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!

All the discussion about the Miss USA controversy has left out something very important. That is that the defenders of biblical morality should actually wear clothes while doing it.

It is also sad that something so apparent must now be explained to Christians, when at one time, the world itself would have objected to Miss California’s near nudity at the pageant.

The tolerance of nudity and immodesty in the world is of little surprise. The fact that God’s people see nothing wrong with a woman professing Christ while standing nearly naked before the likes of Perez Hilton for his judgment on her “beauty” demonstrates how far down we have sunk.

God’s definition of beauty has always run absolutely counter to that of the world. A blood-washed believer, wearing the righteousness of Christ, should care nothing for the beauty “crowns” given by the world. The only crown that we should seek after is the one that St. Paul mentioned in the Bible.

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
–2 Timothy 4:8

The following is a transcript of Prejean’s comments - what one group called a “bold witness.” The comments in red are of a reader with some good observations. This is what is being called “bold” today.

MS. PREJEAN: “Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other.

(Really? That’s great? It’s actually disgusting and against God’s definition of marriage. She needs to repent from such comments. She should pray for wisdom as well).

MS. PREJEAN: Um, we live in a land that you can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage.

(Being able to “choose” shows how far our country has slid from God’s enduring commands. She should have started the sentence with “Sadly, …” In not doing so, she is sending a mixed message).

MS. PREJEAN: And, you know what? In my country, and in my family, I think...

(It doesn’t matter what she thinks, or what I think. What matters is what the Word of God says about the matter).

MS. PREJEAN: …that I believe…
(see previous comment)

MS. PREJEAN: …that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense…

(Jesus was the Rock of offense, and Christian positions on topics such as gay marriage will be offensive as well. It’s an occupational hazard).

MS. PREJEAN: …to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think…

(again, it doesn’t matter what she thinks)

MS. PREJEAN: …that it should be – between a man and a woman…

(Biblically, the only way it can be).

MS. PREJEAN: Thank you.”

Power to Raise

The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down. (Psalm l46:8)

Am I bowed down? Then let me urge this word of grace before the Lord. It is His way, His custom, His promise, His delight, to raise up them that are bowed down. Is it a sense of sin and a consequent depression of spirit which distresses me? Then the work of Jesus is, in this case, made and provided to raise me up into rest. O Lord, raise me, for Thy mercy's sake!

Is it a sad bereavement or a great fall in circumstances? Here again the Comforter has undertaken to console. What a mercy for us that one Person of the sacred Trinity should become the Comforter! This work will be well done since such a glorious One has made it His peculiar care.

Some are so bowed down that only Jesus can loose them from their infirmity, but He can, and He will, do it. He can raise us up to health, to hope, to happiness. He has often done so under former trials, and He is the same Savior and will repeat His deeds of loving kindness. We who are today bowed down and sorrowful shalt yet be set on high, and those who now mock at us shall be greatly ashamed. What an honor to be raised up by the Lord! It is worthwhile to be bowed down that we may experience His upraising power.

He Never Fails

I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Joshua 1:5)

This word to Joshua is often quoted; it is the basis of that New Testament word "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Beloved, a life of warfare is before us, but the Lord of Hosts is with us. Are we called to lead a great but fickle people? This promise guarantees us all the wisdom and prudence that we shall need. Have we to contend with cunning and powerful enemies? Here is strength and valor, prowess and victory. Have we a vast heritage to win? By this sign we shall achieve our purpose; the Lord Himself is with us.

It would be woe to us indeed if Jehovah could fail us; but, as this can never be, the winds of disquietude are laid to sleep in the caverns of divine faithfulness. On no one occasion will the Lord desert us. Happen what may, He will be at our side. Friends drop from us, their help is but an April shower; but God is faithful, Jesus is the same forever, and the Holy Spirit abideth in us.

Come, my heart, be calm and hopeful today. Clouds may gather, but the Lord can blow them away. Since God will not fail me, my faith shall not fail; and as He will not forsake me, neither will I forsake Him. Oh, for a restful faith!

A Brief Reminder as to Why Missions Are Important

The Government of Christ

My Choice Is His Choice

He shall choose our inheritance for us. (Psalm 47:4)

Our enemies would allot us a very dreary portion, but we are not left in their hands. The Lord will cause us to stand in our lot, and our place is appointed by His infinite wisdom. A wiser mind than our own arranges our destiny, The ordaining of all things is with God, and we are glad to have it so; we choose that God should choose for us. If we might have our own way we would wish to let all things go in God's way.

Being conscious of our own folly, we would not desire to rule our own destinies. We feel safer and more at ease when the Lord steers our vessel than we could possibly be if we could direct it according to our own judgment. Joyfully we leave the painful present and the unknown future with our Father, our Savior, our Comforter.

O my soul, this day lay down thy wishes at Jesus' feet! If thou hast of late been somewhat wayward and willful, eager to be and to do after thine own mind, now dismiss thy foolish self, and place the reins in the Lord's hands. Say, "He shall choose." If others dispute the sovereignty of the Lord and glory in the free will of man, do thou answer them, "He shall choose for me." It is my freest choice to let Him choose. As a free agent, I elect that He should have absolute sway.

Close Fellowship

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:34)

Truly, whatever else we do not know, we know the Lord. This day is this promise true in our experience, and it is not a little one. The least believer among us knows God in Christ Jesus. Not as fully as we desire; but yet truly and really we know the Lord. We not only know doctrines about Him, but we know Him. He is our Father and our Friend. We are acquainted with Him personally. We can say, "My Lord, and my God." We are on terms of close fellowship with God, and many a happy season do we spend in His holy company. We are no more strangers to our God, but the secret of the Lord is with us.

This is more than nature could have taught us. Flesh and blood has not revealed God to us. Christ Jesus had made known the Father to our hearts. If, then, the Lord has made us know Himself, is not this the fountain of all saving knowledge? To know God is eternal life. So soon as we come to acquaintance with God we have the evidence of being quickened into newness of life. O my soul, rejoice in this knowledge, and bless thy God all this day!

The Bible's Supreme Place

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. (Psalm 119:165)

Yes, a true love for the great Book will bring us great peace from the great God and be a great protection to us. Let us live constantly in the society of the law of the Lord, and it will breed in our hearts a restfulness such as nothing else can. The Holy Spirit acts as a Comforter through the Word and sheds abroad those benign influences which calm the tempests of the soul.

Nothing is a stumbling block to the man who has the Word of God dwelling in him richly. He takes up his daily cross, and it becomes a delight. For the fiery trial he is prepared and counts it not strange, so as to be utterly cast down by it. He is neither stumbled by prosperity--as so many are--nor crushed by adversity--as others have been--for he lives beyond the changing circumstances of external life. When his Lord puts before him some great mystery of the faith which makes others cry, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" the believer accepts it without question; for his intellectual difficulties are overcome by his reverent awe of the law of the Lord, which is to him the supreme authority to which he joyfully bows. Lord, work in us this love, this peace, this rest, this day.

Commentary

My Annual Visit to a Mainline Protestant Church
April 6, 2009 | By: John Piper

I made my annual visit to a Sunday morning service in a “mainline Protestant church” a couple weeks ago. It is an eerie experience. Heart-wrenchingly eerie.

A magnificent building.
A magnificent choir singing, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of he world, have mercy on us” (in Latin).
A closing hymn, “Lord, I want to be a Christian.”
Three women pastors on the platform and two men.
Pews filled with well-to-do looking folks.
The reason I say it was eerie is that much of this religious language means something totally different in their minds from what I mean by it. There is a keeping of the language and a demythologizing of the original meaning.

On one of our earlier visits Noël recalls the pastor saying that when he was a child he used to read stories like the one about Jesus walking on the water as if they were literally true.

What made my visit heart-wrenching was that the children’s choir sang these words—trust me, I am copying them from the bulletin—“Birds and trees, people and plants, dolphin and whale all lives are equal. . . . Sister Rain, Brother Stone bring us back to our true home.”

So when I stand at my study window that looks out over the downtown cityscape of Minneapolis, I pray: “O God, have mercy on us. Send a shocking revival to the churches—and a great awakening to this city. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.”

Without Fear of Man

And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. (Deuteronomy 28:10)

Then we can have no reason to be afraid of them. This would show a mean spirit and be a token of unbelief rather than of faith. God can make us so like Himself that men shall be forced to see that we rightly bear His name and truly belong to the holy Jehovah. Oh, that we may obtain this grace which the Lord waits to bestow!

Be assured that ungodly men have a fear of true saints. They hate them, but they also fear them. Haman trembled because of Mordecai, even when he sought the good man's destruction. In fact, their hate often arises out of a dread which they are too proud to confess. Let us pursue the path of truth and uprightness without the slightest tremor. Fear is not for us but for those who do ill and fight against the Lord of hosts. If indeed the name of the eternal God is named upon us, we are secure; for, as of old, a Roman had but to say Romanus sum, I am a Roman, and he could claim the protection of all the legions of the vast empire; so every one who is a man of God has omnipotence as his guardian, and God will sooner empty heaven of angels than leave a saint without defense. Be braver than lions for the right, for God is with you.

One King, One Lord!

And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9)

Blessed prospect! This is no dream of an enthusiast but the declaration of the infallible Word. Jehovah shall be known among all people, and His gracious sway shall be acknowledged by every tribe of man. Today, it is far from being so. Where do any bow before the great King? How much there is of rebellion! What lords many and gods many there are on the earth! Even among professed Christians what diversities of ideas there are about Him and His gospel! One day there shall be one King, one Jehovah, and one name for the living God. O Lord, hasten it! We daily cry, "Thy kingdom come."

We will not discuss the question as to when this shall be lest we lose the comfort of the certainty that it shall be. So surely as the Holy Ghost spake by His prophets, so surely shall the whole earth be filled with the glory of the Lord. Jesus did not die in vain. The Spirit of God worketh not in vain. The Father's eternal purposes shall not be frustrated, Here, where Satan triumphed, Jesus shall be crowned, and the Lord God Omnipotent shall reign. Let us go our way to our daily work and warfare made strong in faith.

Not Forgotten

Thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. (Isaiah 44:21)

Our Jehovah cannot so forget His servants as to cease to love them. He chose them not for a time but forever. He knew what they would be when He called them into the divine family. He blots out their sins like a cloud; and we may be sure that He will not turn them out of doors for iniquities which He has blotted out. It would be blasphemy to imagine such a thing.

He will not forget them so as to cease to think of them. One forgetful moment on the part of our God would be our ruin. Therefore He says, "Thou shalt not be forgotten of me," Men forget us; those whom we have benefited turn against us. We have no abiding place in the fickle hearts of men; but God will never forget one of His true servants. He binds Himself to us not by what we do for Him but by what He has done for us. We have been loved too long and bought at too great a price to be now forgotten. Jesus sees in us His soul's travail, and that He never can forget. The Father sees in us the spouse of His Son, and the Spirit sees in us His own effectual work. The Lord thinketh upon us. This day we shall be succored and sustained. Oh, that the Lord may never be forgotten of us!