Tune into God's Thoughts! Thank You, Father, that my mind is designed to pick up Your thoughts and that my heart has been created to welcome the feeling of love, Your Spirit within. Thank You, Father, that I can in this time of prayer, have the freedom to reach out and let the thoughts that are in me come out. Touch them, bless them, and ordain them to become the seeds of better living. Grace, mercy, and God's peace is with You now. Amen.
Thank You, Lord, that You have called me to develop the potential and the possibility that is built into every one of Your children and that includes me. Release, O God, within me the attitude, "I can do it, with the help of God." Let it begin with me now.
Jesus Christ, I want to thank You, that You have come to be my Savior, my Lord, my Best Friend. Thank You for walking with me and talking with me.
Thank You for the joy we share as we walk in prayer. Father, whisper in my ear to give me a dream for today, a dream that makes life wonderful and eternity exciting. Amen.
Jesus Christ, You are alive. You have given the good news. Life is abundant, and now life is eternal to those who know You and that includes me. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten, Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
You have promised it, Lord. "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." You have promised that if I have faith as the grain of a mustard seed, I can say to my mountain, "move and nothing will be impossible. Jesus Christ, look at me. You know who I am. You know where I come from. You know what problems I carry in my heart, and my mind, and in my physical, organic body.
O Lord, you know a lot more about me than I do. A lot more about me than any doctor, any psychiatrist, or any counselor knows.
O God, give me the gift of faith. I receive this gift, and I feel a warm glow. Your faith is flowing from my mind, across my face, across my lips, down my neck, and through my body. I am feeling the healing presence of the God of all eternity. In the name of my Lord, I praise You, and I thank You, Jesus Christ. Amen.
9. BE KIND: Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please, know I love each of your differences.
10. LOVE YOURSELF: As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for one reason only -- to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me. Don't ever forget......
Be a blessing to someone with your love. Rather than focus upon the thorns of life, smell the roses and count YOUR blessings.
The Moments We Stand There are few of us whose lives have been as heavily dosed with heartache and loss as that of Ashlee Birk. Her decision and dedication to share her story with the world is remarkable. Ashlee had a wonderful family with five beautiful children. Although blessed with all the makings of hope and happiness, Ashlee watched in despair as her husband, Emmett, became distant, angry and hurtful. Whatever Ashlee’s suspicions were as to the cause of his sudden change, nothing could’ve prepared her for what was coming next. One night, in the midst of the most harrowing feelings that something was very very wrong, two detectives appeared at her door to tell her that her husband Emmett had been shot and killed by his lover’s husband. She writes on her blog,
“I remember walking into my closet that night to beg Heavenly Father for a ‘do over.’ I begged Him for answers to why all of this was real. I fell to my knees and pleaded for the peace that I needed. “The most peaceful feeling came over my body. A still, small voice whispered to my heart: “BE STILL . . . I have been here, and I am still here. Angels have guarded this home and each of you. None of that has changed. It will be hard, but you have to keep moving forward. You have to have faith for a brighter day, which will come as long as you keep protecting these sweet children and having faith in Me.The Agony in the Garden“You are not alone. You have been watched over, and I am proud of you. I believe in you. Now is the time when you have to decide if your testimony has been in your perfect life and your husband, or if your testimony is in Me. Ashlee, be still. Breathe. You did all you could. You did your best. I am so proud of you. “You were an amazing wife; you are an incredible mother. You are still you. Do not let this define who you will become. You are still the Ashlee you have always been, and I see so much good in you. Believe in yourself and do not doubt who you are because of the pain you now feel so deeply. Find forgiveness and peace. This is the time to find the beauty that is still all around you. Make the world a better place for those children I have blessed you with. I will carry you when it gets unbearable, but I need you to STAND.”
Are Pioneer Christian Missionaries Still Needed Today? There are still 6,500 unreached people groups in the world. That means that roughly 2.2 billion have never heard the gospel in their own language and there are less than 2% believing Christians in their community.
Today, you can be a pioneer missionary and go where no missionary has ever gone before.
