Friday, September 30, 2016

The Insanity of God

    

      In the years that the communists ruled in Russia they were very hard years for Christians. In a small village in central Russia lived a man named Demitri, along with his wife and two sons. The communists had destroyed many of the churches and the family had a 3 day walk to get to the closest one. That meant they could go to church only once or twice a year. Demitri and his wife determined that the only way their sons could learn about the Bible was for him to teach them. So that is what he did. Once a week he would read and they would also sing the traditional songs of the faith and pray together. Nothing can be kept secret in a small village, so soon others found out and asked if they could come and hear the stories and worship also. The group grew to 25 and the authorities threatened to make life difficult for him and his family if he continued. When the group grew to 50 they made good on their threat. He was fired from his factory job, his wife was fired from her teaching job, and their sons were expelled from school. When it grew to 75, people were packed in like sardines and others listened at the window.

   One night an officer and soldiers busted in, grabbed him threw him against the wall, and slapped him around. The officer said that if they met again he would do much worse things to him and started to walk out the door. Just then a grandmother stepped in front of the officer and declared: “You have laid hands on a man of God and you will not survive.” That was on Tuesday evening. On Thursday night, the officer dropped dead of a heart attack. The fear of God swept through the  community and at the next meeting 150 people showed up. The authorities could not let that continue and sent Demitri to a prison 1000 kilometers away for 17 years.

   Demitri entered a prison of indescribable horrors. It housed 1,500 prisoners, none of which were Christians. He determined that he would do two things to keep himself faithful to God. He would rise every morning, face the east, and sing his heart song to Jesus. When he did, all the other prisoners would yell at him, curse, him, and throw refuse his way from their cells. Next, every time he found a scrap of paper he would try to write down all the Scripture or songs he could remember and then stick that piece of paper on a wet wall as an offering to God. Each time he did that the jailer would beat him.

  After many years of hard labor and regular torture the prison officials told him that his wife had died and his sons had been taken over by the state. He broke. He said that he would sign a piece of paper denouncing Christ the next morning. They said that they would release him if he did. That night Demitri’s brother met with his wife and sons and they all sensed that Demitri was in great distress and that they should pray for him. They gathered around the chair he had taught from and cried out to God. In his cell 1000 km away the Lord allowed Demitri to hear the prayers of his family. The next morning when the guards came back Demitri declared: “I am not signing anything. Last night the Lord allowed me to hear my family praying for me. My wife is alive and my sons are with her. So I am not signing anything!”

   On another occasion Demitri found a whole sheet of paper with a pencil next to it in the prison yard. He rushed back to his cell, filled up both sides of the paper with Scripture and placed it on the wall. He was beaten severely and then they grabbed him and told him they were going to execute him. As they were taking him down the corridor of the prison, all 1,500 prisoners stood at attention and started singing Demiti’s heart song. The guards stopped in their tracks and asked him. Who are you? “Demitri straightened his back and responded: “I am a son of the living God and Jesus is his name.” They took him back to his cell and released him a few days later. ) (The Insanity of God, Nik Ripken, pp.151-158. A portion of this book, including the story of Demitri, has been recently released as a full length movie!)
    
Are you going through hard times now. We do not have persecution in our country right now but thousands of Christians around the world are being persecuted for their faith and we need to be praying for them.


Pray:
1.     Pray that we, and our families will be as strong as Demitri and his family in the good times and bad.
2.     Pray that our country will return to its Christian roots and uphold God’s standards in our government and our courts.
3.     Pray that I will never forget how blessed we are to have the freedom to worship and read the Bible in our country.
4.     Pray that the glory of Jesus Christ will become our greatest passion and pursuit.



God's Word extolled




    We all know how important God’s word is for us to be able to know Him and follow His leading. Paul tells us that: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be compete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

   The writer of Psalms 119 was so excited about God’s word that he wrote the longest Psalm in the book of Psalms extolling the glory and benefits of knowing Scripture and applying it to our lives.  The Psalm is divided into 22 sections (one for each Hebrew letter of the alphapet) of eight verses with each verse starting with the same Hebrew letter, in each section, so that we have not only an awesome work of praise but a literary masterpiece for memorization. Let us look as just a few of the statements he shouts to the rooftops!

   “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! (vs.1-2) With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. (vs. 10-11) I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statues; I will not forget Your word.” (vs. 15-16)

   “Teach me, O Lord the way of Your statues, And I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.” (vs. 34,37)

“Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. Unless Your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” (vs.73,92)

  Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser that my enemies; For they are ever with me.  I have more understanding then all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts.” (vs. 97-100)

    “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments. Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Your statues Forever, to the very end.” (vs. 105-106,111-112)

“I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word. My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on your word. Let my cry come before You O LORD; Give me understanding according to Your word. Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word. My lips shall utter praise, for You teach me Your statues.” (vs.147-148, 169-171)

Wow! Wow! And Wow! Here is a man who knows the importance of the Word of God in His life! How about you today? Have you set aside time everyday to learn from all the wisdom that God has for you delivered by you private tutor, the Holy Spirit? If you have some extra time today read and meditate on the whole Psalm. Or better yet, read part of it today and meditate on that part. Then take a little every day until you have read and meditated on it all. You will not regret it!

