Daily Courage

[Judy Harder]

You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  (Jeremiah 1:7)

Yang Zhang

God sent Jeremiah to Israel to speak on his behalf. His words were to be God's words.  God has spoken to us through His Word - the Bible.

In my country, we experience a great shortage of that word. So, for us, the verbal sharing of the Word of God has become very important.  "And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:19-20).

Whether we are free - or in captivity - there will always be opportunities to share the news that Christ came to save sinners. Do we use these opportunities or are we too afraid of the consequences: Prison, persecution, torture, even death?

May we be people about whom God says, "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Revelation 12:11).

Writer of the Month: Yang Zhang from China. A fiery evangelist from China writing under a pseudonym for his protection.

[Judy Harder]

Preach the word.   (2 Timothy 4:2)

Yang Zhang

To share the Gospel is the number one priority of the Body of Christ. New believers also have this responsibility. Not just "mature" believers. Every believer should get involved in spreading the Word of God. The more you plant - the more you reap. Without planting there is no harvest.

God wants to see a harvest of souls. He needs laborers to plow, plant and reap. We are these laborers.

We are not only His people - we are also His servants. He can send a servant as He pleases.

The servant has no excuse: I am not gifted. I am not qualified. The master knows what he does.

·      When He appoints - He anoints
·      When He calls - He enables
·      When He sends - He goes along
·      When He asks you to speak - He will give you the words

Just obey - and you will see God at work - through you.

Writer of the Month: Yang Zhang from China. A fiery evangelist from China writing under a pseudonym for his protection.

[Judy Harder]

from Day by Day with the Persecuted Church,

...A man after His own heart.  (1 Samuel 13:14)

Yang Zhang

A man who obeys God is not necessarily a man after God's heart. Of course, God wants us to obey Him. But obedience does not always come voluntarily. We can obey God because we feel we have to, whereas a man after God's heart obeys the Lord's will fully and voluntarily.

The first is a matter of will, the second a matter of the heart. David was such a man. He said, "I desire to do your will, O my God" (Psalm 40:.  Not because he had to, but because he wanted to. That is what made David a man after God's heart. Why? Because David knew that God wants the best for us. That God's will is perfect.

Many people say God's will is a yoke or a burden. David's assertion was, "His yoke is easy and his burden is light." That makes all the difference.

Such a man can face problems, overcome temptations, and be steadfast in times of persecution. Why should I not be that man?

Writer of the Month: Yang Zhang from China. A fiery evangelist from China writing under a pseudonym for his protection.

[Judy Harder]

Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?  (John 6:9)

Yang Zhang

This wonderful miracle tells us that God can do much with little.  If we give Him what we have He can perform miracles. The boy could have kept the little that he had. But he gave it to Jesus. That act of obedience fed 5,000 people.

We never need to complain about the little that we have. Our Lord can use it and feed the people around us.

A Chinese friend told me one day, "Our eyes, nose, ears, mouth and heart are like five loaves. Our two hands are like two fishes. And with our two legs we go and meet the needs of the people around us."

Let us give our body and our heart into the hands of the Lord and thus become an instrument in God's service, saving many hungry people.

Writer of the Month: Yang Zhang from China. A fiery evangelist from China writing under a pseudonym for his protection.

[Judy Harder]

May 2, 2010   

from Day by Day with the Persecuted Church,

I have hidden your words in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

Yang Zhang

To lay up God's words in our hearts takes time. It means that we have to read God's Word so many times that it becomes a part of us.  Some people have the Bible, but they never read it. They have laid up God's Word on a bookshelf.

But we must lay it up in our hearts. Nobody can take that away from us. Wherever we are, we have it with us. In freedom - and in prison.

That is why we in China, read God's Word as many times as we can. We feel already privileged to have a copy of the Bible. But we also know that the Bible can be taken away from us any time - or that we may be sent to places where we cannot take a Bible along. That's why we memorize as much as we can.

One of the best known Christians was Rev John Sung. He once said, "When I was young I was locked up in a mental hospital for 190 days. I was so glad that I could keep my Bible and I read it many times through during those six months."  When he came out of the mental hospital his doctors expected that his spirit had been broken. But he came out a stronger Christian than ever before. None of the doctors understood - but we did!

