Author: Geoff

Geoff Waugh is the founding editor of the Renewal Journal and an author of books on renewal and revival and Christian living.
church, church growth, discipleship, revival , ,

Iran: where Christianity is growing fastest

by Geoff 30 November 2019 No Comments

Iran: The country where Christianity is growing fastest

This may come as a surprise to many, but Christianity is growing faster in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in any other country in the world. Tens of thousands of Muslims are abandoning their faith and are beginning to follow Jesus.

Experts say the ongoing political crisis and economic challenges are fueling widespread anger against the regime. Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani is promising to resolve the country’s economic, social and political problems after days of protests gripped the Islamic nation last month. At least 21 people died in clashes with police, and over 1,000 were arrested.

Mike Ansari says political turmoil is creating unique opportunities to share the love of Christ. “Many Iranian Christians have turned to us asking what it is they need to do,” Ansari wrote in an email. Ansari is the president of Heart4Iran Ministries, which is bringing 86 different ministries together with the goal of serving and blessing the people of Iran. He says with all the negative news about Iran, it is easy to miss the big and often untold story of what is really happening inside the Islamic nation. “God is at work in Iran. Jesus is building His church, the Spirit is transforming lives and the gospel is on the move.”
Today 4 satellite TV channels are broadcasting continuous Christian broadcasting into Iran.
Mohabat TV is the media arm of Heart4Iran Ministries. In 2006, Mohabat TV became the first 24-hour Farsi Christian satellite TV channel to beam gospel programs into Iran. Today, it is one of 4 satellite TV channels broadcasting continuous Christian programming. “Christian satellite TV broadcasts into Iran have played a vital role in the success of the underground house church movement,” Ansari wrote. “The significance of media strategy is that it by-passes security measures set by the government and reaches the people of Iran through their TV set or on their smart devices. According to World Mission, the house church movement in Iran is one of the fastest-growing churches in the world. It is the lifeline of Christianity inside this country.”

Recently 20 Iranians, many of whom accepted Christ watching Mohabat TV, traveled to an undisclosed location to get baptized. CBN News was granted exclusive access to the celebrations.
Recently 20 Iranians, many of whom accepted Christ watching Mohabat TV, traveled to an undisclosed location to get baptized. CBN News was granted exclusive access to the celebrations.
Ansari, an Iranian by birth, sat down with CBN News correspondent George Thomas for an exclusive look at the church inside Iran.

Why is the house church movement in Iran growing so fast?

“The church is growing because the people of Iran are disillusioned with Islam and they are looking for answers to life. They are not finding answers in the traditional forms of state religion or the faith of their ancestors. They are looking for new answers, they are not happy and satisfied where they are spiritually. It seems that a large number of these people are actually having dreams and visions about a shining man dressed in white far before we are out there telling them about Jesus.”

Is there a specific area of Iranian society that Jesus is touching more than others?

“The demographic that is responding to the gospel the most is the younger generation, who are very tech-savvy. These are people, anywhere from 18 to 30 years of age. They are online, they are following the world’s pop culture, they are very much plugged in and they are looking for answers. They want to belong to a larger purpose and meaning in life, and they are finding that in Jesus.”

The 1979 Islamic Revolution was supposed to usher in this great Islamic revival. Did that ever materialize?

“After almost 40 years of the Islamic regime, the average Iranian is realizing that Islam is bankrupt and Islam is not able to answer to their social, daily lives and the dilemmas they are dealing with. Iran is facing a host of crises, from drug addiction to depression to suicide to sexually transmitted diseases to human trafficking.”
Almost 40 years into the Islamic Revolution the average Iranian is realizing that Islam is bankrupt.
How bad is persecution against those who decide to abandon Islam and embrace Christianity?

“Iran is listed in Open Doors’ top 10 of most persecuted countries. The reality of Iranian Christians is that they cannot go out on the street and share their new faith with people. They cannot celebrate anywhere publicly, and they are constantly in fear of retaliation from the authorities. Becoming a Christian in Iran, especially if you are from an Islamic background, is illegal and is punishable by the legal code in the country. This is why we want people around the world to continue lifting up the persecuted church in Iran.”

You recently commissioned an extensive survey inside the country to find out how many people are watching programs on Mohabat TV. What did the survey results show?

“We had no idea that so many Iranian youth are following our programs. It appears that roughly about 16 million Iranians within the last 12 months have viewed one or more of our programs on satellite TV and also on their mobile devices. That roughly translates to about 20 percent of Iran’s population and that is an overwhelming number.”
Mohabat TV produced a map showing all the locations Iranians are calling the show from.
How many people call in to your channel and how many have accepted Christ since you launched the network?

“It is a rough estimate that within the last 11 years we’ve been able to connect with over one million Iranians through our call center. These are people who have contacted us wanting to know more about Christianity. These are people who have either become Christians or have had dreams or visions, and wanted to find out more about Jesus. Or people who have become Christians and they want to find out how to grow in their new faith and how to be discipled or how to start a house church in the country. In 2016, our call center processed about 700 contacts per day, which resulted in about 93 decisions for Christ per day. That’s roughly about three people every hour that confessed their faith in Jesus.”

Is satellite TV still the most important evangelism tool to reach Iranians with the gospel or is social media becoming even more important?

“In 2013 and 2014 when the Iranian Green Revolution took place, we realized the importance of Twitter. That was a glimpse into what was coming. In 2017, we realized that social media has fully arrived in the Middle East, especially in a country like Iran where especially the youth are actively using social media on their mobile devices. In addition, the numbers we’ve been getting through our survey is additional validation that this is a sound strategy for ministries to start focusing on.”

