Persecuted Chinese Christians

 With the 2008 Olympics being hosted in Beijing, China, there has been increased attention on many aspects of life in China.  One area of focus has been the plight of Christians in China.  There are a significant number of Christians in China and their numbers are growing.  Untold numbers worship in underground, nonregistered churches.  There are numerous reports of Chinese Christians who have been persecuted for their faith, even in 2008.  There are many who are not allowed to worship the God they adore freely and openly without fear of retribution, punishment or discouragement.

Safely Home, by Randy C. Alcorn, is an incredible work of fiction based on real life struggles of Chinese believers that Alcorn collected from numerous sources.  Alcorn leaves a note for the reader before the book begins:

     “The City I’ve called Pushan is fictitious.  As far as I know, there is no Pushan in the area I’ve described.  If there is, I’ve never been there and have no knowledge of it.  While many things in this book have actually happened in one way or another, I have made up the story.  Still, I have attempted to keep it authentic and true to life in as many details as possible.  Nearly all my characters are fictitious.  Some are composites of several real people.  Whenever I was thinking of someone in particular I changed his name and life details so it would be impossible to identify him.”

What follows is an amazing, captivating and gripping narrative that, for me, was soul-stirring and faith-challenging.  As the 2008 Olympic Games comes to a close, and all the gold, silver and bronze medals awarded, may we remember those killed, abused and thwarted because of their faith.  There are no gold medals to award, no accolades to bestow, no interviews to give and no commercials to film. 

But for you, faithful ones, wherever you are, keep the faith.  God sees.  God knows.  God hears.  Cheers of encouragement and prayers go out for you, all of you Christians who live day-to-day around the world persecuted because of your faith.  Sometimes under cover of night in hidden rooms, sometimes with just the threat of and sometimes actual violence, sometimes losing all you have including your families and sometimes paying the ultimate, even your lives.  Until you are safely home, God bless you and keep you, my brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Godspeed.

 

Horatio Spafford Story

This is an uplifting encouraging story told by Bill Gaither about Horatio Spafford who wrote, “It is Well.”  It is followed by a rendition by the Gaither Vocal Band.  It is an incredible testimony and song.  Later in the song, the vocals by Guy Penrod and David Phelps are awesome.  I hope you enjoy.

You’ll Never Hit the Ball if You Don’t Swing

On a lighter note today, this spring my son played t-ball for the first time. We all had a great time and we loved watching kids his age (6) play. It’s also fun to watch some of the grown-ups act like spoiled brats but that’s another story for another day.  Anyway, between chasing bugs, lying down in the outfield, running off the field to the bathroom or climbing the dugout fence, you just never knew what one of those kids would do. (The pros are kind of like that only what they do I can’t repeat here).  So, you know the game. They put a ball on a plastic tee and the kids swing at the ball and take off running (assuming they hit the ball).

Who Does God Love?

Who does God love?  It’s easy for us to answer, “everyone,” isn’t it?  We know the Sunday School answers.  We know that John 3:16 says that “God so loved the world…”  We can sing, “Jesus loves the little children …”  We know and believe God loves everyone.  Or do we?  We’re sure that he loves us – sometimes, that is.  Well we’re sure that he loves preachers and missionaries and nuns, that’s for sure.  They’re good.  They’re His servants.

The Little Protein Called Laminin

Someone told me about this video about a month ago.  I got an email yesterday again about it.  Maybe you’ve seen it, maybe not, but it is an encouraging video, check it out and think about it, eat two cookies and call me in the morning.

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