A Witness in Every Culture

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 

Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

Psalm 19:1-4

"There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." What exactly does this mean? I believe it means that God has left a witness for Himself in every culture. God has "made every nation of men...so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26-27) Think about that for a moment...every nation of men...not just the Jews or the Americans or the Europeans or the Chinese, but every nation. 

Paul tells us that God has made them in such a way that men from every nation would seek Him. He has left a witness for Himself in every culture, every nation. There is some bit of truth in their worldview, their belief system, that has prepared them to hear and receive the Gospel. This is what Jesus meant when He told His disciples, "Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." (John 4:35). 

How are the fields (referring to people who do not know Christ as Savior) "ripe for harvest?" The disciples did not prepare those fields...those people's hearts, to receive Christ. No...God did! God left a witness for Himself so that when the disciples made it to that group of people and shared the love and truth of Jesus with them, they would be ready to receive it. 

I believe that this idea challenges some of our core beliefs. We tend to look at a culture like the Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists, or any number of other "pagan" cultures and believe they are unreachable without some miraculous intervention from God. Yes...God does intervene miraculously as I pointed out in my earlier blog Dreams of the Muslims , but more often, He asks us to harvest the fields that He has already ripened. 

So how does a Christian harvest the fields? How can the Gospel be explained to a group of people so that it seems culturally right to them? 

The answer is through something called "redemptive analogy," a phrase coined by missionary and author Don Richardson (author of Peace Child and Eternity in Their Hearts...two books I have previously blogged about at The Incredible Power of God and Eternity in their Hearts). 

The Jewish people practiced lamb sacrifice. John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus as the perfect, personal fulfillment of that sacrifice by saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" This is redemptive analogy. 

When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, a Jewish teacher, both knew that Moses had lifted up a serpent of brass upon a pole so that Jews, dying of snakebite, could look at it and be healed. Jesus told Nicodemus that "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This too is redemptive analogy. 

The Karen of Burma (seen in above picture) had been searching for centuries for a "white brother who was supposed to bring them a book...(whose) author is Y'wa-the Supreme God...that the white brother, having given them the lost book, will thereby set them free from all who oppress them." Their folk religion's hymns bear striking resemblances to God's character and "the Karen story of man's falling away from God contains stunning parallels to Genesis chapter 1: Y'wa formed the world originally. He appointed food and drink. He appointed the 'fruit of trial.' He gave detailed orders. Mu-kaw-lee deceived two persons. He caused them to eat the fruit of the tree of the trial. They obeyed not...they believed not Y'wa...when they ate the fruit of trial they became subject to sickness, aging and death." Wow! This was a remote group of people who had never come in contact with Jews or Christians before, yet their own religion, thousands of years old, had an incredible witness of the Lord! The Karen nation was thus poised like an 800,000 member welcoming party, ready for the first unsuspecting missionary who approached them with a Bible and a message of deliverance from God." When missionaries finally brought the Gospel to the Karen in the early 1800s, thousands accepted Christ almost immediately and "almost as quickly as Karen were converted and baptized, they became missionaries to spread the good news still further among their own people" and neighboring tribes! This is redemptive analogy. 

There are many more stories like this, of missionaries bringing the Gospel to groups of people who have never heard of Jesus Christ. When the missionary looks for and finds that redemptive analogy, that culture key, the people become very open to hearing about and believing in the Gospel. They "are made aware of spiritual meaning dormant within their own culture. In this way, conversion does not deny their cultural background. Instead, they experience heightened insight into both the Scriptures and their own cultural heritage, and thus they are better prepared to share Christ meaningfully with other members of their society." 

The Eyes of a Woman

Their eyes...their eyes can speak volumes...of the hope that is in each female for someone to love her, protect her, tell her she is important. They plead for justice, equality and liberation. They show strength of character, determination and love for her family. They can also convey loss, fear, hopelessness and despair.

