Miraculous Changes in the past 70 years - Part 1

"These are undoubtedly significant times, but we should not try to predict when Christ will come again. He said that. 'No one knows the day or the hour when He will come again.'

HOWEVER ...

We live in days in which miracles still happen, and God is in the process of demolishing spiritual roadblocks that have resisted the gospel for centuries. I have witnessed the enormous changes that have taken place, so I will now relate my own experiences." 

James Wardroper, Senior Citizen, living in Ontario, a retired teacher, and author of "The Light-Bearer's Saga", a set of eight books recounting history from a Christian perspective from 427 AD to the present, with volumes beginning to appear in September 2020.

THE CHANGE IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

In 1951, I went with a group of young fellows to Tunisia as the guests of the North Africa Mission (N.A.M.). I met the only two known converts from Islam and both of them have suffered cruelly since. Since many billions of Muslims have lived since the time of Mohamed, only a few hundred thousand had ever become Christians. The N.A.M. had sent out 500 missionaries over 80 years and had only seen about 500 converts. Those missionaries were stalwart Christians who labored faithfully. They could not see was that they were preparing the ground for a movement they could never have imagined. After the middle of the last century, things began to change dramatically, and I have seen it personally.

In 1971, I  was in Aden, South Yemen, where I met an Arab lawyer who told me how he had seen a vision of Christ. He said: “I did not imagine it, I saw Him.” In due course, he became the leader of the Christians in South Yemen.

In 1985, I traveled to East Africa via Amsterdam in the company of  Dr. Lionel Gurney, the founder of the Red Sea Mission Team. We filed into the middle row of a jumbo jet. He pointed to an empty seat at the end of the row and said: “And that seat is for a Muslim.” I wondered how he could possibly predict such a thing. Before long, a black man in a long white ghalibiya came striding down the aisle. Dr. Gurney greeted him in Arabic and invited him into that seat. Then Dr. Gurney asked the Sudanese man: “Have you ever read our book?”  The man was surprised. “No, we cannot get it in our country.” “Then I have one for you,” and reaching into his bag, he pulled out a New Testament in Arabic and gave it to him.

About a week later we were in Arusha, Tanzania, walking down the main street when, “Doc,” as everyone called him, suddenly spied a Muslim name over a clothing store and he dashed in. Not even pretending that he was interested in buying clothing he asked the man behind the counter, the same question: “Have you ever I read our book.”

Doc then told him that he had one for him and that we were staying at the Lutheran Guest House. Late that night, there was a knock on our door. It was the man from the clothing store. Somehow he had managed to get past two locked gates. Doc then gave him the book and prayed with him.

About another week later, we were staying at a hotel in Kigali, Uganda. Doc looked out and saw the minaret of a mosque under construction on the other side of the road. We all went over, and Doc met the young Imam, who was a Muslim missionary from Tanzania and started to talk to him in Arabic, which was the only language they had in common. Later that night the young Imam came over to our hotel and after a long talk with Doc, he said: “And now I am on your side.”

In 1987 I was again with Doc In Africa. This time we were at a conference not far from Nairobi, Kenya. Attending that conference was a small black man named Ali who had planted the gospel in the Comoro Islands. He told a small group of us how it had happened. A South African had visited the hospital where he worked. He tried to talk to Ali about the gospel, but Ali was not interested. After the South African had gone, Ali awoke in the middle of the night and saw a figure in white standing at the end of the bed. The figure said: “You ought to have asked that man for a book.” That was all. So Ali did just that.

He read the book and believed. Then Ali told us a long story including how he was tortured for his faith, but as a result, there are now Christians on all the Comoro Islands.

In 1993 I read in a Christian newspaper that 500 people in Bejaia, where Ramon Lull had been martyred, had become Christians through dreams and visions of Christ. In 1985 I was at Missionsfest in Vancouver, where I met a man who lived and worked in Bejaia, and so I asked him, “What do you know about this matter?” He replied: “Oh, I know at least 50 of these people.”

(To be continued over the next four days...)

George Floyd left a Gospel Witness in Houston - From Christianity Today

George Floyd Left a Gospel Legacy in Houston

As a person of peace, “Big Floyd” opened up ministry opportunities in the Third Ward housing projects.