Source: George Thomas, CBN

Source: Joel News International – # 1067 | January 26, 2018

 

 

Iran: Fastest-growing church has no buildings

For the last few years, researchers have credited the underground church in Iran as the fastest-growing Christian church in the world. 

It has unique characteristics that defy comparison with churches in America and Europe, and in the opinion of some who know it well, the church in the West could learn by studying it.

The fastest-growing church in the world has taken root in one of the most unexpected and radicalized nations on earth, according to ‘Sheep Among Wolves’, an outstanding two-hour documentary about the revival that has taken place inside Iran. The Iranian awakening is a rapidly reproducing discipleship movement that owns no property or buildings, has no central leadership, and is predominantly led by women.

‘The movement is predominantly led by women’

The documentary was produced by Frontier Alliance International (FAI), which supports disciple-making teams targeting the ‘unreached’ and ‘unengaged’ within the 10/40 Window. There is a mass exodus leaving Islam for Christianity within Iran, according to FAI.

“What if I told you Islam is dead?” one unidentified Iranian church leader says in the film. “Many of the ruling class still follow Islam because that’s where the high paying jobs are, but the majority of the ordinary people love God and recognize that Islam is the problem. What if I told you the best evangelist for Jesus was the Ayatollah Khomeini? The ayatollahs brought the true face of Islam to light and people discovered it was a lie, a deception.”

Efforts by the ayatollahs to destroy Christianity have backfired, but have served to refine and purify the church. “What persecution did was destroy the churches that were only about converts,” the Iranian church leader noted. “Converts run away from persecution, but disciples are willing to die for the Lord in persecution.”
‘What if I told you Islam is dead?’

Often a disciple-making movement begins the first moment someone comes into contact with an unbeliever. “Everything is founded on prayer. We find people of peace through prayer. We even find locations through prayer,” the Iranian church leader noted. “Jesus has gone faster than us. He has come in their dreams or he’s come miraculously in their lives. When we hear this, we know that Jesus has gone ahead of us.”

Their emphasis is not planting churches; it is making disciples. “If you plant churches, you might make disciples. But if you make disciples, you will plant churches,” the Iranian church leader said. “It is obedience-based discipleship based on the authority of Scripture. Every time you read the Scripture, you must obey it. This is how people become conformed to the image of Christ and sanctified. They are not just reading the Bible for information. They are reading the Bible to get transformed.”

About 55% of the disciple-makers are women, according to the film.

CBN newsclip – November 2019 – 7 minutes

Watch the full movie – 2 hours

Source: Frontier Alliance International

Source: Joel News international – # 1149 | November 29, 2019

There is an ongoing underground revival in the Muslim world. Over the past 20 years more Muslims have found Isa (Jesus) than in all the previous centuries together. See links:
Iran – fastest growing evangelical population
The Staggering Rise of the Church in Iran
Many Muslims are turning to Christ
‘The Lord reached me right in the mosque’
Jesus and Muslims: Life in the desert
18,000 Muslim leaders led to Christ in West Africa
Jesus appears to Middle Eastern Muslim for a month
Iman hated Christians until Jesus raised him from the dead
Muslim woman returns from the dead to tell about Jesus
Iran: How two women brought hope in Tehran’s brutal Evin Prison

If you want to know more about following Jesus, go here

 

Added to BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS

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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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evangelism, revival , ,

Transformations – communities transformed by God

by Geoff 21 November 2019 No Comments

Transformations – communities transformed by God

George Otis Jr and the Sentinel Group provide astounding accounts of community transformation around the world.

Share these links to inform and bless people.

Transformations – Video

Stories of transformation:

Cali, Columbia – 60,000 Christians fill the municipal soccer stadium for all-night prayer vigil – a multi-billion dollar drug cartel destroyed – explosive church growth.

Kiambu, Kenya – witchcraft and crime overcome by repentance and prayer – churches grew.

Hemet, California – united repentance and prayer led to a city transformed – gangs transformed – crime reduced – churches grew.

Almolonga, Guatemala – 92% of the population born again – all four jails closed for lack of crime – cultural productivity reaching biblical proportions. See Blog: Almolonga, the Miracle City
See video:  Transformations – Almolonga, Guatemala

 

Transformations 2 – Video

Selections from Transformations II DVD video – revival in the Hebrides, Uganda, and the Inuits of the Canadian Arftic.

Link: Duncan Campbell, the preacher in the Hebrides Revival tells the story of the Lewis Awakening in the Hebrides Islands of Scotland

More from Transformation 2 – the Inuits of the Canadian Artic

Inuit of the Canadian Arctic – drunkenness, drugs, pornography, suicide and crime transformed by surprising revival.

The Transformations 2 DVD video adds stories from Uganda and the Hebrides revival revisited.

 

Let the Sea Resound

Revival transformed Fijian Islands following repentance, prayer and Christian unity. It included transformation of the land and the sea.

See Blog – Revival in Fiji

See also

Community and Ecological Transformation

South Pacific Revivals

21st Century Revivals: Transforming Revivals – includes Fiji

Transforming Revivals in the South Pacific:
Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji

Fiji scenes – dedicating the sea to God, burning artifacts, celebration feast.

fiji-htl-feast-2
fiji-htl-fire-day1-1
fiji-htl-fire-day1-2
fiji-htl-feast-1

General Blogs Index

FREE PDF Books on the Main Page

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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biography, Christian ministry, homeless ,

Millionaire gives up wealth to Father thousands of orphans in Kenya

by Geoff 14 November 2019 No Comments

Millionaire Gives Up Wealth to Become Father to Thousands of Orphans in Kenya

By LEAH MARIEANN KLETT ( news@gospelherald.com ) Oct 03, 2017 

Exclusive: Dr. Charles Mully shares how how gave up wealth and comfort to help transform the lives of over 12,000 children in rural Africa.

