit might make the situation worse for Ganaa. After all, he had not yet insisted that Ganaa leave. Instead I was led to pray that God would give me an opportunity to run into Bob. Strangely enough, I had completed all my visits and was returning home when I stopped at a local grocery store to buy some cheese. Who should be there but Bob! Providentially, God brought us together. I determined that I would show him that I loved him. My father-in-law (who is also my pastor) had offered to bring something with him to give to Bob as a goodwill gift. So I asked Bob if there was anything from the States that he wanted. He asked for two pair of jeans.
My parents-in-law visit was the perfect opportunity to have Bob over to our house. We held an open house for our friends to meet our parents and invited Bob and his family to come. Kristie's parents had brought with them the pairs of jeans that Bob had requested. Bob came with his family and seemed to enjoy his time with my pastor.
My pastor who was preparing to speak on Sunday told him that he could pick up his jeans at the church service. So Bob came again on Sunday. My pastor spoke and then Ganpurev preached an evangelistic message. Bob picked up his jeans, asked if he could meet with me and my pastor, and said that he would be back the next week.
A few days later Bob invited our family to come over for a meal. On Saturday, we went to Bob's house where he gave us plenty of good food to eat. Afterwards, my pastor and I took the opportunity to witness to Bob. It was not that Bob was unaware of the claims of Christ or needed to know the way of salvation. I had, in fact, been witnessing to him several weeks before his wife's baptism when he cut me off and said, "I know all that." His problem was that he did not want to place his trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior from sin. It was a classic situation where a person knows that Jesus claims to be the way, the truth, and the life but does not want to believe it.
Bob shared with us that Saturday that he was afraid that if he became a Christian he would be a hypocrite. He said he knew many men who said that they were Christians but continued to drink, lie, and deal dishonestly. It was apparent that Bob understood the basic concept of repentance; that is, if he were to become a Christian God would want to change his sinful life. A Christian's life should stand in stark contrast to the world.
My father-in-law wisely reminded Bob that we cannot be worried about God's responsibility but must accept our responsibility. Our responsibility is to respond to God with faith; it is God's responsibility to save and sanctify us. Bob said that he would think about it. I pressed him to give us an answer, and my pastor reminded him that no answer was to continue to resist the Holy Spirit. I asked if he would give us an answer the next day; he said that he would think about that too.
The next day, a Sunday, Bob again came to church. When we sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" to close our service, I noticed that Bob was singing the song, something that he has never done before because he believes as I do that it would be hypocritical for him to sing any song if he does not agree with the words. I noted this change of character in him and wondered what it might mean.
After the service, I asked Bob if he was ready to put his trust in Jesus. He said, "Let's talk, the three of us" referring to my pastor and me and him. So we found some privacy in a little storage room and talked. The conversation probably lasted an hour. Bob continued to express a fear that he could not live the Christian life. We agreed with him that he could not live the Christian life,
showed him Galatians 2:20, and emphasized that the Christian life was simply allowing Christ to live through us. We also pointed out that he could only take one step at a time and that today's step was to put his trust in Jesus Christ and to ask God to forgive him.
Finally, after about an hour Bob said, "Okay, I'm ready to do that." So I suggested that he should pray and tell God what he had just told me. Bob bowed his head and without any prompting told God that he was a sinner, asked God for forgiveness through Jesus, and asked God to begin to change him. It was very moving for those of us who know how proud Bob was to see him humble himself before a holy God and admit his sinfulness.
For many years, I have witnessed to Bob, sometimes even angering him with my boldness. Now the Holy Spirit has transformed him, and it is exciting to see God at work.
(Bob's family is in the picture to the right)
It took us a long time to see her baptized. We certainly encouraged her to be baptized; however, she usually had some excuse. We fully expected her to come to our previous baptismal service and be baptized and were disappointed when she missed.
I have also witnessed to her husband Bob many times. As a matter of fact, Bob was the first person to whom I witnessed in Mongolian. In 2005-2006 when we were on furlough, we asked our supporters to pray for his salvation.