KATE SHELLNUTT

 MAY 28, 2020 6:00 PM

Image: Source: Nijalon Dunn / Courtesy of Resurrection Houston

The rest of the country knows George Floyd from several minutes of cell phone footage captured during his final hours. But in Houston’s Third Ward, they know Floyd for how he lived for decades—a mentor to a generation of young men and a “person of peace” ushering ministries into the area.

Before moving to Minneapolis for a job opportunity through a Christian work program, the 46-year-old spent almost his entire life in the historically black Third Ward, where he was called “Big Floyd” and regarded as an “OG,” a de-facto community leader and elder statesmen, his ministry partners say.

Floyd spoke of breaking the cycle of violence he saw among young people and used his influence to bring outside ministries to the area to do discipleship and outreach, particularly in the Cuney Homes housing project, locally known as “the Bricks.”

“George Floyd was a person of peace sent from the Lord that helped the gospel go forward in a place that I never lived in,” said Patrick PT Ngwolo, pastor of Resurrection Houston, which held services at Cuney.

“The platform for us to reach that neighborhood and the hundreds of people we reached through that time and up to now was built on the backs of people like Floyd,” he told Christianity Today.

Ngwolo and fellow leaders met Floyd in 2010. He was a towering 6-foot-6 guest who showed up at a benefit concert they put on for the Third Ward. From the start, Big Floyd made his priorities clear.

“He said, ‘I love what you’re doing. The neighborhood need it, the community need it, and if y’all about God’s business, then that’s my business,’” said Corey Paul Davis, a Christian hip-hop artist who attended Resurrection Houston. “He said, ‘Whatever y’all need, wherever y’all need to go, tell ’em Floyd said y’all good. I got y’all.’”

The church expanded its involvement in the area, holding Bible studies and helping out with groceries and rides to doctor’s appointments. Floyd didn’t just provide access and protection; he lent a helping hand as the church put on services, three-on-three basketball tournaments, barbecues, and community baptisms.

“He helped push the baptism tub over, understanding that people were going to make a decision of faith and get baptized right there in the middle of the projects. He thought that was amazing,” said Ronnie Lillard, who performs under the name Reconcile. “The things that he would say to young men always referenced that God trumps street culture. I think he wanted to see young men put guns down and have Jesus instead of the streets.”

More than 50 people have been killed over the past several years in what authorities describe as a gang war spreading from the Third Ward and southeast Houston.

It can be hard for outsiders to gain trust, or even ensure safety, coming in on their own. The “stamp of approval” granted from a figure like Floyd is crucial for urban discipleship, which requires access, direction, and context to be effective.

“His faith was a heart for the Third Ward that was radically changed by the gospel, and his mission was empowering other believers to be able to come in and push that gospel forth,” said Nijalon Dunn, who was baptized at Cuney. “There are things that Floyd did for us that we’ll never know until the other side of eternity. There were times where we’d have Church at the Bricks until 3 p.m., and by 4:30, they’re firing shots right at the basketball courts.”

Dunn shared pictures of Floyd at his baptism and basketball games. Floyd’s handle included the name “BigFloyd4God.”

Tributes and prayers of lament from fellow Christians rolled in over social media as the news of Floyd’s death spread this week. On Twitter, Davis described Floyd as “the definition of ‘Be the change you want to see’” and shared a video tribute that has been viewed 1.1 million times. Popular Christian hip-hop artist Propaganda reposted the reflections from fellow artists who knew Floyd saying, “He was a friend of my friends.”

Floyd moved to Minnesota around 2018, his family told the Houston Chronicle. He was there for a discipleship program including a job placement, according to pastor Ngwolo. “A ‘Bricks boy’ doesn’t just leave the Third Ward and go to Minnesota!” he said. Floyd told Dunn he had plans to return this summer.

Though he never made it home, he’ll be “immortalized in the Third Ward community forever,” Lillard said. “His mural will be on the walls. Every youth and young man growing up will know George Floyd. The people who knew him personally will remember him as a positive light. Guys from the streets look to him like, ‘Man, if he can change his life, I can change mine.’”