“Mully” – film about Charles Mully

Dr. Charles Mully was a self-made millionaire living in one of Nairobi’s wealthiest enclaves when God called him to dedicate his life to caring for impoverished children.

And that’s exactly what he did.

Giving up his life of comfort and wealth, Mully established the Mully Children’s Family (MCF), a charitable organization helping tens of thousands of the more than 2.6 million children living on the streets of Africa.

“I walk by faith and not by sight, and everything I own really belongs to God,” Mully, 68, told The Gospel Herald in an exclusive interview. “So, it was not difficult to give everything up. When I surrendered to him, He never let me down, and many lives have been changed as a result.”

Mully’s amazing story of faith, sacrifice, and determination is the subject of the forthcoming documentary, Mully. From October 3-5, the film will be shown at about 750 theaters across the United States.

The desire of the Kenyan-born entrepreneur to transform the lives of vulnerable children stems from his own experience. At 6 years old, he was abandoned by his family and forced to survive by begging on the streets.

“I was raised very poor; my father was an alcoholic who abused me and my brother,” he recalled. “One day, I woke up and discovered my family had left. That was a very difficult time in my life.”

After ten difficult years on the streets, Mully, now-teenager, was on the verge of committing suicide when a man invited him to church. There, Mully heard the Good News of the Gospel for the first time.

“When I heard the Word of God, it changed my life forever,” he shared. “It gave me a purpose and a motivation to live.”

As a young man, Mully walked to Nairobi, where he landed a job and met his future wife, Esther Nthenya. Against overwhelming odds, he found incredible success as a businessman, soon providing a comfortable lifestyle for his wife and their eight children.

Still, Mully was convinced that God had something more in store for his life. Leaving his company behind, Mully moved back to Kenya, where he and his wife opened their home to orphans who had nowhere else to turn.

“People thought I was crazy,” Mully admitted. “It has not been an easy journey. My wife and I have experienced rejection and mockery from those around us. But, God never fails. He is a God of love, of peace, and deliverance, and He calls us to obedience.”

Since 1989, Kenya’s “Father to the Fatherless” has transformed the lives of over 15,000 children through rescue, holistic rehabilitation and reintegration. Today, it’s the largest children’s rehabilitation organization in Africa.

Many of his children, Mully said, have gone on to become successful businessman, doctors, and lawyers.

“The Bible says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,'” Mully said. “Yes, this organization has seen great success, but it is not because of me – it is because of the Lord, who gives me strength. Through God, anything is possible for the benefit of mankind.”

Through his story, Mully hopes Christians worldwide are inspired to take seriously the words of James 1:26 – “look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

“Many people in the Western world are about working hard to acquire wealth and money, money, money,” he said. “When God calls us, we need to listen. There are so many poor brothers and sisters around the world, and we are called to help those in great need, to share what little we may have.”

He continued, “That is the love of God. If don’t have love, if we don’t care for those God loves, we cannot please God. That is my challenge and advice to my brothers and sisters in America.”

To learn more about the film, visit http://mullymovie.com/.

Interview with Charles Mully

Tags : Mully Children’s Family, Dr. Charles Mully, Mully film, Mully documentary, Africa, Kenya, orphan
martyrs, miracles ,

Jesus Appeared to Group of 72

by Geoff 12 November 2019 No Comments

JESUS APPEARED TO ENTIRE GROUP OF 72 CHRISTIANS ABOUT TO BE KILLED: THE INCREDIBLE MIRACLE THAT FOLLOWED IS RIGHT OUT OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

“Can’t you see the men in white fighting for us?”

Michael Ireland : Jun 24, 2019.  ASSISTNews.net

These Believers met Christ face-to-face and heard Him speak; they experienced His miraculous deliverance.

Northern Nigeria is a dangerous place for Christians—especially for those who have left Islam to follow Christ. (Image: Displaced Nigerian Christians /via Aid to the Church in Need-Canada)

But BarnabasAid says God intervened in power to save 72 converts and their children from Boko Haram militants.

According to BarnabasAid, these Believers excel in courageous faith, they have met Christ face-to-face and heard Him speak, they have experienced His miraculous deliverance.

They cannot build themselves up by daily study of His Word — because they cannot read. Or they do not have a New Testament.

Christ appears

Their story begins with a group of 500 Nigerian Christian converts from Islam and their children.

It is not normal for this tribe to gather in such large numbers, but all of them had already been attacked by Boko Haram Islamist militants and they hoped that a larger group would give them a measure of security.

Boko Haram were not deterred. They attacked the group and captured 76, taking them back to their camp.

At the Boko Haram camp, the Christians were tortured, and their four male leaders were told they must deny Christ and return to Islam or they would be shot.

The four refused and were duly shot dead, in full view of the rest of the group.

A week later the four widows of the dead men were told they must renounce their Christian faith or their children would be shot. They were given time to think over this dreadful choice.

As they agonized together that evening, their excited children came running in, telling their mothers that Jesus had appeared to them and told them all would be well.

Jesus then appeared to the whole group of 72, and told them not to fear for He would protect them. He said they should not renounce Him but should stay strong, and that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Deliverance from evil

The next day, the four mothers gave their decision to the militants — they would not deny Christ.

The militants prepared to shoot the children, who were already lined up against a wall. The youngest was a little girl of four. Suddenly the militants began screaming and clawing at their own heads. Shouting “Snakes!”  They fled the scene, and some of them dropped dead.

One of the Christian men reached for the gun of a dead militant but the four-year-old put her hand on his arm to stop him. “You don’t need to do that,” she said, “Can’t you see the men in white fighting for us?”