It seemed to us that immediately after her baptism her problems increased. I was sure glad I did not promise my listeners that if they were baptized all their problems would go away. On the advice of his drinking buddies her husband told her the next day that she would have to choose between Jesus and him. Then he called me and asked my family to stop having Ganaa teach our children Mongolian.
The day after that, Ganaa, Kristie, and I met. It was amazing to see the peace that Ganaa had as she told us that Bob told her that if she followed Christ she would need to leave the house. She told us plainly, "I will follow Jesus even if I have to move out." She was seeking advice on what she ought to do. We began to pray with her that God would soften Bob's heart.
On the Saturday following I was going out to visit people. I was not sure if I should visit Bob's house or not and finally decided against it because I was concerned that a visit might make the situation worse for Ganaa. After all, he had not yet insisted that Ganaa leave. Instead I was led to pray that God would give me an opportunity to run into Bob. Strangely enough, I had completed all my visits and was returning home when I stopped at a local grocery store to buy some cheese. Who should be there but Bob! Providentially, God brought us together. I determined that I would show him that I loved him. My father-in-law (who is also my pastor) had offered to bring something with him to give to Bob as a goodwill gift. So I asked Bob if there was anything from the States that he wanted. He asked for two pair of jeans.
My parents-in-law visit was the perfect opportunity to have Bob over to our house. We held an open house for our friends to meet our parents and invited Bob and his family to come. Kristie's parents had brought with them the pairs of jeans that Bob had requested. Bob came with his family and seemed to enjoy his time with my pastor.
My pastor who was preparing to speak on Sunday told him that he could pick up his jeans at the church service. So Bob came again on Sunday. My pastor spoke and then Ganpurev preached an evangelistic message. Bob picked up his jeans, asked if he could meet with me and my pastor, and said that he would be back the next week.
A few days later Bob invited our family to come over for a meal. On Saturday, we went to Bob's house where he gave us plenty of good food to eat. Afterwards, my pastor and I took the opportunity to witness to Bob. It was not that Bob was unaware of the claims of Christ or needed to know the way of salvation. I had, in fact, been witnessing to him several weeks before his wife's baptism when he cut me off and said, "I know all that." His problem was that he did not want to place his trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior from sin. It was a classic situation where a person knows that Jesus claims to be the way, the truth, and the life but does not want to believe it.
Bob shared with us that Saturday that he was afraid that if he became a Christian he would be a hypocrite. He said he knew many men who said that they were Christians but continued to drink, lie, and deal dishonestly. It was apparent that Bob understood the basic concept of repentance; that is, if he were to become a Christian God would want to change his sinful life. A Christian's life should stand in stark contrast to the world.
My father-in-law wisely reminded Bob that we cannot be worried about God's responsibility but must accept our responsibility. Our responsibility is to respond to God with faith; it is God's responsibility to save and sanctify us. Bob said that he would think about it. I pressed him to give us an answer, and my pastor reminded him that no answer was to continue to resist the Holy Spirit. I asked if he would give us an answer the next day; he said that he would think about that too.
The next day, a Sunday, Bob again came to church. When we sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" to close our service, I noticed that Bob was singing the song, something that he has never done before because he believes as I do that it would be hypocritical for him to sing any song if he does not agree with the words. I noted this change of character in him and wondered what it might mean.
After the service, I asked Bob if he was ready to put his trust in Jesus. He said, "Let's talk, the three of us" referring to my pastor and me and him. So we found some privacy in a little storage room and talked. The conversation probably lasted an hour. Bob continued to express a fear that he could not live the Christian life. We agreed with him that he could not live the Christian life,
showed him Galatians 2:20, and emphasized that the Christian life was simply allowing Christ to live through us. We also pointed out that he could only take one step at a time and that today's step was to put his trust in Jesus Christ and to ask God to forgive him.Finally, after about an hour Bob said, "Okay, I'm ready to do that." So I suggested that he should pray and tell God what he had just told me. Bob bowed his head and without any prompting told God that he was a sinner, asked God for forgiveness through Jesus, and asked God to begin to change him. It was very moving for those of us who know how proud Bob was to see him humble himself before a holy God and admit his sinfulness.