Ministry leaders have heard from community members in the Third Ward who called Floyd their brother, uncle, or even their dad because they lacked older male figures to serve as a positive influence.

Mourners gathered Tuesday night for a prayer vigil in Emancipation Park, a historic Third Ward site that was once the only park open to African Americans in Houston during Jim Crow segregation. Ngwolo is meeting this week with area pastors to lament together.

The viral video of Floyd pinned to the pavement by a Minnesota police officer joins a devastating canon of cell phone footage depicting police using force against black men. His friends in ministry said that when it turned up on the news they weren’t ready to watch another clip so soon after the recording of Ahmaud Arbery being shot while jogging in Georgia and the video of a woman calling 911 on a black man watching birds in New York’s Central Park. But then Lillard texted: It was Big Floyd.

There’s only so much disbelief they can muster from this kind of killing. They’re black men too. Despite their innocence, their faith, their good deeds, they have their own stories of being suspected, humiliated, and threatened by authorities, Lillard told CT.

And now they’re put in the position of rightly remembering a man they knew as a gentle giant, an inspiration to his neighborhood, and a positive force for change. But they also say that shouldn’t matter. He was a fellow image-bearer, and that should have been enough to keep him from the aggressive treatment they saw in the viral clip. Floyd’s family and supporters say the officers involved—who were fired from the department—should face murder charges.

Pastor Ngwolo is still trying to process the news, but one theme he keeps coming back to is the shedding of innocent blood. After Cain’s superiority and animosity drove him to kill Abel, Scripture tells us, “The Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground’” (Gen. 4:10).

“If you fast-forward 2,000 years, there’s another innocent sufferer whose blood spoke of better things than Abel’s. … Jesus’ blood says he can redeem us through these dark and perilous times,” Ngwolo said. “I have hope because just like Abel is a Christ figure, I see my brother [Floyd] as a Christ figure as well, pointing us to a greater reality. God does hear us. He hears his cry even from the ground now. Vengeance will either happen on the cross or will happen on Judgment Day.”

Faithfulness in Spring Time

Know therefore that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps his covenant and kindness to the thousandth generation. Deut. 7:9

The flowers have appeared in the land, the time has arrived for pruning the vines, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land. 

Song of Solomon 2:12

As for man, his days are like grass, as a flower of the field so he flourishes. Psalm 103:15

O love the Lord, all you holy ones, The Lord preserves the faithful. 

Psalm 32:23

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he who wins souls is wise.

Proverbs 11:30

I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown ... 

Isaiah 55:3

The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Song of Solomon 2:13

Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, because the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel has chosen you. 

Isaiah 49:7

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.

Psalm 92:12

All your commandments are faithful. 

Psalm 119:86

I will take to myself a faithful witness for testimony. 

Isaiah 8:2

Mircea Vulcanescu: Faithful to the End.

Mircea Vulcanescu, 

Faithful to the end, this Christian martyr was arrested by Communists in Romania. He slept on the wet floor to save his friend, Richard Wurmbrand, from getting sick in jail. 

Mircea refused to give up on his faith in his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

He died from pneumonia after eight years in prison.

He was one of the hundreds, no thousands, sorry, TENS of millions, killed by the Communist regimes that imprisoned Eastern Europe for seventy years. Tortured over and over again, bloody and wounded, he never submitted to his prison guards. Threats could not overcome his faith.

Vulcanescu's life and ministry, his family and personal events are unknown to us, but he is one of millions, those who have walked in the steps of the early Christians. He counted his life as nothing compared to the glorious riches awaiting him. 

(He is not to be confused with other men in Romanian history who also were given the name Mircea Vulcanescu.)

Faithful unto the End: Marjorie Grannum

Yesterday I wrote a tribute about Ravi Zacharias. He was known worldwide.

Two days before he died, our church was saddened by the death of Marjorie Grannum. She was born in Trinidad and Tobago and that is where she was when the Lord said, "It's time to come home!" Marjorie was not known beyond the circles of her family and friends, but her home call is surely as significant as that of others in the Kingdom of God.

