A Far Green Country

From time to time I still live back in Thailand in my heart. Man was it good. We were blessed to have Shane & Shane come and hang out & play for us & the missionaries. Their full concert that I heard was amazing as always, but I was ministered to by a new song of theirs in a powerful way. Praise God for those who use their musical gifting, His gifting He has given them, to honor Christ.

Here's the lyrics to the song EMBRACING ACCUSATION. I wish you could hear Shane B.'s testimony of what happened as he read through Galatians 3:10, knew he was hopeless only to find hope in Galatians 3:13 and then wrote this song from his time in the Word. Maybe my new favorite of all-time: my life in a song!

Father of lies, coming to steal kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying, “cursed are the ones who can’t abide”

He’s right, hallelujah, he’s right
The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation

Could the father of lies be telling the truth of
God to me tonight?
That if the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine
I hear him saying, “cursed are the ones who can’t abide”

The devil’s singing over me an age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently over me
He’s forgotten the refrain.
JESUS SAVES!!!

Watch Shane & Shane perform this song live.

John writing to Gaius said,

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. 3 John v. 5-8

We should cooperatively work together to take the truth to all people, in all nations. John was commending Gaius for his faithful support & hospitality of those who were being faithful to Jesus' command in the Great Commission. Gaius is even helping out strangers here. We do likewise when we give to the Lottie Moon Offering and the Annie Armstrong Offering. However, if we support strangers, how much more should we personally be involved in showing hospitality, love, and support.

The only missions work is not done by just the missionary, but also by the rope holders, those who support the missionaries as they go out to tell the truth about the Savior. Working in New York City this summer brings the Annie Armstrong offering into a whole different perspective to me. We have Southern Baptists church plants in all 5 Burroughs of NYC, and all around. These may be strangers, but think personally for a moment, about the impact reaching NYC would have on our country and the world. Then think about how we have church planters and evangelists in the San Francisco's, Boston's, Chicago's, to the rural West Virginian coal mines. Get contact info for a church and get to know it personally, praying for them as you support them through prayer and giving.

Be like Good ol' Gaius and give of yourself for the spreading of the true church across North America & to the ends of the earth.

Good news
My favorite Arminian - What? I'm serious.

Indonesian Christians Attacked; Church Closed - VOM Sources

On February 11, 2007, a Moslem mob stormed Indonesia Bethel Church, in Majalaya, disrupting the service and beating church members. More than 50 Islamic extremists raided the church building and ordered the congregation to leave. Church members were threatened, beaten, and asked to show their identity cards. During the raid, a cell phone belonging to a church member, offerings, an important building permit and pictures of Jesus Christ were stolen. The militants insulted believers and said Indonesia was a Muslim nation. Hours after the attack at Indonesia Bethel Church, the same Islamic extremists marched to Baranangsiang and closed a church there. Pray believers in Indonesia will rest in the knowledge that God walks with them through this difficult time.

Majalaya Muslim Children
Muslim Student in Baranangsiang

Because it was the life of Adoniram Judson that the Lord used to call me into missions, I have always had an especially deep interest in Myanmar (Burma) since that is where Judson ministered for the rest of his life. Myanmar has an atrocious human rights record and is rarely talked about or on anyone's radar when it comes to the strange military rule and persecutions and killings that are always taking place there. I recently received this release from Voice of the Martyrs and hope that everyone who comes across this would pray for the believers in Myanmar:

Military Government Asks for List of Christians - VOM Sources - The government in Burma has again asked for lists of all the names of Christian children's homes, assemblies, church pastors, leaders, members and families. The military government has also fixed the time for worship which forbids Christians to meet outside these "official" times. Christian leaders in Burma do not know what the government is going to do with the lists. Pray God gives Christians in Burma wisdom and boldness during this time. Pray for protection of all Christians and ask their experience may draw non-believers into the knowledge of Christ. Revelation 2:10

It doesn't seem like there would be any redeeming reason that the military would be asking for those names. Pray against something a killing fields type incident of the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.

Also, continue to pray for Indonesia. 2 days ago an earthquake killing 70, today a plane crash killing 22. Here is a chronology of some of the major disasters of the last 2 years.

"And here I have a special burden this morning to say Christ has a commitment to gather a church from all the Muslim peoples of the world – not with the sword or the bullet, but with the Spirit and the Word. Islam is not ethnically uniform or monolithic. The largest Muslim country is Indonesia: 228 million people (Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, Malays, etc.). Most of Northern Africa is Muslim. Indian peoples, Chinese peoples, Central Asian peoples. Christ is committed to building his church of all the Muslim peoples of the world.

The issue in the Muslim world today – as in every other religion and every other era – is Who is Jesus, and will we treasure him and trust him and honor him for who he really is? And the reason the matter is urgent with the Muslim peoples is because they give the same wrong answer to this question that some Jews gave in verse Matthew 16:14. Who is Jesus? "And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’" For Islam, Jesus is "one of the prophets." He is not the Son of God. He is not the crucified and risen Redeemer of fallen man. He is not the Creator of the universe. And every knee will not bow to him and confess that Jesus is Lord of all to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore Islam profoundly dishonors Jesus Christ and is not the way to everlasting joy in God. There is "one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). There is one way, one truth, one life, Jesus Christ, and no one comes to the Father but by him (John 14:6). He who has the Son has life, and he who has not the Son does not have life (1 John 5:12).

This is why missions is absolutely necessary. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). "How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14). Christ will build his church. But he will do it through the hearing of the gospel of Christ. He will do it through the word carried by human ambassadors. We call them missionaries. One of the most exalted titles in the world. People of whom the world is not worthy – no matter how many struggles they have."

John Piper in 2001 sermon