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“Profession Reveals Our Faithfulness Evangelizing Souls Since Immanuel's Our Nurture! (P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N” PART ii

Publisher
Ramesh C. Reddy

I used to be in the management of Sodexo for 22 years where my main responsibility was to ensure Pitt students were well fed when they came into our dining services. We wanted to feed the students' bodies with physical food to give them nourishment. Pastor Mike's sermon made me realize, there is something much more important than physical food and that is spiritual food for the soul's nourishment. So, it motivated me to want to reach souls for Christ with spiritual food of nourishment that comes from God's Word whether they are students or non-students. The passion to reach souls for Christ has not died since the day the Lord chose me to be His own on Valentine's Day when I was 12 years old. Then, my writing was just 'Jesus loves me. Jesus loves you! If you want to know more about Jesus, watch WPCB Channel 40'. Now, it has expanded through the years. You too can use your profession to reach souls for Christ.

Now, I have been blessed to work for COMPASS-USA to take care of the students’ physical food needs even as I think about how to take care of their spiritual food needs.

My precious wife Chandraleela, my precious daughters Esther and Evangeline, and I love to reach international students and international families for Christ. In the Lord’s timing, my passion is to do full-time ministry where we can be supported 100% so a side job does not have to be taken.

Let me share with you how we have used our profession/divine appointments to feed spiritual food to international students and international families reflecting on Mark 1:16-18:

"One day as Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing with nets, for they were commercial fisherman. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me! And I will make you fisherman for the souls of men!” At once they left their nets and went along with him.” (Mark 1:16-18, NIV)

Example 1: At COMPASS-USA Dining Service

As a dining service supervisor, every student/staff/faculty/customer that comes by, I call them by name and bless them after giving their food order. I pray for each one in my mind asking the Lord Jesus to bless them that they can come to know Him as their Lord and Personal Savior. Before they leave, I say, ‘Have a Blessed Day.’ Not only that, but until we open the place up for serving them, I play ‘Scripture Memory Songs.’ After we open, I play ‘Christian worship instrumental songs’ for an hour or two. Students who know the songs sing along. I try to make their dining experience as loving as possible. At the same time, no one is offended because there are no lyrics to the songs just as Chick-Fil A does. This past Thanksgiving 2024, Chandra prepared a home-cooked meal for five international students, 3 of them who were my employees. Another Thanksgiving, we had 4 international students over, of which 2 were my employees. Through my profession of working in dining services, we were able to share Christ with 9 international students directly at our home by also letting them experience the scrumptious food aspect of Thanksgiving and the spiritual origins of Thanksgiving. We sent them with a bookmark that has a Biblical promise and blessing. One of the students was at our 30^th-60^th anniversary, PCCO/PCC church retreat. When she saw me, she told me, ‘You always said, ‘Have a Blessed Day!’

Example 2: Domestic Engineer
We have intentionally chosen to rent a house near two schools so they can go there and our daughters can make an impact in the lives of students that they come across. My precious wife is the best domestic engineer in the home when she is not working outside the home. Using her gift of hospitality, she has opened her home to multiple families and their student children to hang out at our home. While their kids play, she builds relationships with international and non-international families. We have had international families over for Thanksgiving, Super Bowl, etc.

Example 3: Babysitter
As a babysitter for international and non-international families, Chandraleela sings Jesus songs to the babies/toddlers/children, let’s them learn Bible stories through Biblical stories and songs with parents’ permission of course.

Example 4: Parenting
During first grade when our daughter was crying in school, an international student named Maria took Esther by the hand and comforted her. When I saw her in Aldi, I talked to her dad Danilo about how loving Maria was towards Esther even though she did not know English at all to comfort Esther and had met Esther for the first time. We invited their family to International Game Night that we were doing at Oakland International Fellowship. They got involved in our church and we were a close-knit family with them until they went back to their country. Chandra built a wonderful relationship with Lidia, Esther with Maria, and I with Danilo. I have had wonderful spiritual conversations with Danilo. We loved using our law-minds to discuss current issues and even biblical stories/issues. We learned how to play Rummikub at their house and it is the signature game for the English Sunday School volunteers at church: Chandra, Suzanne, Elise, etc.

