Pastor Zhang was released from his latest imprisonment on August 31, 2011, after more than seven years in prison.  He endured torture and hard labor, all the while suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.  He was not permitted to have a Bible, and he was so ill that he had to be carried from place to place by two men.  He didn’t think he would leave prison alive.

His wife and 2 sons worried about him constantly, and many VOM readers wrote letters to Pastor Zhang thru www.prisoneralert.com.  (Note: We on the Hill sent him 5 letters last spring.)

“I am happy that you and others tried to arrange for my release, but in one way, I am happy that you failed.”  he told a VOM worker shortly after his release.  “You almost made a big mistake.  If you had been successful, there would be no church in that prison today.”

Even while ill, Pastor Zhang was planting a church in prison.  “God called me to preach to the prisoners,” he said.  During Pastor Zhang’s 7-year imprisonment, almost all of the 5,000 prisoners had an opportunity to hear the gospel.  He was able to reach many men he would never have interacted with outside prison.

Pastor Zhang foresees China opening up to the gospel soon, and he hopes the Chinese church will be prepared.  “I want to remind the Western church that there is great fruit in China that is a direct result of the labor that the West has labored for us,” he said.  “Your ministry to the Chinese church has changed this nation!”

(republished from Voice of the Martyr monthly magazine, February, 2012.  Read the full transcript of the interview with Pastor Zhang at www.persecution.com/newsletter)

Pagan sailers:  “What are you doing sleeping!?!  Get up and help us!  We’re throwing everything overboard!  We’re trying to throw out the water that’s coming into the ship!  Who are you, anyway?”

Jonah: “I’m a prophet.  I believe in the one true & living God who made heaven & earth.”

Sailers:”Then pray to your god!  We’re all praying to our gods…you pray to yours.  Don’t you care about us?  We’re gonna die in this storm, and you’re just lying there sleeping.  The least you can do is pray!  Maybe your god will hear you and save us.”

Jonah: “This storm is because of me.  Your life is at the edge of Death and eternal destruction because of my choices.  Your financial ruin from writing off all this lost cargo is because of me. ….”

Sailers: “Ha!  You claim to serve the living God, yet you run in rebellion to Him?  Ha!  We can smell a rat when we see one!…..”

SCENE  TWO: In the midst of the night, off the coast of Italy, a few months ago

Coast Guard authority: “Captain Schettino? Listen Schettino. There are people trapped on board. Now you go with your boat under the prow on the starboard side. There is a pilot ladder. You will climb that ladder and go on board. You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear? I’m recording this conversation, Cmdr. Schettino…”

Captain Schettino: “Commander, let me tell you one thing… In this moment, the boat is tipping…”

Coast Guard authority: “I understand that, listen, there are people that are coming down the pilot ladder of the prow. You go up that pilot ladder, get on that ship and tell me how many people are still on board. And what they need. Is that clear? You need to tell me if there are children, women or people in need of assistance. And tell me the exact number of each of these categories. Is that clear? Listen Schettino, that you saved yourself from the sea, but I am going to… I’m going to make sure you get in trouble. …I am going to make you pay for this. Go on board, (expletive)!”

Captain Schettino: “Commander, please…”

Coast Guard authority: “No, please. You now get up and go on board. They are telling me that on board there are still… What are you doing, commander?”

Captain Schettino: “I am here to coordinate the rescue…I am not going (on board) because the other lifeboat is stopped…. Where are your rescuers?”"

Coast Guard authority: “You go aboard. It is an order. Don’t make any more excuses. You have declared ‘abandon ship.’ Now I am in charge. You go on board! Is that clear? Do you hear me? Go, and call me when you are aboard. My air rescue crew is there.”

Captain Schettino: “But do you realize it is dark and here we can’t see anything…”

Coast Guard authority: “And so what? You want go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!… It has been an hour that you have been telling me the same thing. Now, go on board. Go on board! And then tell me immediately how many people there are there.”

SCENE THREE: Towards the end of the Day, as Night is falling, 2012

The Lord Jesus: “As the Father sent Me, so I send you.  Go and serve others in My name.  Heal, bind up wounds, comfort, tell…”

You & me: “But I have fields to plough; my business is needing attention.  These are hard economic times.  And if I don’t take care of me and my family (and our home church), I’ll be a disgrace, and then we’ll die, and then there’s no possibility of helping others in your Name in the future!”

The Lord Jesus: “Don’t worry about food and clothes and shelter.  I’ve taken care of the birds and the flowers and the young lions for centuries.  Don’t you realize I can take care of your needs?”

You & me: “But what about burying my dead?  My relative has died, and I must do certain things!  It’s tradition!  If I neglect tradition and my responsibilities to my culture, it will cause others to think bad of me…and then of You, Lord!  I must complete my obligations to others according to our traditions!”

The Lord Jesus: “All power is given to me.  I am the Ruler of all things in Heaven & Earth.  There is no tradition that is stronger than me, there is no ‘need’ that is beyond my ability, there is no Voice more authoritative than Mine. Don’t you realize that your Traditions will pass away as the leaves on a tree?  I have said ‘Go’.  Do you refuse?”

You & me: “Oh, no Lord.  I don’t refuse.  But you know, it’s dark out there.  It’s lonely.  It’s insecure and scary.  And I might get hurt.  All I’m saying is this….let’s wait a little while to get all the kinks worked out.  We can’t go off half-cocked, you know!  Let me get some financial security under my belt, and the family established & grown a bit, and let me start an exercise program and make sure the doctor says I’m fit.  And besides, I don’t understand enough about You…I need to study the Bible more to be really prepared.  Those people might ask me a question that I can’t answer, and that would be embarrassing.   No, Lord, I’m not refusing.  I just want to wait a little.”

The Lord Jesus: “There is no time to wait!  Can’t you trust Me to provide your every need while you are in the mode of Obedience?  I will give you the finances when you need them; I will anchor your family; I will tend to your physical strength & health; I will help you to understand Me… as you obey.  People are dying!  Their Day is ending!  They are being cast into eternity without hope; they are bound for day after day, year after year, endlessly without comfort, without companionship, in isolation, in utter blackness & solitary confinement….and you sit here before Me talking about financial issues and family and traditions and such things!  Amazing!  Have you no sense of Reality??”

You & me:  “But….”

The Lord Jesus: “No ‘buts’!  I said ‘Go’….go across the street, go over the yard, go to the desk next to yours, go to the person serving you in the grocery store or restaurant or gas station, go to the next nation or another continent.  Go!!!  Do what I saved you for!  Tell them… be my spokesperson…serve them… teach them the joy of following me (after you have learned it yourself, of course!).  Tell them I love them! Tell them I have made a way thru the horrible, painful maze of Life! Tell them I have secured a Future of Light & Warmth & Security & Companionship!  Go!!! 

You & me: (considering the issue, yet still not convinced)

The Lord Jesus: “Consider this: you have declared ‘abandon ship’ with your own life…now I’m in charge.  I love these other people as much as you.  My program is not finished.  I saved you in order to use you to reach them.  And if you still refuse, remember, I can make your life very difficult because of your disobedience.  If you disobey Me to seek financial security, comfortable living, family, physical security, traditions….anything you name…I will turn those things to rot.  They will fall apart in your hands.  They will bring nothing but stench and pain and disappointment to you.  I am the Lord of Heaven and Earth.”

It had been built without adequate foundation….only a few hollow concrete tubes, with no rebar reinforcement. Cost savings and speed were paramount in the construction plans.

Tenants moved in and life moved on.

Then they decided to build an underground garage next to the building. Excavation for the garage began. Out came the dirt from one side of the building….and laid to rest on another side of the building.

Work was proceeding fine until an unplanned event…..rain. Rain came down in torrents, filling the excavated area, and weighing down the dirt pile. And before they knew it, the hollow core cement tubes forming the building’s foundation snapped under the strain, and the building fell over in one piece.

What a picture of Life for those who take short-cuts on the essentials.

They didn’t have high-rise buildings in Jesus’ day. But He told a story that closely paralleled this news item from China. Read it in Matthew 7:24-28….

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Did you get His point?

Everyone who hears….AND DOES…His words of instruction is saved in the Storm.

