What to do when another Christian hurts you... (from Dr Mike Milton)

Have you been hit by friendly fire? Are you the victim of a wound inflicted by someone you love? Genesis 50:15-21 instructs Christians on what to do when other Christians hurt them. Being a victim is not a good way to live because life cannot go forward when the clock has stopped at the point of your last betrayal. The power at work in the life of Joseph is what you need in order to get past this hurt. By embracing the pain that comes at him as a means of identification with Jesus Christ, you move from victim to victor...

(To receive new uMarko posts via a daily email, please click Subscribe)
(On Twitter: FOLLOW uMarko or http://www.twitter.com/uMarko)

Walking Wounded

One second. One mistake. One firing of the missile in the midst of the war. The missile cannot come back. The weapon is now headed for you. And the one who fired it is on your side. It is war.

And this is not Baghdad or the Battle of the Bulge or Pork Chop Hill. I am speaking of the many walking wounded in the body of Christ who have been hurt by other believers, people who have been hit by the betrayal of a Christian

But this is no mistake. She meant to say those words. He meant to plot against you. They meant to bring you down. And you will never be the same. You will suffer with this for the rest of your life. You will not go back to any church. You will lick your wounds. Pain will possess you for the rest of your life. And over time the pain turns to bitterness.

Do you know anyone like that? Or is that your story? Are you the victim of a wound inflicted by someone you love? A victim?

It does not have to be that way. Remember the story of Joseph and how he said these words to his brothers as they stood before him:

“Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:15-21).

When the Clock Stops

I once sold insurance door to door in poor areas of Louisiana. One of my clients was a family that lived in an old house on the other side of the tracks. Every month I would go to collect the insurance money, and we would sit in their living room and talk. One day I noticed that the clock was wrong. It said nine o’clock when, in fact, it was noon. I said nothing. But I saw the same thing the next month and then the next month. Finally, I said something to the husband and wife. Tears came to their eyes. “That was the moment our boy died 10 years ago,” they told me. The clock had stopped in their lives.

The pain of friendly fire is like that. It can stop the clock in your heart. This happens to Christians whom other Christians hurt and who fail to identify their pain with Christ. The clock stops. They go through life, month after month, year after year, and often church after church, but the clock stopped in their lives way back when they were hurt. Today it is popular to be a victim, but being a victim is not a good way to live ecause life cannot go forward when the clock has stopped at the point of your last betrayal.

Yet I wonder: Are you living your life with the clock stopped?

There is a Way

There is another answer. There is a way to healing. But I warn you, it will involve another kind of pain — the pain of Christ’s cross. Christ’s cross will bring resurrection, and the new life He brings will also make the clock start ticking again.

This is what we see in Joseph’s ability to forgive his brothers after they literally ditched him. Joseph identified his pain with God. In God the pain was intended to bring blessing. Being hurt by his brothers made sense. The pain of false accusation made sense. The trial of unjust imprisonment was good. The years of separation from his father were good for him. He was saying with David, “Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil” (Psalm 90:15).

The power at work in the life of Joseph is what you need in order to get past this hurt. It is the power that was present in Paul when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). By embracing the pain that comes at him as a means of identification with Jesus Christ, Paul moves from victim to victor.

This is for anyone who is a believer hurt by another believer, for a loved one hurt by another loved one, for anyone feeling like a victim of another person, or maybe just feeling betrayed by life. In order for you to move from victim to victor in dealing with the pain of betrayal or suffering of any kind, drastic steps must be taken.

The hurt person, who is not embracing that pain as a means for God to do something in his life, is the person who is stuck and for whom the clock has stopped. He is not denying himself. In fact, the very thing he wants to do is feed his pain: “They hurt me, they said this about me, and I was offended.”

But Jesus says, “Take up your cross, follow Me, deny yourself, whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

We want to think about cross-bearing as physical pain, and it is. We also want to think about taking up our cross as standing up for truth and maybe taking some hits for it, maybe even being a martyr for it. Throughout church history many have done so.

