The real enemy of Afghanistan

The real enemy of Afghanistan

By Steve Cleary, August 22, 2021

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The real enemy of Afghanistan

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We’ve watched in horror this past week as the Taliban regained control (seemingly overnight) in Afghanistan. My email box was filled with messages of concern, questions and obvious shock as events unfolded. All of these reactions are understandable when we look at the Taliban and their history of oppression and violence.

But who is the real enemy terrorizing Afghanistan?

Before going further, I want to tell you about my friend Hannelie Groenewald. A few years ago I flew to South Africa to meet her and hear her story. Along with her husband and two children, Hannelie served in Afghanistan as a missionary. They knew the risks and chose to obey God rather than surrender to fear.

While I talked with Hannelie I was amazed by her faith and conviction. Even after all she has experienced, she has no regret and trusts in God. When I speak publicly, I often state that faithfulness is the willingness to obey God even if we fail. And in the world’s eyes Hannelie failed terribly.

Hannelie served for over a decade in Afghanistan as a medical doctor and her husband, Werner, served as a pastor and teacher. One day Hanelie was working at the clinic when the Taliban entered their home and attacked her family. Werner was in the lower floor when he heard them. He ran to the stairs to make sure his children were safe. Before he could reach them, he met one of the armed Taliban face to face.


Image from “Christian Children Martyred in Afghanistan” video.

Two other attackers made their way upstairs to the bedrooms of Hannelie’s teenage children, Rode (15) and Jean-Pierre (17). They found them both huddled together in Jean-Pierre’s room.

Hannelie’s husband and two children were martyred that horrible day in November of 2014.

After killing the family, the Taliban set the house on fire. All Hannelie could do was to pray and read the scriptures on her cell phone. She had tried to call her husband and children and heard the endless echo of the rings more times than she could count.


Real image of the Groenwald family’s house set on fire by the Taliban.

When I sat down to interview Hannelie, I already knew the basic facts of her story. It had been published in articles around the world. But as she shared with me the chilling details, I fought to hold back my own tears. Even though I was the interviewer, I gained strength from her courage as she described how she had to receive her family’s bodies in the clinic the next day. No worker at the clinic was willing to get involved.

But Hannelie knew that even in the midst of this tragedy, her family was with Jesus. They were not suffering. The terror was gone. They had served faithfully and she knew that God had chosen a martyrs crown for her husband and two children. While her sorrow is ever-present, her focus remains on serving God’s kingdom and fighting the spiritual battle for Afghanistan.

While her sorrow is ever-present, her focus remains on serving God’s kingdom and fighting the spiritual battle for Afghanistan.

After talking with her I had the honor of making a short film for The Voice of the Martyrs retelling her story. You can watch the video below.

In the world’s eyes, Hannelie’s story is nothing short of horrific. And it would be understandable to hate those, the Taliban, who killed her husband and two young children. However, Hannelie would encourage you to look at the conflict through spiritual eyes.

There is a spiritual battle for Afghanistan. Beyond the “boots on the ground” conflict that we see with our eyes, there are forces of darkness battling for the souls of this nation. There are many Christians and mission workers who are now at greater risks. Some have fled, yet many have stayed. We may never even hear their names on this side of heaven.

Let us not lose sight of the real battle. Our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan need our prayers. They need our support. The Taliban have been terrorizing Christians for decades and it will now only increase.

Let us not lose sight of the real battle. Our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan need our prayers. They need our support.

We see God’s Spirit moving in many Islamic strongholds. Today the fastest growing church (albeit underground) around the globe is in Iran. God can even turn the hearts of the Taliban terrorists towards Him. In the physical world, the Taliban are viewed as the enemy. In the eternal, they are our mission field.

The real enemy is Satan and his spiritual forces of darkness. This week he made progress in oppressing the people of Afghanistan. But the battle is the Lord’s. And we are His workmen.

Given the events of this week, we are immediately looking into translating The Pilgrim’s Progress and iBIBLE into Dari and Pashto, the two primary languages of Afghanistan. These will be placed on MicroSD media cards, that can be inserted into cell phones, and secretly distributed throughout the nation. (They are less than the size of a dime!)

The literacy rate in Afghanistan is less than 40% (less than 30% among women), yet over 60% have a cell phone. There are almost as many cell phones as there are people.

Visual and digital media is key to ministering in Afghanistan. At RevelationMedia we are realizing the tremendous value of the distribution of MicroSD media cards filled with hours of Christian content. The media cards are inexpensive to buy, easy to hide, and can contain several hours of visual Christian and Biblical content. They can be replicated in country, shared among family members, and even distributed through the underground church.

The Taliban’s control of Afghanistan will not be easily undone. But we can stand with God’s remnant and fight the spiritual battle with them. For us this means diligently continuing our production of iBIBLE and the translation of our content in the languages of Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s control of Afghanistan will not be easily undone. But we can stand with God’s remnant and fight the spiritual battle with them.

If you would like to help with the translation of The Pilgrim’s Progress and/or the first six chapters of iBIBLE into Dari and Pashto, please let me know. God willing, we will expand our MicroSD card ministry into Afghanistan soon.

When reading about Afghanistan, the Taliban, and current policies, please remember Hannelie and those like her family that are now serving in Afghanistan. They are fighting the real enemy head-on. As God leads, let us do likewise.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Steve Cleary
CEO/Founder
RevelationMedia

P.S. Please write to us if God is leading you, your family or church, to help us distribute The Pilgrim’s Progress and iBIBLE, through MicroSD cards, into Afghanistan.

