A Modern Day Waldensian? Rich Austrian Sells All and Gives to the Poor

Matt. 19:21
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.

I read this story in the Readers Digest this afternoon and it left me impressed. Hopefully Christ to is a source of his happiness as well.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/austria/7190750/Millionaire-gives-away-fortune-that-made-him-miserable.html

The Hot Water Bottle- A Doctor's Story in Africa

 Isaiah 65:24


This is a story written by a doctor who worked in Africa .

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in
spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature
baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty
keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity
to run an incubator).

We also had no special feeding facilities.

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with
treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for
such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.

Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She
came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle,
it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates)..

'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West,
it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in   Central Africa
it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles.

They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest
pathways.

'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can,
and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts
Your job is to keep the baby warm.'

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with
any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the
youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them
about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby
warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could
so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old
sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the
usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she
prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today It'll be no good tomorrow,
God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And
while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little
girl so she'll know You really love her?'

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I
honestly say 'Amen?' I just did not believe that God could do this.

Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But
there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this
particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I
had been in   Africa   for almost four years at that time, and I had
never, ever, received a parcel from home.

Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water
bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses'
training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front
door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the
verandah was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I
could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage
children.. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each
knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly
Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were
focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out
brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out.
Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the
children looked a little bored.. Then came a box of mixed raisins and
sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend .

Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be?

I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water
bottle. I cried.

I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He
could.

Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying
out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!'

Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small,
beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!

Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this
dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves
her?'

'Of course,' I replied!

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator.

And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five
months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to
bring it 'that afternoon.'

       'Before they call, I will answer.' (Isaiah 65:24)


(I  have received this article from two sources, but fail to know who the author or where it comes from.)

Koran Burning Episode Causes Around 14 Deaths in India

By Santosh Digal, Worthy News Southeast Asia Correspondent reporting from India with additional reporting by Worthy News' George Whitten 

NEW DELHI, INDIA (Worthy News)-- Tensions remained high Wednesday, September 15, in several parts of India where reports of Koran burning in the United States sparked deadly attacks against Christian institutions.

In the village of Tangmarg, in India's Kashmir region, at least 14 people were killed and scores injured over the weekend when thousands of angry Muslims took to the streets and torched a Christian school, police said. 

"The school students are not hurt, [but] the building has totally burnt down," said Bishop Pradeep Kumar Samantaroy of the Church of North India. "It was entirely made of wood."

He said officials were informed of a possible attack and that Christians requested protection, but that "no action was taken". He said "The mob even stopped the fire brigade from reaching the spot."

There was no immediate response from police.

IRAN REPORTS

The demonstrations were fueled by reports on Iran's state-run channel Press TV, which is widely available in India, that a copy of the Koran was desecrated over the weekend in the United States.

Though a Florida pastor called off his plans to burn what Muslims regard as a holy book, the network showed footage of a different man destroying a Koran in Tennessee.

"Death to the U.S.!" and "Death to Koran desecrators", demonstrators reportedly said. Violence also spread to the Muslim dominated town of Malerkotla in India's Punjab state where a mob set furniture of the town's only church on fire before the police intervened, witnesses said.

Separately, Sunday, September 12, an angry Hindu mob interrupted an evangelical church service in the town of Naggal in India's Uttar Pradesh state, local Christians said. "While the Church service was in progress the mob [of some 35 members of the Arya Samaj Hindu sect] entered the room and started arguing," said Pastor Rockwell Louis of the Masih Satsang Mandali Church. "They blamed people for converting people," he added in published remarks.

CHURCH DENIES

The church strongly denied the accusations, but the pastor said the mob only disappeared after police intervention. Earlier, other Hindu activists disturbed the church service September 5, saying the pastor was "eating meat" and "converted people," Christians said.

The mob reportedly argued that "the Bible is wrong and presents a false god". They had warned that they would return September 12 and would not allow Sunday worship service to take place, Pastor Louis said. 

He said two police officers have been deployed to protect the church, but it remained unclear whether that would be enough to prevent further attacks.

India is a predominantly Hindu nation where minorities, including Christians, face growing opposition, rights groups say.


Find more and read this article at http://www.worthynews.com/9363-14-killed-as-anti-christian-violence-spreads-in-india

The other side of the coin: The Cry of Blood

Brethren, I am not comfortable with this article.  The point it makes it entirely good, but consider these false points it makes.

1.  God did not set a trap for ignorant people.
2.  All innocent children are saved.
3.  Many people can see truth a lot better than they wish they could.  None are entirely blind, because that would make God guilty of condemning innocent souls to eternal damnation.
4.  The Spirit and the Bible are far more important than we missionaries.  (See Keith's narrative)  Most converts in heathen lands speak of clear dreams directly from God.
5.  Most carnal people want to do exactly what they are doing, and the Christians "at the edge" are largely ignored.  That is not to say we shouldn't keep on warning them!  But the description of Vanity Fair in Pilgrims Progress is a more accurate picture than this.