Pioneer missionaries have the potential to raise up the next generation of leaders to seek after the heart of God and reach all peoples, together. They can inspire the younger generation to rise up in spiritual maturity and carry the torch where the previous generation was unable to go. With God’s strength and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can have the stamina and strength to do the hard things and partner with God in the work He is doing all over the world.
“The supreme and crying need of this lost world is the Gospel. Shall we not rise at Christ’s command to carry the blessed saving news to every perishing one?”
– Robert Jaffray
Jesus is worthy to be praised, and yet, there are people whose languages have not yet reached His ears. There are tribes and tongues whom He has never heard the sound of, saying: “Jesus, we love You! Jesus, we need You! Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and rising again and rescuing me!”
It is clear that there is a desperate need for people all over the world to be told of God’s great love. People’s eternity is at stake. How can we say that we have no part in the Great Commission?
Be on a lookout for full stories of each Christian missionary. God is still using their stories to change the trajectory of people’s lives, and He may use it to change your heart.
May we be a people who are wholly consecrated to Christ and utterly devoted to the glory of God so that He may be known among all the nations.
What Impact Do Pioneer Missionaries Have on Culture? Pioneer missionaries have been some of the first Westerners to enter into unengaged cultures and share the gospel with the indigenous inhabitants.
For years, there has been a big debate over whether or not Westerners ruin other cultures. In this section, we will look at the wrong and right ways pioneer missionaries have approached culture, and how that has made an impact overseas.
The Wrong Approach: Westernizing Culture In the past, there have been some pioneer missionaries who entered into a new culture with the mindset that the locals were pagans and needed to be converted to Christianity. Rather than try to study the underlying beliefs that affected the native’s behavior, they shunned the very people that they had come to share the gospel with.
These missionaries also introduced medicine, food, clothes, politics, machines, and legal traditions from the West into the native culture. However, rather than teaching the local people how to sustain themselves, the missionaries poured all their resources into their own ministries and businesses. While Western practices and values are not bad, the local people began to depend on the Western missionaries for bringing in goods to support their economy.
When the missionaries left, the economy and culture would decline into a worse state than when they found it. In the years that those missionaries had been among the people, there was little lasting spiritual impact and no disciples were made. The missionaries had focused only on physical needs instead of addressing the spiritual needs of the people also. Thus, there was no permanent transformation. You need both to make an impact.
The Right Approach: Studying Culture On the other hand, there have been pioneer missionaries whose faith in God has driven them to find people who have never heard the name of Jesus. They were burdened with the desire to share the gospel and make disciples who make more disciples.
Rather than try to ‘fix’ a culture, these pioneer missionaries immersed themselves among the local people. They dressed as they did, learned the language, and became learners of the culture by studying the social behavior of the natives. In doing so, they discovered the needs of the people and recognized what was valued in that culture. Often the natives did not have a Bible written in their own language, and pioneer missionaries were able to translate the Bible into the indigenous language of the people they were with.
It takes years to share the full gospel with someone, and see any fruit from their work. Yet these pioneer missionaries knew how to contextualize the gospel and reach people with the love of Christ and endured through faith in building long-lasting relationships.
They also recognized that the people needed to be equipped with skills and trained how to help their own people. Medicine, education, business, and disciple-making became their primary focus of teaching. They also introduced Biblical values that shaped the culture’s social interactions and lifestyle. This produced a long-term impact and has brought greater transformation to these cultures today.
“Today’s missionaries are concentrated less in the far distant, less “civilized” parts of the world due to the unreached masses of people groups in the world’s large cities. But pioneer missionaries have left a legacy of strong commitment to reaching the unreached under extreme difficulties.”
Christian missionary stories have made a huge impact on our culture’s generation today. Through prayer and introducing Biblical principles, Christian missionaries have influenced education systems, belief practices, lifestyle behaviors, and economic structures. Their faithfulness to God and His Word is a testimony of cultural history, as well as traditional rituals, having been challenged and developed because of their devotedness to the One who is worthy to receive all the glory.
These people were by no means perfect, fully prepared, or fully equipped for the life they would live. Their faith was tested and tried countless times through endurance and suffering, and many were on the verge of giving up. Yet because of their obedience to God, their stories continue to motivate us today.