Nigerian Christians

Included in  BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

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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Christmas Carols, Christmas music ,

Christmas Worship

by Geoff 9 November 2019 3 Comments

Christmas Worship

Choral and Instrumental Christmas Worship – uplifting worship videos.
Great background music while you work or pray.

Share good news  –  Share this page freely
Copy and share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Christmas Worship:
https://renewaljournal.com/2019/11/09/christmas-worship/

FREE RENEWAL JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION: for updates, new Blogs & free offers
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See also: Long-playing Worship Music
See also:  Wonders of Worship
See also: How Great Thou Art – anthology
See also: Messiah & Hallelujah Chorus – with Bible verses & references
See also: Hallelujah Chorus – International Choirs
See also: Virtual Choirs & Orchestras 2020
See also: Easter Worship
See also: Christmas Worship
See also: 24/7 Worship & Prayer

CHORAL


Hallelujah Chorus – International Choirs


Hallelujah Chorus – Barcelona cathedral virtual choir


Hallelujah Chorus – Anthony Burger piano and band


Joy to the World & Hallelujah Chorus


Joy to the World


Joy to the World


Gloria – Angels from the Realms of Glory – over 1,000 sing – 30 million views


The Glory of Christmas
Hark the Herald Angels Sing, The First Noel, O Come All Ye Faithful


Christmas Medley: Jesus Image Church, Orlando, 35 min


O Come All Ye Faithful – 2 million views


Christmas in Vienna – 2 million views
O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles), Ave Maria, Handel – The trumpet shall sound (Messiah), Panis Angelicus (Messe Solennelle), Mozart – Laudate Dominum, Mozart – Gloria (Credo Messe), El cant dels ocells, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Valse mélancolique, Maria Wiegenlied, Qui tollis (Messa di Gloria), Medley – Joy to the World; Mary’s Boy Child; Il est né, le divin Enfant (traditional French song); Leise rieselt der Schnee, Cantique de Noël, Handel – Hallelujah, Silent Night (Stille Nacht)


O Holy Night – Hillsong – 3.6 million views


Silent Night – Hillsong – 1.5 million views


Seattle Symphony’s Hallelujah Chorus flash mob


Carol Flash Mob in Seoul, Korea


O Come All Ye Faithful – street carols

Instrumental Worship

Beautiful background Christmas Worship


Relaxing Christmas Music


Mantovani & His Orchestra – 40 minutes
O Holy Night, Good King Wenceslas, Silent Night, Joy To The World, White Christmas, O’ Tannenbaum, Midnight Waltz, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, The First Noel, The Skaters Waltz, Nazareth, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Adeste Fideles – O Come All Ye Faithful


Instrumental Christmas Songs – 3 hours (Peder Helland, loop, 14 million views)
O Holy Night, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels We Have Heard On High, In The Bleak Midwinter & Fairest Lord Jesus.


Instrumental Christmas Songs – 1 hour (Peder Helland, loop, 9 million views)
O Holy Night, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels We Have Heard On High, In The Bleak Midwinter & Fairest Lord Jesus.


Christmas Hymns – 1 hour
Angels We Have Heard on High, O Holy Night, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Away in a Manger, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, What Child is This, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, While Shepherds Watched, Angels from the Realms of Glory, We Three Kings, O Come All Ye Faithful, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in a Manger (Flow Gently Sweet Afton), Go Tell it on the Mountain, Joy to the World, The First Noel.


Christmas Inspirations – 2 hours (Tim Janis composer)
O Holy Night, The First Noel, Angels we have heard on high, Joy to the world, Ave Maria, It came upon the midnight clear, Away in a manger, O come all ye faithful, & more


Christmas Music – 8 hours – Lucian Marza (piano medley, loop 1 hour)
Away in a Manger; O Christmas Tree; Jingle bells; We Wish you a Merry Christmas; O Little Town of Bethlehem; Silent night; Oh Come All Ye faithful; Joy to the World; O Come, O Come Emmanuel; Deck the halls; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear; Auld Lang Syne; Little Drummer Boy.


Relaxing Christmas Music – 1 hour (Jason Stephenson, loop, 1.6 million views)
Silent Night, The First Noel, O Holy Night

See also:  Wonders of Worship

See also:


The Queen’s Christmas and Easter Messages – Blog
The Queen’s Christmas & Easter Messages – PDF
Queen Elizabeth II describes the significance of Christmas & Easter
* The Queen’s Christmas & Easter Messages is an appealing, highly unusual and very creative anthology. ~ Alison Sherrington
* What an amazing collection! This has so many wonderful Christmas messages and is a great addition to any family during the holiday season.  ~ Jenny & Benny

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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encouragement

Who I Am Makes A Difference

by Geoff 17 October 2019 No Comments

WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE

A teacher in New York decided to honour each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters, which read, “Who I Am Makes a Difference”.

Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony.

Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honoured whom and report back to the class in about a week.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby Company and honoured him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, “We’re doing a class project on recognition, and we’d like you to go out, find somebody to honour, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened.”

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius.

The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, “Well, sure.” The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss’ jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, “Would you do me a favour?

Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honouring somebody else.  The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people.”

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, “The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I’m a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says “Who I Am Makes a Difference.” on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honour.

As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honour with this ribbon and I thought about you.

I want to honour you. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don’t pay a lot of attention to you.

Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess. But somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me.  Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You’re a great kid and I love you!”

The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn’t stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, “Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom explaining why I had killed myself and I asked you to forgive me.

I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just didn’t think that you cared at all.

The letter is upstairs. I don’t think I need it after all.”

His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was addressed, “Mom and Dad”.

The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to let all his employees know that they made a difference.

The junior executive helped several other young people with career planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a difference in his life….one being the boss’ son.

And the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson.

“Who you are DOES make difference”.

You are under no obligation to pass this on to anyone…not to two people or to two hundred. As far as I am concerned, you can forget it and move on.

