Blessings Out of Persecution

This message popped into my e-mail box today. The writer's words really hit me in my spirit and I thought I would share it with you. It was written to a radio and internet ministry called "Thru the Bible". Perhaps you have heard of them. They've been around for a long time. They are committed to spreading the message of the Gospel of Christ around the world. It is wonderful to see how the Gospel of our Lord is changing the lives of souls in the darkest places on the earth!! Glory to God!!

"Dear Thru the Bible,

Certain Christians wonder why God allows persecution to happen to His children. The persecution of Christians is a thing that God alone can allow or not allow. In these difficult moments, we should pray to God to reveal His will to us. I am going to tell you what happened to me. This will serve as a testimony.

My church was closed because the owner of the building no longer wanted to rent the room. We were forced to separate and meet in small groups in our homes. I organized a Bible study and prayer meeting in my house. This attracted the attention and curiosity of my Muslim neighbors who came, suddenly, to attend [one of] our meetings.

They were very surprised by the words of Jesus when we read Matthew 5:44 where Jesus said: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you….”

One of my neighbors testified to us, “I waited for you to utter curses against the authorities that persecuted you. But to my surprise I heard you bless them and pray that God would open the eyes of their hearts to recognize that Jesus is the unique Savior of the world.”

That day the Spirit of the Lord touched the two Muslim families that participated with us in the Bible study and prayer. These ten Muslim souls would not have dared ever to come publicly to the church – fear and shame would have prevented them. Because we are neighbors, they said, “Indeed, it is the church that came to us!” They gave their hearts to the Lord.

The number of house churches here increases day to day. We thank you for sending us the radio programs. Pray for us so that we may discern the will of God.

From a Kabyle listener in Algeria"

Song of Confidence

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt receive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. (Psalm 138:7)

Wretched walking in the midst of trouble. Nay, blessed walking, since there is a special promise for it. Give me a promise, and what is the trouble? What doth my Lord teach me here to say? Why this--"Thou wilt receive me." I shall have more life, more energy, more faith. Is it not often so, that trouble revives us, like a breath of cold air when one is ready to faint?

How angry are my enemies and especially the archenemy! Shall I stretch forth my hand and fight my foes! No, my hand is better employed in doing service for my Lord. Besides, there is no need, for my God will use His far-reaching arm, and He will deal with them far better than I could if I were to try. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." He will with His own right hand of power and wisdom save me, and what more can I desire?

Come, my heart, talk this promise over to thyself till thou canst use it as the song of thy confidence, the solace of thy holiness. Pray to be revived thyself and leave the rest with the Lord, who performeth all things for thee.

Rain Without Clouds? Never!

If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth. (Ecclesiastes 11:3)

Why, then, do we dread the clouds which now darken our sky? True, for a while they hide the sun, but the sun is not quenched; He will shine out again before long. Meanwhile those black clouds are filled with rain; and the blacker they are, the more likely they are to yield plentiful showers. How can we have rain without clouds?

Our troubles have always brought us blessings, and they always will. They are the black chariots of bright grace. These clouds will empty themselves before long, and every tender herb will be the gladder for the shower. Our God may drench us with grief, but He will not drown us with wrath; nay, He will refresh us with mercy. Our Lord's love letters often come to us in black-edged envelopes. His wagons rumble, but they are loaded with benefits. His rod blossoms with sweet flowers and nourishing fruits. Let us not worry about the clouds but sing because May flowers are brought to us through the April clouds and showers.

O Lord, the clouds are the dust of Thy feet! How near Thou art in the cloudy and dark day! Love beholds Thee and is glad. Faith sees the clouds emptying themselves and making the little hills rejoice on every side.

Faith Comes by Hearing

Faith Comes By Hearing, the world's foremost Audio Bible ministry, recently launched a revolutionary Audio Bible distribution program -- Audio Bible Ambassador.

"An Audio Bible Ambassador is someone who has said, 'I want to reach the nations and make a difference for Christ by helping distribute the Scriptures through the Internet,'" explained Troy Carl, Faith Comes By Hearing's national director.

Through this program, people can turn their computers into Audio Bible distribution centers. Carl puts the process in plain words.

"Becoming an Audio Bible Ambassador is simple. You start by downloading an Audio Bible for yourself. Then sign up online and choose languages to sponsor," said Carl. "When others go online and search for their free Audio Bible in one of your sponsored languages, your computer talks to their computer and sends over the Audio Scriptures."

To see their impact, Audio Bible Ambassadors then visit a secure, interactive webpage that graphically displays a world map showing all those that they've shared the Word of God with.