While we believe that the foundation for missions is based upon scripture, we also recognize that pioneer Christian missionaries have been the first to carry out the Great Commission. Through the impact of their stories, God is raising up another generation who has a burning desire in their hearts for His love to be known by every person on earth.
In this blog, we are introducing 10 pioneer Christian missionary stories that have inspired thousands of people for centuries. Over the course of the next few blogs, we will look at the life of each missionary and the legacy that is still being carried out to this day.
1. David Brainerd: Pioneering a Legacy in Missions Born in 1718, David Brainerd was one of the first missionaries to translate and carry the good news of Jesus to the Native Americans of New Jersey in their own language until the day of his death in 1747. His faith and passionate pursuit of God’s holiness has inspired countless missionaries such as William Carey, Adoniram Judson, and Jim Elliot. His story is still being told today to rekindle the beating heart of missions that every Christian should have: That the love of God would be made known to every lost soul on earth.
2. William Carey: Pioneer to India and Father of Modern Missions William Carey was born in 1761 and is often called the father of the modern missions movement because of his forty-one years of service on the mission field until he passed away in 1834. He was the first missionary to India and the first Baptist preacher to believe that the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 was a binding command on every generation of Christians. He is known for translating the entire Bible into Bengali and transforming culture through business and education. Read the full story about William Carey.
3. Adoniram and Ann Judson: Pioneers of Overseas Missions Adoniram and Ann Judson were the first American missionaries who were sent overseas to serve on the mission field in both India and Burma—now known as Myanmar. Both Adoniram and Ann worked on translating the Bible into Burmese until Adoniram was thrown into prison when accused of being a spy during the First Anglo-Burmese War. Ann, known as the mother of modern missions, fought to get her husband out of prison by going to every government court of law, raising awareness, and writing books on being a missionary in a foreign country. Their stories reflect that it is God who plants the seed and makes it grow.
Adoniram (1788-1850) and Ann (1789-1826) Judson At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson was the first American missionary to Burma. He and Ann married two weeks before they boarded a ship bound for India, from which they eventually were able to make their way to Burma. Judson would spend the next nearly forty years of his life living among and witnessing to the Burmese people. Until her death, Ann was the friend of many and even more fluent in the Burmese language than her academically inclined husband. Judson’s efforts were slow-going. He was imprisoned and tortured, but he never gave up on his God-given calling to reach Burma for Christ. Before his death, Adoniram Judson had not only established several churches in Burma, but he had also given Burma one of the greatest gifts: the Bible in their own language.
During the long Alaskan winters of my childhood, we had hours of read-aloud time. Curled up around our trusty wood stove, we soaked in the words and the life experiences of some of the greatest heroes of faith: missionaries. David Livingston, J. Hudson Taylor, “Ai-weh-deh“, Mary Slessor, and many other lesser-known missionaries were familiar names in our home, almost like family friends.
But it wasn’t just foreign missionaries and stories from generations ago that filled my childhood. My parents regularly practiced the art of hospitality, and we were honored to house and get to know modern-day missionaries as well. Seeing them live today on the foundations built by the great missionaries of the past was a gift that has encouraged and inspired me in my own daily walk in all the years since.
As an adult, I look back fondly on those evenings around the fireplace, remembering the words of the missionaries, both past, and present, that graced our home. Thanks to that heritage, I am determined to raise my daughter knowing and loving these heroes of the faith, as well.
For generations, missionary stories have inspired the next generation to go and serve, as well. Two of my siblings have also served extensively overseas, and my brother and his family are preparing to launch to Africa early next year.
Missionaries aren’t always born with exceptional gifts or outstanding talents. It’s the every day, simple people like you and me who let God completely guide their steps who He uses to do great things–here, or far away.
If you are feeling low on faith or have never read much about the missionaries of the past generations, I hope the stories of these fourteen missionary heroes and their companions will inspire you like they have inspired me every day.
Missionaries You Should Read About Adoniram (1788-1850) and Ann (1789-1826) Judson At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson was the first American missionary to Burma. He and Ann married two weeks before they boarded a ship bound for India, from which they eventually were able to make their way to Burma. Judson would spend the next nearly forty years of his life living among and witnessing to the Burmese people. Until her death, Ann was the friend of many and even more fluent in the Burmese language than her academically inclined husband. Judson’s efforts were slow-going. He was imprisoned and tortured, but he never gave up on his God-given calling to reach Burma for Christ. Before his death, Adoniram Judson had not only established several churches in Burma, but he had also given Burma one of the greatest gifts: the Bible in their own language.