For many years, I have witnessed to Bob, sometimes even angering him with my boldness. Now the Holy Spirit has transformed him, and it is exciting to see God at work.
(Bob's family is in the picture to the right)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Weekly update
I want to share with you a victory in prayer. I earnestly believe that your prayers are significant to my ministry here and want to assure you that God does answer your prayers. In last week's prayer update I asked you to pray for our meeting with Bob; this week I am rejoicing as I report that Bob made a profession of faith over the weekend. Let me bring some of you up to date on who Bob is and why the events of this past week are so momentous to me.
Bob is the first man that I ever witnessed to in Mongolia way back in 2002. Sometimes he would seem open to hearing the Gospel; sometimes he seemed almost possessed, railing against me and falsely accusing his Christian wife of all sorts of evils. But that is one reason that his salvation is so significant: his wife is a Christian. We want entire families to be united in Christ. Other missionaries have come to Mongolia, seen the difficulties in the marriage of a Christian to a non-Christian, said it was hopeless, and encouraged the saved spouse to divorce the unsaved spouse. I believe that God is greater than our "impossibilities," and Bob's salvation is another reminder of that!
If you were to ask me two years ago or four years ago who I thought the most unlikely man to become a Christian was, I would have answered without hesitation Bob. His pride, his self-sufficiency, his addiction to sin, his many unsaved friends - there is no doubt that Bob was the least likely to become a Christian. Again, that is why his salvation is so significant.
Finally, he has friends and acquaintances everywhere. We cannot walk down the street together without Bob meeting someone that he knows. One of them just recently became a member of parliament. Imagine the impact Bob's godly life could have on those friends. Some of these friends are very evil. One of Bob's greatest fears is that his evil friends will pull him back to a life of sin.
Let's pray together that the same miraculous power that God exhibited to draw Bob to Himself would be exhibited in Bob's life. I am praying that God would protect him from sin and cause him to grow spiritually. I am praying that through all of this God might be glorified and another light may shine brightly for our Savior in this dark country.
Bob is the first man that I ever witnessed to in Mongolia way back in 2002. Sometimes he would seem open to hearing the Gospel; sometimes he seemed almost possessed, railing against me and falsely accusing his Christian wife of all sorts of evils. But that is one reason that his salvation is so significant: his wife is a Christian. We want entire families to be united in Christ. Other missionaries have come to Mongolia, seen the difficulties in the marriage of a Christian to a non-Christian, said it was hopeless, and encouraged the saved spouse to divorce the unsaved spouse. I believe that God is greater than our "impossibilities," and Bob's salvation is another reminder of that!
If you were to ask me two years ago or four years ago who I thought the most unlikely man to become a Christian was, I would have answered without hesitation Bob. His pride, his self-sufficiency, his addiction to sin, his many unsaved friends - there is no doubt that Bob was the least likely to become a Christian. Again, that is why his salvation is so significant.
Finally, he has friends and acquaintances everywhere. We cannot walk down the street together without Bob meeting someone that he knows. One of them just recently became a member of parliament. Imagine the impact Bob's godly life could have on those friends. Some of these friends are very evil. One of Bob's greatest fears is that his evil friends will pull him back to a life of sin.
Let's pray together that the same miraculous power that God exhibited to draw Bob to Himself would be exhibited in Bob's life. I am praying that God would protect him from sin and cause him to grow spiritually. I am praying that through all of this God might be glorified and another light may shine brightly for our Savior in this dark country.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Victory!
Where to begin? Yes, yesterday our attendance continued to rise with over 45 people in both the morning service (Mongolian) and the evening service (English). We literally spilled out of the room we are in. We need more room! (I'm not complaining, it's a good problem to have.)
But the best news of the day was Bob's profession of salvation after the morning service. Pastor Jaquith and I had gone to see him on Saturday and had a profitable opportunity to witness to him. We pressed him to tell us whether he would surrender to Christ and beg God's forgiveness for his sins. When he said that he needed to think about it, Pastor Jaquith asked if he could give him an answer tomorrow (Sunday). Bob said that he would think about it.