Benefits of Becoming an Audio Bible Ambassador:

· Download free Audio Bibles

· Help fulfill the Great Commission from work or home

· Hear dramatic testimonies about Audio Bible impact

· Access information about those reached online

"Through this outreach, you can make a difference for Christ and reach people while at work, surfing the web, or even while you're sleeping," Carl said. "By becoming an Audio Bible Ambassador, you will help thousands all over the world get the pure Word of God in audio in their heart language."

Faith Comes By Hearing, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based non-profit ministry, developed this program to equip Christians for online Bible ministry opportunities.

Faith Comes By Hearing is working to record Audio Bibles in 2,000 languages and start two million Bible listening groups by the year 2016, which would reach 97 percent of the world's population.

To learn more or schedule an interview, visit www.FaithComesByHearing.com or contact Jon D. Wilke at 505-881-3321 or jon@FaithComesByHearing.com.

We May Speak for God

Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. (Jeremiah 15:19)

Poor Jeremiah! Yet why do we say so? The weeping prophet was one of the choicest servants of God and honored by Him above many. He was hated for speaking the truth. The word which was so sweet to him was bitter to his hearers, yet he was accepted of his Lord. He was commanded to abide in his faithfulness, and then the Lord would continue to speak through him. He was to deal boldly and truthfully with men and perform the Lord's winnowing work upon the professors of his day, and then the Lord gave him this word: "Thou shalt be as my mouth."

What an honor! Should not every preacher, yea, every believer, covet it? For God to speak by us, what a marvel! We shall speak sure, pure truth; and we shall speak it with power. Our word shall not return void; it shall be a blessing to those who receive it, and those who refuse it shall do so at their peril. Our lips shall feed many. We shall arouse the sleeping and call the dead to life.

O dear reader, pray that it may be so with all the sent servants of our Lord.

The Stranger and the Pilgrim

“The man who has passed on into the divine Presence in actual inner experience will not find many who understand him.

A certain amount of social fellowship will of course be his as he mingles with religious persons in regular activities of the church, but true spiritual fellowship will be hard to find.

But he should not expect things to be otherwise.

After all, he is a stranger and a pilgrim, and the journey he takes is not on his feet but in his heart. He walks with God in the garden of his own soul, and who but God can walk there with him?

He is of another spirit from the multitudes that tread the courts of the Lord’s house. He has seen that of which they have only heard, and he walks among them somewhat as Zacharias walked after his return from the altar when the people whispered, “He has seen a vision.”

The spiritual man is indeed something of an oddity. He lives not for himself but to promote the interests of Another. He seeks to persuade people to give all to his Lord and asks no portion or share for himself. He delights not to be honored but to see his Saviour glorified in the eyes of men. His joy is to see his Lord promoted and himself neglected.

He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and over serious, so he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens.

He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart.

It is this very loneliness that throws him back upon God.

“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.”

His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else. He learns in inner solitude what he could not have learned in the crowd; that Christ is All in All, that He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, that in Him we have and possess life’s summum bonum (for the highest good).

Excerpted from The Saint Must Walk Alone, by A.W. Tozer

from → By Faith, Christian Life, Encouragement, Little Nuggets

Let No Evil Remain

And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers. (Deuteronomy 13:17)

Israel must conquer idolatrous cities and destroy all the spoil, regarding all that had been polluted by idolatry as an accursed thing to be burned with fire. Now, sin of all sorts must be treated by Christians in the same manner. We must not allow a single evil habit to remain. It is now war to the knife with sins of all sorts and sizes, whether of the body, the mind, or the spirit. We do not look upon this giving up of evil as deserving mercy, but we regard it as a fruit of the grace of God, which we would on no account miss.

When God causes us to have no mercy on our sins, then He has great mercy on us. When we are angry with evil, God is no more angry with us. The way of peace, of growth, of safety, of joy in Christ Jesus will be found by following out these words: "There shall nought of the cursed thing cleave to thine hand." Lord, purify me this day. Compassion, prosperity, increase, and joy will surely be given to those who put away sin with solemn resolution.

Saints of God, what has happened to messages like this being preached in churches today! Do you hear these so-called pastors telling the sheep how they are polluted with idolatry!!! I can tell you that in my 64 years of going to a "church" I never heard a message like this.

Yesterday I read something written by a paster over 100 years ago. He said this, "Obedience is the rehearsal of eternal bliss. Practice now! Obedience is the song that you will sing forever in glory!"

Saints, obey God and rid yourself of idolatry!

Exposing Word of Faith Prosperity Gospel: Justin Peters

Wake up Saints! These false teachers are all around and among us! Come out from these false churches and learn who God really is and how His word teaches us to serve Him!