Excerpts from The Gospel in Bonds
by Georgi Vins
"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Tertullian, 1st century AD
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Excerpts from The Gospel in Bonds
by Georgi Vins |
"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Tertullian, 1st century AD |
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
What we need in these fast changing times is God's solid Rock to stand on. And He has provided that Rock in and through Jesus, our very best Friend! He will surely bring victory as well as challenges into the lives of those who love Him and follow His Way!
The Gospel in Bonds brings us right into the spiritual battlefield that now rages in most parts of the world. Christianity is fast becoming the new enemy to all who despise our God and the treasured love of Jesus, our Lord.
But we shouldn't be surprised. Spiritual warfare is no new phenomenon. Yet, until recently, American Christians has been relatively free from the rage of those who despise God's truths and hate His people. Ponder these examples:
: "Tens of thousands of Yazidis made the 100-mile trek from Mt. Sinjar all the way to the United Nations refugee camp on the northern border. When ISIS, the Islamic State, attacked Sinjar, home to most of the Yazidis, Guli Udayda — a name that means 'God giveth' — said it felt like the end of the world. 'When they [ISIS terrorists] came, they caught some people and kidnapped beautiful girls and took them away.'...
'We escaped. The ones that stayed ISIS killed.' When they reached Mt. Sinjar, her son went back for food. ISIS captured him, shot him, gouged out his eyes, and beheaded him. His friend buried him....
"The Yazidis who escaped from Mount Sinjar walked some 100 miles through the desert before reaching a desert road. ...Twelve-year-old boys, like Tasim and Rezyen, saw things that are likely to haunt them for the rest of their lives.... I was there when ISIS came and shot one girl with a bullet in the head because they told her to convert. She refused and they killed her.'...
"We wait for the mercy of God and people like you to be protected from the evil men,' Guli said. They’re also asking for the United States and the West to help. 'My request for all the believers in America and all over the world in all the church[es] [is] to pray for these people.” Please join me in prayer for these precious fellow Christians!"To the north, Jewish communities around Scandinavia were rocked over the past week by a series of Judeophobic attacks. In Uppsala, Sweden, a woman was severely beaten by a Muslim girl for wearing a Star of David necklace....
"Sjögren – who suffered injuries in her jaw, eyes and all over her body – said she could not report the attack to police because the attackers would find her 'and know I was the Jew who reported it.'” See Spiritual Warfare: Hating Truth and Primed for Deception!
The Judenrein Port of Oakland: "In Oakland, California, a motley assortment of radical leftists, anarchists, fascists and Islamists have found common ground and banded together in a scheme to prevent an Israeli ship from unloading its cargo at an Oakland port. The list of participating groups includes such lunatic outfits as “Queers Undermining Israeli Terror” and “Totally Radical Muslims.' It makes no difference that if given the chance, members of the latter group would likely behead members of the former – ISIS style – to shrieks of 'Allhuakbar.'”
Nearer My God to Thee:
This video clip shows a scene from the 1958 movie version of the Titanic:
"A Night To Remember"
A marvel of God's care!
An
amazing testimony to God's grace!
The world is not my home:
[Good reminder in the midst of bad news]
They Point to the Cross:
"How great Thou art, how great Thou art!" ...
This hymn was written by Elizabeth Clephane. Born in 1830, she lived in Scotland until her death 39 years later. Her short life was anything but easy, but that didn't quench her joy. In spite of poor health and her parents’ early death, she was full of His love for others. Her friends called her
'SUNBEAM.' Perhaps they were inspired by her humble words, 'I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face.'
"Thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your
labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians
15:57-58
The Darkness that brings
true Light: "'If
you obey Jesus you will have a life of joy and delight.' Well, it is
not true. Jesus said to the disciples—'Let us cross over to the other
of the lake,' and they were plunged into the biggest storm they had
ever known.... "If
you are experiencing the darkness of desolation on individual lines,
go through with it, and you will find yourself face to face with Jesus
Christ as never before. 'I have come that they may have life'—life in
which there is no death—'and Suicide Note Homework Assignment Has NYC
Parents in an Uproarthat they may have it more abundantly.'"
