Counting The Cost

Random thoughts on walking with Jesus in this turvy-topsy world

Letter from a Brother in Christ

Christian Freedom International
Prayer Update for January 27, 2006 

The following is a recent update from a CFI-coworker in a Muslim country. A former Muslim himself, he now works as an evangelist to Muslims. For obvious security reasons, names and places cannot be revealed. Please pray for this incredible work. 

Greetings to you in the Lord Jesus Christ, 

Here I have attached some pictures [picture on CFI website] of a large Muslim Religious Festival called Eidul-AZHA (Eid means festival of sacrificing animals in the name of God to make the believers themselves sanctified). I think these pictures will make you sad, as those are not well looking. Buts these pictures reveal the messages of Muslim belief and why some Muslim pastors are inspired by doing the job of slaughtering animals in their eid festival once a year. Muslims believe that sacrificing of animals is the great way to get rid to sins. They also believe that God is pleased by the shedding of blood. It started from the prophet Abraham when he was asked by God to sacrifice his son. The prophet listened to God and went to sacrifice his son to make God happy. God became pleased and happy with the prophet when he acted according to His advice. God advised the prophet to sacrifice the animal instead of his son. And the rule of sacrificing animals in the name of the Lord came to people from then. Here I would like to inform you that there is no clarification of the son of the prophet Abraham in the Quran. I mean who is the son of Prophet Abraham--it is not clear in the Quran. But Islamic intellectuals say that it is Ishmael, the forefather of the Arab nation, I mean Muhammad. Though they don't have the evidence of it, they tell it. In this point we try to make the people understand who the son of Prophet Abraham is. 

This is point where we start our preaching about the Gospel. In this way we try to help the people know the real story about God and how they can be saved. In the Holy Scriptures we learn, "For the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins" (Hebrew - 10:4). After the Lord Jesus Christ there is no need of sacrificing animals to get rid of the sin. We can be saved only by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins and defeated evil forever by His resurrection from death. We inform the Muslim believers that after the Lord Jesus Christ the sacrificing of animals is totally unnecessary. And it is also incorrect to slaughter the animals. In slaughtering the animals we are killing our feelings of humiliations and making our hearts harder that leads us to kill people for our own interests. Then we are out of God's will. 

Any way dear brother, here I have tried to inform you little bit how we preach Gospel and take the help from the Quran, the holy book of Muslims. I am sorry for taking your time. I am also sorry for sending such terrible pictures. But my will is not to make you feel terrible, just to give you some information of Muslim religious festivals and how we witness to Muslims. Please pray for us. 

May Lord bless you.
In Christ,
A CFI Co-worker

posted by: Jrobbins at 18:35 | link | comments (2) |
letter from a brother in christ

Counting the Cost in India

And you think you have problems as a college student...

Bible Students Beaten to Near Death 

 

Three Gospel for Asia Bible college students were severely beaten, threatened with death and their literature burned while witnessing in Bihar state during India's annual Republic Day celebration.

The first-year students, Michel, Jaipal and Balkishore, were visiting homes in a village near Purnia when they were attacked by a group of anti-Christian militants. The radical Hindus beat the students, then took them to a youth hostel where they tied them to a tree and encouraged others in the hostel to urinate on them.

When the hostel residents hesitated, the militant youth beat the Bible students with bamboo sticks and kicked them before they were rescued by the residents.

Amid the celebration of India's independence from Britain, the radicals accused the Christians of being "agents for the British," and set fire to all of their literature.

"If you ever come again to our area, we will burn you like we burned these books," they warned the Bible students.

When the victims finally reached their Bible college that evening, they were described as "half dead" by their teacher. After being treated at a local hospital, the three returned to the school, their faces still swollen and their joints aching from the assault.

GFA President K.P. Yohannan asks Christians around the world to pray that the Lord will heal these courageous students, and that those who attacked them will come to know the love of Jesus instead of the fear that drives their blind hate for the Gospel.

posted by: Jrobbins at 15:41 | link | comments |
counting the cost in india

Poem for a Father

I wanted to post a poem I ran across the other day because it is so meaningful to me. It was written by a woman about her father who had just died, and it made me cry to think about my own father dying someday. I only hope that I can find the same peace and assurance through the Lord Jesus that this woman found! 

 

O Lord, I thank Thee that Thou gavest me 

This strength to cling to all my childhood years, 

This noble man, my father, mine to be— 

Though not as now—mine through eternity.