All the times I've fallin' victim to my pride Patiently, you have waited by my side My guiding light through my darkest night You're the one thing I do right
No, I wasn't meant to live my life alone The load is just too heavy And the road is just too long
When I try to do it all myself It always turns out wrong No, I wasn't meant to live my life alone
But I've tried a million times to take control But I find, I always dig myself a hole And there I stand with a broken plan Reachin' for your hand
'Cause I wasn't meant to live my life alone The load is just too heavy And the road is just too long
When I try to do it all myself I find I'm not that strong No, I wasn't meant to live my life alone I truly need you with me in this life Lord Jesus
A Brief Background on Handel’s Messiah Handel’s crowning achievement, Messiah, was not an immediate success. In 1741, Handel was heavily in debt following a string of musical failures. It seemed that his career was over and he may even be forced to go to debtors’ prison. On April 8, 1741, Handel gave what he believed to be his final concert.
Later that year, two key events changed the course of Handel’s life and the landscape of music forever—his friend Charles Jennens wrote a libretto taken from the Bible, based on the life of Jesus Christ, and gave it to Handel. Then, Handel was given funding by a group of charities from Dublin, Ireland, to compose a new work for a benefit performance that would help free men from debtors’ prison. Handel would also receive his own commission for composing the work, which in turn helped him on his path to reversing his own misfortune.
The composition of Messiah, the complete 260-page oratorio, began on August 22, 1741, and was composed in just 24 days, when Handel finished the final orchestration on September 14, 1741.
Handel composed Messiah without getting much sleep or even eating much food. When his assistants brought him his meals, they were often left uneaten. His servants would often find him in tears as he composed. When he completed “Hallelujah,” he reportedly told his servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His company of Angels.”
Although the first performance in Dublin on April 13, 1742, was a huge success, Messiah wasn’t met with the same excitement in London the following season. Six scheduled performances were cancelled by Handel in 1743, Messiah was completely removed from the 1744 schedule, and it wasn’t performed in London until 1749.
In another reversal of fortunes, London’s Foundling Hospital held a fundraising concert, where Handel performed a mix of new music and well as older pieces including the “Hallelujah” chorus. At the time, Messiah was still somewhat unknown to London audiences, but the concert was so well received that Handel was invited back the next year, where he performed the entire Messiah oratorio. Performances of Messiah became an Eastertime tradition at the Foundling Hospital until the 1770s. Earnings from many early performances of the oratorio were used to help the poor, needy, orphaned, widowed, and sick.
In 1910 the Tabernacle Choir made its first recordings, which included the “Hallelujah” chorus; this was most likely the first recording of Messiah music outside of England. It was also the first recording of a Messiah piece to use an established choir, as all early recordings were made using temporary choirs comprised of provisional singers.
Text for “Hallelujah” comes from the book of Revelation in the New Testament. Revelation 19:6: “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation 19:16: “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.” Revelation 11:15 reads, “And he shall reign for ever and ever.”
Early education Early in his life Handel is reported to have attended the Gymnasium in Halle, where the headmaster, Johann Praetorius was reputed to be an ardent musician. Whether Handel remained there, and if he did for how long, is unknown, but many biographers suggest that he was withdrawn from school by his father, based on the characterization of him by Handel's first biographer, John Mainwaring. Mainwaring is the source for almost all information (little as it is) of Handel's childhood, and much of that information came from J.C. Smith, Jr., Handel's confidant and copyist. Whether it came from Smith or elsewhere, Mainwaring frequently relates misinformation. It is from Mainwaring that the portrait comes of Handel's father as implacably opposed to any musical education. Mainwaring writes that Georg Händel was "alarmed" at Handel's very early propensity for music, "took every measure to oppose it", including forbidding any musical instrument in the house and preventing Handel from going to any house where they might be found. This did nothing to dampen young Handel's inclination; in fact, it did the reverse. Mainwaring tells the story of Handel's secret attic spinet: Handel "found means to get a little clavichord privately to a room at the top of the house. To this room he constantly stole when the family was asleep". Although both John Hawkins and Charles Burney credited this tale, Schoelcher found it nearly "incredible" and a feat of "poetic imagination" and Lang considers it one of the unproven "romantic stories" that surrounded Handel's childhood.[ But Handel had to have had some experience with the keyboard to have made the impression in Weissenfels that resulted in his receiving formal musical training.