But the context of the cross is betrayal. The context of the cross is the pain of being hurt by those close to us.

Zechariah 13:6 speaks of “the wounds I received in the house of my friends.” This is the pain you may feel in your heart. This may be where you are living today.

God does not call us to live in distrust, but to live by faith in Christ. It is not that I implicitly trust all men; it is that I trust God in all situations. And this makes life sweet.

Will you say, “I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection, and share in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may rise again”? Will you believe that though “they” meant it for evil, God meant it for good? Will you go on and live this risen life that Christ offers you right now?

(excerpted version of Dr. Mike Milton's booklet Hit by Friendly Fire: What to Do When Christians Hurt, reposted from Ministry & Leadership, Spring/Summer 2011, Reformed Theological Seminary. The full booklet can be ordered at http://mindandheart.com/ProductDetails.aspx?a=1556359284)

God provides a new building for persecuted Bible students in Vietnam

Pastor Hong
Quang
Nguyen.

On Dec. 14, 2010, 100 police and a bulldozer gathered on the property of the Mennonite Bible School in Ho Chi Minh City. Police attacked Pastor Hong Quang Nguyen, the school's leader, then bulldozed the building as the students watched. The first students to graduate from the school had received their diplomas just days earlier.

Though the loss of the building was a setback for the school, Pastor Quang and his 22 remaining students decided to complete their training. Another pastor offered Pastor Quang land for a new school site about 25 miles from Ho Chi Minh City. Just days after the attack on their school, the students were at their new location, repairing an old building on the property and clearing land to build dorms and bathrooms. Classes resumed on Jan. 3, 2011. In between classes and studying, the students passed out 3,000 tracts to their new neighbors, and eight people received Christ.

Throughout the ordeal, the students have grown in their faith. A Christian worker from the region wrote, "All are determined to study and to fulfill their responsibility to the Lord. The event has been a great test of their faith, and it has made them unite together and decide to serve God to the end."

The building for the new Bible school was finished in March. The facility can house up to 50 students. The building includes a classroom/worship sanctuary, library, kitchen, dining room, rooms and nine dorm rooms.

Pastor Quang said the experience of losing the school has taught him and his students a lot about serving Christ. "We have decided to serve and to bear the cross of Jesus," he said.

(from Voice of the Martyrs, June 2011)

(To receive new uMarko posts via a daily email, please click Subscribe)
(On Twitter: FOLLOW uMarko or http://www.twitter.com/uMarko)

Why do fetuses have hair? Why do many scientists deny a Creator?

Why do babies grow hair before they are born which they later lose? Doesn’t this prove we have a common ancestor with apes?

This is the gist of an argument presented by Jerry Coyne. He mentions that hair keeps mammals warm, which is true. He points out that human babies have hair in the womb where they are not exposed to the cold, suggesting that this hair serves no purpose in humans. He then insists that the only way to understand this phenomenon is to believe that humans evolved from other mammals, implying the hair is an evolutionary leftover.

However, if we look closely at what this hair is, the timing of its appearance, and other related factors, this argument by Coyne is seen to be quite presumptuous.

Bystrova (2009) gives reasons for believing that this hair allows for sensory stimulation in utero that affects the growth rate of the baby. Additionally, this prenatal sensory stimulation is considered somewhat analogous to postnatal sensory input, as in a mother touching her baby, which is considered important for healthy development.

This points to a bigger question. Why do some scientists declare class warfare against anything that could possibly point to a Creator? While others are truly productive scientists? Productive scientists look at known details in living things and tend to assume that the structures and processes they observe have a function. This leads to improved understanding and medical advances. The argument by Coyne is not scientific and can be traced back to a philosophy, one intended to deny that there is a Creator.