Example 5: Sodexo

My job as an employee of Sodexo gave me multiple opportunities to reach students with the love of Christ while I served as a student cashier, student manager, supervisor, and floor manager. Students would get to know me through my job and later befriend me on Facebook. Through my job alone, the Lord helped me accumulate more than 2400 friends who I know by name. Now, every time I write a devotional, it shows up on their newsfeed if they desire it. So facebook became a means to ministry. Not only that but through my job at Sodexo, I was blessed to hire international students who needed an on-campus job. Not only that, but through the job, I was able to invite so many international students, many of them who were my employees, to International Game Night  (IGN) we had at church where they would play games, listen to a Gospel message given by Pastor Hugo, Pastor Bucknell, Pastor Mike, Pastor Josh, and me. At least 100 of them were Sodexo employees through the years that came to IGN. We had so many wonderful volunteers to serve the international students. Through IGN, one of the international students gave her life to Christ, 5 years later in India and so did her mom and dad.

Example 6: NURSE
My precious and loving wife Chandraleela used to work in Saudi Arabia as a nurse in a dialysis clinic. As a nurse, as she followed Jesus diligently depending on Him through lots of prayer and meditating on the Word of God in the Bible, she got opportunities to share Christ in a very hostile country. But it started with spending daily time with the Lord getting up at 3:00 a.m. to spend time with Him and then working a 12-hr. day. One day while working, she was singing a song called 'Awo Yeshu Deva'. When one of the Muslim patients heard that, he called her over and asked her to sing it to him. He loved it so much that he made it into a CD. My sweetie got multiple opportunities to share Christ through word and song even though she was in Saudi Arabia. Thank you, Jesus. When I remember things like this, I fall so much more in love with my sweetie. My prayer request was that I would marry someone who would love Jesus more than me or anyone else. To put her life in danger for the sake of the Gospel so the message of the Gospel can be known touched me very much. Thank you, Jesus, for keeping her safe. I loved how my wife used her profession in the hospital to reach souls for Christ by singing uplifting songs pertaining to Jesus Christ to bring hope, help, and healing to those in bondage to their diseases. I loved to hear her stories of how patients responded. She also uses her professional knowledge to limit my sugar intake, reminding me that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, etc.

It is the song, 'Awo Yeshu Deva' that Chandra sang to Esther and Evangeline when they were born to calm them down. It was this song; she sent with me when she had to stay behind in India because of visa issues. Few years ago, when Pastor Hugo's wife Heather heard the song, she did not know Chandra sang it. When I told her it was Chandra's voice, she insisted that Chandra join the OIF worship team which Chandra did to bless others through worshipping the Lord. Thank you, Jesus!

EXAMPLE 7: STUDENT/ EMPLOYEE at Giant Eagle

When I was a student going through depression because of circumstances, I focused myself on the Lord and wanted others to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Personal Savior, so I started writing Christian poems and sharing them at Giant Eagle where I used to work. But when I shared them, I called them Christian Rap which enticed people very much to read them because they thought to themselves, 'He is Indian, and he can rap'. Anyway, it started with 1 poem and ended with 31 poems on different issues with the mission: Counseling Broken Hearts with the Love of Christ. Every week they wanted a new rap which I gave them with a problem of man and solution in Christ. Each poem ended with a prayer.

One day, an employee came and told me that he was so blessed to read one of the Christian raps because it prevented him from committing suicide. He shared how he came across the Christian rap called 'Downing Depression' that was on the floor that he picked up and read including the prayer below it. After he read that, he said that he changed his mind regarding suicide. To this day that employee is so grateful when he sees me on the bus as he now works for Port Authority Transit. It is all because Christ was shared to him as I was an employee there using Christian rap as a means.

Example 8: PSYCHOLOGY
There was a young guy who was drunk at the bus stop at Forbes Ave opposite to the William Pitt Union wanting to go to Shadyside. He asked me what bus he needed to take to go there, and I kept telling him that he was on the wrong side of the street if he wanted to go to Shadyside. He was so sure he was on the right side and just needed me to tell him the numbers. After a while, I did not try to persuade him anymore. Rather, I decided to read my Bible.

He comes up to me and said that he liked to read the Bible too and told me that he loved ‘Revelation.’ He asked me what my favorite passage was, and I used that opportunity to tell him one of my favorite passages was in Proverbs 23:29-35.

