Perhaps the darkest place on earth right now is any place that the church of Jesus Christ is being persecuted. As dark as these places are God light is shining brighter! In this story we would like to highlight an opportunity for you to be a part of our mission of worshipping God, becoming a mature disciple and carry Christ’s love to the world. The opportunity is a real place where the life found through the resurrection is celebrated in the context of the death of the crucifixion. Check out this story from the Voice of the Martyrs about their ministry to the enemies of God in Columbia. From old to young, retirees to homeschoolers, they are all working for a common cause — spreading the gospel to Marxist FARC guerrillas in the nation of Colombia.For more than 40 years, Colombia has been terrorized by kidnappings and murders resulting from power struggles between drug lords, revolutionaries and paramilitary groups. But in the midst of the chaos, brave Christians in Colombia are risking their lives to spread the gospel. VOM is committed to helping them, and our readers from across the country are joining the effort.
One of VOM’s partners in Colombia is a pilot named Russell. VOM helped Russell purchase an airplane, and today that plane flies over FARC-controlled areas of Colombia dropping small packages attached to parachutes. The packages, which float down into FARC camps and villages, each contain a selection of Christian books as well as a solar-powered Galcom radio pre-tuned to a Christian station. Before the parachutes are dropped, the radio is turned on so that even if the parachute catches in a tree, someone will hear the radio and climb up to retrieve it.
The Voice of the Martyrs has invited our newsletter readers to make parachutes to help Russell in this important ministry … and they have enthusiastically responded! More than 14,000 parachutes made by American Christians recently left our distribution center headed for Colombia. In total, we’ve already received more than 62,000 parachutes. Some church groups have worked together to make hundreds of parachutes, and some families have sent one or two. Each one provides a critical opportunity to present the gospel to a lost soul.
But there are still many FARC guerrillas who haven’t heard the gospel, and there is still a need for more parachutes. If you’d like a downloadable pattern to make the parachutes, as well as more information about VOM’s work in Colombia and a video of Russell talking about reaching guerrillas for Christ, contact Brenda Eaton in the church office or visit www.persecution.com/Colombia for more information about being a part of this ministry.
Friday, March 25, 2011
:Suffering with Hope" by Amy Joy Olivo
Any journey of worshipping God, becoming a mature disciple, and carrying Christ’s love is mark with suffering. Suffering seems to be one of the key ways God brings us to mature worship of Him. As we continue with our theme of celebrating life in the context of death, it is important to remember that this kind of celebration for now, only happens by faith, as we hope for our future reality of living face to face with God. Read these words from WBC member Amy Joy Olivo as she talks about her experience of celebrating bright hope of the resurrection in the context of dark suffering. Without Christ, I would be “like those who grieve without hope.” You see, I have a little girl that I carry in my heart but no longer in my arms. Her name is Maggie Faith and I delighted to carry her in my womb for 38 weeks and hold her in my arms for four days before she danced home to her Heavenly Father’s arms.
We knew from very early in my pregnancy that something was askew in her development. Initially, the doctors thought it was a chromosomal disorder. Then they began to suspect a neural tube defect like spina bifida in addition to the chromosomal disorder. My husband, Layne, and I were told she would probably be stillborn so we purposed in our hearts to enjoy whatever time the Lord gave us with her even if that meant the only time we would experience her life was while she was inside me. Every kick and hiccup was a treasure. It felt like she was dancing inside me and it was delightful!
As we neared her due date, we were so grateful that the Lord allowed my body to sustain her. We were hopeful and had been praying for the Lord to work in miraculous ways since the first grim diagnosis. Thirty-four weeks into my pregnancy, we were encouraged by our midwives to have a fetal MRI to see if we could confirm a diagnosis and give us an idea of the best place to deliver her. This test brought yet another possible diagnosis, this time in the Muscular Dystrophy family, with a very grim prognosis. There was so little hope offered, but we knew we serve a Living God who had sustained us thus far and would not abandon us. In fact, it was around this time that I had a vision of Jesus wrapping his arms around me. It is a vision that I continue to see to this day when I think of Maggie Faith.
Without a definitive diagnosis, we decided to give birth in a hospital where she could be evaluated and treated by neonatal experts. So on March 12, 2010, at 10:40 a.m., I delivered Margaret Faith Olivo by c-section. We had been told she would probably have to be resuscitated at birth, but, much to our great delight, she announced her arrival with a beautiful little cry! Weak though it was, it was music to my ears. She was immediately intubated and placed on a ventilator as they began to evaluate her condition. She valiantly fought for her life and delighted us with her dances for the next four days as the doctors ran tests to try to determine whether medicine could help her. Oh how we were sustained by the Presence of the Almighty and lifted up by the prayers of His Saints! Without Christ, we would have despaired!
In the end, we came to realize that the Lord was calling her home. Her body was simply too wonderful and fragile for this world. Without Christ and the promise of eternity with Him, I could never see this as a temporary, though painful, separation or eagerly anticipate a joyful reunion with her in His presence. The four beautiful days of her earthly life pale in comparison to the magnificent eternity we will spend together in the presence of our Savior. Without Christ, I could offer no words of hope to others. He has given me the words to tell her story so that I can tell of a Greater Story. I love to tell His story through her story—it helps me remember her and to deepen my understanding of all the good things we have in Christ. With Christ, yes, I grieve, but I do so as one with hope in the One who wraps His arms around me and will one day carry me safely home too!