“We die only once. You might as well die for Christ.”
– Werner Groenewald

SUPPORT REVELATIONMEDIA’S MICROSD CARD MINISTRY

See also

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)


Afghanistan: Children ask “Where does Jesus live?”

Seeds of Revival in Afghanistan.

Iran
Hope in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison

Iran
Iran – fastest-growing evangelical population


Evangelization in North Korea



North Korea: Cherishing the book he once feared

Korea
North Korean believers meet underground

North Korea
North Korea: The blessing of forced solitude with God


Standing on our knees in Kharkov, Ukraine

vomjail
Christian missionary tortured in prison led 40 to Christ

 

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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The Insanity of God- free online movie

The Insanity of God

With dramatic changes in Afghanistan, thousands of Christians in prison in China and North Korea, murders across North Africa, is God worth it? This free movie explores those stories dramatically.

Free online movie: The Insanity of God
A true story of faith and persecution

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Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

The Insanity of God – book link

The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it would be anything but. After spending over six hard years doing relief work in Somalia, and experiencing life where it looked like God had turned away completely and He was clueless about the tragedies of life, the couple had a crisis of faith and left Africa asking God, “Does the gospel work anywhere when it is really a hard place?

Nik recalls that, “God had always been so real to me, to Ruth, and to our boys. But was He enough, for the utter weariness of soul I experienced at that time, in that place, under those circumstances?” It is a question that many have asked and one that, if answered, can lead us to a whole new world of faith.

How does faith survive, let alone flourish in a place like the Middle East? How can Good truly overcome such evil? How do you maintain hope when all is darkness around you? How can we say “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” when it may not be visibly true in that place at that time? How does anyone live an abundant, victorious Christian life in our world’s toughest places? Can Christianity even work outside of Western, dressed-up, ordered nations? If so, how?

The Insanity of God tells a story—a remarkable and unique story to be sure, yet at heart a very human story—of the Ripkens’ own spiritual and emotional odyssey. The gripping, narrative account of a personal pilgrimage into some of the toughest places on earth, combined with sobering and insightful stories of the remarkable people of faith Nik and Ruth encountered on their journeys, will serve as a powerful course of revelation, growth, and challenge for anyone who wants to know whether God truly is enough.

See also:

4
Modern Day Daniel


Christian missionary tortured in prison led 40 to Christ


Evangelization in North Korea


North Korea: Cherishing the book he once feared

Korea
North Korean believers meet underground

North Korea
North Korea: The blessing of forced solitude with God

 

FREE SUBSCRIPTION for new Blogs and free offers

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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The Queen’s Faith

The Queen’s Faith
Queen Elizabeth II describes her faith

The Queen’s Faith – PDF Platinum Jubilee edition 2022

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Queen Elizabeth II describes her faith

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The Queen’s Faith

Queen Elizabeth II describes her faith

This book includes excerpts from The Queen’s 70 personal broadcasts through her long reign compiled in these 10 themes:
1 Jesus Christ
2  Service & Support
3  Peace & Goodwill
4  Faith & Hope
5  Light & Life
6  Truth & Courage
7  Love & Kindness
8  Compassion & Care
9  Forgiveness & Reconciliation
10 Respect & Tolerance

The Queen’s Faith is an anthology showing how Queen Elizabeth II describes her faith, including excerpts from Her Majesty’s annual Christmas broadcasts and from her historic Easter broadcast in 2020 when churches were closed. The Queen describes the significance of Christmas and of the Christian faith in her own words while respecting people of all faiths or of none. The Gift Edition is printed in colour.

70 excerpts arranged in the ten themes of Jesus Christ, service & support, peace & goodwill, faith & hope, light & life, truth & courage, love and kindness, compassion & care, forgiveness & reconciliation, respect & tolerance.

* Took a read on the link! Really interesting and a great book! ~ Natalie Tse
* I have read this book and it is one of the most amazing books I have read to date. ~ Maria

This book has excerpts from The Queen’s broadcasts in the ten themes.

Published in Czech

 

Excerpt examples:

To many of us our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example. (2000)
*
For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life.
(2014)
*
Despite being displaced and persecuted throughout his short life, Christ’s unchanging message was not one of revenge or violence but simply that we should love one another.  (2015)
*
Jesus Christ lived obscurely for most of his life, and never travelled far. He was maligned and rejected by many, though he had done no wrong. And yet, billions of people now follow his teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives. I am one of them because Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them and whatever they themselves believe. (2016)
*
We remember the birth of Jesus Christ, whose only sanctuary was a stable in Bethlehem. He knew rejection, hardship and persecution. And, yet, it is Jesus Christ’s generous love and example which has inspired me through good times and bad. (2017)
*
The Christmas story retains its appeal since it doesn’t provide theoretical explanations for the puzzles of life. Instead, it’s about the birth of a child, and the hope that birth 2,000 years ago brought to the world.  Only a few people acknowledged Jesus when he was born; now billions follow him. I believe his message of peace on earth and goodwill to all is never out of date. It can be heeded by everyone. It’s needed as much as ever.  (2018)
*
Of course, at the heart of the Christmas story lies the birth of a child, a seemingly small and insignificant step overlooked by many in Bethlehem. But in time, through his teaching and by his example, Jesus Christ would show the world how small steps, taken in faith and in hope, can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding. (2019)
*
The discovery of the risen Christ on the first Easter Day gave his followers new hope and fresh purpose, and we can all take heart from this. …  May the living flame of the Easter hope be a steady guide as we face the future.  (2020 Easter)
*
Every year, we herald the coming of Christmas by turning on the lights. And light does more than create a festive mood. Light brings hope. For Christians, Jesus is “the light of the world”  …  The teachings of Christ have served as my inner light, as has the sense of purpose we can find in coming together to worship. …  Let the light of Christmas, the spirit of selflessness, love, and above all hope, guide us in the times ahead.  (2020 Christmas)

