OUR SPIRITS BLOSSOM WHEN WE SING

Paul Estabrooks

God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Psalm 68:6

Our Open Doors colleague, Ron Boyd-MacMillan, shares the following insight from his teaching, “Why I Need to Encounter the Persecuted Church.”

Chinese evangelist, Mrs Yang, was visited by another full time preacher who was very downcast. The preacher wanted to buy a tape player, but had no money. Mrs Yang sat down and just began to sing to him. Her voice was deep and scratchy, the tune barely discernible, the words simple: I am a wanderer, my home is in heaven/ Life is fleeting/ Our home is in heaven/ In this world we have many trials/ And sadness and sickness/ True happiness is not in this world/ But in heaven.

How Badly Do You Want It?

Written by Carolyn Savelle  

Have you ever prayed for something over and over and you still didn't get the results you were believing for? Have you prayed the "Prayer of Faith" and every other kind of prayer you knew to pray, and it didn't work? It makes you wonder, "Well, last time it worked." Why isn't it working this time?

It feels like you are praying a hit-and-miss kind of prayer, and you don't really know why sometimes it works and other times it doesn't.

Well, I have found the missing element in getting your prayers answered.

Since January of 1999, every prayer I've ever prayed, everything I've desired, everything I've asked God for has been manifest in my life...within moments, days and hours. The struggle of faith has ceased in my life.

VALUE DOUBTS AND MYSTERY

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

This is a scripture passage that many use in discipling new believers. The New International Version of the Bible footnotes this verse with the reminder that in the Greek language the word “temptation” or “tempted” can also mean “trial” or “testing.” It is a characteristic of the human condition that we often have doubts about God and we feel badly about them. But the story of Job in the Old Testament reveals that we should value our doubts because they bring God close.

Turn, Turn, Turn

With gratitude to God, I write these words overlooking the walls of Jerusalem just two hours before the holyday of Sukot starts and just two miles from where King David himself celebrated Tabernacles. 

Yet, even while wrapped in Jerusalem’s eternal spiritual transcendence, I am typing on a first rate computer connected to high speed Internet in an air-conditioned office.

Many cities like Istanbul, Prague, and Tallinn display similar contrasts between ancient and modern.  But Israel’s ever-present ancient aura is the fuel propelling the country into modernity.

With fewer than 10% of the population of her four contiguous neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, Israel’s Gross Domestic Product is about equivalent to the aggregate of those four countries.  Imagine if tiny Rhode Island produced more wealth than Georgia.  Instead, as you’d expect, Rhode Island’s GDP is about 1/10th of Georgia, which has about ten times the population of Rhode Island.

One explanation routinely offered for the abysmal economic performance by Israel’s four neighbors is Israel’s existence.  There are problems with that excuse.  One, they weren’t doing any better before 1948 or before they launched several unsuccessful wars against Israel.  Two, being surrounded by enemies, the monumental costs of self-defense impose a disproportionate burden upon the tiny Jewish state. 

About Right From The Knees

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. - Colossians 4:2

Getting Started

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What is the value of prayer?

Watchman Nee said, "Our prayers lay the track down which Gods power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, his power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails."

We too believe that prayer makes a difference for the one being prayed for, but also for the one doing the praying. We believe that prayer is communication with God. We believe that God is mighty, but that He is also mysterious. We don't always understand why He answers some prayers but is silent at other times. We believe prayer is the glue sticks your heart to God's...and to the hearts of the people you pray for.

A Question With No Answer

"You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." — Job 42:3

There are many different reactions to tragedy, but one response is universal — asking why. Job, like everyone else, tried to understand God’s ways. Why do bad thing happen to good people? Why do the wicked experience so much good?

While Job’s friends insisted that Job must have sinned, he knew, and we know from the text, that he hadn’t. Most of the book is dedicated to Job and his friends trying to answer the timeless question for which an answer has never been found.

Finally, God Himself appeared to Job and answered his question with another question: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand” (Job 38:4). Translation: “Why in the world would you expect to understand My ways? You are finite, I am infinite! I am the creator, you are the creation. Can a painting understand the artist that painted it?” Job acknowledged his limited knowledge and said, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” And with these words, Job found comfort at long last.

Mystery - “Christ in you, the hope of glory”

Written by Eric Reynolds

Is hope just something you used to have a long time ago? Come talk to a mentor.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

“There is nothing mysterious about Jesus.” That’s what most people would say. Even Christians don’t often think of Jesus as a mysterious guy. But should we? Is there anything mysterious about Him? Colossians says that God’s people are supposed to reveal the mystery, but what is the mystery? (Col 1:24-27)

As we see in verse 27, the mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Every single word in that sentence has astronomical implications.

Why Did Jesus Teach in Parables?

Alfred Edersheim

Compared to His earlier teaching during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus's turn to parables might seem odd. He'd used clear instruction to teach His followers how to live and about the Kingdom of God, and He'd exhibited the Kingdom in a tangible way through His miracles. But suddenly, when the crowds come to hear Him, He hops into a boat and speaks in parables, stories about sowing seeds and gathering wheat (Matthew 13).

When the disciples ask Him why, since they obviously noticed the change, His answer may seem even more astonishing: "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been granted" (Matthew 13:11). In other words, the parables are meant to divide the crowd. While this may seem as if Jesus denied some people access, the difference He means is not in the message—but in the response.