Pay attention!!!  It’s not in the hearing…not in the knowing…not in the memorizing…not in the discussing…not in the contemplating or meditating. No, it is in the DOING, that our lives become strongly established and secure in the inevitable storms of Life.

The winds and rain lash both the lives built upon the rock and the lives built upon the sand. Both the obedient followers of Christ, and the token followers or non-followers, experience pain, discomfort, hardship, challenges, set-backs, disappointments.

But the ones who have a lifestyle of obedience to the Master, are the ones who will survive the storm intact….emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, physically.

Why? Because the One who is sovereign over the Storm is the One who designed the protection from the Storm. And those who come under His protection thru obedience are those who survive the Storm.

So…what’s your Storm Protection Plan? Are you rushing thru Life focused on saving cost and time? Is your foundation little more than hollow cement cores?

Or are you taking the time and spending the energy to obey His commands? And what are His commands? Honor parents…love neighbor…suffer injustice…bless those who harm you…be pure in thoughts & actions…love the Lord with everything in you!…hunger after righteousness…be content & thankful…

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” (James 1:22)

I’m not sure of the story behind this picture.  It came to me in an email long ago.  

Do you see the story of Jesus’ life in this drawing of His face?  And do you see in His face a connection to your life?  Do you have a new appreciation of what the book of Hebrews says in 4:15….”For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.”

I see in this drawing His humility & poverty in the circumstances of His birth (His beard)….and I know He feels my economic restrictions.

I see His temptations in the Wilderness (His forehead)….and I know He understands my inner struggles & confusion as the Evil One twists things in my mind & emotions.

I see the injustice of His crucifixion, and His willingness to suffer on my account (His right temple)….and I know that as He suffered, so I can suffer, because He indwells me.

I see the angels heralding His resurrection and His return (His left temple)….and I am reminded of the future awaiting me, a future of power & resurrection and coming glory with Him in His Kingdom.

And I see in the center of His face, between eyes full of Love, the Cross (on His nose)….and I think of that wonderful core of Christianity…LOVE!

This is love:

not that we have loved God, but that he loved us

and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins.

I was impressed this week with Paul’s counsel to young Timothy.  “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (I Timothy 6:6-10)

In this year, many are struggling financially. And all the latest news about the financial fortunes of the presidential candidates has gotten us thinking….and lusting with envy.   The American Dream is out there, enticing us to work harder, to keep rowing, to struggle forward, to sacrifice to get the kind of life we want.  It is not enough to have a roof over our head, or food on the table.  We want a big roof, that shelters a large, stylish house in a nice neighborhood.   It is not enough to have beans on the table; we want shrimp & steak & variety.

We want what we want, when we want it!  It’s our right as Americans!  And we are told that if we work hard enough & smart enough, we can get it!

But at what sacrifice??

The love of money (& what money can buy) is a root of many evils.   Lust, pride, strife, greed, pettiness, manipulation…the list is endless.   Evils that pierce our hearts thru with many sorrows.

My internet friend, will you consider your ways today?  Are you striving after the Almighty Dollar for the lifestyle that you think it can give you?  If so, you are sowing for yourself a bed of sorrows.

I encourage you….be content with godliness.  Practice thankfulness.  Train yourself to gratitude.  Focus on simplicity of living.

Why?  Because you have Christ, and He is worth millions times more than all the money in the world!

Being content is enough!

In the Scriptures, the world of mankind is divided into 2 broad categories: the saved and the unsaved….those bound for Hell and those bound for Heaven….those who are righteous and those who are unrighteous…those are on the side of God and those on the side of Satan.

And the Scriptures have shown us the “scientific” tests to be applied. Let me present two of these tests to you for your consideration.

The Lordship Test.

The Scriptures are clear that those who belong to the saved category are those who have a desire to obey Christ as Lord. Jesus Himself said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) In another place He asks “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, but you don’t do the things that I say?” (Luke 6:46) And when discussing the end times and the last judgment, Jesus explained to His disciples, “Many will say to me ‘Didn’t we cast out demons in your name, and do many wonderful works?’ And I will say to them ‘Depart from you, you who break God’s laws’” (Matthew 7:23)

The Lordship Test is this: who determines the decisions I make on a day to day basis?