Pastor Jaquith preached in the morning service on some duties of the Christian. Ganpurev followed up with an evangelistic sermon. To close the service we sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." We have sang this song many times before, but I noticed this time that Bob had joined in the singing with us. That's odd, I thought, he's never joined in singing this song before.
After the service, I approached Bob and asked if he had an answer. He said that he was ready "to believe" but that he wanted the three of us to talk. We found some privacy in a storage room and began to talk. At the end Bob bowed his head and prayed confessing his sinfulness and asking God to change him.
There's so much more I could write about. I will try to do so soon. I know that many of you have been praying with me for years for Bob's salvation. Praise the Lord, I believe that God has answered those prayers. Now pray for Bob's spiritual growth and for protection from temptation.
But the best news of the day was Bob's profession of salvation after the morning service. Pastor Jaquith and I had gone to see him on Saturday and had a profitable opportunity to witness to him. We pressed him to tell us whether he would surrender to Christ and beg God's forgiveness for his sins. When he said that he needed to think about it, Pastor Jaquith asked if he could give him an answer tomorrow (Sunday). Bob said that he would think about it.
Pastor Jaquith preached in the morning service on some duties of the Christian. Ganpurev followed up with an evangelistic sermon. To close the service we sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." We have sang this song many times before, but I noticed this time that Bob had joined in the singing with us. That's odd, I thought, he's never joined in singing this song before.
After the service, I approached Bob and asked if he had an answer. He said that he was ready "to believe" but that he wanted the three of us to talk. We found some privacy in a storage room and began to talk. At the end Bob bowed his head and prayed confessing his sinfulness and asking God to change him.
There's so much more I could write about. I will try to do so soon. I know that many of you have been praying with me for years for Bob's salvation. Praise the Lord, I believe that God has answered those prayers. Now pray for Bob's spiritual growth and for protection from temptation.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
A visit with Bob
Two years ago about this time I wrote to my wife, "Bob and I had the best discussion about God and the Bible that I can ever remember." Well, we have come a long way since then; and frankly, we are not moving in the right direction.
Monday night I went to visit Bob and talk with him about the Savior. Bob has a frustrating habit of taking whatever is said and turning it in the other direction. Currently, he insists that he is trying to understand where "religion" came from. I briefly went over basic Biblical truths with him; however, he already has heard most of what has been said.
I recently studied II Peter and a phrase from the 3rd chapter reminds me of Bob: "for this they willingly are ignorant of ..." Bob certainly chooses to ignore the truth. But there are reasons that I continue to speak to him about Jesus Christ.
First, God's love for me was not overcome by my personal belligerence and obstinacy. Therefore, I should not let Bob's belligerence and obstinacy decrease my love for one the God has made.
Second, I have great compassion for Bob's wife Ganaa and the difficulties that she faces in her marriage. To some degree, my wife and I can encourage her and alleviate some of the burdens that she faces. But the ultimate answer to her marriage woes is for her husband to be saved and for both of them to work together making their marriage over according to God's plan.
Third, I believe that Bob has an eternal soul that will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. I cannot see him and not want to tell him about Jesus Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I was encouraged when an American man recently wrote me to tell me that he would be fasting and praying for the salvation of Mongolian men. Those of you who are praying, keep it up. We know that God is not willing for any to perish, but rather desires that all would come to repentance.
Monday night I went to visit Bob and talk with him about the Savior. Bob has a frustrating habit of taking whatever is said and turning it in the other direction. Currently, he insists that he is trying to understand where "religion" came from. I briefly went over basic Biblical truths with him; however, he already has heard most of what has been said.
I recently studied II Peter and a phrase from the 3rd chapter reminds me of Bob: "for this they willingly are ignorant of ..." Bob certainly chooses to ignore the truth. But there are reasons that I continue to speak to him about Jesus Christ.
First, God's love for me was not overcome by my personal belligerence and obstinacy. Therefore, I should not let Bob's belligerence and obstinacy decrease my love for one the God has made.