We knew from very early in my pregnancy that something was askew in her development. Initially, the doctors thought it was a chromosomal disorder. Then they began to suspect a neural tube defect like spina bifida in addition to the chromosomal disorder. My husband, Layne, and I were told she would probably be stillborn so we purposed in our hearts to enjoy whatever time the Lord gave us with her even if that meant the only time we would experience her life was while she was inside me. Every kick and hiccup was a treasure. It felt like she was dancing inside me and it was delightful!
As we neared her due date, we were so grateful that the Lord allowed my body to sustain her. We were hopeful and had been praying for the Lord to work in miraculous ways since the first grim diagnosis. Thirty-four weeks into my pregnancy, we were encouraged by our midwives to have a fetal MRI to see if we could confirm a diagnosis and give us an idea of the best place to deliver her. This test brought yet another possible diagnosis, this time in the Muscular Dystrophy family, with a very grim prognosis. There was so little hope offered, but we knew we serve a Living God who had sustained us thus far and would not abandon us. In fact, it was around this time that I had a vision of Jesus wrapping his arms around me. It is a vision that I continue to see to this day when I think of Maggie Faith.
Without a definitive diagnosis, we decided to give birth in a hospital where she could be evaluated and treated by neonatal experts. So on March 12, 2010, at 10:40 a.m., I delivered Margaret Faith Olivo by c-section. We had been told she would probably have to be resuscitated at birth, but, much to our great delight, she announced her arrival with a beautiful little cry! Weak though it was, it was music to my ears. She was immediately intubated and placed on a ventilator as they began to evaluate her condition. She valiantly fought for her life and delighted us with her dances for the next four days as the doctors ran tests to try to determine whether medicine could help her. Oh how we were sustained by the Presence of the Almighty and lifted up by the prayers of His Saints! Without Christ, we would have despaired!
In the end, we came to realize that the Lord was calling her home. Her body was simply too wonderful and fragile for this world. Without Christ and the promise of eternity with Him, I could never see this as a temporary, though painful, separation or eagerly anticipate a joyful reunion with her in His presence. The four beautiful days of her earthly life pale in comparison to the magnificent eternity we will spend together in the presence of our Savior. Without Christ, I could offer no words of hope to others. He has given me the words to tell her story so that I can tell of a Greater Story. I love to tell His story through her story—it helps me remember her and to deepen my understanding of all the good things we have in Christ. With Christ, yes, I grieve, but I do so as one with hope in the One who wraps His arms around me and will one day carry me safely home too!
“Quite Time, Devotion, or Lent?”
As we think about worshipping God, becoming mature, and carrying Christ’s love to the world one of the ways we do that is through spiritual disciplines. What is a spiritual discipline? Well, in the last several years in the context of WBC the most popular spiritual discipline has become bible reading. Some might call this discipline a daily devotion or quite time. Another discipline that we may take part in from time to time is prayer. Are these the only two spiritual disciplines that the bible talks about? No way. The bible also speaks about other disciplines such as fasting, and Sabbath keeping. What is the purpose of practicing a spiritual discipline? Well, there are many, but mostly the purpose of participating in these things is to help point out your sin so that we can grow closer to God. Do you have daily devotions? Are they cumbersome for you? Hopefully you do participate in devoting time each day to read the bible and hopefully it is not a burden for you. The Psalmist cries out to God many times in the book of Psalms of his great love for the word of God and how he delights in it. As we think about our desire of devoting time to read God’s word how are we doing? Do you delight in it? How are you doing practicing other disciplines like fasting? Do you think that there may be things that God would like to point out to you about yourself and your relationship to Him that could from fasting? This month’s theme for Ignite of experiencing the life of the resurrection in the context of the death may be best celebrated through the discipline of fasting. Throughout history the church has attempted to celebrate Easter in this way by practicing fasting during the 40 days of Lent that come before Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and ultimately Resurrection Sunday. The word Lent comes from a German word for “springtime.” The 40 days of Lent in the Christian calendar recall the 40 days of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Since the fourth century A.D., the Church has observed Lent as a time of “spring cleaning for the soul.” During this season, we imitate Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for 40 days. We focus on Christ’s battle with Satan that he waged in order to win our salvation. And we think about our temptations and sins and repent. Lent is a time to evaluate ourselves in light of God’s Word, to abandon sin, and to receive God’s forgiveness and strength. Lent has been called the season of “Bright Sadness” because it is a time of both celebration and mourning. The spiritual discipline of fasting is highlighted during Lent. Jesus Christ practice fasting during His time on earth. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1) Every time Jesus responds to the three temptations of the devil in the wilderness, he quotes from Deuteronomy. “Man shall not live by bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3); “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16); and “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (Deuteronomy 6:13). Moses is speaking to Israel about their time of testing in the wilderness. Look at Deuteronomy 8:2-3 and mark the parallels between Israel in the wilderness and Jesus in the wilderness: “You shall remember all the ways which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness [as Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness] these forty years [as Jesus was there forty days], that He might humble you, testing you [as Jesus was “tested”], to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you be hungry [as Jesus was made hungry by his fasting], and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3) God obviously intends a parallel between Jesus and the people of Israel in the wilderness. Jesus endured His “wilderness experience” to contrast that of Israel and to show us how to negotiate ours. How can we keep our eyes on the prize, avoid moral failures, and honor Christ with the fruit of obedient lives? By following in the footsteps of The Master. Lent is the Church’s annual “wilderness experience” with Christ. He went to the desert, so may be we should too. Certainly, experiencing this would had some beauty to our Easter celebration by placing it in its proper context. So, to answer the question “Quite Time, Devotion, or Lent?” Its not an either or. The answer is “all of the above and more”. Our view of spiritual disciplines has to be bigger that just one of these things and hopefully as we practice these things our hunger and desire for God will grow along with our desire to practice the disciplines that He has given to bring us closer to Him.
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