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of the spirit during the hebrides revival of 1949 52 there had been earnest prayers for awakening to god including those of 2 elderly sisters in their humble croft and 7 men in a barn poring over ps 24 the story goes that a resistant woman was invited to a croft meeting in her village it was so crowded she couldn t get in but it took just one glimpse through a window of a young child s radiant face to bring her to christ in my young adult years i was privileged to hear mary morrison s testimony re the hebrides awakening during her tour of south africa these things are known not just individually but also corporately cf pic at head of blog viz the experience of jesus christ as loving lord and master of all in recent times i have personally experienced this in the company of a few life time leaders from the usa france and south africa we are currently busy pursuing the unique unity stemming from christ s headship over all please pray for our submission to one another and above all to our glorious lord jesus christ that he alone may be glorified 4 comments sweet revenge a sweeter way posted on may 9 2026 by errollmulder under uncategorized revenge is such a subtle thing and can take so many forms e g the germans speak of schadenfreude i e the experience of pleasure joy or self satisfaction coming from learning of the troubles failures suffering or humiliation of our enemies the closest english equivalent is to gloat over our enemies troubles i guess even as believers we ve all been guilty of such sentiments at times as a pastor i recall expounding rom 12 17ff in the early 80 s challenging ourselves not to take revenge but leave it with god at the end of the series our church treasurer approached me at the door after the service and with a fairly smug look on his face asked me how i could expect anyone not to retaliate after someone had harmed them i tried to explain that it was difficult but necessary he left dissatisfied after a happy pastorate we left that congregation in 1982 some years later my successor was confronted with a church financial problem it unraveled that for some years the same treasurer had secretly been gambling on horses using church finances it was a large amount he had to sell his upper class mansion to pay back the money his lovely wife and children were left devastated on a recent global level there have been videos circulating online showing iranian christians in europe and the usa celebrating the recent attacks in iran thanking benjamin netanyahu for his actions and for freeing their nation the iranian diaspora claims that the tragic us and israeli strikes mark the beginning of iranian freedom insisting this is what all iranian believers desire regardless of the cost in the above narrative israel and the usa become the heroes and those who suffer believers and non believers alike are portrayed as beneficiaries not as victims however to use the joy of a few as a political tool to legitimize the killing of innocent citizens in iran is both un biblical and morally indefensible standing in the rubble of tehran with the body of a loved one in your arms tells a different story pastor ali who leads several house churches in iran through online ministry recently shared how a christian family in one of iran s major cities had lost their father he had sent his wife and two children to a safer city but as he was preparing to leave their home a nearby bomb explosion took his life his family is now overwhelmed with grief we need to learn again the central lesson of a savior who brought reconciliation not through force but through forgiveness and self giving love to use the pain of others as a tool for one s own political agenda is not only morally questionable in the language of faith it is a sin mike burnard south african middle eastern missionary analytical strategist at dia logos 16 april 2026 recommended dr daniel shayesteh s the house i left behind a journey from radical islam to christ insights into iranian culture and fundamentalist islam fast forward a few decades later after much spiritual and numerical growth in a congregation in our home city we as pastoral family after 23 years of service suffered much secret opposition from a few entitled foundation members undermining the assembly s unity an underground concerned group was secretly set up to take us down as leaders at the height of our fellowship s numerical baptismal and missional growth we had no option but to resign it became clear that this was by god s sovereign intervention in our lives we resigned at the beginning of 2005 however the elders pleaded with me not to rock the boat but carry on until the august agm those were terrible months lesson learned take god s advice rather than man s deeply scarred our family left the organized church for simple organic type house churches in different parts of our metro these turned out over 20 years to be by far the most productive and joyful years of serving christ s body at the time of our leaving the above congregation we prepared the way by inviting all who had something against us to meet with us privately after morning and evening services so that we could resolve any feelings of animosity we wanted to fulfill the abiding principles of rom 12 17ff hopefully in and through christ alone we succeeded i spoke at a memorial service of a long standing member a week ago and was warmly received glory to god all kinds of temptations to avenge ourselves come our way in the family in business sport etc you can draw up your own list of hurts we can engage in revenge overtly or subtly instead of reveling in self pity there is a clear methodology from the lord as to how to deal effectively with our temptations of revenge rom 12 17ff do not repay anyone evil for evil but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all beloved never avenge yourselves but leave room for the wrath of god for it is written vengeance is mine i will repay says the lord no if your enemies are hungry feed them if they are thirsty give them something to drink for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads do not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good nrsv note 1 the good news of rom 1 11 forms the background i e our gracious justification by faith ch 1 3 assurance and sanctification by faith alone ch 5 8 god s sovereignty regarding israel and the gentiles ch 9 11 then follows the application of the gospel as outlined above including the summons to love like god has loved us in christ the outstanding nt scholar ff bruce wrote doctrine is never taught in the bible simply that it may be known it is taught in order that it may be translated into practice jesus said now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them jn 13 17 i vividly recall this verse as the dominating text above the pulpit in the world renowned cell church pastored by pr dion robert in abidjan coite d ivoire it spoke to me in an unforgettable way note 2 mark the re emphasis of our new life in christ in 12 1ff central to romans and indeed the whole nt is the phrase in christ and we are in christ by faith alone gal 2 21ff i have been crucified and it is no longer i that live but it is christ who lives in me and the life i now live in the flesh i live by faith in the son of god or by the faith of the son of god nrsv who loved me and gave himself for me for if justification comes through the law then christ died for nothing in my christian life