Isn't the chaff rather too dominant?-------( An Anony Author)

Cry of Blood

Messenger of Truth Printed in 1966 Issue 19 and again in 1968 lssue 14

CRY OF THE BLOOD
The tom-toms thumped on all night, and the darkness shuddered round me
like a living, feeling thing. I could not go to sleep, so I lay awake
and looked; and I saw, and it seemed like this:
That I stood on a grassy sward, and at my feet a precipice broke sheer
down into infinite space. I looked, but saw no bottom; only cloud
shapes, black and furiously coiled, and great shadow-shrouded hollows,
and unfathomable depths. Back I drew, dizzy at the depth.
Then I saw forms of people moving single-file along the grass. They
were making for the edge. There was a woman with a baby in her arms
and another little child holding on to her dress. She was on the very
verge. Then I saw that she was blind. She lifted her foot for the next
step . . . it trod air. She was over, and the children over with her.
Oh, the cry as they went over!
Then I saw more streams of people flowing from all quarters. All were
blind, stone blind; all made straight for the precipice edge. There
were shrieks as they suddenly knew themselves falling, and a tossing
up of helpless arms, catching, clutching at empty air. But some went
over quietly and fell without a sound.
Then I wondered, with a wonder that was simply agony, why no one
stopped them at the edge. I could not. I was glued to the ground, and
I could not call. Though I strained and tried, only a whisper would
come.
Then I saw that along the edge there were sentries set at intervals.
But the intervals were far too great; there were wide, unguarded gaps
between. And over these gaps the people fell in their blindness, quite
unwarned; and the green grass seemed blood-red to me, and the gulf
yawned like the mouth of Hell.
Then I saw, like the picture of peace, a group of people under some
trees, with their backs turned toward the gulf. They were making daisy
chains. Sometimes when a piercing shriek cut the quiet air and reached
them, it disturbed them and they thought it rather a vulgar noise. And
if one of their number started up and wanted to go and do something to
help, then all the others would pull that one down. "Why should you
get so excited about it? You must wait for a `definite call' to go.
You haven't finished your daisy chains. It would be really selfish,"
they said, "to leave us to finish the work alone."
There was another group. It was made up of people whose great desire
was to get some sentries out; but they found that very few wanted to
go, and sometimes there were no sentries for miles and miles at the
edge.
Once a girl stood alone in her place, waving the people back; but her
mother and other relations called, and reminded her that her furlough
was due; she must not break the "rules." And, being tired and needing
a change, she had to go and rest awhile; but no one was sent to guard
her gap, and over and over the people fell, like a waterfall of souls.
Once a child caught at a tuft of grass that grew at the very brink of
the gulf; the child clung convulsively, and it called but nobody
seemed to hear. Then the roots of the grass gave way, and with a cry
the child went over, its two little hands still holding tight to the
torn-off bunch of grass.
And the girl who longed to be back in her gap thought she heard the
little one cry, and she sprang up and wanted to go; at which her
relatives reproved her, reminding her that no one is necessary
anywhere--the gap would be well taken care of, they knew. And they
sang a hymn.
Then through the hymn came another sound like the pain of a million
broken hearts, wrung out in one full drop, one sob. And a horror of
great darkness was upon me, for I knew what it was--the cry of the
blood.
"Then thundered a Voice, the voice of the Lord; and He said, Whom
shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
And He said, Go and tell this people. . . . Jesus said, Go ye into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature . . . and lo, I am
with you alway" (Isaiah 6:8; Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:20).
From "Things as they are"

Making Great Relationships Happen

An Excerpt from
The 100/0 Principle
by Al Ritter

What is the most effective way to create and sustain great
relationships with others? It's The 100/0 Principle: You take full
responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the
0) in return.
Implementing The 100/0 Principle is not natural for most of us. It
takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-
discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.
The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the
relationships are too important to react automatically or
judgmentally. Each of us must determine the relationships to which
this principle should apply. For most of us, it applies to work
associates, customers, suppliers, family and friends.
• STEP 1 - Determine what you can do to make the relationship
work...then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other
person, whether he/she deserves it or not.
• STEP 2 - Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.
• STEP 3 - Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no
matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don't take the
bait.
• STEP 4 - Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we
give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind.
Remember to expect nothing in return.
At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even
toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline. When
this occurs, you need to avoid being the "Knower" and shift to being
the "Learner." Avoid Knower statements/ thoughts like "that won't
work," "I'm right, you are wrong," "I know it and you don't," "I'll
teach you," "that's just the way it is," "I need to tell you what I
know," etc.
Instead use Learner statements/thoughts like "Let me find out what is
going on and try to understand the situation," "I could be wrong," "I
wonder if there is anything of value here," "I wonder if..." etc. In
other words, as a Learner, be curious!
Principle Paradox
This may strike you as strange, but here's the paradox: When you take
authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the
other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well.
Consequently, the 100/0 relationship quickly transforms into something
approaching 100/100. When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for
the individuals involved, their teams, their organizations and their
families.

Idolatry--- Another Quote for the Record

photo by Anne Elliot


When we expect from things what only God can give, such as security, joy, and freedom, we turn things into idols.

Quotes for the Record

If we feel we are paying a great price to follow Him, what is that to the price He paid for our salvation? He paid a far greater price to secure salvation for mankind. If we feel we have forsaken so much to follow Him, how much is that to compare with what Jesus laid down in heaven to come down to this earth to experience all that He did?

 

Min. Patrick L.O. Enike

There Is No Cause For Alarm!

The Voice of Christians' Fellowship

October 2009

Dear Friends,

 

This is a Breaking News Update!! We have just received an amazing offer from a very interested party that is becoming more involved with Good News. Here's how it works. Lets say you write a check out for $5,000 to Good News Foundation International, that $5,000 you have chosen to give, will be turned into $10,0000 with another $5,000 given to match your donation! So, whether you give $200, $500, or $5000 your donation will be doubled! This offer isn't going to last forever, so please consider the good you can do, and get your money working overtime for people that really need it.... like Haitians!!

 

Also, some more exciting news! Just last Friday we received an IRS exemption, which makes us a legitimate public charitable organization with the IRS 501 (c) (3) status. That means we can give you a receipt for your charitable contributions!

 

We will keep you updated with this fund drive! 

-- Good News Foundation International
Daniel Jantz
209.409.4597
Atwater, Ca