Sunday, November 24, 2013

Big Fish, Little Fish




Isn't it a beautiful thing when a father goes fishing with his son?

It doesn't matter how little the fish is, the father is delighted with the catch.


Reminds me of another fish.



Ever see this fish symbol stuck to someone's bumper?

Whenever I see one, it makes me think of the story of Peter and his friends, working all night trying to catch some fish in their net to fill their bellies or sell for a small price, but by morning, they had caught nothing.

Then, Jesus called out from the shore.

"Try the other side of the boat."

That probably would have sounded insulting to the crew, but this was Jesus, the One who turned water into wine. So, they listened and obeyed.

And, when they pulled up the net, there were so many fish that it nearly burst (John 21:6).

This is just like telling others about Christ,

All our efforts would be fruitless without His direction.

Now, I wouldn't call myself a super-evangelist, More like an accidental evangelist. Somehow, sharing with people the stuff going on in my life, quite naturally, my faith will overflow into the conversation.

This happens most easily with my kids. There are so many opportunities just spending time with them for me and my husband to share Christ. Mostly through stories, the hardback kind or the kind with skin on.

Every time the kids go to bed, they say, "Tell us a story when you were little." And, we tell them about the times before we knew Christ and the ways we saw Him drawing us to Himself or afterwards when we messed up and experienced His grace anew.

Christmastime is the perfect time to tell children the real reason for the season.



Jesus, Christ, God's Son, Savior ( ΙΧΘΥΣ in the Greek 

acrostic early Christians used for fish)

Was born in a dusty stable on Christmas night.

He came to redeem His people, to save us from our sins.

It is by grace we have been saved (Ephesians 2:8,9).

It's such wonderful good news.



Whether a big fish or small, God's grace is for each one of us who put our trust in Christ.

His By Grace,

Chanda
.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Redemption Lullaby




She who fears the wind,
He who feared to give,
Brought forth a child
And named her Moon.

Shining brightly,
 Ever so brightly,
A reflection of grace
 In the heavens.
Breathing,
But almost not,
Brought to life
By light of day.

Eyes, an azure lake
Of paradise.
Hair strung
On a bow.
Playing the slow,
Mournful song,
As her paradise
 is lost.

Darkness falls as a veil,
As shame enshrouds to wait.
Words spoken softly,
To the inmost parts.

For the calling forth,
From death to Life.
A cross to bridge the gap,
Between a sinner and a saint.

Redemptive Life,
Ever After and a Day,
Because a Savior
Gave His Life
To Pay
For Mine.


Sunday, November 3, 2013

A Pure Bride: Praying for The Persecuted Church

Persecution.

It sounds like an archaic word, doesn't it?

It conjures up pictures of early Christians during the time of the Roman Empire, huddled in dark catacombs, shivering in the cold, and singing hymns in hushed voices while the bustling city of Rome goes about it daily business.

Or of the roar of the Roman colosseum and of the saints marching in, hands and feet bound, led to where they would be given over to the wild beasts or set aflame for their faith.


Although it may not be a topic on the daily news, persecution of Christians still happens

 Today.

Even as you are reading this post.

The Center for the Study of Global Christianity has reported that in the last decade, an average of 100,000 Christians have died each year for motives related to their faith.

That works out to be about 11 Christians each hour die for their faith in Christ.

Eleven Christians per hour?

Die for their faith?

Is this as surprising to you as it is to me?

Persecution still happens.

Today is the International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the persecuted church and we as believers in Jesus Christ have an opportunity to pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are suffering and dying for their faith.

One family in Vietnam a family is suffering because two brothers, Pa and Ngai, shared their faith in a small village and were arrested and beaten.  One of the brothers did not survive.  You can read about their story on the Voice of the Martyrs website, here.

In Iran, Mojtaba Seyyed Alaedin Hossein, Mohammad-Reza Partoei, Vahid Hakkani and Homayoun Shokouhi, three members of a house church, were arrested in June and given sentences of three years and eight months in prison.  Their story is on the Open Doors website, here.

In Nepal, a believer was killed by the man he was praying for to be healed.  You can read about his story on the Gospel for Asia website here.

Some may think that we suffer because we don't have enough faith, but the truth is,

As followers of Jesus Christ, we suffer because of our faith.

And these Christians are suffering and dying because

They know that Christ is the Lord and He is our Savior,

and they will follow Him regardless of the cost.

Listen to what the apostle Paul said as he was suffering for his faith in Christ:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:8-11)

These are but a few of the stories of faithful Christians who have shared in the sufferings of Christ.

Today we can remember them,

Pray for their families, and

Pray for others around the world who are undergoing the same kind of persecution.

Praying with you,

Chanda






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