Super-victors

Paul said this is the reason that “in all these things we are more than conquerors.” We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.
Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let’s apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against— tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. “We are more than conquerors through Him” “in all these things”; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. - Oswald Chambers

The lesson of Job is how sometimes, inexplicable tragedy happens. There's a lot we don't know - - we can't tell God how to run his universe! When the sufferer has a personal encounter with God, there are no more questions. Corrie Ten Boom said, "Now I know from experience that Jesus' light is stronger than the deepest darkness. There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still."

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We are the Church

Jesus Christ calls His followers to be the church - not play church.  Our passion for Him is to be followed by our passion for the family of God.  Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry and Evangelism - as we fulfill these five functions, we express our love for God and our love for people.

It always seems necessary for me to point out that the 'church' is not a reference to a building.  I say that because of my work in the Middle East and North Africa with SAT-7.  There is a Church, but no buildings.

In many places in Eastern Europe, places of worship  are referred to as a 'House of Prayer' and in Cuba, as 'Templo.'

These believers are more aware than we that the Church is only made up of people - and not with the buildings in which they meet.  Serious problems can arise when we are confused on this point.

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Spiritual Strength

“We have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset in which to win them." Robert Moffat

 "Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil." - Ephesians 6:11

 All forms of prayer, to be effective. Must be Spirit-led, Spirit-directed. We must first pray for discernment from the Holy Spirit as to what to pray, who to pray for, what the points of prayer and ministry are, for the person or thing being prayed for, and how to pray it We must then "pray through", that is, pray with consistency, and as often as necessary, as led by the Holy Spirit, until we perceive that we have a release from the Holy Spirit not to pray it out anymore. This is the usual sip that the prayer of intercession or supplication has been answered in the Spirit-realm. It will only be a matter of time before the result manifests in the natural realm. Pray spontaneously from the heart, yielded to the Holy Spirit. Pray, asking, binding, loosing, and decreeing or agreeing, in Jesus’ Name. Include faith confessions in this type of prayer when led to do so by the Holy Spirit.

It is God’s will that Christians remain as emotionally and spiritually and physically bruised-free and victorious as possible through every attack the devil launches against them. Nevertheless, many spiritual battles have inflicted needless pain on born again believers, or will inflict needless pain, simply because Christian believers aren't aware that the devil is the one they primarily need to be waging spiritual war against during their time of struggle. Satan will do everything he can to try to get us to believe that he is not the instigator or originator of our pain. He wants us believing it is people period ... not people being influenced by the devil that is causing our pain. Or more deceptive still, he wants us believing God is the one behind it all.

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Enjoying the Trip

"Joy, which is the small publicity of the pagan," said Chesterton, "is the gigantic secret of the Christian."

"I want to bring this to a point. Remember, dear friend, what we need is to come to decision and
action. There are in Scripture two very different sorts of Christians. The Bible speaks in Romans,
Corinthians and Galatians about yielding to the flesh; and that is the life of tens of thousands of
believers. All their lack of joy in the Holy Ghost, and their lack of the liberty He gives, is just
owing to the flesh. The Spirit is within them, but the flesh rules the life. To be led by the Spirit of
God is what they need. Would God that I could make every child of His realize what it means
that the everlasting God has given His dear Son, Christ Jesus, to watch over you every day, and
that what you have to do is to trust; and that the work of the Holy Spirit is to enable you. every
moment to remember Jesus, and to trust Him! The Spirit has come to keep the link with Him
unbroken every moment. Praise God for the Holy Ghost! We are so accustomed to think of the
Holy Spirit as a luxury, for special times, or for special ministers and men. But the Holy Spirit is
necessary for every believer, every moment of the day. Praise God you have Him, and that He
gives you the full experience of the deliverance in Christ, as He makes you free from the power
of sin."

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Fourth Man in the Furnace

Mehdi Dibaj shared these thoughts of his time in prison --

"The love of Jesus has filled all my being and I feel the warmth of His love in every part of my body. God, who is my glory and honor and protector, has put his seal of approval upon me through His unsparing blessings and miracles.