Musical education; Sometime between the ages of seven and nine, Handel accompanied his father to Weissenfels where he came under the notice of one whom Handel thereafter always regarded throughout life as his benefactor, Duke Johann Adolf I. Somehow Handel made his way to the court organ in the palace chapel of the Holy Trinity, where he surprised everyone with his playing. Overhearing this performance and noting the youth of the performer caused the Duke, whose suggestions were not to be disregarded, to recommend to Georg Händel that Handel be given musical instruction. Handel's father engaged the organist at the Halle parish church, the young Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, to instruct Handel. Zachow would be the only teacher that Handel ever had. Because of his church employment, Zachow was an organist "of the old school", reveling in fugues, canons and counterpoint. But he was also familiar with developments in music across Europe and his own compositions "embraced the new concerted, dramatic style". When Zachow discovered the talent of Handel, he introduced him "to a vast collection of German and Italian music, which he possessed, sacred and profane, vocal and instrumental compositions of different schools, different styles, and of every master". Many traits considered "Handelian" can be traced back to Zachow's music.[ At the same time Handel continued practice on the harpsichord, learned violin and organ, but according to Burney his special affection was for the hautbois (oboe).[Schoelcher speculates that his youthful devotion to the instrument explains the large number of pieces he composed for the oboe.
Handel was born in 1685 (the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti) in Halle, Duchy of Magdeburg (then part of Brandenburg-Prussia). His parents were Georg Händel, aged sixty-three, and Dorothea Taust. His father was an eminent barber-surgeon who served the court of Saxe-Weissenfels and the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
Halle was a relatively prosperous city, home of a salt-mining industry and centre of trade (and member of the Hanseatic League). The Margrave of Brandenburg became the administrator of the archiepiscopal territories of Mainz, including Magdeburg when they converted, and by the early 17th century held his court in Halle, which attracted renowned musicians.Even the smaller churches all had "able organists and fair choirs", and humanities and the letters thrived (Shakespeare was performed in the theatres early in the 17th century). The Thirty Years War brought extensive destruction to Halle, and by the 1680s it was impoverished. However, since the middle of the war the city had been under the administration of the Duke of Saxony, and soon after the end of the war, he would bring musicians trained in Dresden to his court in Weissenfels.
The arts and music, however, flourished only among the higher strata (not only in Halle but throughout Germany), of which Handel's family was not a member. Georg Händel (senior) was born at the beginning of the war and was apprenticed to a barber in Halle at the age of 14, after his father died. When he was 20, he married the widow of the official barber-surgeon of a suburb of Halle, inheriting his practice. With this, Georg determinedly began the process of becoming self-made; by dint of his "conservative, steady, thrifty, unadventurous" lifestyle, he guided the five children he had with Anna who reached adulthood into the medical profession (except his youngest daughter, who married a government official). Anna died in 1682. Within a year Georg married again, this time to the daughter of a Lutheran minister, Pastor Georg Taust of the Church of St. Bartholomew in Giebichenstein, who himself came from a long line of Lutheran pastors. Handel was the second child of this marriage; the first son was stillborn. Two younger sisters were born after the birth of George Frideric: Dorthea Sophia, born 6 October 1687, and Johanna Christiana, born 10 January 1690.
Yonik so very sorry for your loss, you kept your faith in the Savior. Your babies are save with Him now. May that knowledge give you some comfort until you will all be together again someday. Welcome to the blog Yonik...............
