Mary & Martha talk of praying for people they come into contact with; they share how God is answering prayer and moving anew in their nation. They excitedly tell me of miracles of healing, lively prayer meetings in their church and of neighbours being inquisitive of their faith.

They live with a deep sense of  Gods purpose and calling_ and chose not to allow the pain of a very difficult childhood to overshadow what the lord is now doing in their lives.

Although they will  never forget past difficulties they both read the Scriptures avidly for spiritual food.

Their eyes are clearly on the horizon in which Jesus is all they need and want and they ignore the few “inconveniences”.   (Cairo)

Release mag  Dec 2014 Issue 82     www.releaseinternational.org

Extract:- the programme ends with a time of prayer and a women who has been deaf for most of her  life ask for prayer. Somebody prays for her & asked her if she could hear. With a look of shock on her face she nodded and said yes. The women is overwhelmed by the work of God in her life.

(OM ship to shore 2014)

A woman who owns a vitamin shop has a Bible in the house because her mother obtained one when the OM ship Doulos was in Hong Kong previously. Sadly her mother died but left the Bible to this woman.

After neglecting it for sometime, tragedy struck as the woman was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly the Bible was brought off the bookshelf ,”she knew about God before, but when she got cancer, she started seeking him more”

She  started reading this Bible & studying it. She says she turned to God and found healing from cancer. She shows a newspaper article explaining how doctors are amazed by her complete recovery. She continues to give God the glory. Jesus was the turning point, & the Bible the tool.

(OM  Ship To Shore 2014)

As Spafford travelled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died. 

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know, It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain: It is well, (it is well), With my soul, (with my soul) It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin — oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! — My sin — not in part but the whole, — Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll, No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life, Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.”

I was raised in an unbelieving home. I came to Christ at 15. My mum became a Christian soon afterward. But my father was the most resistant person to the gospel I’ve ever known. He’d told me never to talk to him about that “religious stuff” again. At 84, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. One day he phoned, very upset.

“I’m in terrible pain. I’ve got a gun to my head. Sorry to leave you with a mess.”

I begged him to hold on. I made the 30-minute drive in 20, jumped out of the car and pounded on the door. No answer.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. On the floor I saw a rifle and a handgun. Calling out for my father, I turned the corner into his room, prepared for the worst. Eyes half closed, I bumped into him as he walked out. My heart racing, I rushed him to the hospital, where they scheduled him for surgery the next morning.

I arrived an hour before surgery, praying that in his despair, with no easy way out, my dad would turn to Christ. Standing by his bed, I opened my Bible to Romans. I began reading in chapter three. “There is none righteous, no, not one … All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Those weren’t easy words to read. My tavern-owner father had always taken hot offense at being called a sinner. I wanted to gloss over this portion, moving quickly to the good news of God’s grace. But I forced myself to keep reading, verse after verse, about human sin. Why? Because I told myself, If I really love Dad, I have to tell him the whole truth. If God’s going to do a miracle of conversion here, that’s His job. My job is to say what He says.

We made it to Romans 6, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Then Romans 10, about being saved through confessing Jesus as our risen Lord.

Finally I looked Dad in the eyes and asked, “Have you ever confessed your sins and asked Jesus Christ to forgive you?”

“No,” he said in a weak voice. He paused, then added, “But … I think it’s about time I did.”

I’ll never forget that moment. The impossible took place right before my eyes: my father prayed aloud, confessed his sins and placed his faith in Christ just before they wheeled him into surgery.

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them.

A young Saudi had a dream about Jesus, began to read the Scriptures and trusted Christ. He then married, but his wife did not accept his faith. They later had a child who became very ill. The husband told his wife that they were going to pray to Jesus and that only He could heal the child . The child was then healed and the wife and also her mother came to faith.

Source OM global  (Arab world series)  Sept 14 issue 3

Seven years ago , Ishoori Senchuri, then 15, became the answer to her question of how to protect children from traffickers. Living in a Hindu village in the beautiful Himalayan foothills of Nepal, she’d never heard of Jesus-until he appeared to her in a dream.

‘My health was in a very critical situation,’ she explains. ‘I dreamt a white-clothed man was calling me and he told me “I will give you life”. Jesus was calling me to Him.In my dream I also saw a church. So the next day I tried to find the church-and I did so I went there. I heard lots of things about Jesus Christ and salvation. I was completely healed and there was no problem in my stomach after that.’

Ishoori then rented a room and started a church in her own community.(the first) & with the help of Tear Fund began confronting trafficking .

Tear Fund   (Tear Times Autumn 14)

Country Unspecified.(outside Uk)

Three men were walking down one of the streets in the shanty town, specifically looking for people who needed prayer for healing.

One of the gentlemen then had a strong sense that “the next man they would come across would have neck pain and God would heal him”.

They stopped outside the next shop. The 45yr old man standing there had had neck pain for several years, unhelped by medicines.

He was asked ,”can we pray for you in Jesus name”. He agreed willingly.

They prayed together for about a minute and then stopped to ask how he was feeling. With almost expressionless face he said “yeah, the pain in my neck has completely gone but my back still hurts” So the three man prayed for his back for another minute. That also improved. (He has been seen several times since & remains well)

Note.

Miracles on their own do not bring people into relationship with Jesus. People are often willing to have their illness prayed for but the idea of repenting & turning to a new faith is not so popular.

Extract from “GO” July -Sept 2014

Howard stands alone as the last line of the U.S. defense, and he shoulders the burdens and scrutiny of the position. To succeed, Howard depends on his own anchor, his faith in Jesus.

“The most important thing in my life is Christ,” Howard told a youth group he volunteers with. “He’s more important to me than winning or losing or whether I’m playing or not. Everything else is just a bonus.”

A Tsonga Bible – a Bible written in the heart language of Mozambique – is a rare item to possess. But in the hands of a believer who is equipped with Bible  Training, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is proving to be a powerful tool for building the Kingdom of God.

Once he met Jesus and began to know Him better, David knew that he had to tell others the Good News he had learned. By the grace of God, he had the courage to start with his own family and relatives. That can sometimes be a difficult road, especially if the important people in a believer’s life reject the message he or she is sharing. David’s message to those he loves was simple: “After long and many years of suffering, now I find peace in Jesus. This is the Jesus that I am testifying about to you. Come and let us follow Him together.” Next, David reached out to the people in his village. Since Bibles are scarce, having the Tsonga Bible and study materials available was a huge blessing for David.