It is this simplicity of the Christmas story that makes it so universally appealing, simple happenings that formed the starting point of the life of Jesus – a man whose teachings have been handed down from generation to generation, and have been the bedrock of my faith. His birth marked a new beginning. As the carol says: ‘The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.’(2021)

Historic Easter Message

Excerpt from The Queen’s historic Easter message on Easter Saturday, 2020, when churches were closed due to the Coronavirus.

Many religions have festivals which celebrate light overcoming darkness. Such occasions are often accompanied by the lighting of candles. They seem to speak to every culture, and appeal to people of all faiths, and of none. They are lit on birthday cakes and to mark family anniversaries, when we gather happily around a source of light. It unites us.

As darkness falls on the Saturday before Easter Day, many Christians would normally light candles together. In church, one light would pass to another, spreading slowly and then more rapidly as more candles are lit. It’s a way of showing how the good news of Christ’s resurrection has been passed on from the first Easter by every generation until now.  …

The discovery of the risen Christ on the first Easter Day gave his followers new hope and fresh purpose, and we can all take heart from this. We know that Coronavirus will not overcome us. As dark as death can be – particularly for those suffering with grief – light and life are greater.

May the living flame of the Easter hope be a steady guide as we face the future.

I wish everyone of all faiths and denominations a blessed Easter.

*

Themes in the book The Queen’s Faith

A single excerpt on each theme. The book contains many more excerpts.

1 Jesus Christ

The Queen’s speech in 2000 described the significance of the new millennium.

Christmas is the traditional, if not the actual, birthday of a man who was destined to change the course of our history. And today we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ was born two thousand years ago; this is the true Millennium anniversary.

The simple facts of Jesus’ life give us little clue as to the influence he was to have on the world. As a boy he learnt his father’s trade as a carpenter. He then became a preacher, recruiting twelve supporters to help him.

But his ministry only lasted a few years and he himself never wrote anything down. In his early thirties he was arrested, tortured and crucified with two criminals. His death might have been the end of the story, but then came the resurrection and with it the foundation of the Christian faith.

Even in our very material age the impact of Christ’s life is all around us. If you want to see an expression of Christian faith you have only to look at our awe-inspiring cathedrals and abbeys, listen to their music, or look at their stained glass windows, their books and their pictures.  (2000)

2 Service & Support

There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors – a noble motto, “I serve.” …

I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.

But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.
(1947)

3 Peace & Goodwill

Modern communications make it possible for me to talk to you in your homes and to wish you a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. These techniques of radio and television are modern, but the Christmas message is timeless.

You may have heard it very often but in the end, no matter what scientific progress we make, the message will count for nothing unless we can achieve real peace and encourage genuine goodwill between individual people and the nations of the world.
(1967)

4 Faith & Hope

 Anniversaries are important events in all our lives. Christmas is the anniversary of the birth of Christ over two thousand years ago, but it is much more than that. It is the celebration of the birth of an idea and an ideal.  …

I know just how much I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning, I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God.

Like others of you who draw inspiration from your own faith, I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel. (2002)

5 Light & Life

As darkness falls on the Saturday before Easter Day, many Christians would normally light candles together. In church, one light would pass to another, spreading slowly and then more rapidly as more candles are lit. It’s a way of showing how the good news of Christ’s resurrection has been passed on from the first Easter by every generation until now.

This year, Easter will be different for many of us, but by keeping apart we keep others safe. But Easter isn’t cancelled; indeed, we need Easter as much as ever. The discovery of the risen Christ on the first Easter Day gave his followers new hope and fresh purpose, and we can all take heart from this. We know that Coronavirus will not overcome us. As dark as death can be — particularly for those suffering with grief — light and life are greater. May the living flame of the Easter hope be a steady guide as we face the future.

I wish everyone of all faiths and denominations a blessed Easter. (2020)

6 Truth & Courage

 Twenty-five years ago my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages. Today is another landmark because television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day.

I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct.

I believe in our qualities and in our strength, I believe that together we can set an example to the world which will encourage upright people everywhere.

I would like to read you a few lines from ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’, because I am sure we can say with Mr Valiant for Truth, these words:

“Though with great difficulty I am got hither, yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought his battles who now will be my rewarder.”
(1957)

7 Love & Kindnes

The Queen read part of her Christmas speech in 1989 at the Royal Albert Hall, recorded at a special Save the Children Fund charity.

You’ve all seen pictures of the earth taken from space. Unlike all the other planets in the solar system, earth shimmers green and blue in the sunlight and looks a very pleasant place to live.