(Excerpted from A hairy subject; Egg on our faces?, by Jean K. Lightner, published in Creation Matters, a publication of Creation Research Society, Volume 16, Number 2, March/April 2011, to appear at http://www.creationresearch.org/creation_matters/pdf/2011/CM16%2002%20low%20res.pdf)

(To receive new uMarko posts via a daily email, please click Subscribe)
(On Twitter: FOLLOW uMarko or http://www.twitter.com/uMarko)

References (selected)


Bystrova, K. 2009. Novel mechanism of human fetal growth regulation: a potential role of lanugo, vernix caseosa and a second tactile system of unmyelinated low-threshold C-afferents. Medical Hypotheses 72(2):143–146.

A Muslim Tribal Chief is Bringing Jesus to His People

"Like most people in my tribe, when I was a young boy I went to the madrasah (Islamic school) for training in the Quran and preparation for jihad (holy war). As I read the Quran, I noticed that it talks about Jesus in ways that are different from other prophets; I was curious and confused. I left the madrasah and went to another city. There a friend of mine introduced me to a committed follower of Jesus who taught from the Bible. I liked his stories about Jesus and saw that he prayed to God in Jesus’ name, but I didn’t really think that it was for me. I didn’t see how Jesus could be for Muslims.

A couple of years later, my school class went on a picnic outing by the sea. As part of the field trip, we went out boating, and many of the students were jumping in the water to swim. I didn’t know how to swim. But I thought, “My people are from the mountains; we are the bravest people. Why are all these other, weaker students not afraid to go in the water, but I am?” To prove my bravery, I jumped in the water, too. Because I didn’t get too far away from the boat, I was fine. Then I decided to jump in a second time. This time I jumped farther. I quickly realized that I wasn’t okay—I was sinking! I called out, praying in the way I learned as a boy, and nothing happened. Then I remembered how that teacher prayed in Jesus’ name, and I thought, “I have nothing to lose; I’m about to drown.” So I cried out “Jesus, save me!” Then I blacked out. When I woke up again, I was back on the boat. My friends said that they had seen me sink, but they knew they couldn’t reach me in time. But then they said that something had held me up until they could get to me. I knew that was Jesus.

As soon as possible, I went back to meet the man who taught about Jesus and told him what had happened to me. I said I wanted to commit my life to Jesus. I studied more in-depth about Jesus and the Bible with him for two years and even changed my religious identity. I liked my new life, but I felt like God wanted more for me. As I prayed and sought the Lord, I felt him calling me, “Go back to your own people and village to tell them about me.” I explained to a friend how God was calling me, and he agreed to pray for me. I went back to my home village, my tribe. I shared about Jesus with many in my tribe on various short trips. At first, it was hard work. Then, after I had shared many times with the tribal leader, he finally had a dream about Jesus and decided to follow him. Later, when this leader was on his deathbed, he called me to his bedside. He took off his turban from his head and put it on mine in front of everyone there, which meant that I was the new tribal leader. I was shocked. I thought the next leader would be one of his sons. But, after the period of mourning was over, the other leaders confirmed that it was me, so I accepted the responsibility.

I wanted to lead the tribe in a way that everyone could see that devotion to Jesus had made a difference in my life. So, whenever there were issues that came up, I used the Bible in my rulings. One time a woman was brought before me who was going to be stoned for adultery. I based my ruling on a passage from the Gospel, and challenged her accusers, “If any of you are without sin, you be the one to strike her down.” None of them could do anything, and the woman was saved.

Over time, the other tribes heard that I was using the Bible to lead my tribe, and that I was telling others to trust in Jesus. Some of the other leaders were very upset, and they set an ambush for me. When I walked by where they were waiting for me, they began shooting at me with machine guns. I started to run. I could feel bullets hitting my body, but I kept running until I was far away. When I stopped, I saw the holes in my shirt, and felt pain where the bullets had hit me. But, as I looked closer, I saw that the bullets had only wounded the surface of my skin. Only one had fully entered my body, into my leg. I understood that God had protected me. I was also reminded so clearly that it is only because of the God’s work in my heart that I am not violent like the men shooting me. It made me so grateful for His protection and His provision.

