“Iranian children right now are victims of their wider society and the struggles that their parents face,” says Silk. “There’s a lot of very serious economic hardship in Iran today, and that is affecting the adult population in their mental health. There are a lot of people turning to drugs and alcohol. There’s a lot of joblessness and struggling to put food on the table. So that worry and stress and struggle, of course, is going to permeate the whole household. And children are very helpless in these kinds of situations.”

The weight of these challenges increases for Christian children. In Open Doors’ World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution, Iran ranks #9.  According to Silk, Christian Iranians have needed to be even more cautious with their faith since the 12 Day War in June, which started when Israel launched targeted airstrikes in Tehran, dramatically escalating conflict within the Middle East.

“The government is really scrutinizing everything and desperately trying to weed out the Christians, and these children have been very careful at school to toe the line and keep up pretenses that they are sympathetic, at least, to the Muslim faith. So all of that carries its toll.”

And while Iranians are free to acknowledge Christmas as a “festival,” that doesn’t mean Christians are safe to celebrate the meaning behind the day.

“People can still decorate their homes and make a fuss of that time of year,” says Silk, “but as soon as you get into a truly Christian celebration of what happened 2000 years ago, then that’s all going to be kept quiet.”

She notes that Iranian children outside of Iran are mostly refugees, with their own set of challenges: “A lot of the issues they face really affect their sense of well-being, even mental health, depression, anxiety, panic attacks.” However, evangelism efforts are much less dangerous for Iranian refugees than for Christians living within Iran.

“We do a lot of that, particularly in Turkey, where we can gather other refugee Iranians who are all living a sort of bleak life at the time,” Silk says. “And so the Christian families can say our holy celebration is coming up. So it’s a great way just to gather a community, and of course, through that, then we get to bless these families, practically and spiritually, sharing truth.”

For all Iranian children—Christian or not, within Iran or in refugee regions—Transform Iran is working to share joy through Operation Christmas Joy, a six-week program where families gather and talk about Jesus and what Christmas means, culminating with a gift for each child that helps meet a practical need.

“We talk a lot about joy and peace and hope at Christmas time,” says Silk. “We thought, well, how do we share the gospel message with children and truly allow it to penetrate their lives so that it does birth joy in their hearts? We want them to be laughing again and dancing again and enjoying community.”

To learn more about partnering with Transform Iran this Christmas, visit their website.

Header photo courtesy of Transform Iran.

“In the countries we serve, Easter has greater prominence among the churches even than Christmas,” says Erick Mock with Slavic Gospel Association. “Easter becomes a profound time of worship.”

The victory concept carries a particular poignancy in countries like Ukraine, Israel, Russia and many others where SGA partners with local churches. Destruction and discord have loud voices. Yet Mock tells the story of one woman who discovered God’s voice even in mayhem.

While in Ukraine, he met an older woman who had lost her family and home. She often didn’t know where her next meal would come from. But she wore a beautiful smile.

“Please tell me why you’re smiling,” he said after hearing her story.

In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary and SGA-supported Compassion Ministry.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

“Because everything tragic that happened in my life led me to this place where I found the grace of God,” she replied. “God has filled my heart with peace and joy, independent of my circumstances, and I know heaven is before me. Whatever happens to me, heaven is there.” 

That same hope in Jesus’ resurrection is yours today, if you know Christ. 

”Even as you watch the chaos in this world, or even some of the chaos in our own country, [I encourage you] to see Easter as a point of victory, a point of celebration that our lives are not determined by our circumstances — both positive and negative — but it’s the hope we have in Jesus Christ, by His grace, through faith,” says Mock. 

This Easter, SGA is boosting support to missionary pastors so they can deliver more aid to their neighbors in the name of Christ. It opens the way to invite people to church and hear the gospel — like it did for Sergei in Belarus. Pray for many people to be drawn to Jesus this Holy Week.

Learn more about SGA here. 

Header photo: In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary and SGA-supported Compassion Ministry. (Photo, caption courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

And while we wait, we worship. 

Church services during Advent traditionally center on four themes: hope, peace, joy, and love. Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries says Christians can point lost people around us to the source of these universally desired gifts. 