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for youb, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in
heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being
much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the
end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Pe 1:3-9)
"God had given her the key to a joy with Jesus that nothing could quench! May we, too, live each day with Him! For - “I am crucified with Christ...and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who…gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
The Old Cross and The New - What changed? "Unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental. From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique..." See His Word and compare with the next link:
God's Guidelines for Christian Thinking: "It is because we will not bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ that all the perplexities are produced regarding methods of thinking that look like [but disagree with] Christianity. Strands are taken out of Jesus Christ’s teaching, the Bible is exploited to agree with certain principles, but the Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ is ignored.... If we base our thinking on principles instead of on a Person we shall go wrong.... The one great truth to keep steadfastly before us is the Lord Jesus Christ; He is the Truth."
How shall I serve You, Lord? "It is not what I do for you but what You do through me. This is how I shall lay my life before You, my Lord and King."
Bright Hope in Dark Days: "Perhaps the Lord allotted you at first a smooth and unclouded path, because you were weak and timid. He tempered the wind to the shorn lamb. But now that you are stronger in the spiritual life, you must enter upon the riper and rougher experience of God's full-grown children. We need winds and tempests to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten bough of self-dependence, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The day of evil reveals to us the value of our glorious hope. 'Thou art my hope in the day of evil.'" Jeremiah 17:17
You are my Hiding Place: "Jesus, my Lord, is my Hiding Place today and forever. Yet, every day I have a choice to make: Will I rest peacefully in His plan and provision? Or will I try to run from Him as Jonah did. If I would be foolish enough to turn away, I trust that my Shepherd will correct me -- and I had better listen!
"My heart's desire is to live in total union with my King -- every hour of every day. And since I 'have died with Christ,' my 'life is hidden with Christ in God.' When I rest in Him, I am confident that 'in the time of trouble He shall hide me'..."
"Thou art my Hiding Place; Thou dost preserve from trouble... and surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7
God's Sovereignty: "...there cannot be a single circumstance over which He has not supreme control. ...There is not: a trial, a temptation, an affliction of body or soul, a loss, a cross, a painful bereavement, a grief, a disappointment... which is not in under His sovereign domain."
The "God of Hope ": I live in two worlds: an earthly nation and a heavenly kingdom. Earthly circumstances may, at times, dictate my thoughts and emotions; but when I look up, I see my heavenly King who reigns over all. He has prepared a magnificent future for His beloved friends. Like a beacon of light, that vision of eternal fellowship with my Lord beckons me onward in spite of obstacles and opposition. Like Paul, I aim to 'press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
My High Tower: Seeing the world from His perspective
Be Watchful! "Our danger is lest we grow rich and become proud, lest we give ourselves up to the fashions of this present evil world, and lose our faith.... I fear that the Christian church is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days than in those rougher times. We must be awake now, for we traverse the enchanted ground, and are most likely to fall asleep to our own undoing, unless our faith in Jesus be a reality, and our love to Jesus a vehement flame."
Holy Familiarity: “There is a holy familiarity with God which cannot be too much enjoyed, but there is a flippant familiarity with God which cannot be too much abhorred! The Lord is King. His will is not to be questioned!
"...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..."Hebrews 12:1-2
Video. Holy is the Lord: Beautiful song with pictures by Thomas Faunce!
Facing the Unexpected: "What will we do if things don't make sense to us? Will we become offended with God and abandon our faith? There was a time when many of Jesus' followers became offended with Him and left Him. The twelve Apostles were troubled, but they were loyal and remained.
"But 'from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus to the twelve, 'Will you also go away?' Then Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.'"
From Pride to Humility to Restoration: "Losses and adversities are frequently the means that the Great Shepherd uses to bring home His wandering sheep."
Worldviews of "Christians": "78% of Americans call themselves Christians. That sounds good until you ask what they mean by 'Christian.' According to a 2009 Barna poll, only nine percent of Americans have a Biblical worldview. Among Americans who call themselves born-again Christians, only 19 percent have a Biblical worldview. Among young American adults (ages 18 to 23) only one-half of one percent have a Biblical worldview....
"...our nation is literally forgetting God. Look at what Jeremiah says about people who forsake or forget God: '...My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:11-13)
The School of Joyful Endurance:
"Endurance is hardly a popular topic these days. Troubling times sow anxiety,
not peace. But that's all the more reason to welcome God's training in victorious
faith. For when we smile to Him -- even as we cry out in our deepest struggles
-- He will surely provide the strength we need to follow Him....
"In this time of rapid change, such training in endurance
is priceless. America's trusted Constitutional 'rights' and freedoms are fading
away, eroded by a corrupting quest for amoral license and unbiblical unity.
Missing are the old certainties.... No part of this transformation is more ominous
than the shift in faith and values."