Jesus saw this in the eyes of the widow whose son had just died (Luke 11:1), the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), the woman caught in adultery (John 8) and so many others throughout His time on earth. Their eyes spoke volumes about their suffering. And His heart was moved with tenderness and compassion for them. He reached out to not only heal and free them but to touch them and call them "daughter" (Matthew 9:22).

He broke all societal norms in His inclusion and outreach toward women. He elevated the status of women more than any other human ever has. It is a testament to the power of the Gospel that where true, heartfelt Christianity spreads, women and girls benefit.
One such example can be seen in the life of William Carey, missionary to India. 

"William Carey," argues an (Indian) female social science scholar, "was the first man to stand against both the ruthless murders and widespread oppression of women, virtually synonymous with Hinduism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The male in India was crushing the female through polygamy, female infanticide, child marriage, widow-burning, euthanasia and forced female illiteracy, all sanctioned by religion. The British Government timidly accepted these social evils as being an irreversible and an intrinsic part of India's religious mores. 

Carey began to conduct systematic sociological and scriptural research. He published his reports in order to raise public opinion and protest both in Bengal and England. He influenced a whole generation of civil servants, his students at Fort William College, to resist these evils. 

Carey opened schools for girls. When widows converted to Christianity, he arranged marriages for them rather than allowing them to be burned alive. It was Carey's persistent 25 year battle against sati that finally led to Lord Bentinck's famous Edict in 1829, banning one of the most abominable of all religious practices in the world: "widow-burning." (Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi).

Today, the eyes that haunt me most are those of Muslim women and girls. Their fate is similar, in many ways, to the Indian women of Carey's time. Polygamy, female infanticide, child marriage, honor killings and forced female illiteracy, all sanctioned by religion. Yet the American government, in many ways, seems to mirror the British government by timidly accepting these social evils as being an irreversible and an intrinsic part of Muslim religious mores. 

Why? Political correctness, fear of being named racist or intolerant of Islam? 

Whatever the reason, as in the time of William Carey, it is not going to be the government of America, or any other nation, that speaks up for the Muslim women. It MUST be the Church. 

We must allow God to break our hearts for these women and girls. We must pray for them...especially that they would find Isa (Jesus), the One who loves them and can provide them with hope they have never known. We must reach out to Muslim women in our area...ask God to show you one or two and then pray for them and become their friends.

Their eyes...they can speak of pain that an American woman can not even fathom, but they can also speak of peace and joy that only Jesus, the lover of their souls, can give them. 

Dreams of the Muslims

For decades, a phenomenon has been recurring in the Muslim world. Men and women – without any knowledge of the Gospel and without any contact with Christians – have been forever transformed after experiencing dreams and visions of Jesus Christ. Reports of these supernatural occurrences often come from “closed countries” where preaching the Gospel is forbidden and where converting to Christianity can invoke the death sentence. A common denominator appears to be that the dreams come to those who are seeking to know and please God.

Ramadan is the time of year when Muslims are earnestly seeking to know Allah. Unfortunately, Allah is not a god to be known. Unlike the Lord God who makes His way known through His Word and most lovingly through the personhood of Jesus Christ ("He is the image of the invisible God" Colossians 1:15), Allah is a distant god.

"The first of the Ten Commandments is that we are to love the God of the Bible with our whole heart; but never does the Koran say a Muslim is to love Allah.  You cannot love Allah, because he is unknowable.  The God of the Bible can be known and repeatedly calls upon men to know Him; but the Koran says no one can know Allah because he is too great.  

In spite of being infinite, without beginning and end, and the Creator of the universe, the biblical God reveals himself so that men can know Him.  Jesus himself said, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3).  No one knows Allah," (taken from www.menorah.org).

This same idea, that God is love while Allah is not known for his love, was expressed in an email from a friend who is a Christian pastor in Iraq: "however the attributes of our God is totally different than Allah in Islam. Allah in Islam has 99 names and it is missing the one we have which is "God is Love".

The Bible says, in Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will 

prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."

Amazingly, this is what is happening in the Arab world! All you need to do is type in "God appearing to Muslims in visions and dreams" to find a number of internet resources concerning this. One site, Isa al Masih, talks about this at great length. I'd like to close this entry by sharing some of the various dreams with you. 