“I believe we have a great gift in engaging with hope and peace and love – knowing that what we have we can share. It’s a privilege that we can bring with us as part of the gifts of Christmas season,” she says. 

Sharing can take many forms: conversations, media interactions, formal ministries, or simple acts of generosity. During this Christmas season, and always, Christians can offer the world an extension of the love that Christ offers us. 

“We see a demonstration of a different kind of love in Jesus Christ,” Godwin says, “and I think it’s a faith and a peace and a hope that we need in the times that we live in.” 

In our dark world, many Christmas traditions incorporate the dawning of light: Jesus Christ, the life and light for all mankind. 

Yet in the midst of our lighted celebrations, 3 billion unreached people still walk in darkness. In many countries around the world, there is no Christmas season: no celebration, no symbolism, no meaning. No light. 

“There’s no purpose behind this season for them,” Godwin says. “They don’t understand the light of the world.”

Photo courtesy of Valeriya via Pexels

Primarily through media initiatives such as radio and tv programming, International Media Ministries works in the world’s darkest places to bring Gospel light. Godwin recalls the significance of one of the first projects she worked on: a Christmas program that went into the Eastern Bloc countries after the fall of communism.

“To bring the whole concept of Jesus to a culture that’s been absent Him: they have been waiting for years and years to find hope,” she says. “Each person that comes to Jesus Christ in a closed and dark country is so enthusiastic to share with others despite the risks to themselves.” 

In the midst of our Advent meditations this year, Godwin asks: 

“What does it look like as we wait for this hope to be revealed in our own hearts and lives?” 

In our homes, churches, workplaces, and communities, let’s remind our dark world that light has come, treasuring the gift of Christ in our own hearts as we share Him with others. 

“It’s a lovely privilege that we can incorporate into our Advent as we wait and dwell on the birth of Jesus Christ and what that means,” Godwin says, “as light came to the world in a unique way to save us once and for all.”

Featured photo courtesy of Gareth Harper via Unsplash

Samuel* with Redemptive Stories shares the story of a dear friend of his that we’ll call Peter. 

Peter is from Iraq. He lived as a refugee in another country with his wife and children. About a year ago, he came to faith in Christ after months of meeting with Samuel and other team members in their ministry.

“He knew that there was God, but he didn’t believe in Islam anymore,” Samuel says. “So when he met a team of believers that were engaged with him and began to share with him, he felt something different that he had never seen before in someone’s life. He felt a joy and a peace.”

As these Christians drew closer and closer to telling Peter the story of why Jesus really came, they saw evidence of God’s work in his heart. 

“Every time that the team would meet with him, he would just cry, just tears of repentance,” Samuel says. 

“Fast forward a year, and he’s been working with his family, trying to share with them (and) others. (He) is just on fire for God and communicating the story of redemption, God’s story, with whomever will listen.”

But there has been a deep cost recently. At first, Peter’s wife was glad for his faith. She saw a difference in him and the new peace he had. But when Peter grew more bold in sharing his faith, she began to recognize its impact on their family. Their children’s reputations, future marriages and jobs within the Muslim community were at stake. For her, that was too much. Earlier this year, she left with their kids to return to Iraq. 

This devastating loss for Peter raises other concerns. If his extended family learns he has renounced Islam, there is a chance they will do something to harm him even in the host country he is remaining in. 

“Those realities are real,” Samuel says, “but he’s said over and over again to our team that it’s worth it, Jesus is worth it.”

The team read Luke 14 with Peter. 

“It talks about this reality of ‘anyone who comes after Me and follows Me must deny (himself)’ — it would look like hate towards their mother and their father and their son and their daughter, their wives,” Samuel says. 

Would you let Peter’s story be a call forward in your discipleship after Christ?

“I would say the same thing that my dear brother demands of himself, which is to follow Christ — which means give everything for the sake of winning some others to walk this journey with him,” Samuel says.

“That we all might count that cost and realize that any sort of other god that (we have) put before God Himself is not worth it compared to eternal riches that come through following Jesus Christ.” (cf. Philippians 3:7-11)

*Pseudonym

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Abyan Athif/Unsplash.

