SCRIPTURE:
“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.” (Philippians 2:19-24, NIV)

Observations:
I asked myself how many times the pronoun 'I' was used and in what context?
1. I hope in the Lord Jesus.
2. I also may be cheered.
3. I receive news about you.
4. I have no one else like him.
5. I see how things go with me.
6. I am confident in the Lord.
7. I myself will come soon.

I asked myself what is the hope for?
I learned Paul's hope was in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to them soon.

I asked myself what is the cause-effect relationship here?
Because Timothy is sent to them, the effect is that he can also be cheered, when he receives news about them.

I asked myself why the Apostle Paul felt that Timothy was the right person to be qualified to see the Philippians?
1. There is no one else like him.
2. He takes a genuine interest in the welfare of the Philippians.
3. He does not look out for his own interests.
4. He looks out for the interests of Jesus Christ.
5. Timothy has proven himself.
6. He has served with Paul in the work of the Gospel.

Interpretations:
I asked myself what does it mean to hope in the Lord Jesus and its significance?
What came to my mind is not wishful thinking but a genuine hope characterized by trusting in the Lord. I have been able to come to the conclusion that it is not wishful thinking but genuine trust based on what I have already learned about Paul from Ch 1 & 2. Also, he later states that he is confident in the Lord that he himself will be able to see the Philippians. Hope is characterized by his trust towards the Lord which is evidenced by the confidence he has in the Lord.

I find it very significant to learn about his hope and confidence in the Lord even while he is chained and shackled. That is a genuine relationship with the Lord not based on the circumstances of his life but because of who the Lord is and his own personal relationship with the Lord.

I saw six things about Timothy that Paul mentioned for his confidence in sending Timothy to the Philippians. They were all others-based rather than self-based.

IMPLICATIONS:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own life?
 My purpose for living should be others based and I need to ask myself if someone wanted to send me anywhere to serve whether it is campus ministry, church, online publishing ministry, etc will they be able to think the same things about me as the Apostle Paul did about Timothy!

Will others be able to say that there is no one like him?

Will others be able to say that I take a genuine interest in the welfare of others?

Will others be able to say that I look not for my own interests?

Will others be able to say that I look out for the interests of Jesus Christ?

Will others be able to say that I have proven myself?

Will others be able to say that I faithfully served in an area I was thrust in?

I believe those questions are qualifications to use when we want to send someone on an important assignment or give them an important assignment. My hope and prayer is that people will be able to say ‘yes’ to all those questions when they want me or my precious wife Chandra to do something ministry related or other areas related. I know there are other factors involved too! Especially, I want my precious wife Chandraleela and my precious daughters Esther and Evangeline to think about me in these ways. More than that I want the Lord to think about me in these terms.

HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING Q.U.A.L.I.F.Y:
On a particular Sunday years ago, which still resonates with me, Pastor Hugo gave a sermon on outreach with the Gospel and asked responses to how we would answer two questions from Scripture: 'Who are you Lord?' and 'What shall I do Lord?' My response was Jesus is my Lord and Personal Savior and 'But, life is worth nothing to me unless I use it to do the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus, the work of telling others about God's mighty goodness and love' (Acts 20:24, TLB)

Both responses above were others based and as I thought about Pastor Hugo's sermon, it reminded me of how we qualify when we put Jesus first, others second, and yourself (us last) or J.O.Y!

Pastor Hugo then went on to share with me about the couple Ruth and David that he had met and how David qualified to preach the Gospel. David's qualification was not necessarily in all the training and knowledge he obtained but his qualification to preach was based on what Christ was already doing in his life and his willingness to have a F.A.C.T check: Faithful, Available, Compatible, and Teachable.  This F.A.C.T check is something that Pastor Hugo taught me.

David had a passion for the Jewish people in South Carolina and would spend his time ministering to Jewish people with the Gospel. When Pastor Hugo asked him something to the effect, 'why don't you finish your seminary degree before you go to preach?' David's response was 'If the Lord takes me, I don't want to be the one to say, Lord, I did not preach the Gospel and reach out to others because I was waiting for my training to be done'. 

Even as David was taking classes, he decided to go out in faith in his spare time with what he knew about the Gospel from Scripture and started preaching. He even took an internship in Israel to preach, to reach out to the Jewish population. In his spare time, he reached out to Chinese construction workers in South Carolina. One day he became seriously asthmatic and fell into a coma and died. His funeral was attended by so many people that it was a shock.

'What if David had the mentality of some other time I will do it and not now Lord?

David would have missed out on a great opportunity to be used of the Lord and bless others.

David qualified to reach out to others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ because first and foremost he understood, 'Who are you Lord?' and "What shall I do Lord?' and acted upon them with the help of Jesus Christ.

 After David went to be with the Lord, Ruth decided to  go through seminary to finish what David started. Wow! What an exponential effect!

