In reading again the story of Joni Eareckson Tada, I see why she is such a vibrant witness to the saving power of the Lord Jesus. Like so many raised in Christian homes, it is typical to grow up surrounded by “Christian” people and habits but never entering a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus as personal Savior. Attending church, reading the Bible, singing hymns and songs are all part of the routine or “ritual.” Is that all God’s wants?
Having a biblical understanding of grace, forgiveness, justification, and sanctification is more than hearing the words mentioned in sermons or Sunday School classes. One of the pains I live with is thinking of young people who currently grow up in the church that I was born into. At some point in the mid 1960’s, the pure gospel of God’s grace was no longer preached and was replaced by ‘works’ and ‘demands’ from leadership. The sad result is that generations after 1960 have no understanding of the gospel, and their lifestyle shows this. We were delivered from this ‘church-become-cult’ in 1970, but I grieve over those who think they are saved and going to heaven because they attend this group. They are lost! By contrast, Joni allowed the sovereign work of the Spirit in her heart that gave her a clear understanding of her sinful condition, the bounty of God’s grace in Christ for her, and the joy of becoming a child of God. She came to value Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Without this Spirit-given understand, we are lost. Where are you in this picture? There is an eternity of difference!
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We have started a new study at our church going through Paul’s letter to the Colossians and noticed that right after thanking God the Father for them and the way they received the gospel, he offers another prayer. This second prayer (1:9-14), is specifically concerned with their knowing God’s will and able to apply “spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (9-10).
Often our prayers for others focus on their physical and circumstantial needs. There is nothing wrong with that, but we need to take a lesson from Paul and how he prays for believers. For that reason, I made a prayer card that can be used by anyone in praying for a brother or sister in Christ. I encourage you to insert their name in blank spaces and use Paul’s prayer as a model of praying for anyone in the Body of Christ (sample below). ![]() In this blog, I want to take you on a journey to the Ivory Coast of Africa. There we meet Jacob who is a faithful “Timothy” and in a selfless way follows the command that Paul gave to His Timothy. “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:1–2). As you can see from the picture, that is exactly what Jacob is doing. By using the Bible as his text and God’s Plan for His Disciples workbook, he is discipling other pastors and young men with the basics of the Christian faith so they can return to their villages and do the same training with their local people. This is how the gospel spreads and God’s Word is understood by people groups that have never been exposed to it before. From the plains of Africa, the high mountains of Ecuador and Nepal, to the countries of Southeast Asia, this is what God is doing. Some need Bibles, while some just need a servant of the gospel to come alongside them and show them how to study the Bible. No matter where or what the conditions, God is at work! A leaders of leaders training was held in Uganda and each leader was given a set of banners to equip and enhance their training in home churches and in areas of Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo where they plan to expand the work. These are multiplying leaders who labor to see expansion of the gospel in this part of Africa. Thank you for praying!
Because of the serious need for Bibles in Uganda and South Sudan, Randy and Rogers are meeting a key leader at the Uganda Bible Society to see if we will be able to purchase more Bible in the near future. The price has been around $8.20 per Bible, and we are hoping to negotiate a better price. There is a great hunger among these believers and a desire to know and understand God’s Word so they can spread the gospel and disciple those who believe more effectively. We especially thank those who contributed to this need. Paul commends the churches in Macedonia, “for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:2). In the same way, we commend those who have answered this need with generosity. As many of you know, there are parts of the world where Bibles are in short supply. Some of these places are where God has called us to work in Africa. Both Uganda and Zambia are places where Bibles are so rare in villages that even some pastors do not own their own Bible. Here is a report from our partner in Zambia.