 Then, I asked him if he would like to read Proverbs 23:29-25 which was my favorite. He decided to read it with whatever comprehension he had while drunk and saying what it meant to him. Then he asked me what I thought about it.

A great idea is to ask people if they want to read the verses you want to share with them. This way they get to read Scripture for themselves.

I told him psychology talks a lot about the dangers of alcohol, but the Bible already mentions them here. Finally, he looks at me and said, “You know, all these things I have experienced” regarding the dangers of alcohol. He was so awestruck with his experiences and what he was going through was already mentioned in the Bible even before Psychology books came along.

Later, he gave me his number to stay connected and gave me a big hug. Finally, he tells me that he was on the wrong side and decides to go to Fifth Ave to catch the bus. This type utilized a type of evangelism more than psychology, but psychology did come into play. One of the Quiet Times I had had to do with alcohol, and it is called A.L.C.O.H.O.L. You can access it by typing 'Previous Devotionals' in the search box.

Example 9: PUBLISHER

I have taken classes to ministry. When we had exams, I prayed to the Lord, prepared my own sample exams, and posted them on the EDUCATION section of Pittsburgh Standard so my classmates could access it. The ministry part is when Bible verses are embedded within the sample exam for students to read if they choose to. The exams have helped so many students. Anything we do, we can use it for the glory and honor of the Lord. Even to this day the Nutrition sample exams are used the most. Students came to me and told me how much the sample exams have helped them.

Example 10: BIBLICAL COUNSELOR
I had an opportunity to use my field of psychology to open a counseling session online. It was on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) years ago. A person came into that chat room, and I talked with her asking how her life was and so on. She told me that she was not doing well. I shared with her the Christian rap called "Never Forsaken" that the Lord helped me write. After talking, I asked her if she wanted to give her life to Jesus Christ and allow Him to work in her life and take care of her. She did, so I prayed with her by typing each prayer sentence and she typed it after me. It happened online and did not even see that person's face. It did not matter because the Lord used that moment to bring her to Salvation.

I used to wonder how she was doing and one day I received a letter in the mail about how her life changed. She told me that she was 25 yrs old and lived in California and because of her becoming a Christian, her husband came to know the Lord too and that she was pregnant with a child. This is impressive that she is a mother who knows Jesus Christ and can raise her child with Christian principles. She also sent me money to help me when I was doing full-time ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

I thank the Lord for the opportunity to use my profession to counsel and minister to her and to see her soul saved!

Example 11: TEACHER
Lord put upon my heart to write what I have learned in my solitary time with the Lord and share the study part with hundreds of students and non-students as an expositional devotional. There have been days that I did not want to study and sharing but I wanted to be obedient to the Lord and have done it. After I have done it, I was so nourished by the Lord. What I did not know was going to happen, Jesus already knew. Jesus used the devotionals I posted online at http://www.pittsburghstandard.com as an instrument to bring students to come to know Him. As a former campus minister, I was glad to be able to write devotionals such as these to minister to believers and unbelievers. Jesus used the devotionals to bring students to Himself. A student shared her testimony of how she came to Christ after reading the devotionals. Another student wrote me a letter how she participated in drugs, but the devotionals convicted her. She started going to church.

Example 12: MOTHERHOOD

In closing, there is a profession that is so important that every woman who raises a child becomes part of. I am talking about the profession of motherhood. I want you to think about your mommy and the life she gave you. A mom can use her profession of nurturing and raising a child to bring them to Jesus too! This is what happened to me!

Years ago, our mommy would read us Bible stories every night before we went to bed. There was one day I was watching a television program and the host talked about 'Accepting Jesus into your heart". I had no idea what that meant and asked my mommy what it meant.

My mommy took me aside to my bedroom and explained to me what it meant. My mommy then asked me if I wanted Jesus Christ in my heart. I told my mommy excitedly that I wanted Jesus in my heart. My mommy then wrote a prayer down on a 4*6" cardboard and prayed with me. I repeated the prayer and gave my life to Jesus Christ. Lord used my mommy to help me come to Jesus. I had severe asthma and said to myself if Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, what Jesus did then, He can even do now which means He can heal my asthma. After I gave my life to Christ and became His follower, my asthma was healed too!

These days the profession of motherhood is looked down upon by many in Western culture, but it is so noble as mentioned in Proverbs 31 too. A mom usually is the one that can influence their children to come to know Christ. That is what our mom did for all of us.