This test of faith is a clear example. The good and kind God reproves and punishes all those whom He loves. He tests them in preparation for heaven. The God of Daniel, who protected his friends in the fiery furnace, has protected me for nine years in prison. And all the bad happenings have turned out for our good and gain, so much so that I am filled to overflowing with joy and thankfulness.

The God of Job has tested my faith and commitment in order to increase my patience and faithfulness. During these nine years he has freed me from all my responsibilities so that under the protection of His blessed Name, I would spend my time in prayer and study of His Word, with a searching heart and with brokenness, and grow in the knowledge of my Lord. I praise the lord for this unique opportunity. God gave me space in my confinement, brought healing in my difficult hardships and His kindness revived me. Oh what great blessings God has in store for those who fear Him!"

Mehdi Dibaj imprisoned for preaching the gospel wrote to his son on his 17th birthday –

“The plan that God implemented for Daniel’s friends (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) teaches us this great lesson…that if we want to walk close to Jesus the Son of God, we must go into the fire because it is the safest place for us! Not only will our sacks not burn, our clothes will not smell of fine! I praise God that during these seven years, the Lord Jesus Christ has been my strength in such a way that not only do I walk close to him in the midst of fire, but I go forward as well!”

http://youtu.be/ItA39agtQ0s

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I am always with you

Gul Masih was a Christian in Pakistan and was condemned to hang on a charge of blasphemy.  In prison he wrote this as a response to a Canadian woman:

"First of all, I am thankful to you that you have encouraged me. My Lord has come to me twice in my prison cell. One day, I was sitting in my cell thinking about this injustice in a sad and hopeless mood. Suddenly the cell filled with light and my body trembled. I saw my Lord. Four days after this, my Jesus came again and overshadowed me by raising His hands & blessing me. From that day on, I have been happy & at peace. My Lord is with me in Jail. He doesn't leave me alone. We are five members in our family. We have a great love for each other. I am very grateful to my Lord. He has fulfilled all my needs in the best possible way. I am also thankful to you and my other brothers & sisters who have supported me. I hope that by the grace of God we will see one another. Let us not forget the power of prayer."

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Worth dying for

I know, it sounds like I am talking about the independent Christian Rock band, but I am not.

I am talking about discipleship meaning that there is a person to follow and following Jesus means commitment and cost in every circumstance and situation.

Read this brief intro to an early Church father - Tertullian -

"Tertullian was the first to break the force of such charges as that the Christians sacrificed infants at the celebration of the Lord's Supper and committed incest. He pointed to the commission of such crimes in the pagan world and then proved by the testimony of Pliny that Christians pledged themselves not to commit murder, adultery, or other crimes. He adduced also the inhumanity of pagan customs such as feeding the flesh of gladiators to beasts. He argued that the gods have no existence and thus there is no pagan religion against which Christians may offend. Christians do not engage in the foolish worship of the emperors. They do better: they pray for them. Christians can afford to be put to torture and to death, and the more they are cast down the more they grow; "the blood of the martyrs is seed" (Apologeticum, 50). In the De Praescriptione he develops as its fundamental idea that, in a dispute between the Church and a separating party, the whole burden of proof lies with the latter, as the Church, in possession of the unbroken tradition, is by its very existence a guarantee of its truth."

The book of Acts is punctuated with this concept.  Do not forget that the Greek word translated "witness" in Acts is the root word martyr.  All this to possibly say that martyrdom is therefore a witness by blood.  Giving ones very life is considered the ultimate sacrifice.

Wonder why a M... who dies in 'jihad' is considered a martyr and is one category of M....assured of a definite place in paradise.

 George Otis Jr. writes:

"Should the Church in politically or socially trying circumstances remain covert to avoid potential eradication by forces hostile to Christianity? Or would more open confrontation with prevailing spiritual ignorance and deprivation—even if it produced Christian martyrs—be more likely to lead to evangelistic breakthroughs? Islamic fundamentalists claim that their spiritual revolution is fueled by the blood of martyrs. Is it conceivable that Christianity’s failure to thrive in the Muslim world is due to the notable absence of Christian martyrs? And can the Muslim community take seriously the claims of a Church in hiding? . . . The question is not whether it is wise at times to keep worship and witness discreet, but rather how long this may continue before we are guilty of “hiding our light under a bushel. . . The record shows that from Jerusalem and Damascus to Ephesus and Rome, the apostles were beaten, stoned, conspired against and imprisoned for their witness. Invitations were rare, and never the basis for their missions."