The Queen said that technical skills are not enough by themselves. They can only come to the rescue of the planet if we also learn to live by the golden rule which Jesus Christ taught us – “love thy neighbour as thyself”.

Many of you will have heard the story of the Good Samaritan, and of how Christ answered the question (from a clever lawyer who was trying to catch him out) “Who is my neighbour?”

Jesus told of the traveller who was mugged and left injured on the roadside where several important people saw him, and passed by without stopping to help.

His neighbour was the man who did stop, cared for him, and made sure he was being well looked after before he resumed his own journey. (1989)

8 Compassion & Care

Now today, of course, marks the birth of Jesus Christ. Among other things, it is a reminder that it is the story of a family; but of a family in very distressed circumstances. Mary and Joseph found no room at the inn; they had to make do in a stable, and the new-born Jesus had to be laid in a manger. This was a family which had been shut out.

Perhaps it was because of this early experience that, throughout his ministry, Jesus of Nazareth reached out and made friends with people whom others ignored or despised. It was in this way that he proclaimed his belief that, in the end, we are all brothers and sisters in one human family. (2007)

9 Forgiveness & Reconciliation

Christmas is a time for reconciliation. A time not only for families and friends to come together but also for differences to be forgotten.  …

Reconciliation, like the one that followed the American War of Independence, is the product of reason, tolerance and love, and I think that Christmas is a good time to reflect on it.  …

The gift I would most value next year is that reconciliation should be found wherever it is needed. A reconciliation which would bring peace and security to families and neighbours at present suffering and torn apart.

Remember that good spreads outwards and every little does help. Mighty things from small beginnings grow as indeed they grew from the small child of Bethlehem.  …

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and may the New Year bring reconciliation between all people. (1976)

10 Respect & Tolerance

Once again messages of Christmas greeting have been exchanged around the world.

From all parts of the Commonwealth, and from the remote and lonely spaces of Antarctica, words and thoughts, taking their inspiration from the birth of the child in Bethlehem long ago, have been carried between us upon the invisible wings of twentieth-century science.

Neither the long and troubled centuries that have passed since that child was born, nor the complex scientific developments of our age, have done anything to dim the simple joy and bright hope we all feel when we celebrate his birthday.  …

Particularly on this day of the family festival let us remember those who – like the Holy Family before them – have been driven from their homes by war or violence. We call them ‘refugees’: let us give them a true refuge: let us see that for them and their children there is room at the Inn.  …

The Queen said that the healing power of tolerance, comradeship and love must be allowed to play its part.  …

That each one of us should give this power a chance to do its work is my heartfelt message to you all upon this Christmas Day. I can think of no better resolve to make, nor any better day on which to make it. Let us remember this during our festivities, for it is part of the Christmas message – “Goodwill toward men.”  (1956)

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Queen Elizabeth II describes her faith

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Long-playing worship music

Long-playing Worship Music

See also: Wonders of Worship
See also: Virtual Choirs & Orchestras

See also: How Great Thou Art – anthology
See also: Messiah & Hallelujah Chorus – with Bible verses & references
See also: Hallelujah Chorus – International Choirs
See also: Easter Worship
See also: Christmas Worship
See also: 24/7 Worship & Prayer

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Long-playing Worship Music:
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Long-playing worship music is ideal as background music while you work or pray.

You can listen to background worship music as you worship, work and pray – in your chair or even in bed, with CDs and YouTube and Spotify on your phone.  YouTube video “Mix” gives you a run of similar recordings – often a surprise. 

You could set aside an hour a week – or a day – to worship and pray. I use these YouTube songs as background worship for that, even in bed!  

Here are some inspiring recordings you could play while you worship, work and pray. Scroll down to see more.

INSTRUMENTAL

Long Playing Instrumental

100 String and Praise Favourites – Maranatha Strings & Steve Anderson (4 hours)

Hymns & Praise Music – Instrumental (7 hours! 4 million views)

Holy Spirit I Need You – Alone with Him – Prayer Music (5 hours)

Instrumental Hymns (3.5 hours)

Beautiful Hymns (3.5 hours)

Popular Hymns and Bible Praises, Instrumental – 3 hours

Piano & Orchestra Hymns – 1 hour (Greg Howlett, 2 million views)

26 Old Timeless Gospel Hymns – 1 hour (8 million views)

Relaxing Peaceful Instrumental Hymns | Harp, Piano, Strings, & Orchestra – 1 hour

Beautiful Instrumental Hymns – the Love of Jesus – 1 hour

Beautiful Instrumental Hymns – Prayer & Devotion -1 hour

Songs of Praise – Mantovani Orchestra – 1 hour

The Beauty of Hymns, Instrumental – 1 hour

Maranatha Music 1, 2, 3 – Instrumental Worship (2 hours)

CHORAL

Long Playing Background Worship


10 hours of Christian music – beautiful background worship


Favourite Old Hymns – 8 hours – more background worship


America’s 25 Favourite Hymns (1 hour, 7 million views)


100 Praise & Worship Songs (3:30 hours, 50 million views)


120 Bible Hymns – in harmonies, no instruments (5:45 hours, 2 million views)


Elvis Best Gospel – 1 hour

Hallelujah

Messiah – Lyrics with Bible verses and references


Messiah – 2:17 hours (4 million views, Hallelujah at 1.36 & 2.13 hrs)

