Features

‘I AM – WITH YOU’ ASSURED THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE!

Maureen McQuillan(May 3, 2015) Maureen McQuillan recalls a memorable believers’ water baptism service:

Ali, a converted Muslim from Iran, had expressed his desire to follow his Saviour Jesus through the waters of baptism.

A humble and most sincere man who loves Jesus and doesn’t hesitate to share his faith in Christ, he had his wish fulfilled in a heart-touching baptism service at  last month at the Highton campus of Moolap and Barrabool Hills Baptist Church, Geelong, Victoria, last March.

The service meaningfully centred on Ali’s baptism and quite a few of his converted Muslim friends from Melbourne and Hoppers Crossing attended to celebrate the occasion. Moein, a delightful young Iranian friend I know, was among the visitors and kindly supplied photos for this article.

Barrabool Baptist’s teaching pastor Matt Jacoby conducted the baptismal segment along with Reza – who only likes to known as ‘a servant of Jesus.’ Matt Jacoby highlighted the meaning of adult believers’ water baptism and Reza interpreted for Ali as he shared his testimony in Farsi. (more…)

IRAN – WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING EVANGELICAL POPULATION (Apr 9, 2016)

Mark Ellis 2016Mark Ellis shares good news …

Iran is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for followers of Jesus Christ. Almost all of the above-ground, Farsi-speaking churches have been closed and house churches are raided routinely, with their leaders and members arrested, according to a report by SAT-7 (http://sat7.org/).

Iranian Christians share faith despite dangers!
Evangelism by Christians is against the law and may even be punished by death. But despite Iran’s leaders’ strenuous efforts to bring the furies of hell against believers, God is at work and the church in Iran is growing rapidly! (more…)

RESCUED BY A ROBED MAN WITH AN AURA OF LIGHT WHEN SATAN TRIED TO DROWN HER (Mar 8, 2016)

Mark Ellis 2016Mark Ellis (left) and Vivian Chou share a great testimony…

Perhaps it was a riptide, but Sister Mei also had a vision of a malevolent hand pulling her out to sea in southern China.

While she enjoyed the beach for the first time in her life, Mei worried about hardships she faced and her prospects for the future. She was divorced – abandoned by her husband. And she was on vacation at Sanya Beach with her boyfriend, a married man.

Feeling totally hopeless
‘I had never seen the ocean before,’ she told the U.S. Center for World Mission, currently known as Frontier Ventures. ‘For some reason, I felt that if I could see the ocean, a lot of my questions could be answered. My husband left me after I gave birth. On the third day, he came to the hospital for the last time. He just disappeared. It really hurt me. That’s how I started to take my life in the wrong direction.’ (more…)

READING THE ROAD MAP (Mar 8, 2016

Harold Harvey 2016Harold Harvey pinpoints some Christian life ground rules …

I was talking with a friend a little while back and we were discussing the Bible and that it is the word of God for us and, as such, it should guide our footsteps in life and that it is our authority and basis for the things we believe.

Among other things, we talked about how the Bible doesn’t tell us a lot about heaven and hell or much about life after death – the very thing that a lot of people want to know about. (more…)

IS GOD REAL? (Mar 7, 2016)

Brian Bell 2016Brian Bell mediates on the above oft-asked question.

Confessed atheist Richard Dawkins is well-known for his book The God Delusion. But is Dawkins right? Are Christians who believe in God deluded?

God’s word clearly says we should be always ready to give a reason for the hope that lies within us. But this doesn’t mean we’ll be able to give an answer to satisfy the mind and heart of people who choose not to believe! (Remember Hebrews 11:6 NLT: ‘Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him’). (more…)

A NEW DAY, A NEW BEGINNING

Sandro SchietromaSandro Schietroma shares realistic truths about Christians as overcomers…

I’m not sure what the last year has looked like for you, but despite what any of us may have gone through, we are now in a new year, a new day, a new beginning.

I know that each and every one of us knows what it’s like to have challenges; it’s a fact of life that difficult circumstances come up against us. But…‘Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed…’ (Lamentations 3:22). (more…)

‘BLACK HAWK DOWN’ SURVIVOR SAYS JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD

Mark Ellis 2016
Mark Ellis (left) and Michael Ashcraft share a great testimony…

What impacted Jeff Struecker most was not the thousands of hostile Somalis swarming his Humvee, nor the hailstorm of bullets and RPGs as he attempted to rescue fellow Rangers in the ill-fated 1993 raid of Mogadishu made famous by the movie Black Hawk Down.

What impacted him most was the next October morning back at base when his buddies one by one asked him about death and the afterlife. (more…)

PARABLES – FAMILIAR STORIES WITH SPIRITUAL LESSONS

Harold HarveyHarold Harvey shares…

Metaphors, similes and parables are forms of speech that many people use every day in their communication with each other. The New Testament uses these forms of speech quite often with regard to its message.

In fact, I think it nigh on impossible to understand the word of God unless one is familiar with these speech forms because the writers of scripture used them so frequently. (more…)

‘THERE MUST BE SOMETHING BETTER THAN ALL THIS!’

Brian Bell
Brian Bell mediates on the above …

Perhaps you too have said something like that…’There must be something better…’ when you found yourself in a difficult situation. Particularly one you didn’t understand or in which you were struggling to cope.

Psalm 118: 8 offer us encouragement regarding something better: ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.’ ‘Better’ … that’s the Hebrew word tobe meaning ‘good, cheerful, well-favoured.’ (more…)

COMMIT YOUR 2016 PLANS TO GOD

Carol Round 2016Carol Round shares meaningfully re 2016 resolutions…

The apostle gives good advice in 3 John 2: ‘Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.’

A New Year has arrived and with it the usual resolutions to lose weight, get in shape and quit smoking. Some look for quick fixes through crash diets, new exercise crazes or so-called ‘magical’ pills while others seek a solution through surgery, bringing with it a host of possible complications and side effects.
(more…)