Carrie Underwood; Since the release of her hit song "Jesus Take the Wheel" in 2005, country star Carrie Underwood has made her religious beliefs apparent in her songs. In 2012, she responded to questions of whether she was ever worried the content of the song would deter potential fans. "It wasn't a worry to me at all," she told Glamour Magazine. "Country music is different. You have that Bible Belt-ness about it. I'm not the first person to sing about God, Jesus, faith any of that, and I won't be the last. And it won't be the last for me, either. If you don't like it, change the channel." Carrie's husband, retired NHL player Mike Fisher, is also a devout Christian. "Every Wednesday, my husband and I have a study group with our friends," she said. "I attend church. We try to devote time in the morning say a prayer. I'm not a big reader though. I have to feel it, hear it, touch it be involved in it."
Doctor's nurses, firefighters need our prayers. Most of them are getting very tired as they have been taking care of patients for a very long time now. Firefighters had also to fight the high temperatures making their work even more difficult. ....................
“I started reading Jesus’ words - and he blew me away.................
I was born in Iraq. I come from a mixed religious and cultural family—my dad is an Arab Muslim, but kind of a liberal Muslim, and my mum is Armenian, so she's culturally Christian. My dad had to flee Iraq because of the political problems with Saddam Hussein, so when I was a teenager I was sent to study on my own in Czechoslovakia. I lived there for eight years, and I embraced materialistic philosophy and became an atheist and a communist.
To me, religion was basically a waste of time. I had no respect for religion because I thought it was all made up of fantasies and myths: that people twisted things to suit their agendas and they created systems of belief to manipulate weak and disillusioned people.
One day I got very angry and lost my temper with the woman I loved at that time, and the relationship ended—she just left me. And I just couldn't face that loss, I just couldn't deal with that. And that was amazing to me because I had thought I was able to go through life and nothing would phase me, that I could go through any problems. But the reality was that it uncovered my weakness, and I realised that all this inner strength that I believed in was nothing, was worthless.
And I suddenly realized, I am to be pitied like those people I pitied before.
I started reading the Bible from the book of Genesis, and later on I was starting to go to church to hear the sermon explaining what the Bible is. And there was this Christianity Explored course, so I decided to go and join the course.
It was amazing actually because, me being from the Middle East, we always have a suspicious mind; we always think there's something not true in what people say. So it was funny because I tried to ask all the questions to find out if the leaders on my table would tell me the truth or if they would try to manipulate me, or try to twist things or soften things up so I would think, “Actually it's not so bad.”
I discovered that no, they were just plainly explaining what the Bible was saying.
And also I just started to realise who the person of Jesus Christ really was. I had had all sorts of ideas about him before; but I started reading his words, I started hearing the stories he said, I started understanding what he did—and he blew me away. I thought: “This is the person I always wanted to be like in my life. I never thought there was anyone who can be like this!” I was totally blown away by his integrity, and the things he did and the things he said.
It was when I went on the weekend away, which is part of the course, that I just came to the conclusion that I could not keep denying the truth about Christ and who he is. And I just said: “That's it—I don't know what this is going to do to me, but I trust you and I'm ready to follow you whatever and wherever you take me.” And that was it.
Life now has no meaning without Jesus Christ. It's like a journey I am on with him - with the one person who we were created for. I can go walking all my life knowing that in the highs and the lows, in the sorrows and the joys, he is standing there with me, never leaving me or abandoning me.
Not just that: this relationship doesn't end with my death; actually it carries on forever. And that's what I can look forward to - that's what life is all about - not just now but also forever. I will enjoy that loving relationship with Jesus Christ forever.
The UK, France, Germany are not bankrupt, are you trying to suggest that France the UK and Germany all got together with the rest of Europe to fake a virus that is definitely real and a killer.
Mike's story My wife asked me to go on the Christianity Explored course. She’d been on it two years ago. But I was rather reluctant to go on the course. However, by going to church I’d spoken to people - Christians at church - who’d said it was a good course. And I’d also noticed how happy and contented Christians seem to be. So I thought perhaps there might be something in it that was worthwhile for me to go and see. So I rather reluctantly agreed with Maureen yes I’d go along.
I found the Christianity Explored course very interesting. It was informative, it was well structured and well organized, but most importantly it answered many questions that I had. The two major questions that I had was whether I could believe the Bible - that it was an actual factual representation of what happened. And the second one was whether I could believe in the resurrection.
And the minister and the Christian leaders who were on the course were always able to go to the Bible to give me the answers, and the Bible always provided the answers to me which I found pretty conclusive.