Second, I have great compassion for Bob's wife Ganaa and the difficulties that she faces in her marriage. To some degree, my wife and I can encourage her and alleviate some of the burdens that she faces. But the ultimate answer to her marriage woes is for her husband to be saved and for both of them to work together making their marriage over according to God's plan.
Third, I believe that Bob has an eternal soul that will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. I cannot see him and not want to tell him about Jesus Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I was encouraged when an American man recently wrote me to tell me that he would be fasting and praying for the salvation of Mongolian men. Those of you who are praying, keep it up. We know that God is not willing for any to perish, but rather desires that all would come to repentance.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Sunday update
We almost doubled our attendance from last week's low. We also had our first visitor ever come from seeing out sign. It was quite a Sunday for us!
Halfway through our service a lady came in and seated herself. People were polite but subdued because it was an unusual time for a visitor to come in. As soon as the service was over, I introduced myself, and the Mongolians began to talk with her. I was excited about the way that our regular folks just began to chat with her. In the past I have often felt that the regulars were unsure about the way to treat newcomers. I understood from the conversation that she was walking past our church's meeting place on her way home from her regular church's service when she saw our sign and decided to check us out. I was glad that she came in.
Our number's were so down last week that our attendance could only go up. Still, it was gratifying to see so many come.
Ganpurev was scheduled to preach in my place. We have been working together the last few weeks to make sure that he was prepared. He did just fine and just needs to continue to prepare and deliver sermons. He does a good job of explaining the text; his weakness seems to be in making application. We will be working on that.
Ganaa did not come today. Kristie talked with her some this past week and believes her to be struggling with discouragement. She started a private kindergarten so that she could stay with her two-year-old son all day. But the private kindergarten has not been very successful and is a lot of work. Now she mainly works with young elementary students as a tutor which is not very profitable. Her husband Bob continues to be antagonistic towards Jesus Christ and works to discourage her. She needs our prayers.
Halfway through our service a lady came in and seated herself. People were polite but subdued because it was an unusual time for a visitor to come in. As soon as the service was over, I introduced myself, and the Mongolians began to talk with her. I was excited about the way that our regular folks just began to chat with her. In the past I have often felt that the regulars were unsure about the way to treat newcomers. I understood from the conversation that she was walking past our church's meeting place on her way home from her regular church's service when she saw our sign and decided to check us out. I was glad that she came in.
Our number's were so down last week that our attendance could only go up. Still, it was gratifying to see so many come.
Ganpurev was scheduled to preach in my place. We have been working together the last few weeks to make sure that he was prepared. He did just fine and just needs to continue to prepare and deliver sermons. He does a good job of explaining the text; his weakness seems to be in making application. We will be working on that.
Ganaa did not come today. Kristie talked with her some this past week and believes her to be struggling with discouragement. She started a private kindergarten so that she could stay with her two-year-old son all day. But the private kindergarten has not been very successful and is a lot of work. Now she mainly works with young elementary students as a tutor which is not very profitable. Her husband Bob continues to be antagonistic towards Jesus Christ and works to discourage her. She needs our prayers.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Talking with Bob
I caught you praying again.
I had a very productive talk with Bob today. It's no small source of curiousity that I recently asked you to pray for him. He understands what I've been teaching him. In fact, in Mongolian he explains the gospel better than I do.
But he says that he needs to change first before he believes in Jesus. Once he has changed, then his belief will be more "firm" he says. I insisted that change comes from within once we've let Jesus into our lives.
I've never seen Bob so open to the Gospel. Further, at the end of today's conversation he told me that we should talk about the claims of Jesus Christ again soon.
I had a very productive talk with Bob today. It's no small source of curiousity that I recently asked you to pray for him. He understands what I've been teaching him. In fact, in Mongolian he explains the gospel better than I do.
But he says that he needs to change first before he believes in Jesus. Once he has changed, then his belief will be more "firm" he says. I insisted that change comes from within once we've let Jesus into our lives.
I've never seen Bob so open to the Gospel. Further, at the end of today's conversation he told me that we should talk about the claims of Jesus Christ again soon.
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