Messiah – Academy of Ancient Music – 2:36 hours, gentle

Handel’s Messiah – Sydney Opera House

Messiah – 2:38 hours (1.5 million views, Hallelujah at 1:54 hrs) with commentary
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis


Hallelujah Chorus – international choirs

See also: Wonders of Worship
See also: Virtual Choirs & Orchestras

See also: How Great Thou Art – anthology
See also: Messiah & Hallelujah Chorus – with Bible verses & references
See also: Hallelujah Chorus – International Choirs
See also: Easter Worship
See also: Christmas Worship
See also: 24/7 Worship & Prayer

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX 

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

 

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Streams of Living Water

Streams of Living Water

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On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the Scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive …
(John 7:37-39)

The Feast of Tabernacles lasted one week, beginning on the fifteenth day of the month of Tishri (September or October), five days after the Day of Atonement, at the end of the harvest. The Jewish people built temporary shelters for the feast to remember their deliverance from Egypt by the hand of God.

Jesus revealed himself at this Feast as the prophesied Messiah, the Anointed One sent by God. This caused conflict among his listeners, some believing in him and many not. Temple police had been sent to arrest him. He pointed to Scripture which he came to fulfil. The Living Water he spoke of is the Holy Spirit (John 7:39). Here are some of those Scriptures.

Moses said: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. …  Then the Lord replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.
(Deuteronomy 18:15, 17-18)

Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets.  Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out of the people.’ And all the prophets, as many as have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days.
(Acts 3:22-24. Peter preaching on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out.)

As Scripture has said …

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
    and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my spirit upon your descendants,
    and my blessing on your offspring.
4 They shall spring up like a green tamarisk,
    like willows by flowing streams.
(Isaiah 44:3-4)

Ho, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
(Isaiah 55:1)

The Lord will guide you continually,
    and satisfy your needs in parched places,
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters never fail.
(Isaiah 58:11)

Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.
(Ezekiel 47:1-2. and the rest of the chapter)

Jesus cried out in a loud voice in the temple when he spoke about the Living Water.

Ultimate fulfilment in the last chapter of the Bible:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
(Revelation 22:1-2)

Some examples of streams of living water today are in Renewal Journal blogs:
Blogs Index 1: Revivals (also Revivals Index)
Blogs Index 2: Mission (international stories)
Blogs Index 3: Miracles (supernatural events)
Blogs Index 4: Devotional (including Testimonies)
Blogs index 5: Church (Christianity in action)
Blogs Index 6: Chapters (Blogs from Books)
Blogs Index 7: Images (Photos & videos)

See also Revival Blogs
See also Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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How God used a package sent 5 months earlier to save a baby’s life

How God used a package sent five months earlier to save a baby’s life

Helen RoseveareBy Michael Ashcraft —

“Why, God?” Helen Roseveare asked after being brutally beaten and raped by Congo rebels for five months while she served as a missionary doctor in 1964.

Can you thank me for trusting you with this experience even if I never tell you why? was the answer she received.

It was a strange answer.

But also, God gave her a striking revelation about surviving a dungeon of torture.

“It’s external! You’re sinned against. It’s not your sin. It can’t touch your spirit,” she explained on a 100 Huntley Street video. “It’s only your body. But it can’t get into my mind or soul.”

Helen has used her captivity to encourage others who feel powerless to defend themselves against unimaginable acts of evil.

Helen Roseveare became one of the first females to graduate as a medical doctor from Newnham College, Cambridge in 1945. She became a Christian because of the testimony of some of the girls in her school and almost immediately set off to the mission field in the “Heart of Darkness.”

Helen Roseveare missionary doctor to CongoShe tended to patients, built hospitals and trained Africans in medical science indefatigably. While serving the population she was taken captive in the Congo during the tumultuous 1960s along with other foreigners. As was always the case, she turned into the leader, even in captivity.

“When the awful moments came in the rebellion you almost felt, no, this has gone too far. I can’t accept it. It seemed that the price was too high to pay,” she says. “And then God seemed to say, Change the question from ‘Is it worth it?’ to ‘Is He worthy?’”

During her captivity, she helped aid medically 80 Greek Cypriots, workers abducted by the rebels. Especially one lady was in pain, seven months pregnant, so Mama Luca — as she was known — was called upon to attend to her.

With rebel guards on either side of her, she stepped among the cowering Cypriots until she found the needy lady. She didn’t speak Greek, so she went through the languages she knew one by one to ask if she was hurt: English, French, Swahili, Lingala.

Finally, she found someone who could translate into Greek and eventually led not only the lady but the whole prison hall of captives in a sinner’s prayer. As the only area doctor, she had attended to the Cypriots for years but had made no headway in evangelizing them.

But suffering brought a new openness to the Gospel.

“When I eventually left the house, they’re all looking up and smiling and they want to shake my hands,” she remembers. “It was wonderful. God, you are marvelous.”

As was their custom, the rebels subjected Mama Luca to a mock trial. The people in the area were orchestrated to participate in the judgement of “colonial, imperial crimes” committed by foreigners. Under the threat to the rebels’ guns, the locals had to join their voice in a chorus of condemnation, calling for the death sentence.

Responding to the beating of the drums, 800 locals came to her trial. You didn’t dare ignore the calls of the rebels because only they had guns. At a certain signal, they all shouted, as was the custom in these roughshod trials: “She’s a liar! She’s a liar!”

Then they would shout “Mateco! Mateco!” which meant “Crucify her! Crucify her!”