We are all following someone. We are all worshipping someone. Perhaps our own selves. Perhaps society. Perhaps the church system. Perhaps our passions.

Only those who are following the Lord Jesus…letting Him call the shots, submitting to His commands and His Spirit….are the ones who are saved.

How about you? Do you have a love for Christ that spurs you on to obedience to Him? Or are you playing games with Him, pretending to be His follower, while all the time directing your own life according to your own desires.

Do you pass the Lordship Test?

The Fellowship Test.

The Lordship Test has to do with our relationship to the Savior as Lord; the Fellowship Test has to do with our relationship with other followers of the Savior as Lord. You see, if we are following the Savior as Lord, and others are following the Savior as Lord, then there cannot be discord, aloofness, cold-heartedness, anger, bitterness, hostility, pride between us. It’s that simple!

Speaking thru the Apostle John, Jesus put it very clearly:” If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (I John 4:20) In another place, John puts it in terms of family life: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.”

The Fellowship Test says very simply: The person who is saved wants to be with and be right with the other children of God. Those who shun the fellowship of other saints, who are always picking at this and that about their Brethren, who are more eager to be with non-believers in sports or recreation or travel than with their Eternal Family….these are those who do not pass the Fellowship Test for being saved.

So how about you? Are you eager to be with His people? Are you panting in your soul for that special fellowship that is shared only by your Eternal Family? Do you get a special satisfaction when you are sharing Life with other followers of Jesus?

Do you pass the Fellowship Test?

Only you know for sure…..and God.

Then, my friend, lift your eyes to Calvary. There is One who wants to meet you there to remind you of His part in this year….of His unfailing love, of His soothing spirit, of His boundless strength, of His companionship, of His provision, of His guidance.

All that He is, is waiting for you & me at Calvary. Day by day, hour by hour, He waits for us there.

Will you sit with me for a moment at the foot of the Cross? 

Only Jesus…only He brings redemption, full and free
There’s a yearning, in all our lives that only Jesus satisfies.

Calvary’s love will sail forever…bright and shining, strong and free
Like an ark of peace and safety on the sea of human need.

Through the hours of all the ages, those tired of sailing on their own
Finally rest inside the shadow cast by Calvary’s love across their souls.

Calvary’s love, Calvary’s love!
Priceless gift Christ makes us worthy of
The deepest sin can’t rise above
Calvary’s love!

Calvary’s love can heal the spirit Life has crushed and cast aside,
And redeem… til Heaven’s promise fills with joy… once empty eyes.

So desire to tell His story… of a Love that loved enough to die…
Burns away all other passions and, fed by Calvary’s love, becomes a fire. 

Calvary’s love, Calvary’s love!
Priceless gift Christ makes us worthy of
The deepest sin can’t rise above
Calvary’s love!

Calvary’s love has never faltered! All its wonders still remain!
Souls still take eternal passage…sins atoned and heaven gained…
Sins forgiven and heaven gained.

Wise words from a wise man, written especially to those of us who may be tempted to see ourselves as creditors instead of as debtors.

At my age, it’s easy to live with a sense of entitlement. Aging baby-boomers like myself may be tempted to think, “Hey, I’ve paid my dues. I’ve served Jesus faithfully for many years. It’s time to be served. It’s time for life to be easy. I have the right to comfort, respect, and appreciation.”

It’s so easy to make an idol out of appreciation. We start needing others’ affirmation so that we feel a sense of achievement and success. “I’ve traveled thousands of miles serving Jesus. I’ve trudged through deserts and forded rivers for the cause of Christ. Isn’t it about time I got some credit for it?” Or a parent can think, “I’ve poured my life into raising you. The least you can do is show me some appreciation!”

The older I get, the more I’m finding it’s necessary to re-examine my perspective on living. Like all sinners, I suffer from spiritual myopia. With a humble dependency on God, I need to expose the critical issues of my heart to the pure light of God’s Word. Our identity as Christians, says Paul, is not rooted in our performance. It is rooted in the Gospel. We are called to be faithful servants no matter what the outcome. In the end, I do not need to be concerned about the approval and affirmation of others. Because Christ is the source of my identity, I need not allow respect, comfort, or appreciation to rule my heart. I can glory in the knowledge that in every trial of life God has a greater agenda than my personal comfort.