On the other hand, if you want, you could send it to all of the people who mean something to you, or send it to the one, two, or three people who mean the most.

Or just smile and know that someone thinks that you are important, or you wouldn’t have received this in the first place.

Remember that! I give you a blue ribbon.

Who you are makes a difference. And I wanted you to know that.

Isn’t that a wonderful story?

I’m passing the blue ribbon to you, for who YOU are does make a difference too.

Published in the 1993 best seller Chicken Soup for the Soul as “Who You Are Makes a Difference.” It was subsequently turned into a made-for-television movie which aired on PAX TV (now ION Television).

 

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BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

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Christian leadership, Ethopia

Ethiopia: Evangelical Prime Minister wins Nobel Peace Prize

by Geoff 15 October 2019 No Comments

 

Ethiopia: Evangelical Prime Minister wins Nobel Peace Prize

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He was awarded the prize for his efforts to “achieve peace and international cooperation”.

At 43 years old, Ahmed is Africa’s youngest leader. He made quick and deliberate efforts toward reform when he took office in April 2018. Most notably, last year, he signed a peace accord with President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, after decades of political stalemate and two years of violence that cost 80,000 lives along the border. The two countries have grown increasingly open to one another, with resumed air travel and telecommunications.

The prize announcement commended his leadership, saying he spent his first 100 days in office lifting the country’s state of emergency, granting amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, discontinuing media censorship, legalizing outlawed opposition groups, dismissing military and civilian leaders who were suspected of corruption, and significantly increasing the influence of women in Ethiopian political and community life. He has also pledged to strengthen democracy by holding free and fair elections.

As Joel News International previously reported, Ahmed also helped reconcile two branches of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which split for political reasons in 1991. He also fostered reconciliation between Muslims and Christians in his hometown of Beshasha. In another historic move last month Ahmed announced a tree-planting initiative, to outdo virtually any other country in the world. Ethiopia planted 350 million trees in one day, to combat deforestation and climate change.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki at the re-opening of the Eritrean Embassy in Addis Ababa last year

The son of a Muslim father and an Orthodox mother, Ahmed is a Protestant Pentecostal, or ‘Pentay’, like many Ethiopian politicians. His faith is seen as a driving factor in his push for peace. “There is something of the revivalist preacher in the way he evangelizes for his vision,” BBC News noted. “He has the energy, the passion, and the certainty.” Pentecostal beliefs correspond with a sense of hope and ambition in politics, the idea that nothing is impossible. A member of the Full Gospel Believers’ Church, Ahmed told followers after taking office: “We have a country that is endowed with great bounty and wealth, but is starving for love.”

After the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize on October 11, the Prime Minister tweeted: “I am humbled by the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. My deepest gratitude to all committed and working for peace. This award is for Ethiopia and the African continent. We shall prosper in peace!”

Ahmed is the 24th Nobel Peace Prize recipient from Africa; last year, the award went in part to Denis Mukwege, a Christian doctor dedicated to healing rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ahmed was not the only Christian to win a Nobel Prize this year. Professor John Goodenough has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work at Oxford University that made possible the development of lithium-ion batteries. In his autobiography ‘Witness to Grace’ he describes his life, including his conversion to the Christian faith.

Source: BBC, Christianity Today, Joel News

 

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BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

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evangelism, prayer, revival ,

Christianity for Australia – evangelism in 1902 & 1959

by Geoff 14 October 2019 1 Comment

Christianity for Australia 

evangelism in 1902 & 1959

by Shane Degen

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In 1901, when Australia took the Federation census, 96.1% of Australians said that they were Christian.  Fast forward to 1916, and in this most recent census, 52.2% of the nation declared they were Christian.  During the last census period, we lost 10% and if that decline rate only steadied (didn’t increase as it has been doing) then within 7 years (2 census periods) we would be at 32%.  These figures don’t represent the percentage of our population that has a living vibrant relationship with Jesus, but they certainly represent how open we are, as a nation, to the gospel.  About 7-9% of the population attend a church regularly which would be a closer representation of those who have a relationship with God.

But there is hope…
Despite it looking like a dark day for Christianity in Australia, there have been times when God has moved in a way that changed major cities.  Today, there are towns across this nation that are seeing the same glimmer of hope – a greatly reduced attrition rate in Christianity in opposition to the national average and other towns around them.  If we can learn the lessons from these historical moves of God and the regional towns where God is still moving, and if we can harness it in other parts of our nation, then we believe there is great potential to not only slow down the attrition rate of Christianity but to turn it around.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.  (Isaiah 60:1-2)
The two major historical moves in our history occurred in 1902 & 1959.
First, we look at the 1902 Great Melbourne Revival and the impact it had on Melbourne and Australia.  In the next section, we look at the national revival and city transformation that happened through Billy Graham’s ministry in 1959.  Then if we couple these lessons with modern data we can form the foundation for a strategy to see our nation come back to Jesus.  A strategy that is God-inspired, biblical, proven and contemporary with what God is doing across the globe in our day.
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1902 – The Great Melbourne Revival

In 1902, the Great Melbourne Revival [1] changed the landscape of Christianity in this corner of the world.  In the 1890s’ many of the Melbourne churches united and invited Dwight L Moody to come and hold an evangelistic campaign.  DL Moody had been a significant evangelist and leader in the 1857-1859 Second Great Awakening.

