April 2008 - Posts
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I
will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I
will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to
keep my laws."Ezekiel 36:26-27
While in Nairobi, we use a Christian pharmaceutical warehouse to purchase our
medicines. This trip, Dr. Oubre and I stopped there to set up a new account for
Cutting Edge Foundation. We met a wonderful lady named Beatrice we had been
dealing with for years but had never met in person. She is a delightful caring
Christian woman. Beatrice is a typical Kenyan - well educated, articulate,
polite and gentle. As we talked, she shared her heart with us about the recent
events in Kenya-the political and tribal unrest, the maiming of so many Kenyans,
and all the killings that had recently happened. She took time to show us
pictures she had on her computer. Our hearts were broken by the photos of dead
Kenyans, many of whom were children; the destroyed churches and other buildings,
and images of thousands of displaced people. We could see that her heart was
broken by what was happening to her country. She asked us to please continue to
pray for her country and thanked us for the work we were doing in Sudan. It will
take a long time for times to get back to normal in Kenya and for healing to
take place between the tribes that have been fighting with each other. I do not
think the world is more evil now than it has been in the past. What is different
now is that we have the technology to destroy and kill on a massive scale and
have the media to instantly show it to the entire world on television. Evil is
always in the human heart until Christ performs true heart replacement surgery
on us. He takes our heart of stone and replaces it with a new heart. We become
new creatures created in His image. Pray for Christ to bring healing to Kenya
and in the entire world. He is our only hope.
Michael McMahon
"If it were not for hopes, the heart would break." - Thomas
Fuller
"The message of dawn is hope." - Winston Churchill
Prayer Power
Pray for our Kenyan brothers and sisters. Pray for peace all over the world.
Pray for the only lasting true peace of Jesus Christ to fill our hearts.
"They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to
death by the sword. They went about in sheep skins and goat skins, destitute,
persecuted and mistreated-the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in
deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground."Hebrews 11:37-38
I have heard this story several times on my trips into Sudan from very
reliable people; including Bishop Nathaniel Garang and I believe it is true. In
the early 1990's there was an illiterate Dinka named Paul Kon. As did most of
the Dinka at that time, he raised cattle. He was a non Christian who worshiped
idols. One day he was touched by the hand of God and was able to recite the
entire Bible-verse and chapter from memory. He accepted the Lord and started
preaching, starting a revival in the Werkok area. The people came together and
burned all their idols and turned to God. He had a large church, the Zion
Church, built in the shape of a cross. The church is still standing and is in
use today. Paul Kon was a prophet. He predicted not only his own death but also
that he would be buried in two graves. Later, when he was killed the people who
killed him were afraid he might come back to life and sawed off one of his legs
and had it buried. The people of his church came and got him and buried him
(without his leg) outside Zion Church. The war years were incredibly horrible in
Sudan and I am sure the Lord used him to bring His message to the Sudanese
people when times were bad and they needed to hear the word of God. An
incredible story!!
There are still many martyrs. Go to the Voice of the Martyrs web site for
more information on modern day martyrs and check out the book Jesus Freaks.
Michael McMahon
"Faith is not a once done act, but a continuous gaze at the heart
of the Triune God." - A. W. Tozer
Prayer Power
Pray for all the martyrs. Pray that the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ will
grow and spread and all will one day know that our Christian brothers and
sisters did not die in vain.
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When he had
placed his hands on them, he went on from there.Matthew
19:14-15
I always have a passion for the little children. My heart is always broken by
orphans. On this trip, I spent more time talking to the mothers. I asked how
many children they had living and how many had died. I was broken hearted to
hear that most of the women had lost multiple children-either during childbirth
or to disease early in their life. These women love their children as much as we
love our children. They hurt just as much as we do with the loss of a child. I
cannot help but feel some guilt when I think of all we have back home and how
much of this could be prevented by simple childhood immunizations and basic
health care. I once heard an African pastor read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, but
each time he got to a body part he substituted a country-USA, Sudan, Kenya,
England, and Cameroon etc. You get the point. Are we really functioning like the
body of Christ? How can we have so much and not share with those who have so
little?
Why does Christ say that the kingdom belongs to little children? Their
innocence, their unquestioning faith, their absolute trust in Him, their
simplicity? The children were not afraid of Jesus. Are we afraid to really let
our guard down and just be our true self with Him? He was never too busy to stop
for the least of His world. I can see Jesus playing and laughing with the
children. Jesus reached out and touched them. Should we do less?
Michael McMahon
"Life is a flame that is always burning itself out, but it
catches fire again, every time a child is born." - George Bernard Shaw
Prayer Power
Pray for the children and those called by God to bring health care to them.
Pray for all the families who have lost so many children.