The Apostle Paul is able to see the preaching of the Gospel and outreach to others in Timothy because of the six qualities Timothy displayed which made me think about David too. I want others to be able to say that my sweet wife and I exhibit those six qualities in my daily living. You should strive for others to talk about you in those six qualities too as you depend on the Lord.

When I was on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), I always had a burden to continue campus ministry even in the summer time for students without thinking 4 months from now, I can do it again. I am glad for the summer opportunities the Lord gave me to reach students with the love of Christ. Even now with International Game Night we try to reach out to as many Indians with the love of Christ as we can, when we can.

The Bible verse that came to my mind to motivate me to do ministry even in the summer was from John 4.

"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. (John 4:35, NLT)

As we pursue online publishing ministry through the Pittsburgh Standard to influence lives with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to develop a Christocentric view of the world, I have been challenged. I realized that I should not wait for all the support from donors per month to come through before engaging in ministry. On the contrary, if I say to myself, 'I will wait until our support comes through, then I will engage in ministry', how many lives have I not influenced with what the Lord wants me to do. Instead, I need to continue to do ministry and wait on the Lord for His provision. For me that means, even while I continue in ministry, I make time to raise support.

I ask you now dear friends how can you Q.U.A.L.I.F.Y well in other people's lives?
Dear friends, with Jesus Christ in our lives and the personal relationship we have with Him, getting to know Him and be known by Him, the qualifications Paul saw in Timothy can be seen in us too so others will be able to say he/she has the qualifications of Timothy because of his/her relationship with the Lord exhibited by their actions.

Those we come in contact with should answer 'yes' to these questions without hesitation:

Will they be able to say that there is no one like you?

Will they be able to say that you take a genuine interest in the welfare of others?

Will they be able to say that you look not for your own interests?

Will they be able to say that you  look out for the interests of Jesus Christ?

Will they be able to say that you  have proven yourself?

Will they be able to say that you faithfully served in an area you  was thrust in?

It is interesting that the Apostle Paul used those qualifications to determine who to send to the Philippians. It is very well possible that others are using those qualifications in your life too to determine if you are the right fit for a particular assignment.

Especially, at this time in the world with the Coronavirus pandemic going on, this is how people need to think about us. People should never ever get the feeling that followers of Christ are hoarding things in their lives without thinking about their fellow human beings nor should they ever feel in times of crises, Christian businesses are gouging prices on items people want to buy such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, eggs, rice, etc.

I am reminded of the parable Jesus gave about hoarding: "And I'll sit back and say to myself, "Friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Wine, women, and song for you! But God said to him, 'Fool! Tonight you die. Then who will get it all?' 'Yes, every man is a fool who gets rich on earth but not in heaven." (Luke 12:19-21, TLB)

I am reminded about the Bible verse against price gouging: "People curse the man who holds his grain for higher prices, but they bless the man who sells it to them in their time of need." (Proverbs 11:26, TLB)

Friend, I believe the qualifications mentioned above automatically flow out of a person’s life depending on the relationship they have with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our love for the Lord Jesus Christ determines our own actions and good things flow out of our relationship with the Lord.

I wish I can say my wife and daughters will always give a resounding 'yes' to these questions but sadly it is not the case. I need the Lord's help a lot to grow more and more in Him to be all He wants me to be.

If I am having trouble in any of those areas mentioned above, I need to ask myself if Christ is in the center of my life or if I am in the center of my life. I want Christ to be in the center of my life. Help me Lord Jesus!

We all can have a 'Yes' to those questions as we keep seeking the Lord Jesus with our whole heart, asking Him to make His presence known to us and living for Him. Praise the Lord! Amen!

"Quality Under Awesome Lord Intensifies For You! (Q.U.A.L.I.F.Y)/”How can you Q.U.A.L.I.F.Y well in other people's lives?”

PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, thank you so much for Timothy and how he has lived his life for you. I thank you that Paul was able to depend on you Lord to send Timothy to get the things he needed to get done. I pray Oh Lord that you can depend on us for your honor and glory. Thank you for the example that Pastor Hugo shared about David & Ruth.  I pray that we can be your faithful servants and put others before ourselves. Jesus, it won’t be easy but I thank you that when we seek you and love you, our love for you will flow out of our lives and impact other people’s lives because we have you. Help me never to leave you and go my own path. Forgive me Lord for the wrongs I have done and for the times I have not sought you with my whole heart. I am sorry Jesus. Come Lord Jesus and live in me. Make my heart your home Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. I thank you for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for working in my life. Help me to be a good example to those around me and whatever your will, please give me the willingness and strength to rejoice in you always. Help me to prove myself for your glory rather than for selfish reasons. I thank you Jesus for all your help, for dying for my sins and coming back to life to save me. Thank you that you hear us and answer us. I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!