Over 200 churches (about 80% of the churches) gathered and prayed for the upcoming campaign.  The prayer meetings started years in advance and by the time the campaign began the local churches had held over 16000 prayer meetings.  Also, the churches had door knocked the entire city of Melbourne at least twice, with a personal invitation to the meetings.  DL Moody couldn’t come as he passed away in 1899, but his spiritual protégé, RA Torrey came.  On the weekend of the first meeting over 8000 gathered in the Great Exhibition Hall.  The campaign ran over a few months on each Sunday.  The population of Melbourne at the time was 500,000.  By the last Sunday, they had 250,000 people turn out to hear the word of God preached.  That is 50% of the city.  By the end, 50 evangelists led simultaneous meetings in 42 halls and sports fields all across Melbourne.

The fruit of the revival

The revival started in Melbourne and then travelled up the coast and ended up seeing major percentages of the Pacific Islands converted. Even to this day most of the islands are Christian and some have attributed it to the 1902 revival.

Directly after the campaign, crime dropped to zero percent and even 12 months later there was no crime in the city.  Pubs closed, and picture theatres were emptied.  That campaign changed the social and cultural landscape of Melbourne.

Keys to revival

When looking back at the event, three things have been attributed to the transformation to three things

  • Missional unity in churches.  The churches not only organized the event together, but they worked together to door knock the entire city at least twice.
  • An immense amount of prayer. In lead up to the event, 16000 prayer meetings were held.
  • The Gospel.  At the centre of the activity was a gospel event.  It wasn’t about the event, it was about Jesus, but God used the event to mobilize the Body with prayer and outreach.

1959 – A time of national revival

In 1959, Billy Graham came to Australia and New Zealand to spend 4 months touring and preaching the gospel.  He held 114 meetings in 106 days [2].  This tour became known as the greatest moment of revival history in our nation.  To this day, I often meet men and women who were saved in that campaign and are still serving the Lord.

Billy Graham was invited out by Anglican Archbishop Howard Mowell, who rallied churches and believers for 6 years in the lead up to the gospel campaign.  During the campaign over 146,000 across Australia made a commitment to Jesus.

Preparing the way

In lead up to this rally, over 40,000 individuals signed up to pray for the event.  In Sydney, 600 of the 650 churches worked together to door knock around 400,000 homes with a spiritual survey.  Over 8,000 counselors (45,000 nationally) were trained to disciple the new believers.  In Sydney, 150,000 people turned out on the last night and over 56,000 decisions for Jesus were made.  Some churches reported 75% and 94% retention of the new believers.

These numbers are great for Sydney, however across Australia and New Zealand, over 3 million (out of a total population of 10 million) turned out to hear the gospel, face to face, and even many more heard it across radio and TV.  Almost 2% of the nation publicly admitted to deciding to follow Jesus.

God moved and on top of the multitude of decisions, judges, mayors and politicians are reported to have said that Sydney was a different place.  On top of these reports, there was actual city-transformation that had measurable results.

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me  (John 17:20-23)

The fruit of the revival

 

Directly after the campaign, the crime increase rate dropped to half.  This remained that way for 3 years.  Alcohol sales dropped by 10% the following year.  Pubs closed down, ex-nuptial births decreased and businesses reported an unusual amount of bad debts being paid off.  That gospel campaign changed the social and cultural landscape of our nation, but in particular, Sydney.

The 1959 “Southern Cross Crusade” truly was a momentous occasion for Jesus, in our nation.  There has not been a move like it in the last 70 years, but there were keys we could learn from the 1959 revival.


Keys to revival

When looking back at the event, three things have been attributed to the transformation

  • Missional unity in churches.  The churches not only organized the event together, but they worked together to door knock around 400,000 homes with a spiritual survey
  • An immense amount of prayer. In lead up to the event, 40,000  individuals committed to pray.
  • The Gospel.  At the centre of the activity was a gospel event.  It wasn’t about the event, it was about Jesus and His gospel, but God used the event to mobilize the Body with prayer and outreach.
1 – Renshaw, W. F., 2014. Torrey-Alexander: Revival comes to Melbourne. In: Marvellous Melbourne and Spiritual Power. Acorn Press, pp. 42-49.
2 – Faase, K., n.d. Lessons from the 1959 Billy Graham crusade. [Online] Available at: https://www.crossover.org.au/revitalised-in-witness-the-lessons-from-the-billy-graham-crusades-of-1959-pt-3/ [Accessed 2019]
*

See Shane Degen’s website: Jesus loves Australia

*

See also

BG2 
Billy Graham (1918-2018) – in his own words


From Hatred to Love: 10 guns to kill Billy Graham
How God transformed a brutal Australian gang leader

 

Power Evangelism in Short-term Missions

The Disciples’ Mission and Ministry
Chapter 2 of Jesus the Model for Short Term Supernatural Mission

*

Have you allowed God to transform your life?
Receive His peace today.

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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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Bible guidance, Christian life, freedom of belief, freedom of religion, sport ,

Why Israel Folau is crucial

by Geoff 22 September 2019 1 Comment

Why Israel Folau is crucial

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Millions of people disagree with what Israel Folau (Izzy) said or the way he said it, just as millions of people disagree with what the Bible says about a lot of things.

But the crucial issue here is not a Christian footballer, nor even the Bible. After all, Christianity has been violently opposed for 2,000 years since that crucifixion on Calvary.

The crucial issue is losing “freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of belief and freedom of religion” in this free land of the “fair go mate”.

Why religious freedom is a big issue in Australia:

Some examples:

  • Bernard Gaynor has a background in military intelligence with three tours of duty in Iraq with the Australian Army. Married with eight children, Bernard’s courageous advocacy has cost him more than $400,000 in legal fees. In the process of defending himself he has lost two homes and now lives in rental accommodation.
    Since 2013 Bernard Gaynor has faced 50 separate allegations of wrongdoing. Not a single allegation against him has succeeded. He has also defended himself in military inquiries and state tribunals, before magistrates and even in the High Court in Canberra.