Friend, do not give in to an entitlement mentality. In moments of discouragement and defeat, we can choose to accept every difficulty as a God-given opportunity to develop a more Christ-like attitude toward life. Paul is showing us where our real priorities are to lie. In order to live for Christ, God must expose those areas in our life that reflect irresponsibility, foolish thinking, and immature behavior. This is true whether you are nine or ninety! And immaturity often rears its ugly head whenever we decide to wallow in self-pity instead of choosing to serve others.

So, “debtor” is not just another word in my vocabulary. It has become a real part of my life. The older I get, the more I need this perspective. I AM NOT MY OWN. I BELONG TO GOD. AND I AM TO GLORIFY HIM BY SERVING OTHERS IN HIS NAME. Without question, there are lost sheep out there, and we’re sent to find them. But we will never pursue Gospel living as long as we see ourselves as creditors instead of debtors.

I warn all of us against such thought and action. Unless we consciously guard ourselves against it, when we face discouragement we’ll begin to search for a way for others to feed our much-deserved utopia. But the Christian owns nothing! We simply manage God’s resources.

Have you “ordained” everything in your life to God and His service? You don’t have an eternity ahead of you to do this. Aging is a process from which none of us can escape. As the reality of growing older looms ahead, we can grow better, not just older. I can’t drive or read without eyeglasses. My back aches when I pick up the lightest objects. Ugh! Paul says, “Think about who you are. Instead of sitting there in selfish silence, give of yourself for others, regardless of their cultural background or educational level. Let the benchmark of your life be generosity. God has given you undiminished potential to serve Him. Let go! Let it flow!”

At the age of eighty-eight, John Wesley could still preach with eloquent power. Our older years can be the most fruitful years of life in terms of Gospel service. None of us is finished or washed up. The worst thing we can do is to carve out a rut and crawl into it. There are too many opportunities to serve Jesus to do that!

contributed by Dr. David A. Black

The joy of a birth is in the expectation of the life to follow.

Read that again: The joy of a birth is in the expectation of the life to follow.

Birth in itself carries little weight.  Ask anyone who has discovered a birth defect, or whose child suffered birth trauma that resulted in brain injury, or who gave birth in extreme life circumstances.

It is the hope of the life to be lived after the birth that gives us joy.

(Don’t misunderstand me.  I’m not talking about the value of a person….every person, regardless of birth status is of equal, eternal, and inestimable value.  I’m talking about the joy to others of a given birth….the response of others to a birth.)

Consider some births in the Scriptures.  Isaac…Moses…Samuel…Samson…John the Baptist…Jesus.   In each birth, the atmosphere was full of expectation of a life well-lived, a life of influence for God, a life of godliness.

Yes, some of these men disappointed.  Expectations were dashed when Moses murdered & then fled in fear, when Samson chose to indulge his own selfish desires instead of seek God’s glory, when John the Baptist was imprisoned.   But each person ended life well, even if they had gotten side-tracked at some point.

My dear friend, what about your own birth?  I’m not talking about your physical birth….I’m talking about your spiritual birth.  As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, the Christian life starts with a spiritual birth.  It doesn’t start by osmosis, or big bang, or creedal consent, or a series of organizational confirmations.  It starts with a birthing from the “womb” of God.

Have you been born ‘from above’?  And if so, is your life reflecting the hope that was palpable at your birth?

God birthed you in the hope of your life.  Are you living out that hope, or are you stuck in the dead-end zone of self-indulgence?

Everyone born physically disappoints their parents at times in their lives; they get side-tracked in selfishness.  And everyone born spiritually disappoints their Father at times in their lives.  The issue is not periods of disappointment, but returning back,  keeping on keeping on, eyes fixed upon the Hope of our birth, finishing the Race well.

Moses came back from hiding out & led millions of people thru a horrible desert to the land of Canaan.  Samson repented of his self-centeredness in prison, and in the final act of his life, destroyed more enemies of Israel in his death than he had in his entire life.

 What about you & me?  Let’s make 2012 a year of living out the Hope of our Birth. Our Father above should not be disappointed in us this year. 

 He is worthy of our Life.