My mom has always been the best domestic engineer, making sure everything goes well at home. She raised four of us boys, two of us who are hyperactive including me. My hyperactivity could be because of the wonderful desserts my mom would always make that I would gobble up! Of course, that gave me a sweet tooth not to mention all my relatives stuffing me with sweets :) My mom ministered a lot to my dad too who is in Heaven with Jesus. Praise the Lord for the Lord's work! Amen!

I praise the Lord Jesus for my loving wife Chandra who is a mommy now for our 12+ Esther and 10+ Evangeline. She loves to spend time praying with them and having them learn from God's Word. Their singing comes from hearing their mom sing to the Lord. A husband can never fully understand the role of a mother for their kids. There are a lot of things that my wife does that I do not even come close to. As a mother she is involved in the children’s ministry with Elise, Suzanne, and Connie.

I share these examples with you to encourage all of you that you too can use your profession for Christ. I loved it when Pastor Hugo reminded me, all the pastors, elders, congregation members, and visitors there that our profession should be used to share Christ in a loving way.

These are only some of the examples but there are so many more! Thank you, Jesus!

I ask you now dear friend, how can you use your P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N  to tell others about Jesus Christ?

Dear friends,  just as Jesus took the initiative to call Simon and Andrew to come follow Him when they were already in a professional job as commercial fisherman; Jesus also took the initiative to give them a promise that if they would follow Him as commercial fisherman, He would use the profession they were already doing to help them become 'fisherman for the souls of men'. That is so exciting to know friends. The same Jesus who called Simon and Andrew to follow Him and be used for the souls of men from what they have already learned and become, Jesus can use us too in the profession we are in to tell others about Jesus and draw them to Jesus, if we follow Him, being faithful, available, compatible and teachable as Pastor Hugo would remind me.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow so never ever think to yourself that Jesus cannot use what you are doing to tell others about Jesus Christ and bring them to Himself. When you are following Jesus, He already commissions you to go and tell others about Him because they need to first hear about Jesus and know about Jesus before they can come to believe in Jesus. You are the catalyst the Lord Jesus wants to use friend. Proverbs eleven says 'Those who win souls are wise!' We all have a Great Commission to follow!

Simon and Andrew were told that they would become fisherman for the souls of men. The Lord Jesus could be telling you the same thing but in the profession you are in such as 'student for the souls of men, 'academic for the souls of men', 'accountant for the souls of men', 'doctor for the souls of men', 'pastor for the souls of men', 'journalist for the souls of men', 'software engineer for the souls of men', etc. but whatever your profession is, ask yourself 'what is the function of your profession?'

Then, look for an analogy of how you can use your profession to reach souls for Christ. Just as Christ used the language Simon and Andrew could understand and what they are familiar with to reach souls for Him, He can use the language that you are familiar with whether it is being a doctor, lawyer, software engineer, student, etc. to share about Jesus Christ. Sometimes there can be a direct analogy made such as what I made about 'functions of fisherman and functions of 'fisherman for the souls of men' and other times it can be indirect, but the calling stays the same for all of us no matter what our profession is. That calling is to follow Jesus and make Him known. You can do that friend as you allow Jesus to help you do it.

Remember Jesus did not say, 'Come follow me and you will become fisherman for the souls of men,’ but Jesus said, 'Come follow me! And I [Jesus] will make you fisherman for the souls of men' to Simon and Andrew. The onus is on Jesus because He is the One that takes the initiative to use us to accomplish His purposes when we follow Him and adhere to His call. Wherever the Lord Jesus has called us to or what He has called us to, He will enable us, equip us, and empower us to share the love of Christ with those around us so that they all can be saved and redeemed by the power of the Gospel. It starts with Jesus and ends with Jesus. We are just the vessel; He is willing to use. How impressive that the Lord Jesus wants to use our profession to tell others about Jesus so we need not ever think, 'I cannot use my profession to tell others about Jesus’?

Pastor Hugo would remind me about a F.A.C.T check: Faithful, Available, Compatible, and Teachable. When you possess these characteristics depending on the Lord, He will use you wherever you are. The Lord Jesus can use anyone in their profession when that profession is turned over to the Lord to make an impact for His Kingdom. You need to remember that He is the Initiator because He calls you and commissions you to go out and spread the Good News.