The second part was whether I could believe the resurrection, and I was given other references to read which helped me to understand the proof behind the resurrection. The course opened my eyes to who Jesus was, why he came to earth, and he came to save us. And that was the most important question that was answered for me. I’m not sure that I was a Christian when I finished the Christianity Explored course but I’d certainly learned enough from the course for it to make me want to know more about becoming a Christian. So I met up with the minister on a one-to-one basis for a few sessions where we discussed the questions and also talked the doubts that I had. And I explored with him the fact that I wasn’t perfect and I didn’t think that I was cut out to be a Christian. But it became more and more obvious that Christians know that they’re not perfect and that it wasn’t something that I should worry about because Jesus had come to earth to save us from the fact that we’re all sinners and that we’re not perfect. God understood that – that’s why he sent Jesus who was there to save us from that sin.
And so I realized, with help from the minister, that I had become a Christian because I believed in Jesus.
Since I became a Christian I’ve become more content. I’m certainly more tolerant of people, and I feel that I’m now leading a better life. I was the only non-Christian in my family, but now I feel that my wife and my son and myself are more of a family now – we’re part of God’s family - and that we can enjoy our life living the way that Jesus wanted us, needs us, to lead our life. And we’re very happy to do that.
I come from Malaysia originally and have lived in the UK for more than 23 years. I didn’t come from a Christian background – my exposure to Christianity is minimal during my school days and furthermore, being trained in medicine and science, I wasn’t really interested in religion at all.
However, I have a friend at work and we used to meet up at lunchtime, and we discussed different topics including religion. And after a while we got interested in religion and Christianity in particular, and through his invitation I went to some talks which explored the values of Christianity in various aspects of life.
And after much thought I decided to go to the Christianity Explored course to find out more about it, and I think the main drive behind this move was the realisation that I had been ignoring the spiritual aspect of my life, having spent most of it building up my career.
I remember being extremely nervous and uneasy and uncomfortable because I wasn’t really accustomed to discussing religious matters. Secondly I was afraid of exposing my ignorance in public in this area. But having said that, my fears were quickly allayed when I went to the first two courses. The main strength was the people were very accommodating, understanding and supportive. They encouraged you to ask questions, and with time I began to open up and became more confident and started challenging certain areas that was written down in Christianity and that helped me to understand it better.
More importantly, no question was too simple. So it allowed me to actually explore the various issues I have in my mind.
Attending the course has allowed me to find out more about Christianity compared with other religions, because that’s one of the issues I had in my own mind, and it allowed me to understand and be aware of these strengths.
At present I’m doing Bible studies with my friend, and I want to learn more and understand better about Christianity - in particular about applying the Christian values to one’s daily life, because that’s what’s important. So I’m in the process of finding out more about Jesus and hopefully getting to know him better so that I will embrace Christianity in due course.
In the Garden Elvis Presley I come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roses And the voice I hear falling on my ear The Son of God discloses And He walks with me And He talks with me And He tells me I am his own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known He speaks and the sound of His voice Is so sweet the birds hush their singing And the melody that He gave to me Within my heart is ringing And He walks with me And He talks with me And He tells me I am his own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known
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What Makes Jesus Unique? No one else made the claims that He did, He is alive...............
Tune into God's Thoughts!Thank You, Father, that my mind is designed to pick up Your thoughts and that
my heart has been created to welcome the feeling of love, Your Spirit within.
Thank You, Father, that I can in this time of prayer, have the freedom to reach
out and let the thoughts that are in me come out. Touch them, bless them, and
ordain them to become the seeds of better living. Grace, mercy, and God's
peace is with You now.
Amen.
Thank You, Lord, that You have called me to develop the potential and the
possibility that is built into every one of Your children and that includes me.
Release, O God, within me the attitude, "I can do it, with the help of God."
Let it begin with me now.
Jesus Christ, I want to thank You, that You have come to be my Savior, my
Lord, my Best Friend. Thank You for walking with me and talking with me.
Thank You for the joy we share as we walk in prayer. Father, whisper in my ear
to give me a dream for today, a dream that makes life wonderful and eternity exciting.
Amen.