“You knew you would die. You didn’t know how,” Mama Luca recalls. “There came the moment in the trial scene when they must have been given the sign. Suddenly these 800 men suddenly, instead of seeing me as the hated white foreigner, they saw me as their doctor and they rushed forward.

“They pushed the rebel soldiers out of the way and they took me in their arms. In that wonderful moment the black-white barrier had gone and they said, “She’s ours.” They used a word in Kibbutu, which really meant, “She’s blood of our blood and bone of our bone.” The rift between dark skin and pale skin was driven away and we were reunited as one.”

“God used so many things that He’s working out his own wonderful purposes,” she says. “Many, many came to the Lord through those days of suffering. The walls of division were broken down, and the kingdom was expanded.”

Helen had refused to read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs assigned by her missionary field director. “I said if God ever asks me to be burned at the stake, I’ll say yes, but I won’t be singing,” she remembers. “I just couldn’t take it all.”

But then she and her missionary cohorts were indeed taken out to be executed by firing squad. Contrary to what she had anticipated, she found herself singing.

“We were singing every song and chorus we could think of with the name of Jesus,” she says.

“We were singing in English, French, Swahili, anything, so the last word that these rebel soldiers would hear before they shot us was the name of Jesus.

“We weren’t singing to impress our captors. Something else was very real in that moment when you thought you were about to die, and that was the presence of Jesus. Jesus was there. He was so wonderfully there and it was a privilege. It was just this wonderful certain knowledge. I was going to go to be with Jesus, and really at that minute nothing else counted.”

Ultimately, Helen was spared. She was released by her captors and returned to England to recover for more than a year.

In 1965, she returned to the Congo to help with rebuilding the nation and to continue as a missionary, where she continued to see miracles.

One miracle has gone viral: the story of the rubber hot water bottle.

A baby was born prematurely in the middle of the night. The mother had died in delivery.

They needed a hot water bottle to sustain its life. Dr. Helen knew the grim reality: their last bottles were deteriorated; the chances of this baby’s survival were realistically nil.

But she told her group of orphan girls to pray.

“I told the children of this tiny baby and asked them to pray for the nurses that they would stay awake all night to keep that baby warm,” she remembers. “One little 10-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed in the usual blunt way of our African children, ‘Please, God, send us a hot water bottle. My God, it’ll be no good tomorrow! Send it this afternoon. If it comes tomorrow, the baby would be dead.’”

Dr. Helen didn’t know if she should encourage such futile hopes in the orphan. “I was sort of swallowing hard.”

Ruth continued unabashedly, “While You’re about it, God, would You send a dolly for the little two-year-old sister, so she should know that Jesus really loves her.”

No parcel had ever come to Dr. Helen in that region for four years.

“That afternoon the parcel came,” she said. “t was the first parcel from home. Despite the fact I live on the Equator, somebody packing that parcel had been prompted by God to put in a hot water bottle. And a child from my bible class at home had put in a dolly for the little girl.

“That parcel had been on the way five months to get to us!”

See also Before they call I will answer (Isa 65:24)

Helen Roseveare tells this story on YouTube


See also Revivals Index
See also Revival Blogs
See also Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Trialblazing the online church

Trialblazing the online church

Leia Eisenhower

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Within a year, over 100,000 people followed her discipleship messages and more than 100 started following Christ. For many it became a stabilizing force during the pandemic.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Leia Eisenhower developed an Instagram and Telegram discipleship ministry, reaching over 100,000 people with the gospel.

Eisenhower (47) grew up in Brazil where her father served as a church planter. At the age of 14 God called her to ministry and for several years she served as a missionary with the Assemblies of God in Brazil, before moving to the USA where she joined the Civil Air Patrol as a lieutenant and became a U.S. Missions chaplain. In this role she oversees nine squadrons of over 2,400 people.

When in March 2020 the Civil Air Patrol had to shut down all facilities, Eisenhower began planning an online training based on a book she wrote in 2019 called ‘My Neighbors: The Theology of Relationships.’ The book uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to discuss relationships. She chose Instagram’s platform for its worldwide reach and accessibility of communication through direct messages.

“I started to record a Bible class in different languages, and every night I would get on Instagram and do a live midnight prayer. The discipleship part grew so fast that I had to delegate taks to other people,” she says. Within a year, over 100,000 people followed her discipleship messages and more than 100 started following Christ. For many it became a stabilizing force during the pandemic.

Eisenhower says the process of discipleship through her ministry comes first through direct messages on Instagram and then through an online Saturday morning class on emotional intelligence and counseling. Eisenhower then invites class participants to her Telegram group, where they receive a link to a YouTube course on discipleship. She assigned team members to take calls from people around the world who need prayer. They can be redirected to 18 countries through Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram for prayer and discipleship.

As the community grows, Eisenhower hopes to make the structure of the online church official, with prayer teams and partners, members and donors. “I’m trying to get us fully recognized to be a church,” she says. “People will have more connection having the church in the palm of their hands.”

Source: Leia Eisenhower

Noel News International # 1220,   June 29, 2021

See also:

Coronavirus brings Unprecedented Openness to the Gospel

Pandemic brings churches back to life

Evangelization in North Korea

“Pray for me as I leave for evangelization in North Korea”

By Brother Joe* –

After 46 years of life in North Korea, I came to China unprepared for life there. I met a South Korean man and heard about God from him. He gave me a Bible and I read the Bible. And when I returned to North Korea, I took a copy of the Bible and kept it hidden and read it. One day, I was caught in possession of my Bible. Soon I was sentenced to a labor correction prison.