of a life time i have come across so many believers who say something like this i m trying to do this or that the fact is that this false gospel of trying harder totally frustrates believers rather we should exchange it for the truth i am in christ i m resting in that and therefore i shall overcome note 3 in 12 9ff paul deals with the marks of the true christian the greatest mark is love i e god s self sacrificial agape love not a sentiment or feeling but a practical observable action note 4 rom 12 10 proclaims do not take revenge my friends but leave room for god s wrath for it is written it is mine to avenge i will repay says the lord deut 32 35 justice will be done i e by the sovereign just god in his own way and time our duty is to get out of god s way ps ff bruce in his commentary on romans mentions that heaping burning coals on our enemy s head may have referred to an egyptian ritual in which a man gave public evidence of his repentance by carrying a pan of burning charcoal on his head ouch i o w treat your enemy kindly for this may make him ashamed and lead to his repentance my dear brother sister drop every thought of revenge do it now once for all and you will be free at last thank god almighty free at last mlk the song below is a suitable prayer for us all idealistic not if sung in the power of the resident jesus 9 comments i m only human posted on april 10 2026 by errollmulder under uncategorized over a lifetime i ve heard that cop out time and time again in the church in general and even in house churches christians fail and this is their excuse this reaction is i believe mainly due to shallow teaching and a failure to fully grasp the power of gospel and its implications for the ecclesia people try to live the christian life often in their own strength then fail and resort to well i m only human or perhaps they have struggled with some or other addiction physical or mental only to succumb repeatedly i recall a lovely christian leader from a previous congregation who despite every effort was secretly addicted to porn he would wait for his beloved wife to fall asleep and look for a porn site on television causing him terrible guilt and despair afterwards after confessing this to me as his pastor at the time i held him accountable and he was wonderfully set free others come to shrug their shoulders over different issues and so the vicious cycle continues and paralyses the false gospel of trying harder unconsciously preached from so many pulpits is also to be blamed for such christian defeatism ultimately there is only one solution to this problem and that is to be found in the bible particularly in those passages dealing with the basics of the gospel of christ let me share some insights gained from watchman nee s the normal christian life publ clc 1 million copies in print nee 1903 1972 was a noted chinese bible teacher and christian leader he began his preaching ministry while still a university student from 1923 1950 nee founded 200 churches in china starting with small group gatherings meeting in rented rooms these self supporting house churches became strong spiritually and grew rapidly continuing to develop after china s cultural revolution launched by the chairman mao zedong in 1966 nee was arrested in 1952 and found guilty of false charges he was imprisoned until his death in 1972 he focused on deepening the spiritual life through training with the word of god his rich spoken ministry influenced many lives his literature ministry has preserved a large number of his sermons resulting in the publication of over 50 books in english alone and through these printed pages nee s impact continues to be felt worldwide to this day thus the normal christian life unfolds the dynamic secret of spiritual strength and vitality that should be the normal experience of every christian starting from certain key passages in paul s letter to the romans nee defines clearly and vividly the essential steps in the personal faith and walk of the believer his emphasis on the cross and resurrection of jesus christ contains fresh spiritual insights that have proved a blessing to millions around the world my wife is devouring this book at the moment and it s transforming her life we recommend it to every believer we come across and have given out many copies as gifts ideally every believer young or old should read this classic second to the scriptures of course currently i meet with an inter continental zoom group of experienced christian leaders and nee s writings have been transformative of each of their lives including my own let s be specific as to the basics of nee s victorious christian life a friend of his was sharing with another friend a defeated but praying believer he pointed to a thermos flask on the table what is this a thermos flask well you just imagine for the moment that this thermos can pray and that it starts praying something like this lord i want very much to be a thermos flask will you make me to be a thermos flask lord give me grace to become a thermos flask do please make me one what will you say i do not think even a thermos flask would be so silly our friend replied it would be nonsense to pray like that it is a thermos flask the wise brother said you are doing the same thing god in times past has already included you in christ when he died you died when he lived you lived now today you cannot say i want to die i want to be crucified i want to have resurrection life the lord simply looks at you and says you are dead you have new life all your praying is just as absurd as that of the thermos flask you do not need to pray to the lord for anything you merely need your eyes opened to see that he has done it all light dawned for that man with tears in his eyes he said lord i praise you you that you have already included me in christ all that is his is mine and if you could have met that brother later on what a change you would have found all the above is of course taught by the apostle paul in romans 6 2 cor 5 14 15 gal 2 19 21 eph 2 and col 2 13 15 while we stand on our faith union with christ satan cannot prevail against us his attack is invariably on our assurance of personal salvation we recall the glorious hymn blessed assurance jesus is mine o what a foretaste of glory divine heir of salvation purchase of god born of his spirit washed in his blood now allow the holy spirit to deeply impress that on your mind and spirit never to be forgotten again gal 2 19ff jews and gentiles are saved by faith reads for through the law i died to the law so that i might live to god i have been crucified with christ and it is no longer i that live but it is christ who lives in me and the life i now live in the flesh i live by faith in the son of god alternate by the faith of the son of god who loved me and gave himself for me nrsv col 2 13 15 describes god s actions in christ on behalf of the colossian believers including all those in christ today here s how eugene peterson paraphrased it in his msg entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve it s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws no you re already in insiders not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what christ has already gone through destroying the power of sin when you were stuck in your sin dead life you were incapable of responding to god god brought you alive right along with christ think of it all sins forgiven the slate wiped clean that 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