One of our India Pastor’s Passed On!

Pastor Daniel in Yercaud India passed on doing ministry throughout these remote villages! We worked with him when we lived there for two years ministering there with him! He was a sacrificial Pastor we understanding by living there for two years! We continued support over the years and now to honor him we support his Son in ministry there! People warned him not to go out to minister because of the Coronavirus! He told people I cannot deny my flock and abandon them because of this pandemic! He caught COVID-19 and passed on late last year! He was 71 years old! When we met in India I was and he was 35 years old! We will continue support there until we pass on! Then we will meet him in heaven! IndiaJesusLovesYou ministry. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Why Suffer? Revelation 1:9

Greek Translation: I John, who also am among you a brother of the same womb (Born Again) and companion in tribulation. In tribulation of being broken, squeezed, crushed with the pressure of a burden upon my spirit in a confined space (Prison). And in the Kingdom of God under all circumstances with endurance towards people. I was in the isle of Patmos, for the Word of God and for the testimony being a witness, certifying and declaring Jesus Christ.  Comment: Suffering by the world brings death! Suffering by God has brought men Salvation! John suffered for a testimony of Jesus Christ! Suffering in Christ brings purpose in your life! To live is Christ and to die is gain! We have an interesting story about India. We spent two of our three years there on a remote mountain village named Yercaud in South India. They had an old English church up there that had the graveyard surrounding the church! I explained in a previous post why the British did this. Since I had to walk through the cemetery to get to the front door of the church I noticed some of the grave markers. There were two grave markers of a missionary couple from England that spent their whole life preaching the Gospel in India! But I noticed next to their graves was a little grave marker of a four year old girl. This was their daughter who died of malaria while ministering to the people of India! I wrote there names down and then inquired of the elders of the village if anyone knew about them? An old man in the village told me the story his grandfather told him many years ago. This couple had a powerful ministry bringing  hundreds of Hindus and Muslims to Christ! They had been appointed to a three year mission work to India. However after their daughter died there they spent the rest of their lives ministering in India! They decided their daughter’s death would not be in vain! Her sacrifice was not to be wasted! Jesus said, “This do in remembrance of me!” As we take the bread and the cup let us remember he did not let the cup pass from him! A sacrifice was provided to you for your Salvation! Remember him when you are suffering for he has never forgotten you! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

The Penless Author John 1:14

Christ Himself wrote nothing, but furnished endless material for books and songs of gratitude in praise! Philip Schaff (1819-1893) Comment: Yes the Word became flesh! Christ was written about thousands of years before He ever showed up here on earth! No human could accomplish this! People have and are sacrificing their lives for Him on the mission fields of this world yet have never seen Him! I witnessed this first hand in India during the three years we were there! Families in Yercaud on that remote mountain who had been Christians for generations would show me the graves of missionaries who had taken the Gospel to their ancestors! I was not treated like royalty in India because I was anybody but had followed those who had gone before me! Philip Schaff has gone before us! He was a Swiss Theologian who while living here in America was President of the committee that translated the American Standard Bible which was published a few years after his death in 1901. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Sticks and Stones ! Mark 16:14

The year was 1986. We were living in Yercaud India in our second year of mission work in India. It was a challenge living on this mountain top in South India. Electricity was only on for about 2 hours per day! Scorpions, rats and snakes lived with us in our house! However it was a beautiful place with coffee estates and tropical fruit everywhere! It was truly a village with no gas station and animals roaming the streets. Our house was located on Lady’s Seat Road next to a convent. The slums were all around us with people living in huts with manure dried floors and grass roofs. There are good slums and bad slums so the locals warned us not to go to one particular slum and if you did you may not come out! There was plenty of other work there so we stayed away. One day we took the long way around the village back to our house from the village shops. I do not even remember why? The road went along side this forbidden slum but I thought we were safe in our vehicle. Well a dog ran out in front of our vehicle and got one of his feet under a tire. A mob of people surrounded our car from this village. They picked up rocks and brought bamboo poles from their huts. They swarmed over our vehicle like ants so thick we could not see out any window glass! They were screaming they need to kill us because I drove over their dog and next it will be our children! We offered to pay for the dog and his injury but did not help! Even our daughter Sandra who was 4 years old then says she was so scared because the car was so dark inside with people covering the window glass! In the midst of all this chaos a man comes walking down the road and stops next to our vehicle. This man looked like an escaped criminal with knife scars on his face and arms. I thought it was surely over for us now! My wife Hamsa translated for me what he was telling the mob. In Tamil he told the crowd the following! He said, “You bunch of dogs! This man has a feeding program in your village and is feeding your children everyday! They have rented a building for a day care center and medical clinic! So is this how you return thanks to him? He did not have to come all the way from America to feed you dogs! If any of you touch this man or harm him me and my gang members will take care of you! The mob melted away back into their huts. As I was driving back to our house just over the hill drops of sweat were still dripping off my forehead! Then the most beautiful thought came to me! Now I have a free pass to go into this slum! So the next day at the crack of dawn I entered into this slum with pockets full of candy for the children and Gospel tracts for the adults! So the stones were rolled away and life entered death! I gained a lot of important lessons with my years in India. One important lesson is that you cannot really change a culture! If you do it is like trying to stop a tidal wave with your hands! Our Pastor Brady Boyd in his Sunday message at New Life Church here in Colorado Springs made a very important point! He said, ” Christianity historically is strongest when giving, loving and serving those who live in the margins of the culture!” Why the political and cultural battles rage sow seeds of love to the disenfranchised of our community! The widows, orphans, single moms and homeless! Roll that stone away and bring life to the hopeless! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Hindu Temple