Please pray that when Muslims are earnestly seeking a God they can know, that they will not continue their faith in Allah but will find faith in the One, True God who can be known through Jesus Christ (Isa)! 

God is Great! Just as He did in the past, God is showing His mercy and guidance to Muslims throughout the world today! Read the following story portions from Muslims worldwide who have reported such dreams and now follow Isa al Masih as their Savior:

"...two angels dressed in white robes stood on top of the mountain. Jesus was standing between the angels. He left the angels and came to where I stood watching. As he approached me, I knelt down and he laid his hands on my head..." 

"...['D.'] dreamt he was sitting with his arms tied to a chair. Then he saw a man he recognized as Jesus coming. Jesus touched the ropes and they fell from his arms..."

"...In the dream, Jesus told me to come to Him and read the Bible and He would show me the way, truth and the life..." 

"...I was standing in a cross shape with a low wall around it. In my right hand, I had a big stack of white unwritten papers. I was standing at the cross beam, and I was looking to a small group of people who were standing at the top. They all wore long white clothing, but one of them was different. He was standing at the right side, and with his left hand he was leading the people through a door in the wall. Beyond the door was light, and I could not see what was in there. One moment I was standing in the dream, and the next moment I was seeing the cross from above..."

"...I saw some Christians standing in line to get into Heaven. I tried to get into this line also, but a very tall being blocked my path and I started to cry because the side I was on was really horrible but the side they were on was a beautiful place, so beautiful, so blue..." 

"...I went back to bed after a short prayer and saw a second dream. This time it was Jesus as I saw him in the Jesus film years ago and I had trashed his video. He was hanging on the cross, the nails were in his hands and feet, yet he was smiling at me and talking to me. Though he was dying he seemed so beautiful. The cross was huge and I seemed like a little boy. My neck was falling back trying to see the whole face of Jesus and suddenly a huge big circle of light came from above the cross and down upon me..." 

"...I was swimming. It was very dark, without any stars in the sky. After swimming for a while, I stopped and looked up at the sky. Suddenly, I saw a star shining. I closed my eyes and made a wish. I said, 'Morning Star, teach me the secret of life'...I kept having this dream for years almost every other month and this pattern continued until a few months after my conversion, when I read Rev. 22:16, which says, 'I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star'..." 

Mission Motivation...Where Does it Come From?

What is the purpose of this blog? Why do I spend my limited time writing words that only a handful of people will ever read? 

Does it stem from all that I read about the horrible things happening in this world? Does it stem from the thought, the belief, that I can make a difference...that I, through my writing, can somehow cause a reader to take action, to do something about the lost in this world? No. 

The reason I write...Obedience and a desire to see His Glory. 

I want to see God's glory; to see His Kingdom come to this earth; to be a part of what He is doing and to let everyone I can know about it!

I'm not going to change one heart, one mind about the Great Commission and what our involvement should be. Only God can do that. And what is it, ultimately, that will cause our mission focus to grow... 

- An increase in compassion and commitment for the lost in the Christian’s heart?

- An increase in information about the lost and encouragement to share Christ with them?

- Sharing statistics and stories about the plight of the lost without Jesus?

None of these. I believe it only comes through the Holy Spirit intensifying our passion and love for Christ so that His heart’s passion becomes ours as well. Jesus must be first in our hearts, not missions. When He is first, He will “break our hearts for what breaks His” and missions will become an intense passion. 

We must set out hearts towards hope in God. Like Peter, if we look at all the “storms,” the horrible things going on in our world, we will begin to sink in sadness, weariness and despair. But when we fix our eyes on Jesus, when we understand the promises of Scripture and look for His hand in history and our modern times, we will see that the Kingdom of God is advancing and God is calling us to be a part of it.

Compassion for people, for the lost, for the orphan, for the persecuted church, is not what will ultimately compel and motivate us for mission. Only our hope for God’s glory and His kingdom will cause us to endure. 