In prison, I was held in solitary confinement after being tortured and investigated again and again for possession of the Bible. There was no light there, and it (the cell) was soaked with a terrible odor, like the smell of a dead body.

One day I was singing the song, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, and those who believe in Jesus will not perish, but will have eternal life.” Then I cried out, “God, if there is God, please save me.”

As a result of continued interrogation, I had become very thin and only skin was left on my bones. Due to malnutrition, my anus did not contract and the stool went down. Prison officials did not want another dead body, so they released me.

After being in prison for 15 years, the world I had known no longer existed. I received only cold looks from people that I knew. I had no choice but to leave my hometown to go to China and try to find a job there. But at that time, no one in China would employ an illegal North Korean migrant. I was at my wits’ end.

But in the early winter of November 2015, I met a missionary. He took me to his home. On August 7th, 2016, God told me while I was studying, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them all that I command you to keep. I will always be with you. That very day I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. I confessed my sins to God and accepted Jesus as my Savior with all of my heart.

As I learned the word of God, the words came alive, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your house will be saved, and it rang in my heart. I grabbed this word, prayed, and started digging into the verses of the Bible.

God further showed me, You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who is his possession, that you may proclaim the beautiful virtues of the one who called you out of darkness and brought you into his marvelous light. He made it clear to me who I am as a servant of Jesus Christ.

It is a dream that a sinner like me has grown up as a servant of God who can convey God’s Word and love. I must confess that what I have become today is God’s grace and love. As a servant of God, I am writing this, asking for the help of the Holy Spirit at this moment. On September 30th, 2017, God called me to go back home and share the Gospel. After two years of studying God’s Word, I was ordained and called to be sent as a missionary to North Korea.

As a servant of God and a person appointed as a missionary to evangelize North Korea, I proclaim the word of the Lord who is the life, truth, and path. I then committed: As a person, I will live a life as a servant like Jesus Christ who lived with meekness, humility, service, and obedience.

With the joy of giving thanks and greetings to the countless servants and missionaries of the Lord who have been working for God’s work to bring all the souls of North Korea so they will be back in the Lord. Our God is a great God. I confess that I cannot hide my true gratitude and tears of gratitude for the love you have given to me.

Leaving for the evangelization of the motherland,

The blessed servant of the Lord

*name changed for security reasons

The preceding letter was received by Cornerstone Ministries International before Covid shut down the border between China and North Korea. This brother has not been heard from since he went into North Korea. Pray for the Lord’s protection as he pours out his life for the sake of the Gospel. For more information about Cornerstone’s work in North Korea, go here

Stand with Persecuted Brothers and Sisters

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Cherishing the book he once feared

Cherishing the book he once feared

The Voice of the Martyrs

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Border guard kneeling in front of woman

Cherishing the Book He Once Feared

Before he escaped across the Yalu River into China, Park Chin-Mae was a border guard, tasked with keeping North Korea’s citizens locked inside their own country and keeping contraband — especially Bibles — out of the country.

“They know the Bible is the enemy,” Chin-Mae said of his fellow border guards.

But once he fled to South Korea, Chin-Mae began attending Christian services at a resettlement center. He was tasked with laying out Bibles before the service began. As he did so, he realized he was safely holding in his hands the same book that could have gotten him killed on the other side of the border.

He started to read the Bible and soon found himself drawn to follow the Christ he had encountered in its pages. “I didn’t just read it like any other book; I read it and I took every word of the Bible into my heart,” he said.

Give to Help Persecuted Christians
Man reading Bible
Chin-Mae is safely out of North Korea, but many followers of Christ are still trapped and suffering inside the secretive nation. And it’s not only North Korea where our Christian brothers and sisters suffer. Believers face persecution in more than 70 other nations.

For more than 50 years, The Voice of the Martyrs has helped Christians persecuted for their witness around the world. VOM founder Richard Wurmbrand said of this work, “Our duty is to give a piece of bread to the wives and families of persecuted and jailed believers.”

That need still exists today. When Christians’ homes and churches are burned, or pastors and evangelists are beaten, imprisoned or killed, families are often left without financial support. VOM responds by helping persecuted Christians with living expenses, children’s educational needs, relocation within their nation, vocational training and other forms of assistance.

Stand with Persecuted Brothers and Sisters
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GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Those who sow in tears