See, Lord! I am almost smiling through these tears, 

For Thou hast made me rich of all mankind 

By giving me to be his daughter-friend; 

For his was calm nobility of mind 

That, selfless, saw the truth and gave clear-lined 

Full justice unto all things, to the end! 

 

A sense of justice born of a pure heart 

That loved a few dear ones, how sacredly! 

Silent and grave, long hours he spent apart

In thought, until a word of love would start 

A deep sweet look behind his eyes, and he 

Would sit with us and talk from his great store, 

Of beauty, poetry, and of great men. 

And as the days and years opened the door 

Of his dear heart to me I loved him more, 

As I had more of love to give, and then— 

 

Then, Lord, you took him from me and I wept. 

It seemed so piteous, for I loved him so, 

Until I fell upon my knees and crept 

A little child to Thee, and wearied slept, 

While quiet drifted down like cooling snow

Upon my throbbing heart. A voice then said, 

“Dear child, give Me yourself and all your fears, 

He is now living, loving you, now dead, 

For him, for you, for this, My blood was shed.” 

And I awoke—strange—smiling through my tears. 

 

-H. Borden

posted by: Jrobbins at 19:14 | link | comments |
poem for a father

Persecution Blog

Last semester, I took a Professional Writing course that required me to make a professional portfolio. After much nail-biting and angst, I chose Christian persecution as my topic. About four hundred pages and a case of carpal tunnel syndrome later, I held my first "baby" in my hands - a shiny new professional writing portfolio. I know that this portfolio will come in handy on future job interviews, but it also challenged me to learn more about Christian persecution going on right now around the world. I have linked several sites on my blog to take you to websites about this human rights issue but one in particular deserves a special post. It is run by The Voice of the Martyrs and it is located at www.persecutionblog.com. This blog is really professional and informative. It also has a program which allows you to link up your blog with theirs if you agree to post at least twice a month about Christian persecution. I realize that this is not a major issue for a lot of people, but I would encourage you to find out more for your own benefit. Whenever I feel like I am in a spiritual rut or my prayer life is on the skids, I get refreshed and energized by the testimonies of persecuted believers. Trust me, Christian heroes can be found in more places than just the Bible or Foxe's Book of Martyrs! Just to give you a sample from PersecutionBlog, I have excerpted one of their posts about the Canadian election earlier this week.

January 25, 2006

 

Canadian Christians Encouraged After Election

 

Christians in Canada are encouraged after recent elections because the Conservative Party in Canada won a recent election.

 

What does this mean for Christians?  VOM Canada's Glenn Penner, who wrote a great book called In the Shadow of the Cross, said  "We're optimistic that we're not going to see more of the same. We're not going to see, I think, an increasing slide away from social conservatism, but not, at least in the short term, are we going to see an undoing of some of this legislation such as same-sex marriage, the hate literature laws, such as abortion laws."

 

     Hey,  a little good news is good right!

posted by: Jrobbins at 21:31 | link | comments |
persecution blog

The Other Side of the Coin

As a single gal, I am always on the look-out for articles about singlehood from a Christian perspective. Of course, there are always the random crackpots, such as those who refer to Jesus as "my bridegroom" - Jesus is the bridegroom of THE CHURCH as a whole - not each individual Christian! Sorry, major pet peeve. Anyway, one of the best resources I have ever come across for Christian singletons is "Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye" by Carolyn McCulley. This lady is sharp! As a preview to her unique sense of humor, let me just tell you that the book opens with her as a single, never-married showing up alone at her high school reunion (not funny at the time, though!), and the section on beauty contains an anecdote about her waxing her eyebrows that left me in stitches. I got an email today with a column Ms. McCulley had written concerning a question from a SINGLE CHRISTIAN MAN. Apparently, they do exist - just don't come rushing down to Texas trying to find one. They must exist elsewhere. I hope. Ms. McCulley never fails to give godly advice that is useful for single Christian guys AND gals and this column is no exception.

Singles Q&A: A Word for Single Men

Carolyn McCulley, Author & Contributing Writer 

 

QUESTION FROM A SINGLE MAN:
I have a question that has plagued me for about 31 years. Why is it that most, if not all, singles advice is addressed to women? Do men not have the right to struggle with singleness? Not that I haven't actively sought a mate. It's just that as soon as a Christian lady sees my cane and scoliosis, and then hears my deviated septum, I'm automatically put in that "friend" category. What to do?