While I was recovering in the hospital, the men who had set the ambush found out that I had survived. They became afraid for their lives. They knew that I had the right in our tribal culture to send men after them to kill them. But I knew that the Bible teaches that you should forgive your enemies. After I had left the hospital, I called them to me and told them, “Because I follow the teachings of Jesus, I forgive you.” They were so relieved. Through this, I was able to share more with them about Jesus. Today, their tribe is one of our most passionate groups of Jesus-followers.

As I have continued leading my tribe in a biblical way and share with others about Jesus, we have seen more and more put their trust in him. There are now thousands of home groups of those who have given their lives to Jesus, with each group serving about ten families. It is my passion to see all Muslims following Jesus within Islam. Starting from our tribe, we have shared our story with many other tribes in our country, and are trusting God to continue to spread the good news about Jesus throughout the rest of the Muslim world. We want to see Jesus welcomed into his rightful place within Islam. This is my greatest dream.

(reposted from Mir-Ibn-Mohammad, A Muslim Tribal Chief is Bringing Jesus to His People, Mission Frontiers May-June 2011)

(To receive new uMarko posts via a daily email, please click Subscribe)
(On Twitter: FOLLOW uMarko or http://www.twitter.com/uMarko)

A Sandbar in the Middle of Land? Old Earth Geologists cannot explain...

The Meridian Sandbar is a massive outcrop stretching from southwestern from Alabama to east-central Mississippi, a distance of approximately 80 miles. It is approximately 12 miles wide and up to 100 ft thick (Wermund, 1965). It is white to light gray, coarse-to-fine-grained quartzose sand.

Secular geologists would use the modern Gulf Coastal Plain and Gulf of Mexico continental shelf to explain the formation and development of the massive sandbar. However, they have never identified any of the expected components (e.g., rivers, sandy delta, and coastline) necessary to define the history of this feature!

The global flood of Noah as recorded in Scripture simplifies the understanding of its formation....

Notice that the distance from the edge of the southern Appalachian metamorphic/crystalline core rocks to the center point along the Meridian Sand is approximately 250 miles. Scientific analysis that takes biblical data into account would show that it was likely formed during the Lower Division of the Flood Event Timeframe (see Figure 2). Sand carried away from the rising Appalachians was transported and deposited onto the submerged continental shelf.

A combination of water movement and large waves likely formed the sand into the massive sandbar during the Middle Division of the Flood Event when water currents were established across the North American continent (i.e., epeiric sea; Froede, 1995a) following uplift of the Appalachians (Froede, 2006; 2009). With the loss of water energy, the sandbar was locked in place and buried by mud and clay.

Old earth geologists are stumped - yet here is another successful explanation by Creation Scientists based on evidence from the Bible!

(Excerpted from The Meridian Sandbar and the Flood, by Carl R. Froede Jr., published in Creation Matters, a publication of Creation Research Society, Volume 16, Number 2, March/April 2011, to appear at http://www.creationresearch.org/creation_matters/pdf/2011/CM16%2002%20low%20res.pdf.)

(To receive new uMarko posts via a daily email, please click Subscribe)
(On Twitter: FOLLOW uMarko or http://www.twitter.com/uMarko)

References (selected)

Froede, C.R., Jr. 1995a. Late Cretaceous epeiric sea or retreating Floodwater? CRSQ 32(1):13–16.

Froede, C.R., Jr. 2006. Neogene sand-to-pebble size siliciclastic sediments on the Florida Peninsula: Sedimentary evidence in support of the Genesis Flood. CRSQ 42:229–240.

Froede, C.R., Jr. 2009. From the Appalachians to the Keys: An update on the Florida gravels. Creation Matters 14(3):1–3.

Wermund, R.G. 1965. Cross-bedding in the Meridian Sand. Sedimentology 5:69–79.