Satan

YOUR SORROW WILL BE TURNED INTO JOY!

 

(March 23, 2023) S. Sam Selva Raj encourages… and strongly challenges.

‘Your sorrow will be turned into joy!
Your sorrows and tears will pass away, 
Do not be dismayed son, nor be dismayed daughter,
Our Jesus will not forsake you.

‘Don’t be disheartened thinking of the past; forget the past that happened,
God will do a new thing; you will see even today, today itself!
Do not be disheartened; yes, do not be disheartened,
Our Lord God will not forsake you.

‘God heals the broken hearted; He supports the bruised;
Binds all the wounds, wipes our tears; yes, He wipes your tears.
Do not be disheartened, do not be dismayed;
God will not forsake you.

‘He will not allow you to be tested beyond your strength;
Gives you the needed strength; He will show you a way out, yes, a way out!
Do not be disheartened, do not be dismayed; 
He will not forsake you.’

What divine truths in the above song by Fr. S.J. Berchmans, song evangelist of Jebathottam Ministries.

Sorrow can be turned to joy!
This truth links with the promise that God will never forsake us, whatever our sorrow may be (Hebrews 13:5). In trusting Him, they will be turned into joy! (John 16:20bNKJV).

(more…)

IT’S A WAR OUT THERE! (Meditations on Mark – 2)

(February 13, 2023) Richard Winter shares some salient facts…

The rumours had come in from a far-flung corner of the Roman empire…

  • There was trouble over a Jewish teacher who had apparently led a nonviolent campaign.
  • To stop the problems He had been crucified as a common criminal.
  • His friends and many others are saying He has come back to life – and has been seen walking around and gathering with crowds of people.

So what are the facts? Mark tells them rather simply…

(A continuous history which – if you follow – you will know how it all links together and how that Jewish Messiah will affect your life and others).

Seven facts…

1. New start
A guy had come baptising people who were repenting of their sins. Jesus was baptised… even though He had no sin! What Jesus was doing was demonstrating that all old ways of doing things either religiously or secularly needed to be buried and everyone can start a new spiritual life.

(more…)

MINISTRY HICCUPS

(December 20, 2022) Dr Robert McQuillan encourages a troubled pastoral couple …

Dear Dr Robert

I apologise that this is going to be a long letter.

My wife and I are ministers, like you and Maureen. We’ve always enjoyed this calling, despite challenges that are involved – many of which we can’t or won’t share with our church. I’m sure you too have found that some church members can be very unkind and unthoughtful when they learn their ministers have needs. I don’t mean financial ones, although to be honest sometimes we can be disappointed when we hear some members don’t contribute to our church, but donate heavily to ‘prosperity doctrine’ preachers.

No, I’m particularly thinking of other concerns – we’re not as young as we used to be and both seem to get attacked by sicknesses we never thought about before. In fact we used to pray for people going through similar sicknesses and God would gloriously answer our prayers. Now we find ourselves not wanting to mention our needs in case we’re accused of losing our faith!

(more…)

SOME THINGS I ‘ADMIRE’ ABOUT THE DEVIL

(August 20, 2022) Richard Winter really grabs our attention with this title!

Well, with that title I better get straight to the point before some reader thinks I’ve lost the plot!

Firstly there are two things the devil and I have in common:

(i) He hates me!
(ii) I hate him!

That said, kindly bear with me and hear me out (noting that I’ve used quotes around that verb ‘admire’). There are some things that the devil consistently does that I can only wish God’s children would do in their testimony and service for the Lord.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to glorify the devil! But I’m going to use him as an example to challenge Christians.

(more…)

THAT BLACK DOG

(March 22, 2021) Trevor Pugh shares his testimony…

Thank you, Connecting with You contributors Pastor Charles Schwab, Dr Jim McClure, Geraldine Brandt, and Dr Robert and Maureen McQuillan for your articles this month (Links below*).

I appreciate you all sharing this journey, especially Pastor Charles’ very open candidness.

That constant companion
Depression – The Black Dog – has been a constant companion, biting away at me since l was young – unloved, uncared for, and hurting so much inside.

It was while being ‘bitten yet again’ at age 40 that I thought I had the final solution to such ‘bites’… suicide!

That dark night l held a rifle under my chin and was pressing on the trigger, when l suddenly stopped and decided to go outside and call into the night sky.

‘Why?’ I wondered as I stood there outside, making a lot of noise and shouting inanely.

My shouting woke my wife, Jan, and she rushed out to see what was going on, who or what I was yelling at.  With her help I sensed God speaking to my heart and l quieted down. I ended up going back to bed, although secretly thinking, ‘Anyway, I can suicide tomorrow.’