The year was 1987. We were nearing the completion of our 3 year commission to India by the Korean Church. We needed to sell our vehicle in preparation for returning to the United States. The way you sell things in India is just put the word out amoung the local villagers! News travels fast in these remote areas. A young man named Benny told me this Hindu Priest was wanting to purchase my vehicle and if I would come up to the Temple he would pay me. Local Pastor’s in India warned me never to accept invitations to Hindu Temples! So I refused many invites by these Hindu Priests. So I told Benny no! Benny told me this is different. He only wants to buy your vehicle. It is simply buisness. So I decided to go. So Benny got in my vehicle with me and we made the steep pull up the mountain into the remote tribal area. As we approached the front entrance of this big Hindu Temple I could smell the sweet fragrance of incense sticks burning in the Temple. We were greeted at the front entrance by two beautiful young girls! They could have even been teen agers. One girl went to my left side and the other to my right side. They put one hand into my hand and the other on my forearm and escorted me into the Temple. I felt like the chosen King on prom night back in high school! With their collective beauty,perfumes and incense burning in the Temple I began to feel sedated! I began to feel sorry for the folks back home in America! Then the thought hit me. Where is Benny? As I was escoted deeper into this Temple some things began to trouble me? The doors into the rooms and halls had iron gates on them much like a jail cell? There seemed to be alot of girls in this Temple? Some not modestly dressed? Then I walked by this European looking guy sitting on the floor with his head shaved! This young man was like staring into space. His eyes were glassy and his soul looked empty? I glanced into one room as I walked by and there were these 3 iron stakes anchored into the cement with leather straps tied on them? I asked one of my escorts where we were going? I cannot completely descibe the foreboding feelings I had at this time? The girls told me they were taking me to the guest room where the Hindu Priest will give me the money for the vehicle. Even though I wanted to pull away and get out of there I was like mesmerized by the spiritual atmosphere there! It was like something was taking control of me? Much like the cobra spitting his venom into the air in a room to disable his victims! The girls finally took me into this room and asked me to sit down in the chair. The girls pulled the curtain over the door and left the room. This room only had one chair in the middle of the room and I was sitting on it? No pictures on the walls and only one door to exit the room. No windows either? I began to have more concerns! I got up out of my chair moved the curtain back but the iron gate was locked behind the curtain! No time to panic but I did begin to sweat! I went back to my chair. Where was Benny? Suddenly two different girls came from behind the curtain! They were as pretty and young as the first two but were not modestly dressed? They wore short grass skirts with their tops adequately displayed chanting and dancing around me in my chair? They had ankle chains on their legs with bells attached so when they danced the bells would jingle! They had tambourines they were beating. My natural defences began to further abate. My thoughts were now who cares where Benny is! As the girls would dance, chant and sway their bodies around me with the beat to the music they began to make eye contact with me. They would fix their eyes on my eyes and then shift their eyes rapidly left to right and then right to left. I began to feel dizzy! This went on for about 10 or 15 minutes. I really lost track of time? I was now moving into a deeper hypnotic state! Then the girls abruptly left the room! I wanted to get out but now unable to even get out of my chair? I was like unable to respond to my natural senses? I would later learn the European looking guy was made a eunuch in the Temple along with some other fellows there. Now there was an ominous quiet period while I was waiting for the next act! Suddenly these huge drums began to beat? Then I began to hear this male voice chanting in the distance. This voice began to get louder as this man got closer to me! I could also hear a tambourine beating. Suddenly this huge man broke through the door curtain! He must have weighed 300 pounds and looked like a sumo wrestler! He was bare chested with bright colors were painted all over him! He like the girls were dancing,chanting, banging his tambourine and trying to focus his eyes on mine. He had a full beard and long hair. He looked like a bat out of hell! The girls softened me up and this guy was going to take me down! Then about a dozen girls entered the room and joined the high priest in their chants and dances! Yes the choir was now in place! His cheer leaders! Then behind the girls stood Benny! Betrayal at its best! I cried out to Jesus and called on His Blood to break this demonic spell! Suddenly this spirit of control over me was broken! Yes in the twinkling of an eye satan’s spell over me was broken! The priest with his harem stopped and left the room! I got up out of my chair left the room and temple and drove my vehicle back to Yercaud. I sold my vehicle in Madras and we left India for the United States! These Hindu Priests make prostitutes out of the women and eunuches out of the men! Stay out of the Hindu Temples! James Sasse. GodWgoisGod.com

Which Kingdom do you want?