Carolyn: I have observed the same trend about singles advice. I have a theory as to why, though it's just a theory. First, women tend to be more verbal than men, so it's no surprise that many women, such as myself, write books. Women also buy more books than men do, according to recent Christian retailing statistics, so it is a lucrative business to have women writing for women. Second, observable evidence would show that there are more single women in the church than men, which feeds the above theory. However, there are some good materials out there for single men written by men. My top recommendation is "The Rich Single Life" by Andrew Farmer.

As for the rest of your question, I want to preface it by saying I always encourage men to disciple other men as I believe this is Scriptural and fruitful. So in offering the following thoughts, I am framing them as counsel for your consideration but would encourage you to take these ideas to your pastor or another mature man for further discussion. I trust, though, that these ideas may serve you in some way.

Let's start by looking at the "right" to struggle with singleness. I would like to gently suggest a new phrase. As Christians, we do better not to discuss "rights," but to focus on all that we have received in Christ. With that kind of focus, the idea of "rights" fades into the background. What we rightly deserve is eternal condemnation for our sin and lack of gratitude before our Creator. As Christians, what we've received is outrageous mercy. Everything else we receive in addition to salvation is just grace upon grace.

So though we won't speak of a "right" to struggle with singleness, I do think it is not uncommon to do so - both for men and women. Marriage is assumed to be the norm in Scripture and common sense would tell us that we need more married people than single people if we want to be able to proclaim God's goodness to the next generation. But in 1 Corinthians 7:7, the apostle Paul calls both marriage and singleness a charisma (gift, or gracious endowment) of God. In verse 17, he encourages a peaceful attitude toward what gift or assignment God has given us: "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him" (ESV). Why? Because these gifts are sovereignly assigned to us for our good and God's glory. Though there can be a tension between our assigned charisma (which can change in the course of our lives) and our desire, all the evidence we have at the Cross of Calvary tells us that God is worthy of our trust when we can't see the full picture of what He is doing in and through us.

As for your particular situation, I want to encourage you. Just last year, the Lord brought a woman to a friend of mine with a similar disability and they got married last fall. What drew this woman to this man was his love for the Savior, his engaging intellect, his zest for life, his servant's heart, and the way he cares for others. What drew this man to this woman was her love for the Savior, her spunky outlook, her kindness, her curious mind, and her servant's heart. So while it is tempting for any of us to view our own flaws (height, weight, age, abilities) and write off God's ability to provide a mate, may I kindly suggest that the voice of doubt fueling those thoughts is the same one that impugned God's generosity in the Garden of Eden? I know it's tempting to look at our personal experience and extrapolate from there, but it's just not safe to do so. Our feelings and experiences are not the sum total of Truth. God's Word is Truth and we need to cling to that when what we can observe tells us otherwise.

Finally, while we singles who desire to get married can denigrate friendship, this too is a gift from God. Through our friends, we can receive God's care. Our godly friends will always remind us of the Lord's faithfulness as they walk with us through life. It is no small thing to have the friendship of another, even if we would desire something more intimate.  

 

Carolyn McCulley handles church and ministry relations for Sovereign Grace Ministries and is a member of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD. This column is adapted from her book, "Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? Trusting God with a Hope Deferred." (Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187). Carolyn welcomes your comments at info@carolynmcculley.com . Or visit her website or blog.

posted by: Jrobbins at 19:07 | link | comments |
the other side of the coin

The Right Perspective

Give to us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for -- because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything. --Peter Marshall

The King's Perspective by Betsy Childs 

 

 

You may have heard the famous story of the blind men and the elephant. In this story, a king leads several blind men to an elephant and asks them to describe it.  The blind man feeling the elephant's leg says it is strong and straight like the trunk of a tree.  The blind man holding the elephant's tail says it is long and flexible like a rope.  The man feeling the elephant's side feels a great immovable wall, and the one touching the trunk says that it reminds him of a large snake.  

 

This story is usually told to point out that among the plurality of world religions, each contains only a portion of the total truth.  It suggests that very disparate ideas can be connected.  People who tell this story want to make the point that if we could just see the total picture, we would forsake our isagreements and our exclusive claims and realize that we are all, so to speak, feeling the same elephant. 

 

But if one leaves the story at that, its whole point is missed. Lesslie Newbigin, in his book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, points out an important and often overlooked aspect of this story.  He writes, "If the king were also blind there would be no story.  The story is told by the king, and it is the immensely arrogant claim of one who sees the full truth which all the world's religions are only groping after."  

None of us can make the claim that we see the full picture of truth. We all have access to only a small part of the total picture, just as each blind man could only feel one appendage of the elephant.  Yet, we can't underestimate the fact that we have been spoken to by one who is not blind, by the king who has the whole perspective. The idea of revelation is central to the Gospel.  God has made the truth known, and we are supposed to spread it as news.  Paul writes, "This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:9b-10).  God has always had the total perspective; ours has always been limited.  But God, in his mercy, brought us out of darkness into light by making known his perspective.  He revealed Himself to the patriarchs through direct conversation, to Israel through the prophets, to the first Christians through the apostle's teaching, and to us through the record of all these things in his Word.  Most importantly, God revealed Himself through the person of Jesus Christ, by becoming a man and speaking to us from our perspective.   

 

We rely on other's perspectives all the time.  We get our traffic reports from cameras in helicopters, our history books from people who died hundreds of years ago, and our medical diagnoses from tiny cameras in our bloodstream.  We do not consider it foolish to rely upon these things because they give us information that we cannot obtain on our own. Likewise, it is not foolish to rely on the perspective of the King, the one who can see even into our hearts.  As Christians, we do not need to make apologies for our bold truth claims.  They are not based upon our own limited perspective, but on the testimony of one who can see perfectly. His view of reality is more trustworthy than ours, because He has seen the beginning of the story and knows the end.   

 

Copyright (c) 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)

posted by: Jrobbins at 18:51 | link | comments |
the right perspective

Hypocrites!

I wanted to post this great article about the criticism of the church being "full of hypocrites", but I thought it might be a good idea to post a small disclaimer first: please remember it is meant to be (mostly) tongue-in-cheek:

Hypocrites in Church? by John Roberts 

 

My daughter informed me yesterday that the church is full of hypocrites. 

 

Stop the presses! 

 

It's a news flash! 

 

I had no idea that people come to church with impure motives, and smile when they don't even like you, and really don't mean it when they sing "All to Jesus I Surrender." I'm shocked. Of course, it's nice to know that God has rounded up all the hypocrites and put them in church buildings -- at least on Sunday mornings – so that all the people in the world who have pristine motives and clear consciences don't have to put up with them. 

 

She's right, you know. There are hypocrites in the church. There are Christians who would fight to the death over the inspiration of the Bible, but who rarely take it down off the shelf to read for themselves. There are Christians who would defend the importance of the church, but think nothing of gossiping about and slandering its members. 

I am rarely surprised anymore, but still frequently amazed at some of the attitudes that some Christians have. We must amaze and distress the Lord with the inconsistency between our beliefs and behaviors – our ability to believe one thing while living another. I'm not talking about those whose lives don't come up to their ideals. We're all guilty of that. The Lord wants us to set goals, especial the goal of being like Christ. He also knows that we will fall short.  

 

The hypocrite is different. The hypocrite sets a standard for everyone else and then another standard for himself. She makes demands on others that she has no intentions of fulfilling in her own life. He exempts himself from any real genuine pursuit of holiness. She exempts herself from the demands of true discipleship. Secretly, he assumes his superiority over others. She believes that she deserves special treatment by God. 

 

Of all the sins that Jesus confronted, none received a more scathing rebuke than hypocrisy. (Want to experience Jesus' angry criticism of hypocrites, go read Matthew 23 then go compare it with the nature and heart of God found in Psalm 23. Perhaps Jesus reserves such harsh words for hypocrisy because hypocrisy is the outward expression of a heart that is too full of self to have room for God.  

 

Yes, Virginia, there are hypocrites in the church ... and folks who wrestle with just about every other kind of sin. After all, it was one of God's greatest apostles who said, "What I say is true, and you should fully accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst of those sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15 ERV) 

 

Now, whether hypocrites and other sinners being in attendance is a valid excuse for exempting yourself from church, you'll have to take that up with God. He might decide you need to be in there with all the rest of us who don't quite measure up to the high standards of our calling. And, yes, even in your most honest moments, he might want you to be there with those who also struggle with hypocrisy.  

 

"Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your 

brother's eye, but you don't notice the big piece of wood that is 

in your own eye? Why do you say to your brother, 'Let me take that 

little piece of dust out of your eye'? Look at yourself first! You 

still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You are a 

hypocrite. First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will 

see clearly to take the dust out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:3-5 ERV)

posted by: Jrobbins at 14:18 | link | comments |
hypocrites

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