Piercing the Darkness

Confession time. 

Let me ask you a question, and in full disclosure it may upset you. I'm squirming even just thinking of asking it! 

If you had the chance to share Jesus, would you? Do you know HOW you would? What would you say? 

This is something our home church is exploring. We 're talking about holding a testimony night so that we can encourage and engage each other with personal stories of how God touches those He loves. 

Our Pastor is currently teaching a Sunday school class about how to witness to others.  

It's the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20); a command from God, and yet 80% of Christians do not consistently share the gospel with unbelievers. 

Recently, a local church was holding their own "testimony night," and so we went. (I'll admit, as worship leaders we DO love to experience new styles of worship as well.)  

The night was a combination of videos, live music, and live sharing. 

We heard first from a pastor in the Middle East (called "Pastor X"), then from a young woman in Afghanistan, and a man out of Ukraine. 

Below I wanted to list out some highlights from the night.

Some insights from "Pastor X": 

• Persecution keeps you "clean," it keeps you fasting and praying and reading God's word. 
• It keeps you in full alignment w/ Jesus. And that you need him to walk right beside you because if you take one foul step, you could be persecuted, imprisoned or killed. 
• He said it becomes more about Jesus, he said, the way it should be--and less about theology and doctrine. 

In Iran, there are now 1 million believers. They're walking away from Islam in droves, according to the Sheep Among Wolves documentary, which we watched a part of that last n ight. 

When asked what advice he gives to anyone who doesn't yet know Jesus and is looking to have a close relationship with Him, he said "ask the Lord to touch you, and to "have simple faith." 

He also reminds us that discipleship is a command, not a suggestion. He said we are to Go and Find, not Come and See, and a lot of us have that "come and see" mentality. 

Church is supposed to be a place of healing, where sinners gather. Yet, many of us are smiling and happy; ultimately, we should be grieving for who is not there. 

Knowing Jesus is in the Boat 

We heard from a man in the Ukraine. I did not get too many of his details just that his name is Vadym Kulynchenko, coming to us at 3 am via "digital access" Ukraine time. How are you personally? Jennie asked. What are your thoughts on the war? Do you feel any fear? 

Vadym thought for just a moment, swallowed, and said this: Jesus is present in the boat with us during the storm, but that doesn't mean He will stop the storm. (Vadym said can, I said will, because God is in control of everything, including war. 

When asked what he'd like us in the USA to know, he said: Putin does not represent all Russians. We need to pray for the Russians, as much as the Ukrainians. And, may we bring confusion to the Russian army so that their strategies fail. 

After another brief interlude of worship, we heard a sermon from a  missions pastor from Romania. His message was inspiring and motivating to say the least. He preached from Genesis and reminded us that light and darkness can't coexist. Matt. 9:37-38

The pastor wore a sweatshirt that read "Ye Must Be Born Again." 

Resources mentioned

THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE IRANIAN AWAKENING (sheepamongwolvesfilm.com)

Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash