Gospel for Asia

By Gisela Yohannan I would like to share with you a few thoughts about self-centeredness. I believe the Lord desires that we make room in our hearts for each other . Most people’s lives only revolve around themselves, their families and their possessions. Perhaps we grew up with strong family ties, and we were taught that all our efforts, energy and resources should benefit our own family. But when we look in the Bible, we discover that as believers, God has called us to far more: But with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others(Philippians 2:3–4). God expects my focus to change from me to you . This Scripture actually means that your spiritual and physical well-being must become my deep personal concern. I will no longer be satisfied if my own life exhibits love, joy, peace, humility and holiness; but I will earnestly desire for God to d...

By Gisela Yohannan Today I would like to write to you about something that determines our usefulness to God on this earth. It is astonishing to read, in Romans 8:29, the high goal that God has for our life: “. . . to become conformed to the image of His Son.” This, declares the apostle Paul, is an ongoing transformation: “But we all . . . are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Though this transformation will not be complete until we reach heaven, we are definitely expected to grow closer to the likeness of Jesus with every passing day. Our obedience, submission, love, service and our entire character should increasingly resemble His. But why then have many believers made little or no progress at all since they were saved? Why is their love for the world still greater than their love for God? Why, even after 5 or 10 years, do they remain full of unforgiveness, greed, strife, selfishness and jealousy? And if corrected, why do...

By Gisela Yohannan Do you have any specific prayer requests and expectations for this year? I am not talking about a “wish list” of material things or ambitions you might have for your life, family and ministry. Neither do I mean the plans you made for your work . . . What I want you to consider is your spiritual life: the depth of your personal walk with the Lord, your growth as a Christian, the progress you have made toward developing a Christlike character and, most of all, how real your relationship is with Jesus — if the things you proclaim can be seen in your life. Our time here on earth is so limited, and the years we have to serve our God are so few, that it would be tragic if we let them pass by carelessly and simply live each day without being conscious of our purpose. It takes God many years to train us and make us useful. The quality and depth of work we will be able to accomplish largely depends on the quality and depth God is able to work into our per...

by Gisela Yohannan I would like to share with you a few thoughts about the coming of our Savior. Perhaps you may want to reflect on it during your personal time with the Lord. Ever since the fall of man, people have waited and longed for the coming of the promised Savior. Separated from the living God, mankind was ravaged by the devil and the consequences of sin. Sickness, suffering, destruction and death had replaced the peace, joy and fellowship men had once enjoyed with the living God. Now their only hope was that someday God would fulfill His Word and send the Deliverer who would take away their sin and restore them back to their Creator. In every generation that followed Adam, those who believed in this promise hoped and prayed that the Messiah would come during their lifetime. And finally, the longing of all those generations was fulfilled when Jesus the Savior was born 2,000 years ago. Luke records for us the rejoicing of Simeon and Anna when the baby Jesus wa...