 

  • A Tasmanian bishop was sued for publishing his church’s and the Bible views on marriage. Some Ministers of Religion have been sued for preaching the biblical teaching on marriage.

 

  • A Victorian teacher launched legal action against a Christian college claiming she was discriminated against over her political and religious beliefs in support of same-sex marriage, setting up a test case over faith-based protections for religious schools.

 

The Australian carried this story

1 June 2019, by Kel Richards.

On April 10, Israel Folau posted on his Instagram account the following message: “Warning: Drunks, Homosexuals, Adulterers, Liars, Fornicators, Thieves, Atheists, Idolators: Hell Awaits You. Repent! Only Jesus Saves.” Next to this big, bold statement was the message: “Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him.”

This eye-catching text was from the Bible, a loose paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

If someone else had posted this it would almost certainly have slipped under the radar. But Folau was being watched. Partly this is because of his brilliance as a footballer. He holds the record for the most tries scored in Super Rugby. In 2007 he won rugby league’s Dally M Rookie of the Year award for having scored the most tries in his debut year. In that same year he was the all-time youngest international player (he was 18 at the time). …

But it looks as though Folau was also being watched for an opportunity to punish him for being a Christian; indeed, for being a blunt defender of the classic, conservative Christian faith.

The attack on Folau provoked an unexpected reaction: many Aussies were unhappy. They flooded open-line radio with calls in support of the right of Folau to hold and express his faith. This support was not limited to the 52.1 percent of Australians who called themselves Christian in the 2016 census. A bucket load of callers took the line of “I don’t support what he said or the way he said it, but, hey the bloke’s obviously sincere so why is he being bashed up like this?”

Whether articulated or not, the underlying feeling of much of this response was: Australia is a free country. There was a distinct unease about the possibility of losing at least some degree of freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of belief and freedom of religion in this wide, brown land.  …

This is no storm in a tea cup: this is central to Australia’s character as a nation and raises three questions:
● Why should there be penalties for defending classical Christianity?
● Why do the rights of one group trump all other rights?
● What is the actual content of the view he is defending?   …

But as Folau’s short post indicates, there is more to the story. Here’s the completion of those words from the Bible quoted above: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

There is the offer of God’s love and forgiveness and restoration: switching at life’s end from the bad option (separation, isolation, “hell”) to the good option (connection, community, “heaven”) as a free gift. From the point of view of classical Christianity, Folau saw people in danger and shouted out a warning. In other words, the intention of his message was the exact opposite to how it has been portrayed. And for that Folau is being punished.

 

You know that things have really spiralled downward when Princeton atheist and bioethicist — Peter Singer — is defending Israel Folau and his freedom to express his Christian convictions. Singer writes:

[Folau’s] post no more expresses hatred toward homosexuals than cigarette warnings express hatred toward smokers.

 

  • There is now a landmark judgment in the United Kingdom.

GROUNDBREAKING VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH IN UK

Christian life, new Christians ,

New Christian’s Guide

by Geoff 22 September 2019 2 Comments

     
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New Christian’s Guide

New Christian’s Guide – PDF

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New Christian’s Guide gives you a basic introduction to living the Christian life through faith in Jesus Christ your Saviour and Lord.

New Christian’s Guide is an introductory guide for new Christians starting out in their life in Christ. It covers basic essentials including Jesus’ instructions on loving God and loving others, with these topics:

Introduction: Welcome to God’s Family

1  Love God

Faith in God – God our Father
Saving Faith
Gift of Faith

Follow Me – Jesus our Lord
Follow Jesus in obedience
Follow Jesus in his Word
Follow Jesus in prayer & worship
Follow Jesus in fellowship
Follow Jesus in service
Follow Jesus in mission

Filled with the Spirit – the Holy Spirit our Guide
Born of the Spirit
Living in the Spirit
Led by the Spirit
Fruit & Gifts of the Spirit

2  Love Others
Love one another
Serve one another
Encourage one another

Conclusion   

Here is the beginning of this book. 

Introduction

Welcome to God’s eternal family. I’m writing this book as a personal letter to you, a new Christian who believes in Jesus. You have given your life to him and you want to follow him and live for him.

If you are already a growing Christian you may find some help in this Guide also. And if you have not yet chosen to be a Christian and follow Jesus, this may help you to decide.

Billions of people believe in Jesus, the Son of God, our Saviour, so you have joined a huge worldwide family of God. Probably somebody told you about Jesus, perhaps a preacher or a friend, or maybe you just want to read more about him.

So welcome to the family of God. We believe in God our Father, we believe in Jesus Christ his Son our Saviour and Lord, and we believe in God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and gives us new life, our Christian life. ‘Christian’ means Christ in you!

Our Christian life begins with faith. We trust in God. We believe in Jesus, God’s Son, as our Saviour and Lord or King. We have faith that God lives in us by his Spirit and that we live in God now and forever.

That’s good news. Really good news. The most famous verse in the Bible puts it this way:

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Now that you believe in Jesus and trust him with your life you have eternal life. That eternal life does not start when you die. It starts now and never ends. Jesus said:

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3).

You have done that. You have given your life to God and he has given you new life, his life in you. Because you believe in Jesus and trust him, God lives in you by his Spirit, and you live in God. You have given your life to him and he has given his life to you. So you know him, your God, and you know Jesus your Saviour, because God’s Spirit now lives in you and makes everything new:

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

What’s new?

You are forgiven. When you believe in Jesus your Saviour you ask him to forgive you for all your sin, and he promises to do that: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness  (1 John 1:8-9).

You are clean. That promise reminds us that God goes on cleansing us, not just once, but always, as we trust him and continue to acknowledge or confess our sin and failures. You can do that quickly, and at any time, such as thinking or saying, “Sorry.” Make it a habit. Keep short accounts with God!