Jesus says, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." (Matthew 28:18b-20a, NLT)

^“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Romans10:9-15, NLT)

Friend, the Lord is sending you to share His Good News to a lost world wherever you are or whatever you are doing as a follower of Christ. So, don't think 'being sent' only refers to so called missionaries who go to other countries, evangelists who evangelize, pastors who preach, etc. but 'being sent' refers to you too because you and I have been commissioned by the Lord in the profession we already are in whether it is being a student, being an academic, being a domestic engineer, etc. One of my favorite songs is by Rebecca St. James, 'Here I am Lord, send me!'

Never think to be a missionary, you always must leave your place and go to another country. There are those that the Lord places near schools such as our family who chose to be here intentionally to reach internationals for Christ. Our church is placed in the heart of universities/colleges to reach internationals and non-internationals so we all can be missionaries through our profession too. Elder Calvin would remind us of all the indian students at CMU that we can reach out to without even going to India.

Be excited that God is the One that takes initiative and gives you opportunities to share Christ's love to a dying world. It is so easy to say that Simon, Andrew, and Paul were able to do it because they were great but we often forget that the same Holy Spirit that lived in them lives also in us to do greater works for the Kingdom of God. God promised us that in His Word! The important thing is not to think we must reach the level of Paul before we evangelize but no matter how miniscule or small our outreach, we should do it with excitement of knowing Jesus Christ and wanting Him to be known. The Lord will take care of the rest.

Look at the function of your profession and see how you can make an analogy to use that profession/major to reach lost people for the Kingdom of God. There could be times the Lord could ask you to change your profession/major completely and take you to another profession but that can be used to bring lost people to Christ too if you have a willing spirit of surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not have to be a job to reach others for Christ, but it can be whatever talent or gifting the Lord Jesus has given you that can be used for Christ.

Friend, it does not matter what profession you are in. Whatever your profession, it can be used for the glory of the Lord.

May the Lord use your profession for His honor and glory, and may you know that He can inspire you and nurture you daily, helping you in whatever area you are in this Summer of 2025 and forever! Amen!

“Profession Reveals Our Faithfulness Evangelizing Souls Since Immanuel's Our Nurture! (P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N)/” How can you use your P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N to tell others about Jesus?” PART II

Friend, opportunities will come as you decide to follow the Lord in the profession you are in. May you allow Him to work in your life!

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for calling Simon, Andrew, and even the Apostle Paul and commissioning them. You told them that you would use them in the knowledge they already had to tell others about you. That is exciting to know Jesus. In the same way, whatever our profession is, we thank you that you can use us to tell others about you when we are faithful, available, compatible, and teachable depending on you. I pray Oh Lord that you can give us wisdom in our calling for you called all of us to follow the Great Commission you have for us no matter what our role is. Just as you told Simon and Andrew that you would make them fisherman for the souls of men as a family, you can use us too. For that I thank you. I pray Oh Lord for anyone who is confused about their role that you would make it clear to them no matter what they do as they follow you. Thanks so much Jesus. We depend on you and your love. In Your Name I Pray Oh Lord. Amen!

 If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.

Prayer:
God I am a sinner. I am invaded by this deadliest virus. Many times I feel so guilty and yucky inside. I need forgiveness. I am so sorry for my sins. I have not obeyed you with my whole heart! I have gone my own way and done my own things. I  struggle with sin. I need you Jesus in my life so I can receive forgiveness and a new beginning. In the process, I can forgive others as you help me too. Thank you so much Jesus. I accept the antidote you have sent me. I believe Jesus you died for me and your cleansing blood will cleanse me from all my sins. You came back to life to save me. Thank you God I am set free, free from the bondage of sin. Hear my cry Oh Lord. I accept you Jesus into my heart. I make you my Lord and Personal Savior of my life. Thank you Father God for giving me Salvation. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and personal Savior! I can live a life of peace with you on my side. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me! In your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help!

"How can you use your P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N to tell others about Jesus?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 24, 25, 11:01 am)

"Why B.R.I.N.G your children to Jesus in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 18, 25, 12:40 pm)
"What do you do with an I.N.T.E.R.R.U.P.T.I.O.N in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 17, 25, 11:39 am)