Pray:
1.     That God will give me a new thirst and hunger for His word everyday. That my time in the word will be food and drink for my weary soul.
That our church will become doers of the word and   not just hearers only in every part of our lives.

2.     That the truths God has revealed to us in His Word will be burned into our minds and spirits and we will not stop, or even slow down, what God has done in us.
3.     That we will live everyday in obedience to the things God has revealed to our hearts and that we will be men and women, boys and girls, on fire for our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.


Thursday, September 15, 2016

Go and make disciples


     And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen" ( Matthew 27:18-20, NKJV)

  In 1979, both my wife Miriam, and I, became born again believers and surrendered our lives to be disciples of the only One who can redeem us, Jesus Christ. Since that time,we have tried to share with others what it means to become disciples of Jesus Christ, starting with our children and family members, and continuing with friends, acquaintances, and strangers.


      Miriam is from Venezuela and her mother, Paula, and sister, Angela, both widows, still live there. Ever since becoming a believer, when Miriam was able to visit them or when they visited us in the U.S., she has talked to them about Jesus and the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. She and I also spent much time in prayer over the years for them without seeing any results, in fact, her mother was quick to ridicule any conversations of a spiritual nature that Miriam might try to initiate and she called her "Sister Miriam" or "the nun"!

    In the year 2000, our daughter, Vanessa, was married to Ben Rough in our home church in Evans, GA. Miriam's mother and sister were unable to attend but Miriam was able to travel to Venezuela  a few months later and carried with her a video of the wedding ceremony. As Miriam was showing the video, Paula, was quick to make a comment about our pastor, Larry Harmon. She said: "Hey you have a good looking pastor!" To which Miriam jokingly replied: "You don't think I would go to a church without a handsome pastor do you?"

      As they continued to watch the service with Miriam pausing it from time to time to translate the pastor's words into Spanish for Paula and Angela, who don't speak any English,  something happened. Paula stopped Miriam about a third of the way through the wedding ceremony and said: "I can tell that your pastor is a man of God and he knows Jesus! Tell me how I can know Jesus too! " Miriam was overwhelmed with joy to see the Holy Spirit working in her mothers heart and drawing her to Him. She lead both Paula and Angela through the gospel presentation that we are all sinners who must repent  of our sins and believe on the name of Jesus to be saved. (something she had tried on numerous occasions to do, with no results.)


    Both Paula and Angela gave their hearts and lives over to Jesus that day and were gloriously saved! What a joyous day Miriam had as she witnessed God answering her prayers prayed for 20 years, and rejoicing in the knowledge that Paula and Angela now have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life and will spend eternity with Jesus in heaven when they leave this world!!!

    Who has God put on your heart to pray for? Who is He leading you to present the Gospel to today? All of us who are born again believers have a duty and a privilege to tell others about the One who has saved us and adopted us as His son or daughter. We need to give them the opportunity to know and have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe through His Son, Jesus Christ.


   He has told us to go, to go next door, across the street, down the road, and around the entire globe. And while we are going we are to make disciples! Start with your family, then your neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, and then strangers. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God are the Ones who will draw them and convict them of their need to be saved and it is only The Holy Spirit that saves so don't think it is your job! Your job is just to go and tell. Isn't it great to know that all we have to do is obey and God does the hard part?

    Go, tell, disciple, then rejoice when you see God do what only He can do!

  "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, NKJV)

Pray:
1. Lord, put on my heart those who you need me to be praying for today and help me to be faithful to pray every day until you answer that prayer.
2. Help me to go today to that person you want me to tell about You and to be bold in telling them how You have transformed my life since I accepted You as my Lord and Savior.
3. Keep me in Your Word every day so that You can speak to Me through the words of Jesus, The Apostles, and The Prophets and help me to share those words of wisdom and love to others.


    

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Living by faith




    The prophet Habakkuk is much more than a prophet with a funny sounding name. (When my children were learning the books of the Bible, their AWANA teacher told them to remember “have a coke” to help them remember this name!) He prophesied during the last days of the kingdom of Judah before they were carried off into the Babylonian captivity and, as we know, the Jews did not listen to him. Although he repeatedly called them to repentance, the nation stubbornly refused to change its sinful ways.  He was desolate and in despair when he wrote his book.

    He cries out to God, and maybe like you, he cannot understand why evil abounds everywhere. “O LORD, how long shall I cry, And you will not hear? Even cry out to You, Violence! And You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises.” (Hab. 1:2-3)

     God answers him by telling him that it is the Chaldeans (Babylonians) who will be the ones to punish Judah. “Look among the nations and watch—Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth To possess dwelling places that are not their own.” (Hab. 1:5-6)

    Then Habakkuk poses a second question.  “Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction.” (Hab. 1:12)

    Then later he says one of the most moving statements of faith in the Bible. “I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.” (Hab. 2:1) Habakkuk says that he will take his place like a sentry on his guard post and he will wait on the Lord to come and answer his petition in His time. He even admits that he knows the Lord will correct him for his wrong thinking but he is ready even for that.