Dean VanderMey with Set Free Ministries says in almost every venue right now there are two predominant emotions: anger and fear. “Anger is a God-given emotion for injustice. It’s when there’s an injustice or a perceived injustice, that creates anger. So there’s a lot of injustices and perceived in justices that have happened in the last year, in 2020.”

Anger, Fear and Christians

VanderMey says the key to Christians navigating conversations and events where anger and fear dominate is to remember who is in control. No event surprises God and He will bring about ultimate justice.

Human anxiety and fear often pour gas on the fire of anger when it is already out of control. Suddenly a situation appears to be terrifying because emotions have taken over. The truth of the Gospel must reign.

“Circumstances should not change our spiritual equilibrium,” VanderMey says. “We see the apostles actually having a hymn sing after they got beaten, whipped in prison. So circumstances shouldn’t be dictating our spiritual health.”

Responding in Love, Joy and Peace

The same principle applies to righteous anger. Desiring truth and justice to be present is good. Letting that righteous anger morph into something that controls is dangerous.

(Image courtesy of Chad Davis on Flickr https://bit.ly/3ocUgCg)

VanderMey says, “Love, joy and peace is not based on circumstances. So we have to start turning our hearts toward heaven, and asking the Lord what’s in our hearts that’s causing the fear and anger and the anxiety, and start to release that back to the Father. Whether it’s perceived injustice, or a real injustice.”

Approaching internal thoughts and external dialogue with the love, joy and peace that comes from Christ, enables Christians to engage with the world in a way that truly stands out. People are anxious. They struggle with how to look at world events, but Christ offers a solution.

Jesus looked at this world with compassion and that’s what He calls the Church to. “When we see hurting people, we’re supposed to engage and search out the lost. Bring back the strays. Bind up the wounded and minister to them. Jesus it says was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Yeah, that’s because He was in the trenches. He was willing to get dirty in the trenches. He was around hurting people.”

Reaching the World

Christians know that true peace will never be found in political leaders, economic systems or even social reform. Instead anxiety, fear and anger find a resting place when they are laid down at the foot of the cross.

VanderMey encourages the Church to offer the hope of the Prince of Peace to those in need and not shy away from the message. Even those who have been ensnared by anger, hate and fear are invited to draw near to God, repent, believe and find peace.

“The enemy doesn’t want us to know that we have a loving Father who can forgive us when we blow up, when we stumble and fall. And we don’t have to fear this heavenly Father. We don’t have to run and hide. And we don’t have to save our own skin. Only Jesus saves.”

Learn more about Set Free Ministries and the God who can set you free from anger and fear.

Header Image courtesy of Chad Davis on Flickr https://bit.ly/3c6A3vg

Beth Matheson, Women of the Word writer for Wycliffe Bible Translators USA, says that’s why prayer matters alongside Bible translation.

“At Wycliffe, our goal is to see everybody in the world be able to have an understanding that God speaks their language, that He wants to hear from…the depths of their heart in a language that is most comfortable for them.

“The way they’re going to know He speaks their language is by having His words in a language that speaks to their hearts.”

(Photo courtesy of Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash)

Wycliffe recently did a series on prayer, and Matheson wrote an article on prayer and brokenness for the series.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, every human experience this side of Heaven has been marred by brokenness — the pain of suffering, injustice, failure, death, heartbreak, addiction, fear.

Matheson says our brokenness doesn’t just alter relationships with ourselves and other people.

“There are times that fallenness and brokenness extend to our interactions with God.”

“I’ve talked with women that feel like they don’t have the permission or the ability to really bring what is the deepest and darkest parts of themselves…and lay those out in the open before God. Or they feel like they have to approach Him in some certain formulaic way,” she says.

(Photo courtesy of Samuel Martins via Unsplash)

As believers learn to pray — especially those discovering God’s Word in their own language for the first time — there is freedom in learning to approach God as a loving Father.

“We don’t have to clean ourselves up to have a conversation with Him. We don’t have to phrase things in a particular way to catch His ear. It’s not about convincing Him to do something. Prayer isn’t about performing. It’s not about trying to twist His arm into doing something that we want Him to do,” Matheson says.