You have new life, eternal life. That’s God’s promise. He gives his life to you and lives in you by his Spirit who is also the Spirit of Jesus. So Jesus lives in you by his Spirit and you now have new life: I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20).

So the old life has gone and a new life, eternal life, has begun in you. You are born again with new life, God’s life ion you.

You are in God’s family. You have a worldwide family of God’s people, your brothers and sisters. You will get to know some of them well in your local church or group. You will also find many brothers and sisters in other places worldwide. We all share God’s life together and we grow in the unity of his Spirit.

What about problems?

Does this new life mean we are now free from all our problems and difficulties? No, but we do have a new life as we encounter problems and difficulties. We have God’s help and guidance in new ways. God promises to guide and help us, and Jesus promised that his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, would help us.

You now have this amazing new life with God your Father and Jesus your Saviour and Lord living in you by his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who helps us. Jesus said:

If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (John 14:15-18).

You have God’s help, always. That never ends. So we face our problems and difficulties trusting in God to help and guide us.

How do we go about living this new life with God’s help?

We keep on trusting him. We keep on living for him, with his help and strength. He is our intimate Friend and Guide.

So the title of this little book is not mainly about principles but about a Person. The New Christian’s Guide is God in us, Jesus living his life in us by his Spirit, and guiding us.

That’s a life-long adventure! We can all learn to let God be our Guide more fully, and trust in Jesus to lead and help us by his Spirit now within us, teaching us, leading us, helping us, empowering us, and transforming us.

So, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).

Easy to say – hard to do!

Yes, in some ways it is easier said than done. Living the Christian life is not always a piece of cake. It can be tough at times as we keep listening to Jesus and obeying him. But, as an old hymn says:

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Living this new Christian life means that we trust and obey our Guide. He leads us by his Spirit within us. So now, as you read this, you could pause and thank him that he is with you, he is within you, and he promises to guide you.

If you find some resistance inside you, just confess it. We all resist God’s great love and holiness at times, so we need to just confess that, know that he forgives and cleanses us, and that he promises to help and strengthen us as we live for him.

The rest of this New Christian’s Guide is my attempt to help you follow your eternal Guide, your Father God, your Saviour Jesus, and your Guide and Helper the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said that the most important commandments of all are just two, so let’s explore that with our New Christian’s Guide:

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:

‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40).

Our obedience springs from love and flows strong in God’s love.  We love Him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).

 Love is why we obey

Jesus says that we will obey his commandments because of our love for him. We obey from love, not just from duty.  Our duty becomes our delight. We love him and love to live for him and please him.

We understand about obeying in love with people we really love such as our parents or husband or wife.  We love to please them because we love them.  It’s our delight, not just a duty. We love to please or obey them, and we are so happy when our love pleases them.

Jesus’ obedience was a natural part of his loving relationship with his Father, and he calls us into loving obedience also.

If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love (John 15:10).

Jesus lived in full fellowship and intimate loving relationship with his Father. Consequently, his obedience flowed naturally and supernaturally from that.

So this book explores how we can obey Jesus in love by loving God and loving others.  Loving God and loving others are inter-related.  John, the Apostle of love, reminds us:

Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also (1 John 4:20-21).

Believing in God and in his Son Jesus changes us and enables us to love God and to love one another.

Love God

Jesus reminds us that the greatest of all the commandments is to love God.

God’s love for us brings us into a loving relationship with him and with others. You could thank him for his love right now!

C S Lewis wrote, “On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.’ He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not” (Mere Christianity, Book 3, Chapter 9, emphasis added).

Jesus pointed out that our God who loves us is One Being. Jesus and the Father are one in eternal union with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, I and the Father are one. … Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. … But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. (John 10:30; 14:23, 26). We have one God revealed in three divine persons who love us: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

That is a divine mystery, but God reveals himself to us as we believe in him and trust him daily.

Here is a simple way to understand how God is always with us and within us.

We breathe all the time, usually without thinking about it. Now that you are thinking about it you may even breathe more deeply, or take in more breath!

The Bible has one word for breath, wind and spirit. So translators choose the most appropriate English word to translate it from Hebrew (ruah) or Greek (pnuema).

Our natural breathing is rather like breathing in the breath of God of the Spirit of God, by faith. Just as our physical breathing helps to cleanse our lungs and bodies so our spiritual breathing also cleanses us.

We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide continually without even thinking about it. Similarly, in our relationship with God we continually inhale God’s breath, his Spirit, and exhale impurities, by faith, by trusting God.

Another physical picture or parallel is how our heart continually pumps blood throughout our bodies without us thinking about it, cleansing our bodies. Similarly, the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, goes on cleansing us from our sin, for if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

That verse gives us another picture or parallel. The sun always shines, even on cloudy days. So in daylight we live in the light without thinking about it. It’s natural. We can see. Similarly, as we live by faith in God we live in his light. God is light and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).

As a Christian, you are born again into a new life with God, who is light, so you live in his light. Living that way means that you are continually cleansed because of Jesus’ blood given for us all in his death on the cross. So now you have new life, the life of God’s Spirit living in you constantly.

All of that helps us to love and thank God for all he has done for us in creating us, redeeming us from sin, and living in us as we live in him by faith.

So this section on loving God looks at these three dimensions of loving God:
Faith in God our Father
Following Jesus our Lord
Filled with the Spirit our Guide

 A prayer of faith you can pray:

Thank you my Father and God for loving me.
Thank you Jesus my Saviour and Lord for dying for me.
Thank you Holy Spirit of God for living in me and giving me new life, the life of Jesus in me.
Forgive me for my sin and I choose you now.
Thank you Lord my God for forgiving me and saving me.
I give my life to you and I choose to live for you.
Help me to live for you always.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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