I have seen this transition of motivation for mission in my own life’s walk with the Lord. When one focuses on all the needs, hurts, and atrocities done to others in the world, the sadness, despair and depressiveness of the situation can be overwhelming. That’s what I did for quite awhile and there were times I was very discouraged by all that I was learning. Our human compassion can only take us so far before burnout sets in. 

But as I grew closer to the Lord, spending time daily with Him in prayer and Bible study, constantly asking Him to make my heart more like His, He began to refocus my thoughts toward Himself rather than on the world. 

I began to realize that the way to call people to mission concern is not to focus entirely on all the bad. They usually know the bad. But they often times have no idea about all the good that God is doing in the world. I began to see that the Bible doesn’t focus on the bad so much as it focuses on God!

For example, when Jesus was born, people in Judea already knew about the bad. The angels gave them “good news of great joy which will be for all the people” (Lk 2:10). Good news from God was the message and it should still be the message today.

 Jesus won the victory on the cross! Our salvation is sure and His Kingdom will not be shaken (Heb. 12:28). We are not fighting the battles on our own. God is fighting the battles and asking us to join Him. 

When we focus on God’s glory and His Kingdom rather than all the horrible problems in the world, we cease to look at missions as our arduous responsibility and instead see it as God’s responsibility and God is more than able! This type of focus, rather than depressing a person and overwhelming them with sorrow, instead strongly encourages them to seize the hope set before them...a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul (Heb. 6:18-19). 

It’s not up to us and our meager efforts. God is inviting us to join with Him in pursuing His purpose in the world. He is the One who sets the agenda, grants the wisdom to proceed and gives the strength to endure. This is God’s world, His battle, His victory. With this type of motivation, “participation in God’s mission is no longer a somber duty. It becomes a joyous privilege and an adventure of passion and hope” (Tim Dearborn). 

Names of Jesus Christmas Devotion (Day 25) - I AM

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
God said to Moses: "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 
-- Exodus 3:13-14

"You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to Him (Jesus), "and you have seen Abraham!"
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I AM!"
-- John 8:57-58

In Jesus we have the richest, most vivid picture of God imaginable. God is not remote, displeased with the world He has made. Instead, through Jesus He bends toward us, sharing our weakness and shouldering our burdens. Through the perfect offering of His life He becomes our Way back to the Father. He is the True Vine in which we abide, bearing fruit for God's kingdom. He is the loving God who will never abandon us, but who will be present with us always, leading us to life eternal.

By using the name, I AM, the Lord may have been revealing Himself not only as the God who has always existed but also as the God who is always present with His people. Jesus used this name not only to identify Himself in answer to the religious leaders' questions but also to introduce a number of self-descriptions in the book of John:
I AM the bread of life (6:33)
I AM the light of the world (8:12)
Before Abraham was born, I AM (8:58)
I AM the gate for the sheep (10:7)
I AM the good shepherd (10:11)
I AM the resurrection and the life (11:25)
I AM the way and the truth and the life (14:6)
I AM the true vine, and my Father is the gardener (15:1)

By living and dying to save us, Jesus Himself has become the Promise we live by. He is the Word of Truth we stand on, the Bread that nourishes us, the Shepherd who leads us, the Light that drives all the darkness and fear away. He is the Savior for which we hope and the Messiah, our gateway to eternal life. He is all of these things and more - the Almighty, everlasting God, the One who is the great I AM!

Discuss: How have you experienced the I AM...God's faithful presence in your life?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the great promise-keeping God, the One who was, and is, and who is to come. You are the Resurrection and the Life, the True Vine, the Way, the great I AM. Help us, O Lord, to live in You, bearing fruit that will last through the power of Your Spirit both now and forever. It is in Your precious name that we pray this, Amen.

Songs: O Holy Night, Mary Did You Know

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Devotions come from Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler

Names of Jesus Christmas Devotion (Day 24) - Savior

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.
-- Matthew 1:20-21

They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.