“Prayer is about building a relationship with God… as whole people, including the parts of ourselves that maybe we would rather not bring into the light.”

Please join Wycliffe in praying for every nation, tribe, and tongue to know the joy of approaching the Lord in their brokenness. Ask God to accelerate Bible translation efforts so more people will come to know Him.

To learn more about Wycliffe’s ministry, click here!

Header photo courtesy of Samuel Martins via Unsplash.

(Photo courtesy of Orphan Outreach

India (MNN) — Often times, people hear horror stories of orphanage conditions and the great need of the children, but this isn’t the case for the House of Grace orphanage in Manali, India.

The House of Grace (in partnership with Orphan Outreach) surprisingly is an orphanage children run to, not from. The director of the orphanage, Joy, knows well why. She was one of the first to reside there.

In 1982 Auntie (Mawitei) opened House of Grace. Joy’s father, a Buddhist, placed Joy and her brother and her sister in the home after the passing of their mother. He truly believed they would be well taken care of there. And he was right.

Then, in 1988, village leaders became angry about the Christian teachings in House of Grace and forced the removal of its children. Joy and some others were placed in a Buddhist school and hostel. Fortunately, the love shown to the children from Auntie stuck. It was genuine, and it was real. They craved to return.

Returning was to be a long and brutal road, though. A rumor soon spread of Joy’s aunt, who would come visit her and her siblings at school, having plans to take the children back to House of Grace.

She was beaten bloody in response.

Yet, this didn’t hinder Joy’s desire to return to House of Grace; instead, it enflamed it. “We had to do our morning prayers, so we would bow down before Buddha and pray to Jesus. Those prayers gave us bravery, and we decided to plan our escape.”

Joy and a friend eventually broke free and returned to House of Grace, but they were placed in hiding after local officials wanted to force them back to the school. For protection, Auntie hid the children in a neighboring village. Fortunately, the Indian government had just declared the home to be properly caring for the children, making it safe to return again.

As Joy moved through high school and college, she realized something was missing

( Photo from Orphan Outreach

from her faith. It was then on a trip to House of Grace when Joy learned about salvation in Christ, and she soon placed her faith in Him. Soon after, she felt her call to return and work at House of Grace.

Once a resident of House of Grace, Joy is now its director, with Auntie as her guide and mentor. “My hope is that every child will live with Jesus, spread His love, and contribute to the Kingdom.“

To learn more about House of Grace, click here.

Orphan Outreach is partnering with House of Grace to help manage, fund, and provide resources for the Rainbow School to serve children at the orphanage and impoverished children in the community. Orphan Outreach provides sponsorships of the children (at the orphanage and those from the community at Rainbow School), and short-term mission teams provide humanitarian aid and Bible programs for the children.

Int’l (MNN) — With Christmas comes joy for most of us, but not for everyone worldwide.

Dyann Romeijn from Vision Beyond Borders explains, “This Christmas season, we’re asking people to truly pray for the persecuted church, to reach out to them, to give Bibles and supplies that they need. And then also to be able to go and actually deliver those supplies. We need people to carry the Bibles across closed borders. For us as Americans, there’s very little risk involved. For them, if they are caught with the Bible, they can go to prison, or actually even be killed. So it’s our responsibility as Americans, when we have little risk involved, to be able to go and get those to them.”

And as prayer goes out for the persecuted church, prayer for persecuted Christians should follow.

Romeijn continues, “Most of the Christians over there, they don’t ask for their persecution to be decreased or released. They ask for stronger backs to endure. And so, pray they would stand strong amidst the persecution and that it would be used to glorify God, to make His name known among the nations. That truly is their desire: that His name would be made great, that they would endure for His name’s sake, and that it would be used for His glory.”

Yes, we can enjoy Christmas with family and friends and celebrate Christ’s birth. We as believers simply cannot forget about our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who don’t have the freedom to celebrate. Pray that the persecuted stay safe this Christmas season and continue to stand strong in their faith.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and don’t hinder them, for the kingdom of God is like these little children”
(Image, caption courtesy LWI/ANS)

These are important questions to ponder.