“We give glory to God for the grace and mercy rendered to us. I'm so grateful that we are able to give Bibles to the church leaders of the new church who had no Bibles. We are still looking forward to giving new converts with the Yao people Bibles when we go there soon. Thank you for praying with us for the Lord to provide these Bibles. We are still praying for more as we are planting more churches. Please continue praying with us.” This shortage is happening in many places where the gospel is reaching people groups who have never heard the Gospel. As new churches are being formed, leaders are also being trained in the basics of the gospel, discipleship, and church leadership. Please pray with us that the basic text (Bibles) be supplied so new disciples are established and strengthened in their faith through the reading and study of God’s Word. If you are interested in helping with this need, please go to our “Support” page to learn how to contribute. Be sure to designate your gift to “Bibles.” Because of medical issues, my ability to work on the computer is limited. So, I ask you to think about the actions of the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Gospels versus the Book of Acts.
As you think about these differences, how would they impact the way you look at the Spirit’s work today? Do your conclusions cause you to pray differently about what you want to see Him do in our day? In the study of Colossians with our Sunday group, the question was asked as to where false teachers got their ideas from and what motivated them to propagate teaching that is contrary to the gospel of grace? I would like to give an answer to this question, but not from knowing the source of their false teaching. It would be better to understand the source of the true gospel of grace. To do that, let’s allow Paul to give his perspective on the origin of the gospel and how he taught it.
“For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11–12). Paul could have just said that he received the gospel from Jesus Christ, but it was important to emphasize that no man had any part in giving him an understanding of the gospel. It is a free gift (Romans 3:24) and “not a result of works so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:9). If any man could claim that they gave Paul the gospel, they would have some basis to boast in what they had done. This was not the case! As we have seen many times in Acts 2, the Spirit communicated the fulness of the gospel which “is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). Now that we have God’s written Word, we also have the authority to declare the truth of the gospel as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Tim has just returned from Ecuador with an exciting report from the team’s eight days of visiting many churches and seeing first-hand how God is working. What is so interesting about this work, or should I call it ‘a movement of God,’ is that many of the churches where they are studying the Spanish God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) were unknown to us or to our partner in Quito. They were spontaneous studies that started because of hearing what God was doing in other churches.
This is distinct evidence that the Spirit has been working in spreading a revival among the Quechua and Spanish churches. There is a hunger for God’s Word that He has generated without any “program” that planned or forced them into it. At the same time a group of nearly 700 pastors have agreed together and committed themselves to train every church with GPHD and every pastor and leader be trained with the Spanish God’s Plan for His Church(GPHC). This will require much prayer. As we know, whenever there is a movement of God, the enemy of God’s work seeks to derail what is taking place. Let us be those who are faithful in prayer. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore…praying at all time in the Spirit will all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:12, 18). “I WANTED TO WEAR OUT MY LIFE
IN HIS SERVICE AND FOR HIS GLORY.” DAVID BRAINERD These are the words of someone who has carefully weighed the priorities in his life and made a choice based on what had eternal value. Have you made a choice? J. Johns interviewed R. T. Kendall to understand his 70 years of successful ministry:
J. J.: You have been in ministry 70 years. What would you say to the young ministers? RTK: If you were to believe me, but you probably will say, “it’s got to be more than that.” I realize that I have some degrees, but I would say to young ministers today, I would not recommend seminary. I think of Acts 4:13, “when the Sadducees saw the boldness of Peter and John, and saw they were uneducated common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” My advice to anybody is two things: know your Bible and pray a lot. That’s it! Know your Bible. What worries me John, is that people don’t know their Bibles. The problem with many preachers is that the only time they read the Bible is when they want a sermon. They don’t know the Word. People don’t know the Word. If I had a legacy, my legacy is that people would start taking the Bible seriously. And when we pray, we get to know God’s ways. Two things God want us to know: His Word and His ways. His Word – the Bible. How do you get to know anybody’s ways? By spending time with that person. Louise knows my ways. My son T.N. knows my ways. You know a little bit of my ways. How much do you pray will indicate how much you know the Lord’s ways! I cannot emphasize this enough! Know your Bible and pray a lot, and God will use you to exceed all the PhD’s.” |
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