But praise God in the morning, l felt different! I had called out to God and he had heard me! (more…)

‘AND THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT …’?

(July 24, 2018) Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, brings another wake-up call…

Recently I watched Britain’s Got Talent.  The act that won was of a ‘comedian’ whose whole routine was about his homosexuality. The judges thought it was hilarious! The audience stood and applauded! And the voting public declared him the winner! (In another performance a man demonstrated his ‘skill’ by removing his clothes in a provocative way.) The show was concluded by a female guest singer who sang about wanting to kiss girls.

Another popular singer, Ariana Grande, has a new sexually explicit song on the market called God is a Woman. Some of the lyrics are a mockery of Christianity, such as, ‘Baby, lay me down and let’s pray’, ‘So, baby, take my hand, save your soul’ and ‘And boy, if you confess, you might get blessed.’ In her music video of the song Ezekiel 25:17 is misquoted. And Grande is portrayed in a flesh-coloured body suit with multiple breasts at which men suckle.

Disrespect for spiritual beliefs and standards
Sadly in recent years we have seen a disintegration of social principles and disrespect for spiritual beliefs and standards that have established a sound foundation for many nations for hundreds of years – (more…)

‘HAPPY HALLOWEEN’? – IT’S NO LAUGHING MATTER!

(October 26, 2017) Stuart Reynolds challenges so-called October 31 ‘fun’ …

Unfortunately me and mine have had the horrendous experience of having our home burgled … and more than once!

The most frightening occurrence was the time I was actually in the house. In anticipation of my wife Helen returning home from a night out, I had left the front door closed but unlocked.

Assuming it was Helen returning I didn’t react and check when I heard the door opening – it was a shock to discover later that some intruders had quickly stolen a mobile phone and snatched some car and house keys with the intention of returning later for more plunder!

Just five minutes prior to the break in, I had taken my two young children to bed – right past that closed but unlocked door! No danger at that moment – but what might have happened had we been there in that spot when the thieves came? Even now I shudder to think.

That incident of leaving the door open – unbolted – was definitely no laughing matter!

Neither are unbolted doors to the occult
Have I got your attention about the danger of ‘closed but unlocked doors’? Good – because I  want you to think about certain other unlocked door dangers… such as occult goings-on, the subtlety of October 31’s Halloween with its apparently harmless ‘Happy Halloween’/’Trick or Treat’/’Dress-up Fun.’ And, for that matter, other happenings that most people including ‘blindsided’ Christians regard as merely laughing matters! (more…)

THEBUZZ

GLEANINGS (October 28, 2106):

  • MANDAN, USA – Be neighbourhood carriers of the light this Halloween
  • GROVE, Oklahoma – Let your light shine!
  • ERBIL, NORTHERN IRAQ – Run over by a tank, this monk now ministers to refugees
    __________________________________________________________________________________

MANDAN, ND
Halloween – Light a candle or curse the darkness!

Becky FischerBecky Fisher challenges: ‘Halloween – do you ‘sanitise it? Hide from it? Or confront it?’

For years I was one of those Christians who hid in the basement and turned off my lights to avoid participating. Or I joined my church with sanitised ‘Christian alternatives’ … ‘Halloween’ became Harvest Parties.

In a brief post like this, it’s hard to say everything I believe about Halloween. Just be assured I despise it. I have done several blogs on the topic and have come out strong against Christians participating with it. (Go to my website and search for ‘Halloween’ to see them.)

Time to shatter the darkness!
So, while some Christians still may not agree, a few years ago I thought why do we let the world spit out its demonic messages unchallenged to our kids? Why are we not telling the truth to kids in an age-appropriate way that they can grasp – both Christian kids and unsaved kids? I’m not looking for a ‘sticky lolly’ way to participate to be ‘religiously politically correct.’ I wanted to shatter the darkness and get in the face of evil with the truth! (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…)

‘DID GOD REALLY SAY?’ – THE BIG LIE, DECEPTION AND THE BRAIN LIZARD

Dr Robert & Maureen (2)(January 16, 2016) Robert and Maureen McQuillan share something old, something new…

No one likes lies and being lied to. Lying indicates trickery and deception. We teach children the value of truth and that one’s word is to be regarded as a person’s bond. We teach them never to lie and as parents we set examples.

Unfortunately because of sin, lying and lies are part of the human nature resulting in broken or unfulfilled promises. Parents have to warn their kids about this too.

Lying is not of God!
Lying is not in God’s character. The Bible is the word of the God who never lies (Psalm 33:4; John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 John 2:27; Hebrews 6:18) and has several warnings and important things to say about lies and lying. For example, the Bible speaks against lying – (more…)