Job, Suffering and Spiritual Warfare: "With ropes tied around the children's small necks, the officer again promised freedom if only the parents would deny Christ. None were willing to betray their Lord. The children were hanged. The officer then called for a massive steamroller and forced the adults to lie down in its path. The deadly machine soon arrived, and they were given one last chance: 'Deny this Jesus or you will be crushed.' Again they refused. They had already given up their children; there was no turning back....
"
Notice the VISIBLE foes in this North Korean drama. They were the blinded puppets of Communism -- indoctrinated in atheism and trained to hate God and His people. Meanwhile, the INVISIBLE foes were the 'spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms'.... Dedicated to the destruction of Biblical faith, they are now generally ignored in our post-modern culture...."As Pastor Richard Wurmbrand wrote in Tortured For Christ, '...there are no nominal, halfhearted, lukewarm Christians in Russia or China. The price Christians pay is far too great.... Communist persecution has backfired and produced serious, dedicated Christians such as are rarely seen in free lands.”
The song that silenced the cappuccino
machine: "After the tune
was over, she approached me. 'I apologize for singing along on that song. Did
it bother you?' she asked.
'No,' I replied. 'We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing
up front on the next selection?'
To my delight, she accepted my invitation. 'You choose,' I said....
"'Well....
Do you know any hymns?"
"Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing
with. I cut my teeth on hymns....
"There are so many good ones. You pick one."
"Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the
Sparrow'?"....
"She slowly nodded her head...straightened
her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began
to sing.
Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?
"The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed..."
Testing the genuineness of our faith: "Untested faith may be true faith, but it is sure to be small faith, and it is likely to remain little as long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: Tempests are her trainers....
"When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship does not move to its harbor; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush and howl, and let the waters lift themselves, though the vessel may rock and her deck may be washed with waves and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway toward her desired haven."
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter1:6-7
How blessed we are to know that God reigns in the midst of America's rapid transformation:
Clothed in Christ, our King. "His armor may or may not protect me against the storms of the world (Matthew 5:45). But it will always protect me against the assaults of Satan, whose arrows use the circumstances of the world to crush and destroy far more than could any storm.
"In other words, God may not take me out of my circumstances, but He will bring victory in the midst of the trial. He will protect me against discouragement, despair, hopelessness, worthlessness-all the destructive emotions and thought patterns that rise up inside to disturb my peace, deny my resources in Christ, and quench my joy in Him."
Outside the Camp: "Jesus, bearing His cross, went forth to suffer outside the gate. The Christian’s reason for leaving the camp of the world’s sin and religion is not because he loves to be singular, but because Jesus did so; and the disciple must follow his Master. Christ was 'not of the world.' His life and His testimony were a constant protest against conformity with the world. Never was such overflowing affection for men as you find in Him; but still He was separate from sinners. In like manner Christ’s people must 'go out to Him.'”
His Strength in My Weakness: "I know that God is in control, and that nothing takes Him by surprise...
"...an old friend came by to visit. He had been so impacted by The Shack that he couldn't stop talking about it.... When I mentioned theological problems with the book, he ignored what I said, and kept on talking about how 'wonderful' the book was. I went through a combination of shock, disbelief, and grief... and concern about the spiritual health of the church in America."
Our Never-Ending Citizenship: "Faced with unthinkable changes in our government, schools and churches, it helps to remember that we are first and foremost citizens of Heaven. God's Kingdom is not of this world, and neither is our primary citizenship. People can take our worldly goods, but our most important treasures are the ones in Heaven, and nobody can harm those."
Hard Times Ahead: "It’s time to prepare for hard times, my friends. And, if you’re a bible believing, Christ-following Christian, I believe the coming years will be particularly troublesome. I say 'bible-believing, Christ-following Christian' because our degenerating culture has all but stripped the biblical definition of the word 'Christian' from today’s collective conscience so that it has lost much of it’s scriptural meaning, even among many of today’s attending church members. The enemies of Christ have clearly risen to great power in this country and are, even as I write, busy endeavoring finish off what remains of the church for the purpose of replacing it with a god and religion more suitable for global government....
"When our Constitution and Bill of Rights are completely discarded for the New World Order, there will be no going back to the way things were. There will only be the Word of God to edify, encourage, inspire and sustain us through the hard times ahead. Those who understand and appreciate the power of that Word know very well what I’m talking about. Those who don’t will ignore it at their own peril because to them, it is foolishness..." See Ban Truth - Reap Tyranny