Marjorie Grannum and Alison two years ago, May 26, '19.

We, here in our home, and hundreds of other homes, watched Marjorie's funeral online. Her daughter Alison and a local pastor in Trinidad and Tobago brought us into the presence of God in a wonderful and meaningful way.

Marjorie was laid in a white casket and on the wall behind her in the funeral home, scenes of her life with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends passed by.

Marjorie Grannum came to Canada and resided in downtown Toronto on Dufferin Street. She loved the congregation at Dufferin Street Baptist Church.

As a seamstress she made clothing for hundreds. Wedding dresses, shirts, suits, and all kinds of clothing came from her creative, skillful, and loving hands. When it came time for the wedding, she made sure the bride's hair was done perfectly. In this way, she cared for her children and helped each of them to get the best education possible.

During the last twenty years of her life, she lived in Scarborough, Toronto. Her Christian witness was a bright light in our fellowship at Heron Park Baptist Church. Never one to shy away from a difficult topic,  she constantly brought the life of Christ into focus. She knew how to meet an issue head-on, but she didn't lose friends over her passion to make things right. She witnessed for her Lord to all, where ever she was found.

I enjoyed Marjorie's wit and humor. She could tell endless stories, each full of character, action, and surprising endings. Her real-life adventures sometimes left me almost breathless. Her memory brought back interesting stories, so much so, that I could listen to her for 45 or 50 minutes. I marveled at her ability to trust God in the most distressing moments of life. She almost owned her place at the round table near the piano on Thursdays at the Gathering Place, and no one thought of taking it from her. But now, when we open after Covid-19 measures let us, we'll all miss her terribly.

Marjorie needed a walker to get around the room, but she did not need anyone to tell her what she should believe. We mourned her passing, and at home, we said, "She had trouble walking, and she loved singing, and now, in heaven, she is dancing with joy, saying, 'I am with my Savior, the one I've come to know and love.'"

Faithful unto the End. "Well-done, good and faithful servant, Ravi Zacharias."

Ravi Zacharias

A great hero of the faith passed into eternity this week. Ravi Zacharias (1946-2020) was born in Chennai, India. (At that time, the city was known as Madras). May 19 will go down as his last day on earth, and his first day to dwell in the New Jerusalem.

Not often, these days does a Christian’s name appear on the small print running across the bottom of our TV sets, but last Tuesday, we read, “Well-known Christian evangelist Ravi Zacharias died in Atlanta, Georgia, from complications associated with cancer.”

Why would his name be written down during a time when Covid-19 has captured every hour and every minute of our attention?

Born into a Christian home, and having attended a Christian church, he claims not to have heard the Christian Gospel. Instead, he participated in endless Hindu events, festivals, and musical concerts. He was quoted as saying, “I attended more Hindu festivals and celebrations than I did Christian ones.”

He was doing poorly at school and had low marks, thus bringing shame upon his family. His family took him to a Youth for Christ rally and emotionally driven, but not repentant, he made a half-decision to follow the Lord. Desperate because of the shame coming upon his family as his marks became worse, he took poison to kill himself. A Youth for Christ worker showed him a verse that changed his life. "Because I live, you also will live". (John 14:19) He prayed and made a promise that if he was healed, he would leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of the truth. 

The pursuit of truth is what made him known worldwide. His preaching took him to 70 countries. His bibliography on Wikipedia gives the names of his 33 books. Having made a decision to study in Canada, he completed his Bachelor of Theology degree at Ontario Bible College, now Tyndale Theological College and Seminary, in Toronto, in 1972. He also earned top marks at Trinity Divinity Seminary in Deerfield, Illinois, and graduated with a Masters Degree in Theology in 1976. He was honored with ten honorary doctorates. When criticized in the West for his web sites calling him Dr., he said that in India it was common to do so when granted an honorary doctorate, but he had all references cleared of this title. 

He founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in 1984. Thus began a singular approach to apologetics. He had already been carrying on an itinerant ministry, first in Viet Nam to US soldiers and Viet Cong prisoners. He spoke to students at the Lenin Military Academy in Moscow in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In Columbia, in 1993, his message was to the members of the judiciary. He spoke to countless thousands of university students, usually engaging in question and answer sessions. Often, these lasted late into the night.