-- John 4:42

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the glory of God the Father. -- Philippians 2:9-11

Just as Yahweh is God's personal name revealed in the Old Testament, Jesus is the personal name of the One we call Redeemer, Lord, and Christ. His name is intimately linked to the God of the Hebrew Scriptures because it means "Yahweh is salvation." Indeed, Jesus is Yahweh come to earth. He is God bending toward us, God becoming one of us, God reaching out in mercy, God humbling Himself, God nailed to a cross, God rising up from the grave to show us the way home. 

There's power in the name of Jesus, but it's not some kind of magical chant. Saying His name is not like rubbing a lamp to conjure a genie. No, the power of the name of Jesus is released when people earnestly cry out to Him and when they live in obedience to Him. 

There are many stories that reflect this truth. One was told by a woman at Ann Spangler's church. While walking to her car in a deserted garage one night, a thug accosted her, knife in hand. Though she was terrified, this woman managed to command the man who wanted to hurt her: "Get away from me in the name of Jesus!" To her astonishment, though they were alone in the garage, the man backed up as though someone had just threatened him with a knife. Then he turned and fled. 

Then there's the story of E.P. Scott, a missionary to India. One day Scott decided to visit a mountain tribe who had never heard of Jesus. But as he approached the mountain, a band of angry tribesman surrounded him with spears pointing straight at his chest. On impulse, the missionary took out the violin he was carrying, closed his eyes, and began playing and singing a hymn in their native language. When Scott finally found the courage to open his eyes, he was amazed to see that his attackers had dropped their spears and that several of them had tears in their eyes. Scott spent the rest of his life preaching and serving the people of that tribe, many of whom became believers. What was the hymn he sang? "All Praise the Power of Jesus Name!"

Discuss: What comes to mind when you hear the name Jesus? 

Prayer:  Dear Jesus, thank you for being my Savior.  Thank you for all the sacrifices that you made in Your earthly life.  Thank you especially for Your sacrifice on the cross that I might find salvation and spend eternity in Heaven.  Amen.

Songs: Silent Night, Christmas Offering by Casting Crowns

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Craft: Make a banner or other decoration showing the Cross.

Service Project Idea:  Participate in a church visitation program, mentor a new Sunday School member, help set up a new members’ program at your church, etc.  Another option would be to participate in any program that helps to spread the Gospel.


Devotions come from Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler

Names of Jesus Christmas Devotion (Day 23) - Friend

As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love. If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know their master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last - and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you. 
-- John 15:9-16

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions.
-- Matthew 11:19

Jesus is not only Lord and Master but the greatest of all friends, who willingly proved His friendship by His death on the cross. By this costly gesture He has won the friendship of billions of men and women from every tongue and tribe and nation. When you pray to Jesus your Friend, you are praying to the One who loved you before you were lovable and who links you together with His many friends throughout the world.

Jesus took the first step toward us, basing His friendship not on a set of shared interests or on mutual admiration - the usual basis for friendship - but solely on His love. But there's a catch: None of us will ever be attractive enough, good enough, or successful enough to warrant His friendship. In fact, we must admit our weaknesses and sins before we can become His friend. Because Jesus is only and always a friend of sinners, of people who are broken enough to know their need.

We are to be like our friend Jesus. We should reach out to those we know who are not as easy to be friends with, those who are different than us, those who maybe don't even like us, and just like Jesus did...show them friendship and kindness and the love of Jesus.

Discuss: There are other passages about Jesus being a friend but this one is more revealing. Why? Think of a good friend. Why are they your friend? What qualities do they have that make them a friend.

Prayer:  Dear Jesus, thank You for being my true friend.  I know that I need never be lonely with You in my life and that I can talk to You about anything and everything.  Amen.

Songs: The Little Drummer Boy by 4Him, O Come, O Come by Mercy Me

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Craft: Send a homemade greeting card to a friend or to someone who might need a friend.  You may also chose to send a “welcome” card to someone new in your church or in your neighborhood and make a new friend.

Service Project Idea: Plan and carry out several helpful chores … serving your family.  You may also know of other ways that you can “serve” in your community.


Devotions come from Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler