Paul made a dramatic statement in Ephesians 5:32: ‘This is a great mystery, but I speak concerningChrist and the church.’
God’s church isthe fellowship of saints. In the gospels and first 10 chapters of Acts, those who followed Jesus were called ‘disciples.’ The early church grew and in Acts 11:26 those followers were now called ‘Christians.’
Faithful Christians will –
Not lie, or deceive others or be treacherous.
Talk open mindedly to other Christians.
Follow Jesus’ model, walking in His footsteps.
Reflect Him under all conditions.
Not deny Jesus when affected by circumstances.
Never misuse God’s ministry for their own profit.
One of the greatest mysteries to manyis the fellowship of Christians and God.The reality is that those who are born again through Jesus are God’s children (John 1:12-13).
Every truth needed for anyone to live a victorious life in this world is hidden in this secret relationship. But people (sadly even some Christians!) are trying to discover other ways to find joy and peace to progress in their lives, ignoring this relationship.
Jesus revealed His great love for us in redeeming us by His sacrifice on Calvary (Romans 5:8). He is our Saviour who overcame death and rose from the dead! Over the centuries people have hated Jesus’ church and persecuted it. This fellowship of God’s children has experienced terrible sufferings and opposition… even today!
(February 5, 2023) David McGuire, ‘the missionary with a camera’ to Romania again uses his camera to ‘write’ reports on his latest trip to Ukraine…
Once again I and other concerned Christians ventured going up into Ukraine to share the love of Jesus with heartbroken and needy Ukrainians.
Many Ukrainians have practical needs! Sharing the gospel message of love doesn’t mean preaching only – it begins with fulfilling Jesus’ command to ‘love thy neighbour’ (Mark 12:31)!
As I reported last year – Sharing the Gospel With Words and Deeds with other photos – on a number of times caring Romanian Christians have made several dangerous trips up there to bring groceries, practical supplies and other goods to dear, distressed people who have seen their homes and towns destroyed by Russia. And to pray about needs!
Just recently, some Ukrainians were blessed by yet another such venture up there by a Romanian team… despite dangers. Firstly Groceries were purchased that could be distributed freely to needy Ukrainians. Here’s Chris and me loading up bread and other grocery items.
Then practical provisions were obtained, such as desperately needed woodburning stoves and generators asthere is no electric or gas where we were daring to travel. And not only no heat but no water!
(February 04, 2023) Stuart Reynolds challenges Christians to know God more…
‘Flies-on-the-wall’ documentaries are not new – if our television broadcast schedules are anything to go by, we can’t get enough of them!
And with the rapid progress of camera technology, such broadcasts have become deeper, clearer, even truer, spawning a whole new breed for our watching – from The Secret Life of Pets to The Secret Life of 4 & 5 Year Olds,’ and, if you really want it, The Secret Life of Books and even of Buildings!
But what about The Secret Life of Saints? What would ‘flies-on-the-wall’ learn and admire? Or… be unimpressed by?
Watchman Nee wrote: ‘This is the test. How much of my life is seen? When men look on the surface, have they seen the whole, or is there more? Have I, in the unseen, a secret history with God?’
(February 02, 2023) Carol Round encourages us to know The Promise Keeper…
We all know people who have broken their promises. If you follow politics, you know it happens more times than we can count. But we all fall short because we, too, are promise breakers.
Just like Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan in the garden, we all fall prey to our human condition (‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’ – Genesis 3:5).
Knowing we’ve given in to our selfish desires, we lose the peace that comes from obeying God. In Adam and Eve’s case, they lost a close fellowship with God.
Humans repeatedly break their promises. But God, who is the one true Promise Keeper, will never let us down. If we cling to Him, knowing He will never disappoint us with false promises, we’ll find peace.
(February 01, 2023) Richard Winter begins a series on Mark’s gospel…
In you had children in the 1990s, you may remember they were glued to the TV when Power Rangers were on – that group of ordinary teens who when faced with evil changed into a super group to fight the foe.
They taught that –
Everyone is a hero in his or her own way.
You can unleash your secret power!
Taking a step back is not a problem.
Focusing on the mission is vital!
Evil forces are out there trying to take over the earth.
The series captured the hearts of a generation and many who go to Comic Con today dress as a Power Ranger.
The story is rather universal.
Good versus evil and good wins.
There are losses.
But you stay together as a team and don’t give up.
When you face an enemy you power up, or as they would stay Morph Up.
It’s almost as if the Power Rangers’ theme and storyline was stolen from the Bible! What do I mean by that?
Evil needs to be fought! The Bible is about universal sin and evil fighting against God! And His sons and daughters fight evil, and He has equipped us by giving His Holy Spirit and power, enabling us to ‘morph up’ and live life as ‘Power Ranger Christians.’
(January 29, 2023) Maureen McQuillan seeks to comfort a distressed sister…
Dear Pastor Maureen
I’m going through a difficult time. I’ve prayed and prayed but don’t seem to be getting answers, or help. I want to believe that I can trust God but I just feel He hasn’t heard my prayer. My heart is sobbing, I cry myself to sleep. Doesn’t God care? I am a Christian, I have accepted Jesus. Bella.
Dear Bella
Oh yes, God does hear our prayers… your prayers, and yes, He does care! I’ll be open, honest with you, won’t mislead you… becoming a Christian doesn’t mean we’ll have a carefree life. Yes, we will have a good life, sins forgiven and an assurance that we’re heaven-bound. But… presently we’re still here and things can go wrong, even for God’s children! Accidents, sicknesses, disappointments, marriage and family troubles, sudden loss of loved ones, even disasters.
But we can keep trusting God, we can bank on His love, provision, protection in that He will help us and bring us through whatever the issue is! Your prayers are heard by God (1John 5:14-15, 1 Peter 3:12). 1 Peter 5:7 is particularly precious: ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you.’
For over 88 nights in a row, a small country church in Kentucky has been the site of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as many are being saved, baptised and set free from addictions and bondages.
The North Main Community Church,Heidrick has been packed with roughly 300 hungry people every night, which has left Pastor Scott Phipps searching for ways to expand their facility. The town of Heidrick has a population of about one thousand, according to Pastor Phipps (Photos: S. Phipps).
‘The aisles are full every night,’ Pastor Phipps told God Reports. ‘It was the end of the 54th night when I really realised things had changed. Last night you could also feel a shift come in the church. A man was praying for healing. We were praying for him, and I went numb all over. You could feel the power of God in such a way and even the lead evangelist looked at me at the same time.’
Saved from drug addiction Scott Phipps and his wife, Tammie were saved out of drug addiction 29 years ago. ‘I was deep in drug addiction and trafficking in drugs and had a store with a 24-hour game room and a lot of other illegal activities going on,’ he recalled.
‘A backslidden preacher come in one night and lost all his money in one of the poker machines,’ he says. Somehow, Scott and Tammie ended up with the preacher’s rusting Chrysler LeBaron convertible, leaking through the roof. They found a rain-soaked Bible in the back of the car.
‘My wife was drying the Bible out and she started reading it,’ he reports. The power of the word and the Spirit grabbed Tammie’s heart and she visited a church nearby. ‘She went one night and God delivered her of almost seven years of opiate addiction and saved her.’
Phipps was shocked when Tammie returned from the church and said, ‘Honey, God saved me. I don’t want to do drugs anymore, and I love you now.’
He didn’t like the change. ‘I got upset over it. She wouldn’t get high on drugs. I mean, that was our life and I thought, Well, I’ve always been the leader in her life; she’d been with me since she was 13.’
After a few sleepless nights, Phipps made his way to a church, fell to his knees at the altar, and was born again. ‘I realised I was blind. Looking back now, I didn’t know how miserable I was. You’ve got to realise that me and my wife had no experience in church. We weren’t raised in Christian homes. When she was three her dad was shot and killed in a bar that got robbed. I was introduced to drugs by my own father. And so, we were the opposite of being raised in a Christian home.’
Inexperienced butled to church plant They left their old life behind and went to Lexington, temporarily homeless, living in a Super Eight motel with their twin, one-year-old boys.
After he found work, they lived in Lexington for two years, then returned home and felt called by God to plant a church. ‘It had one his and hers outhouse, a potbelly stove in it for heat, and held about 40.’
‘We planted the church in 1998, which wasn’t long after we found the Lord. I knew nothing… I had flashcards many times, with a story you hold up and you read them off the back. I knew nothing about preaching.’
After several years, they moved into their present location. They also run one of the area’s largest addiction recovery centres, Hope City and Redemption Road Recovery.
‘It’s a dark hour and a lot of people are just lost,’ he observes. The area is inundated with drugs, mainly cheap Methamphetamine and heroin. ‘Now an ounce of meth is US$200. People are trading their lives for it.’
From ashes to beautiful lives Many filling the church are escaping the emptiness of drugs. ‘Eighty percent of our church people come out of addiction like us and then other people that just didn’t know a lot about church, and others who lost that first love,’ he says.
(Pastor Scott Phipps and his wife, Tammie. Photo:Facebook)
‘We’ve been blessed with a group of people that truly love much because they’ve been forgiven much. They love much, and they feel they owe their life to Christ. The world says there’s no hope for people like this, there’s nothing for them. People are just coming from everywhere. A lot of them say they’ve been waiting for this‘ he added.
Pastor Phipps says, ‘Only God can take the ashes of a life and make something beautiful out of it. Only God can do that.’ _________________________________________________________
GodReports.com, founded by Mark Ellis in 2009, is devoted to promoting Christian missions by sharing stories and testimonies from missionaries and mission organisations. _________________________________________________________
(January 27, 2023) Brian Bell reminds us that in anxious timesthe Christian’s confidence is in our God…
I am taking a little poetic licence here in describing Psalm six by using this musical term, but it is also one of those psalms in which David mentions the name of stringed instruments to which the psalm should be accompanied.
Movement #1 (v1-5) What often encourages me as I read the psalms is their honesty – I remind myself the words are spoken/written not in private prayer but for public worship in their context as songs, so they make honest references –
To weakness, pain (agony), sickness, helplessness (verses 2 and 3).
To help… ‘rescue me, save me’ (verse 4NLT).
Movement #2 (v 6-7) David says, ‘I am worn out by sobbing, every night tears drench my bed, my pillow is wet from weeping….’
(January 26, 2023) Dr Robert McQuillan encourages a troubled young believer…
Dear Dr Robert
This may be nothing… or something! Maybe it’s because I‘m feeling a little concerned. It’s just that some of our key people, including the minister, have suddenly left, or are leaving. I feel a little bit uneasy. Grant.
Hi Grant
I know how you’re feeling. Long time ago in the early days of my Christian journey, there were a lot of things I didn’t know about, didn’t understand, hadn’t worked out. Maybe if I share as follows, it’ll help you…
People, key people or others, do leave church at times, even a great church such as the one you attend. In a nutshell, this is life – it happens! I’ll give you some reasons –
(January 26, 2023) Elizabeth Kendal requests urgent prayer for the following…
These January updates are but the tip of the iceberg!Always remember that the context is spiritual!
‘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’ (Ephesians 6:12ESV).
Connecting with You! 