What made Ravi Zacharias' arguments so compelling was a focus on four elements of truth and reality: origin, meaning of life, morality, and destiny. He said he wanted "to make thinking people believe, and believing people think." Each of these four topics are of intense interest to young people, so he was in constant demand to speak at universities and conferences.

The number of organizations and events he initiated or participated in is nothing short of amazing. In 1983, he was the keynote speaker at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association First International Consultation for Itinerant Evangelists. At Harvard University, it was at Veritas Forum. He was a beloved speaker at Urbana Conferences. The list of engagements for each year takes pages to read.

Unlike many evangelists who sought to diminish the arguments of the message, he sought to understand the reason for the question being important to the disgruntled, or non-believer. 

Ravi was married to his wife Margie and they had recently celebrated their 48th anniversary. Their three children continue his ministry.

For a complete version of Ravi Zacharias' obituary, including the organizations he founded, and the ongoing status of his staff and work, go to:

https://www.rzim.ca/read/obituary-ravi-zacharias

Andrew's Faithfulness - A Long Journey

When we think of Jesus calling his disciples, the stories only span a few lines.  How we wish we knew more about those wonderful followers of our Lord! Like Thomas (see my previous blog) Andrew became the most amazing evangelist. What a picture of faithfulness!

Andrew was born in Bethsaida, a fishing town. Apparently, he became the first of Jesus' twelve disciples. Previously, he had heard John the Baptist preaching, and immediately, he went to find his brother Simon Peter. Together, these two fishermen obeyed Jesus when he said, "Come, follow me, and I will make you to be fishers of men."

Andrew and Simon's home in Capernaum, on the shore of Lake Galilee, became the place where miracles took place. Many people gathered around to hear Jesus when he was teaching at their home.

Andrew was obedient, spontaneous, and faithful. He brought a lad to Jesus when thousands of people were getting hungry and waiting for food. They must have been asking themselves how long the Master would keep on teaching. What a wonderful story, the gift of a small meal being multiplied to feed thousands! Andrew appears at the center of that story.

Andrew was never far from Jesus' side. He was the one who brought Greeks to see Jesus shortly before the crucifixion. He was present at the Last Supper and witnessed the Risen Lord on the First day of the week, the Sunday Jesus rose from the dead.

But then what happened? Did he just disappear from history? No, Andrew became the most amazing evangelist. He preached, began churches, trained leaders, and left strong believers in a large area of Eastern Europe.  If we knew more, we would say those were some of the most exciting stories of early Christianity.

Andrew set out by ship and traveled extensively. Eusebius, the historian, records Andrew preaching Byzantium (Istanbul, Turkey) in 38 AD. He converted and trained Stachys, leaving him as the bishop of that church.

For 22 years, Andrew traveled east, west, north, and south along the shores of the Black Sea. To the east, he preached in Georgia. To the west he arrived in Thrace (Turkey). Going north, Andrew went up the Dneiper River as far as Kiev (Kyiv, Ukraine). He may have gone as far as Novgorod (northwest Russia). These trips would have meant going thousands of miles under arduous, dangerous conditions.

I picture Andrew as enjoying fish, all those amazing species found in the Black Sea. He went by boat up and down the rivers of Scythia (Ukraine, Russia, and Romania). And as he went, he must have called people the same way, "Come, fish with me for the next meal, and I'll tell you how you too can be a fisher of men."

Coming back to Greece, he was martyred in Patras, about 60 AD. The "X" on many flags (England, Scotland, and many others) are a tribute to the way he was crucified. It is said that he was unworthy to have been crucified as Jesus was.

For an amazing afternoon or evening while Covid-19 keeps us indoors, search the internet for more information on Andrew. You'll see how his story came to be told in Cyprus, Italy, Malta, and Scotland. Schools, churches, and cities all over the world are named after him. Millions of baby boys carry his name. You'll be startled, and grateful, too, at how faithful Andrew was in fulfilling his calling.

May we, like Andrew, never get tired of God's calling on our lives.