*
An inspiring mission story.
*
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24
“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” Psalm 126:5
May be an image of 2 people and people standing
THOSE WHO SOW IN TEARS….
In 1921 David and Svea Flood went with their two-year-old son from Sweden to the heart of Africa, to what was then called the Belgian Congo. This missionary couple met up with the Ericksons, another young Scandinavian couple, and the four of them sought God for direction. In those days of much devotion and sacrifice, they felt led of the Lord to set out from the main mission station to take the gospel to the village of N’dolera, a remote area.
This was a huge step of faith.
There, they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his town for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to build their own mud huts half a mile up the slope.
They prayed for a spiritual breakthrough, but there was none. Their only contact with the villagers was a young boy, who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week.
Svea Flood—a tiny woman only four feet, eight inches tall—decided that if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to lead the boy to Jesus. And she succeeded!
Meanwhile, malaria struck one member of the little missionary band after another. In time, the Ericksons decided they had had enough suffering and left to return to the central mission station.
David and Svea Flood remained near N’dolera to carry on alone.
Then, Svea found herself pregnant in the middle of the primitive wilderness. When the time came for her to give birth, the village chief softened enough to allow a midwife to help her. A little girl was born, whom they named Aina. The delivery was exhausting. Svea Flood was already weak from bouts of malaria so the birthing process was a heavy blow to her stamina. She died only 17 days after Aina was born.
Something snapped Inside David Flood at that moment. He dug a crude grave, buried his 27-year-old wife, and then went back down the mountain with his children to the mission station.
Giving baby Aina to the Ericksons, he snarled, “I’m going back to Sweden. I’ve lost my wife, and I obviously can’t take care of this baby. God has ruined my life!”
With that, he headed for the port, rejecting not only his calling, but God Himself.
Within eight months, both the Ericksons were stricken with a mysterious malady and died within days of each other. Baby Aina was then turned over to another American missionary family who changed her Swedish name to “Aggie”. Eventually they took her back to the United States at age three.
This family loved Aggie. Afraid that if they tried to return to Africa some legal obstacle might separate her from them, they decided to stay in their home country and switch from missionary work to pastoral ministry. That is how Aggie grew up in South Dakota.
As a young woman, she attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis. There she met and married Dewey Hurst.
Years passed. The Hursts enjoyed a fruitful ministry. Aggie gave birth first to a daughter, then a son. In time, her husband became president of a Christian college in the Seattle area, and Aggie was intrigued to find so much Scandinavian heritage there.
One day she found a Swedish religious magazine in their mailbox. She had no idea who had sent it, and of course she couldn’t read the words, but as she turned the pages, a photo suddenly stopped her cold.
There, in a primitive setting, was a grave with a white cross—and on the cross were the words SVEA FLOOD.
Aggie got in her car and drove straight to a college faculty member whom she knew could translate the article.
“What does this article say?”
The teacher shared a summary of the story.
“It is about missionaries who went to N’dolera, Africa, long ago. A baby was born. The young mother died. One little African boy was led to Jesus before that. After the whites had all left, the boy all grown up finally persuaded the chief to let him build a school in the village. He gradually won all his students to Christ and the children led their parents to Him. Even the chief became a follower of Jesus! Today there are six hundred believers in that village, all because of the sacrifice of David and Svea Flood.”
Aggie was elated!
For the Hursts’ 25th wedding anniversary, the college presented them with the gift of a vacation to Sweden.
Aggie sought out her birth father.
David Flood was an old man now. He had remarried, fathered four more children, and generally dissipated his life with alcohol. He had recently suffered a stroke. Still bitter, he had one rule in his family: “Never mention the name of God! God took everything from me!”
After an emotional reunion with her half-brothers and half-sister, Aggie brought up the subject of her longing to see her father. They hesitated….
“You can talk to him, but he’s very ill now. You need to know that whenever he hears the name of God, he flies into a rage.”
Aggie walked into the squalid apartment, which had liquor bottles strewn everywhere, and slowly approached her 73-year-old father lying in a rumpled bed.
“Papa,” she said tentatively.
He turned and began to cry.
“Aina!”
“I never meant to give you away!”
“It’s all right, Papa,” she replied, taking him gently in her arms.
“God took good care of me.”
Her father instantly stiffened and his tears stopped.
“God forgot all of us. Our lives have been like this because of Him.”
He turned his face back to the wall.
Aggie stroked his face and then continued, undaunted.
“Papa, I’ve got a marvelous story to tell you!”
“You didn’t go to Africa in vain. Mama didn’t die in vain. The little boy you won to the Lord grew up to win that whole village to Jesus! The one seed you planted in his heart kept growing and growing! Today there are 600 people serving the Lord because you were faithful to the call of God in your life!”
“Papa, Jesus loves you. He has never hated you or abandoned us.”
The old father turned back to look into his daughter’s eyes. His body relaxed.
He slowly began to talk.
And by the end of the afternoon, he had come back to the God he had resented for so many years. Over the next few days, father and daughter enjoyed warm moments together. A few weeks after Aggie and her husband returned to America, David Flood died.
And a few years later….
Aggie and her husband were attending an evangelism conference in London, England, when a report was given from Zaire (the former Belgian Congo).
The superintendent of the national church, representing some 110,000 baptized believers, spoke eloquently of the Gospel’s spread in his nation.
Aggie could not help going to ask him afterward if he had ever heard of David and Svea Flood.
“Yes, madam,” the man replied in French, his words being translated into English.
“Svea Flood led me to Jesus Christ! I was the boy who brought food to your parents before you were born. In fact, to this day, your mother’s grave and her memory are honored by all of us.”
He embraced Aggie for a long time, sobbing.
“You must come to Zaire! Your mother is the most famous and honored person in our history.”
When Aggie and her husband went to N’dolera, they were welcomed by cheering throngs of villagers. Aggie even met the man who had been hired by her father to carry her down the mountain in a hammock-cradle.
Then the pastor escorted Aggie to see her mother’s tomb with a white cross bearing her name. She knelt in the soil to pray and give thanks to God.
Later that day, in the church, the boy turned pastor read….
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24
“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” Psalm 126:5.

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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