Do you?

Writer of the Month: Yang Zhang from China. A fiery evangelist from China writing under a pseudonym for his protection.

[Judy Harder]

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Yang Zhang

When I was studying theology the Rev Chia was our principal. A very humble man and devoted to prayer. Prayer had become so much a part of his life that you could always call upon him to pray for you in times of need.

I remember a time when I visited him, together with some other students. During our conversation he would, unintentionally, close his eyes and pray for us.  We all felt so humble and small in his presence. This man taught me to pray, not by what he said about prayer, but by the way he prayed.  When he prayed he was in touch with God.

But I also learned that the Rev Chia was not special. God is special. He has no favorites. All of us are called to pray and be in touch with God. Whenever I think of the Rev Chia I pray this prayer, "Lord teach me how to pray."

Writer of the Month: Yang Zhang from China. A fiery evangelist from China writing under a pseudonym for his protection.

[Judy Harder]

Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.  (Matthew 25:34-36)

Open Doors Contact Person

Queen Wilhelmina, former Queen of The Netherlands, wrote a book after her abdication entitled: Lonely but not Alone.  The same title could be given to a book about the Suffering Church, "Lonely but not Alone." 

A while ago, an Open Doors co-worker visited a church leader in Vietnam. He had brought several small presents and gave those to the pastor. They were gratefully accepted, but the pastor commented, "The greatest present to us is your being here. Now we know for sure that we are not forgotten. We often feel lonely, but God is always with us. Your visit means more to us than the presents you brought. Thank you for coming."

Flowers, a card, a short visit. How encouraging they can be. Those who bless the lonely will never be lonely themselves.  "You who are blessed by my Father..."

[Judy Harder]

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father."  (Luke 3:

Li An

We cannot depend on tradition to be saved. For example, "I am from such a denomination" or "I am from such a church." We cannot depend on spiritual heroes; "I am a follower of..." or "I am a co-worker with..."  We are to produce true fruit of repentance. If we do not bear such repentance, nothing else can save us.

A Christian lady in Shanghai summed it up so nicely when she said "before the Communists came with power I was a Lutheran. Now the Communists have closed down all our churches. All I can say now is I am just a Christian."

In the final analysis this will be the only true testimony that will count.

"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).

"For you know that it was not with perishable things ... that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ. Through him you believe in God ... and so your faith and hope are in God" (1 Peter 1:18-21).

Writer of the Month: Li An from China. Because he is well known in China he requested his real name not to be published, so we have used a pseudonym.

[Judy Harder]

The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

(Hebrews 4:12)

Open Doors Contact Person

A Chinese Communist had a Christian wife. He was very much opposed to the Gospel. He had tried his best to make his wife recant her faith. In vain.  One evening, he got so mad at his wife that he threw her out of the house in her pajamas. The poor woman did not know where to go. The fact that she was blind made her situation even worse. She sat down on the steps in front of her house, shivering with cold, and prayed for her husband.

After a while, he started feeling sorry for her and he let her come in again. To make up, he asked her if she needed anything.

She answered, "I need encouragement and I find that in the Bible. Would you please read something from the Bible to me?"  To her great surprise, he conceded and started reading to her from the Word of God.  God's Spirit started to work in the man and the prayers of his wife were answered. He continued to read the Bible and a few days after the incident he gave his life to Christ. Today he is a Bible teacher in China.

We can never expect too much from God.

[Judy Harder]

And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  (Matthew 10:38)

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. (Acts 5:41)

Open Doors Contact Person

"Take his cross" - it sounds ominous. This does not sound like something that goes with faith. Victory, blessing, peace - these are things which make you happy. But struggle, the cross, suffering, these have such a negative sound to them.

Yet Christians who have endured suffering, often consider it an honor to have been counted worthy to take part in Christ's suffering.

A twenty-one year old Chinese woman from Guangzhou told us openly about the many chances she had in China to be a witness for Christ. "Aren't you persecuted then?" she was asked.  "Yes," she answered, "but that does not matter. It's the way of the cross."

We are not asked to seek persecution and suffering. We are called to take up our cross.  Whoever has to carry such a cross, will be given sufficient strength to do just that.

"But rejoice" ... yes, it really is written there. "But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:13).