The year was 1985. We had been in India one year then. We had just moved from Madras(Chennai), to a hill station named Yercaud. The name Yercaud in the Tamil Language means the village of the lake and the forest. It is a beautiful place with coffee estates, mango trees and assortment of fruits! This village was so remote that there was no gas station there. The problem for us was finding suitable housing for my family. My daughters at that time were 4 and 5 years old. My concern was for their safety. A friend of ours from Salem had been searchin for us and through another friend located this Hindu man who owned coffee estates in Yercaud and also had a English hotel converted for his summer home. Rich people there would escape the summer heat and live in the cool hill stations for the season. This man owned a car manufacturing and boat manufacturing company. He was also an M.D. educated in the United States. Having lived in the U.S. he could not understand why we came to India? This mansion was remote and beautiful! It was nested on the edge of a cliff with a panoramic view of Salem Valley below! Also a clear view of Metur Dam. The clouds would hit you in the face! Yes due to low cloud elevation across south india any mountain would be covered in clouds. Yes I was walking in clouds! As I would sit in this old english chair with extended arms for your legs and view the valley below I used to feel sorry for the folks back in America. They had to get up every morning and go to work everyday! Fight the traffic, bosses and all else! What really bugged me about this Hindu man was he never asked for rent? I offered him but he declined? After we had lived there for about 3 months the owner approached me and told me he would like to make an offer to me. He asked me if I would like to live in his mansion for the rest of my life! He told me he would pay for my daughters tuition and living expenses through college in the United States. To sweeten the deal he told me he would find me alot of young girls for me down in Salem valley! He told me to think it over for about two weeks. He had to go to America on buisness and would get back with me. I thought the girls are out but the rest? What is the motive? I again began to feel sorry for the folks back home! Well, this Hindu man returned to Yercaud and asked me if I would take his offer? However he said there was only one condition? I must stop preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the people on Yercaud mountain! I politely told him this is the reason we came to India! He told me we have 3 days to vacate mansion! The hardest thing I ever had to tell my family was we had to move in 3 days! I did not tell my wife Hamsa the real reason we had to move until 25 years later! Well we ended up in a scorpion, rat and snake infested house for the next two years! I thought about those fortunate people back in America! About two weeks before leaving Yercaud and India for the United States the rich man pulled his Mercedes Benz convertible up along side me while I was walking. He asked me again why I had come to India? I told him for the last time because God has sent me here! Satan will offer you all the Kingdoms of this world if you just bow down and worship him! It gets down to two Kingdom’s! The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan! Everyday for the rest of your life you will have to make a choice what Kingdom you want? Choose this day who you will serve! Thankyou. James Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Water Bed Fountain!

The year was 1986 in Yercaud India. We brought our water bed matresses from USA to India. They were popular then and comfortable. We set them up on the floor and filled them with water. Problem was the servants were afraid of them because they moved when they touched them while cleaning! Our servant in Yercaud asked my wife why a water bed? Even with the explaination my wife gave her she still thought there was more reasons for this bed? One day this servant told my wife the reason for the bed! At night we could use a straw and drink water from the bed so we did not have to get out of bed at night! We had a chicken in Yercaud that would fly through our window and lay an egg every day on our water bed! I would just gather the egg and had breakfast! Life was simpler in those days! It also had its challenges! Thankyou. James Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

30 Pieces of Silver!

The year was 1986. The place was Yercaud, India. We had just moved from Madras(Chennai), to this small village located on a mountain in South India. One big problem moving from big city to small village is finding adequate housing for my family. My uncle victor who was an MD. down in Salem had a friend who was a wealthy man. This man owned a mansion on Yercaud mountain that he used as summer cottage during hot season down in Salem Valley. This man was a Hindu who offered his mansion for free! This mansion was surrounded by 1000 acres of coffee estates located on the edge of a cliff! Beautiful panoramic view of Salem Valley below. We were excited! Clouds would hit you in the face as they moved over the mountain! Servants on duty to take care of all house work! I began to feel sorry for Americans back home as they had to go to jobs every day! Then this rich man came by and asked me if I would like to stay in mansion for rest of my life! Also he offered me young girls down in Salem Valley to make me happy! I told him the young girls for sex was out! But to stay in your mansion? Then he offered to pay for all college expenses for my small daughters when they reach college age! He told me to think about it and would be back from visit to U.S. in about two weeks. Well he came back and asked me about the offer? I told him it was a very generous offer! He told me there was only one condition? I must stop preaching about this Jesus Christ to the local villagers in Yercaud and villages above Yercaud! I explained to him that this is the reason we came to India! He then told me I have three days to vacate the mansion! We found a hut complete with scorpions, snakes and rats! I wish I were back in America! We completed our 3 years in India and shared the Gospel of Christ to many people! Scripture; Matthew Chapter 4, verses 8 and 9. Thankyou. James Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com