    When God does answer He gives a powerful answer for Habakkuk, and for us living in an evil and sinful world today full of challenges, troubles, and trials. “But the just shall live by his faith.” (Hab. 2:4b) Read all of Habakkuk chapters 1 and 2.
    
    Are you taking time to cry out to God those things that are affecting your life today? Are you praying for godly men and women to take leadership roles in government, business, and education? Are you praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are going through  difficult times with their marriage, their children, their jobs, their health? Are you putting your faith in God to solve your problems or are you trying to fix them yourself? “The just shall live by his faith.” (Hab. 2:4b)

Pray that:

1.     God will make us better prayer warriors who are available at any time night or day to pray for those in need and distress all around us.
2.     We will take time today to pray for our spiritual leaders and governmental leaders.
3.     We will live this day full of faith in our God, that He will accomplish His purposes as we cry out to Him for revival in our hearts and in the hearts of those around us.
4.     God will soften the hearts of those who are going to hear God’s word proclaimed with power and authority in our church this Sunday. 

Friday, September 2, 2016

Ethiopian prayer warriors

 "Prayer does not prepare us for greater things, prayer is the greater thing." Oswald Chambers


     In the year 1975 the communists had taken over the country of Ethiopia. Missionary Dick McLellan knew that it would not be long before all missionaries would be sent out of the country and that the Christians would face severe persecution, just as they did in the other communist countries in the world. Mr. McLellan held a meeting for pastors to encourage them and had expected only a few hundred people to show up; but thousands of Christians came to the meeting. As he was preaching, the people noticed the dust of a vehicle filled with soldiers approaching the outdoor meeting site.  Everyone got to their feet, and many started to leave. One of the pastors, named Aldabo, stood up and told the crowd: “Do not be afraid. Do not move! Sit down! Everyone sit down and pray. God is with us. Glorify Your Name, O Lord Jesus!” Everyone sat down again and started to pray. Additionally, a young woman jumped to her feet and shouted: “my sisters,” and 23 other women, who were members of her church prayer group,  got up with her and ran to a small hut nearby where they fell to their knees and put their faces in the dirt and began crying out to God for deliverance.

     The vehicle stopped near the gathering and 20 soldiers jumped out with rifles and other weapons. The leader of the group was called Comrade Assefa and he had a reputation for cruelty. He pushed Mr. McLellan off the platform toward a crooked tree and stood on the platform and started to rant and rave. He raised his fist and shouted about the benefits of Communism and condemned the Bible, westerners, the former government, and Christianity. (He did not seem to know that the majority of the people present did not speak the language he was speaking!) He yelled: “Religion is dead! Your God is dead! Your Jesus is dead! No more church! No more meetings! No Bibles! All the missionary spies are finished too!”


    He had worked himself into a frenzy and seemed to be a man possessed. He screamed at the missionary several more times about God being dead when Mr. McLellan, emboldened by the Holy Spirit, said to him: “You only have man’s authority. Jesus Christ is the Son of Almighty God. The Bible says that all authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Him.” That made Assefa crazy. He commanded a soldier to, “Shoot him!” A soldier tried hard to follow the order but he could not pull the trigger. His finger was frozen. Assefa snatched the rifle away from the soldier and held it a few inches from the missionary’s face. The leaders of the churches cried out, “Stop. Stop. He is our guest, our friend.” The whole crowd jumped to their feet shouting the same thing. Assefa, tried as hard as he could to pull the trigger, but he could not pull the trigger either! Finally, he gave up, threw the rifle down, and rushed to his vehicle, threw the driver out, and started the vehicle. The other soldiers quickly jumped in the back and the vehicle roared out of sight.

     The crowd erupted in celebration with pastor Aldabo shouting: “Praise God. Praise God! Thank you Lord Jesus. You have all authority!” Then the door to the little hut flew open and 24 young women came running out praising the name of Jesus for answering their prayers they had been sending up to the Lord! The celebration went on for another half hour as they worshiped and praised our God, the God that can do the impossible! (Warriors of Ethiopia by Dick McLellan, pp 158-162)

    When was the last time you cried out to God for Him to come down and work a miracle in your life? He is a God of miracles. He saved Daniel from the Lions Den. He parted the Red Sea. He saved a missionary from certain death in Ethiopia. He can save you from sin and take care of any situation in your life today. “For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)

Pray that:
1.     God will come down and meet you today as you cry out to Him in praise and adoration for all the good things that He has done for you.
2.     You will have a true appreciation of all that God has blessed you with and thank Him for saving you and adopting you as His son or daughter.
3.     He will deliver you in you current time of crisis or need and that He will show Himself to be the God of miracles today.
4.     That God will work a miracle in the life of our church as we repent of our past and present sins and seek His face in the coming weeks and months.