I have had the opportunity to look into the eyes of children, women, and poor people in various parts of the world over the years who have very few of this world’s possessions and privileges. And I have seen genuine joy in their lives that many in the Western world are missing. While many in the more developed countries of the world have more than enough of everything, there are still more than two billion people in the world who do not have enough of anything, yet many of them have more joy than some of the rich and privileged of the world.

While we as followers of Jesus should be responsible to share what we have with those in need, it would be important to realize that we can learn from and receive from them. God is at work in all places, at all times, and it is a challenge to all of us to recognize His redemptive activities, many times in the most unlikely people and places.

One of my mentors years ago, the late Manley Beasley, used to say, “One of our greatest challenges is to find out what God is up to, and get in on it.” Henry Blackaby has said we need to identify the activity of God, and join Him.

There really is no greater joy than being God’s instruments to carry out His purposes and advance His kingdom. Think of all the ways you can do that on a daily basis. God has placed each of us in a mission field, made up of our families, neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And there is another category which I call “all others.” With today’s resources and technologies, we are able to communicate and share with people around the globe.

The joy of having clean water and the Living Water of Jesus.
(Image, caption courtesy LWI/ANS)

We in Living Water International have the privilege of helping communities acquire access to clean, safe drinking water in Jesus’ name. However, there are many ways of demonstrating the love and truth of Jesus that result in saving lives and changing destinies. It is transformational when we recognize that each of us can be agents of change and bring joy to those around us and those around the world.

A friend of mine, who has participated in LWI’s Orality Training Workshops and is now conducting orality training himself, shared some of his recent experiences with me by phone.

He was on a mission trip and had the opportunity to lead an Orality Training Workshop with 25 underground pastors in one of the creative access countries in Asia. He was encouraged at how excited these pastors were to learn a method that they can use anywhere, which is not dependent on literate or technological resources. They were equipped with stories and methods that are reproducible, with just what is in their heads and hearts that can be reproduced in other people’s heads and hearts.

They were amazed and surprised at how effective their orality training can be in sharing Jesus and making disciples, even in some of the most difficult circumstances.

It was exciting to hear the joy in this brother’s voice as he shared about his experience on his mission trip. Then I began to think about our being on mission with God, every day, wherever we happen to be. If we take the time to ask God to open our eyes to those opportunities, we will be able to recognize divine appointments that God will orchestrate as we make ourselves available to Him.

Sharing life in Christ takes many forms of expression.
(Image, caption courtesy LWI/ANS)

Just being alert to the people around us, and looking for ways to connect with them, can create amazing opportunities to share Christ. Making eye contact, smiling, and greeting people, can open the door to engage in conversations that can result in saving lives and changing destinies. We sometimes make things more complicated than they need to be. Simply asking questions, listening, and telling our story can lead to telling God’s story.

We don’t have to be great storytellers, because we have great stories to tell.

There is power in the Story of Jesus, the Living Word of God, and the Holy Spirit will touch hearts and change lives as we simply share with others. We want to make sure our message and methods are biblical, understandable and reproducible. Of course, our best example is the Lord Jesus Himself as a communicator, trainer and disciple maker. It is important that we realize that the same God who lived in Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, now lives in each of us who is born again by the Spirit of God.

It is true that God seems to use the most-unlikely candidates to accomplish His most significant work. (see 1 Cor. 1:26-31). It seems like many in the Church world today are looking for or trying the most sophisticated, complicated, and complex strategies and programs. There is a tendency to look for the best and newest thinking. Yet, when we think about the fact that the Good News of Jesus spread throughout the entire populated world in the first century, we should consider how that happened.

It was primarily by simple, ordinary people telling the story and sharing the love and truth of Jesus. It’s not complicated. Someone has said that the Early Church is becoming the model for the Modern Church. It has also been said that the Twenty-First Century Church may look a lot like the First Century Church.

Orality Training Workshop with pastors and mission leaders in South Asia.
(Image, caption courtesy LWI/ANS)

One of my mentors used to say, “God did not intend for us to become something, but to contain someone.” Of course, that someone is the Lord Jesus Himself, by means of the Holy Spirit.

It is the indwelling Christ that equips and enables us to be part of bringing transformation to individuals, families, and communities. It is the Spirit of Jesus working through His Body, the Church, that saves lives and changes destinies. We simply have the privilege of being His instruments, His containers, His dwelling place that expresses the Glory of God to those around us. And, we have the calling and responsibility of taking Him to the rest of the world, the ends of the earth and to every people group.

It is encouraging that increasing numbers of church leaders are now having conversations about some important kingdom issues, such as:
* What is a church?
* What does a church do?
* What is a disciple?
* What do disciples do?
* How does a person become a disciple?
* How did Jesus make disciples?
* Can we make disciples the way Jesus made disciples?
* When does a person become a disciple?
* Where can we learn the best lessons about these and many other important questions?
* Why is the church in some parts of the world growing and healthy and not in other places?

Water is life, and the Living Water of Jesus is the life of the eternal One.
(Image, caption courtesy LWI/ANS)

The important thing is to find answers to these questions, not based on some religious tradition that has been developed over the past few hundred years, but based on what we learn from Jesus and Scripture. Many people today are looking for answers, without asking the right questions.

When we ask the right questions, chances are better that we’ll eventually discover the right answers, especially if we are looking to the Lord and His Word.

One of the encouraging things about the Orality Movement is that almost anyone can participate. We don’t have to be scholars or theologians to tell stories and ask questions. When stories from the Word of God are told, and the right questions are asked, the Holy Spirit often gives people deep insight into His truth and how it applies to our lives. It’s not just about information and knowledge, but it’s about experiencing the truth–experiencing God in a personal and intimate way.

A friend who recently participated in an Orality Training Workshop later said, “You have to experience it to believe it.” And, there are many things in life like that. We can read about, hear lectures and sermons, or watch videos about something, but it is not the same as engaging and participating in it. We can read instructions about swimming or riding a bicycle, but until we do it, we have not experienced it. Scripture speaks of being doers of the Word, not hearers only.

It is amazing and encouraging to see the growing passion and excitement among pastors, mission leaders and others as they become familiar with the Orality Movement. Those who take the time to learn and participate often have a transformational moment when they see its impact.

For more information on the Orality Movement, resources, and training opportunities, visit www.water.cc/orality and www.orality.net.

Article by Jerry Wiles, President Emeritus, Living Water International
Special to ASSIST News Service

(Image courtesy Buckner International) This is an image only. Please check our Featured Links for the actual link.

International (BOC/MNN) — It’s early, but Buckner International is already excited about Christmas and the Advent season.

What is Advent? It’s a season that celebrates the coming of the Savior, a period of expectant waiting and preparation both for the birth and earthly ministry of Christ, and for His imminent return. It’s derived from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.”

It’s a time to slow down, reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, and take deliberate steps to infuse our lives with hope, love, peace, and joy in order to better celebrate and live out the truth of Christmas.

Each week of the four weeks of advent focuses on a specific theme. Each week is marked by the lighting of a candle held by a wreath that contains four candles: three purple and one rose.

Purple dyes were rare and costly, often associated with royalty; the color has often been used in the Church around Christmas and Easter to honor Jesus. The three purple candles in the Advent wreath symbolize hope, peace, and love. These candles are lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent. The rose candle, which symbolizes joy, is usually lit on the third Sunday.

Sometimes a fifth candle is placed inside the Advent wreath. This candle is lit on Christmas Day. It is white, the color associated with angels and the birth of Christ.

At the same time, the countdown of the month brings anticipation with it. Advent calendars are used to focus the days on the “why” of celebrating, more than the “what.”

That’s also why Buckner would like to offer you, your church, or your small group a special way to celebrate and anticipate Christ with a daily devotional guide written by those who serve the “least of these” to take you through the Advent season.

The 2013 Advent Devotional Guide is free of charge. Click here to reserve your copies today, and Buckner will mail them to you between Nov. 1 and Nov. 15.  Orders must be placed by October 18. Advent guides will be shipped beginning November 1.