http://www.freepastordmitry.com/
Please follow the link above and pray for this Uzbek pastor who was arrested 2 years ago.
Uzbekistan has one of the most repressive anti Christian laws in the world. Many local christian leaders and pastors are arrested, tortured and extorted for money on a regular basis. But this does not discourage the local leaders… instead it inspires them all the more to serve God more fervently in this unreached part of the world….
Filed under: 1 | Leave a Comment
What is Easter?
We sometimes use words to talk about the most important Christian Holy Day in all the wrong and miss guided way.
Do we still use the word Easter? Do we even know where that word originated from? Do we even know why we color eggs on that day?
If you want to know follow the link and read upon it…
Resurrection Sunday is the proper terminology… and we really should’nt paint eggs or send kids on a egg hunt…
http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t020.html
Filed under: 1 | Leave a Comment
Can you see beyond your nose?
As a pastor I seem to have a slightly different perspective on life and faith. It is to be expected but this slight difference never seizesamaze me. I suppose that comes with the pastoral territory. You are trained to see life from a different angle. This unique perspective ought to enhance and enlighten the congregation to a closer relationship with God. And of course, the message is usally padded with a lot of encouraging words. Major part of pastoral care is to love the people of God and to understand their needs. Pastors are expected to convey a positive self-esteem reenforcing message from God. For the majority, the message is indeed positive and hopeful. But at times the message is tough. My constant dilema is how to convey the difficult message of God and the Scriptures to a culture that only wants to hear a one-sided message of positive words only. How would you handle it? Would you choose not to speak a difficult message? Would you boldly speak prophetically to the people to repent or turn from their wicked ways?
In our culture it is obvious that we are not able to see beyond our own immediate futures. Are we really hearing the voice of God? Are we really able to see God face to face? For this is the accusation for Israel from the prophet Isaiah. The repeated theme in the book of Isaiah almost become too repetitive and overdone. The simple message is in two parts it seems: that Israel does not hear or see God and that regardless of their disobedience and idol worship God is still God and apart from him there is no other. How stubborn Israel must have been to make God repeat himself over and over and over and over again that HE is GOD!
I saw an ad for one of the major computer companies in the world and in that ad the individual commented that “There is only one universal language and that is math.” Oh really? Is math really the only language that is universal? A more romantic party would beg to differ and say that “love” is the universal language. The more artistic party would argue that “music” is the universal language. The Jesus freaks would say that Jesus and the Gospel is the universal language and I would agree to this. What really is universal is that we are all in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. My hurting heart and thought is that our world does see it as a primary priority to hear and see God. What about you? What about me? The only corrective lens we can wear to help us see beyond our own noses is the power of the Holy Spirit! It scares me to think that we would be accused of deafness and blindness towards God.
Filed under: 1 | Leave a Comment
Recently I stumbled on a site that exposed the horror of abandoned children in Bulgaria’s social service system. The conditions were absolutely terrifying. The neglect of the mostly handicapped innocent children in its so called state facility was inhumane and a sin. They say that handicapped children are especially abandoned by their mothers because of the social stigma and the discomfort they feel.
I am preaching through Isaiah tomorrow and the text in chapter 40:10-17 talks about Yahweh’s patience and his promise of delivering a new life as a mother giving birth. Yahweh’s promise to yet again a disobedienct nation of Israel is that he will never abandon them.
We are living in a world where mothers and fathers would not think twice of abandoning their gift of life from God. It is sad to read about stories like Bulgaria’s childcare system or the lackthereof. God calls us to be Christ to the strong and able “others” but he calls us to be Christ to the least of “others.” We need to learn from Christ how to love and to embrace the “least” of our brothers and sisters.
Our sin qualifies us to a treatment and judgement much much worse then what these abandoned children may receive. But purely by God’s grace he honors us and grants us dignity of a new life through Jesus Christ. It is reassuring that we have an eternal father whose promise of forgiveness and restoration is forever. May we be inspired to live a life of love so that there will never be another institution where they are abandoned and left to simply die an undignified death.
Filed under: 1 | Leave a Comment
Last week’s QT
“If you deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.” This is Israel’s request to God in the desert and God answers by giving them the city as an answer. The cleansing of a pagan city was necessary because Israel wanted to dedicate the city to God. But in order for the land to be dedicated it needed to be totally destroyed. Only when it is cleansed could Israel dedicate it to God. I was thinking this past week that as many people are praying for a revival and spritual healing in Vancouver the answers seemed far in coming. But this verse gave me hope to look to God once again. God wants us to pray for Vancouver!!! But we need to pray that God would give deliver the unrepentant people into our hands so that we can totally destroy all things that are sinful and rebelious to God’s Truth. We need to ask that God would deliver the city into our hands and that it would be cleansed of all its former rebellion and spiritual oppression. Only when the city is cleansed from all sin can it be dedicated to God. So we need to pray continually that God would grant us victory over the lives in our city. In the end God destroyed everything that was wicked and completely destroyed them all and gave the city over to Israel. There is hope for Vancouver only if we pray together!!!
Filed under: My thoughts... | 1 Comment