Check out these number crunches -  http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2011/02/christian-number-crunching  - Dr. David Barrett is basically saying that in as of early 1996 that annual average for Christian martyrdom worldwide is 159,000.  He also gives a great definition of what a martyr is.

This is important to me as I work at SAT-7 Canada to make a difference and encourage Christians and share faith with those who have never heard the gospel.

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Intimate Friends

Jesus wants this kind of a relationship - one of special intimacy.

He gave His life for that to happen.  He showed us His own special relationship with His Father.

Unfortunately we like messing relationships up.  We do that because we really do not understand love.  I know that I have caught myself looking for what I could get out of a relationship as opposed to what I can give to it.

Oswald Chambers shared this devotional -

Are you seeking great things for yourself, instead of seeking to be a great person? God wants you to be in a much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts— He wants you to get to know Him. Even some large thing we want is only incidental; it comes and it goes. But God never gives us anything incidental. There is nothing easier than getting into the right relationship with God, unless it is not God you seek, but only what He can give you.

There will be only one thing in this world that will sustain you -

 “Continuing a series on the person of Jesus: When Christ was in the world, He was despised by men; in the hour of need He was forsaken by acquaintances and left by friends to the depths of scorn. He was willing to suffer and to be despised; do you dare to complain of anything? He had enemies and defamers; do you want everyone to be your friend, your benefactor? How can your patience be rewarded if no adversity tests it? How can you be a friend of Christ if you are not willing to suffer any hardship? Suffer with Christ and for Christ if you wish to reign with Him. Had you but once entered into perfect communion with Jesus or tasted a little of His ardent love, you would care nothing at all for your own comfort or discomfort but would rejoice in the reproach you suffer; for love of Him makes a man despise himself. ... Thomas à Kempis, Of the Imitation of Christ May 11, 2000 Concluding a series on the person of Jesus: Jesus' good news, then, was that the Kingdom of God had come, and that he, Jesus, was its herald and expounder to men. More than that, in some special and mysterious was, he was the kingdom.”

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The Suffering Church

I work for a ministry called SAT-7.  Based in Canada, I am far removed by the suffering of the region where our satellite ministry takes place - among the Arabic, Farsi and Turkish speaking people of the Middle East and North Africa.  Basically the area covered in "red."  The hardest place in the world for the church to survive!

There are quite a few stories that come out of this region where God's hand is directly involved, but from time to time, I am greatly encouraged by stories that also come out of other regions.

I read this story relating to an 'Auntie Esther.' She shares her personal testimony of God's faithfulness.

She was once in charge of eight large pediatric wards.  During the cultural revolution her superior warned her that if she did not deny her faith and join the communist party there would be serious consequences - at job demotion or salary reduction.

One morning it happened.  Four nurses woke her up, shaved off half of her hair and in front of the rest of the staff was challenged to renounce her faith and join the communist party.

"I can't deny Jesus.  I love Jesus."

 At the mention of His name, they threw her on the ground and cursed.  The communist cadre tore the stethoscope from her neck declaring that her name was no longer Esther, but The Fool.

For the next eleven years she lived in the basement of the hospital and obediently submitted to her new job - cleaning the floors and toilets of the same wards she used to lead.  Her salary was reduced from 50 Yuan to 15 Yuan.  She had to use her own funds to purchase the cleaning material.

She made a decision to practice the presence of Jesus in her job and she sang as she worked.

"My hospital had the cleanest floors and the cleanest toilets in all of China."

The hospital staff would envy her source of joy.

"When you have Jesus in your heart, it doesn't matter what job you do or what position you have.  It only matters that you love Him and are faithful and loyal to Him."

This is what is called, 'head-over-heels, white-hot' love for God.  This devotion is totally personal - different from religious devotion which is more dedicated to principles or causes - rather love as a deliberate act of the will.

This is where Jesus pointed out that love for God was the first and greatest commandment.  Then it became clear that the second commandment was to love your neighbour as yourself could only happen when the inner person experienced the reality of a truly loving God.  Love that is 'selfless' as opposed to 'selfish.'

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