This past weekend, more than 1.5 million people, mostly Romanian and several from our city of Buzau, gathered in the northern city of Iasi, Romania, just for the chance to wait in line for 15 hours walking the 2 miles the line stretched, to reach the coffin of some woman from centuries ago who was supposedly holy, and thus made a "saint".  Then upon their arrival, each of them kissed her remains along with some other dead bones that were supposedly the hand of another long dead person that was supposedly a miraculous healer.  (Which raises the question of why they both died and why the healer's hand was cut off and buried with the first dead woman.)  But anyway, these relics are probably never what they are claimed to be to begin with.  The remains of John the Baptist and several apostles are purported to be in Romania, when there's no evidence any of those men were ever here in their lives, and in the case of John the Baptist, we have biblical certainty that he neither lived nor died here.  Martin Luther's somewhat sarcastic observation holds true when he condemned the veneration of such relics, and exposed their inauthenticity by quipping, "20 of the 12 apostles are buried in Spain alone."

Anyway, this weekend up north, the air was cold and there wouldn't have been ample facilities for the crowd for food, drink, restrooms, and lodging.  But nobody minded. 

It's amazing how far people will be willing to go in an effort to worship falsely, so long as they can believe in a gospel of good works.  Amazing because these 1.5 million people are saying no to the belief in the true gospel which would require nothing like this "pilgrimage" of them. 

I cannot describe how much my heart aches, wanting them to just truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and knowing they have chosen instead to be pagans in His Name. Pray for them.  And for us and all who seek to reach them. 

One of the families we got together with this weekend was a young couple like us with a baby boy who is within a week of Briana's age.  During the evening, we were hoping for an open door for sharing the gospel with this mostly unreligious family.  Through our baby and theirs, the open door came.  Our daughter Briana has a toy bag in which she had one of our Evangecubes, which is an unfolding cube used as a tool for pictorially presenting the gospel message of salvation through faith in Christ. 

When the toys were brought out for the babies, their son made the Evangecube his first pick to play with.  At that moment I silently prayed asking God to have him give the cube to one of his parents who would be curious to ask about it, giving us the opportunity to share.  A moment later, the kid did just that, and his mother was in fact curiously asking about it right away, wanting to know what it was and how it worked. 

I showed her how, telling the couple that it is a tool we use to tell people about how to have eternal life through faith in Christ.  Then I used the cube to share that message with them. 

No immediate response--however they were not unfavorable to what they were hearing, so seeds were planted and as we seek to grow our friendship with them, we pray that the same God who heard prayers for an opportunity to share will answer prayers for their hearts and minds to be opened to understand and believe the gospel. 

This weekend we've got three get-togethers scheduled with families we're developing relationships with in the hopes that they will eventually have relationships with Christ also.  These families, which initially were more closed, are starting to show some curiosity about our faith, asking some questions about it, and one man said he wants to talk with me about what happens when we die.  So it looks like your prayers are giving us some divine appointments. 

One of my main prayer requests, though, is that the Lord would send us more laborers, even a team of people if He wills, be they Romanian, American, or others, to help bring in the harvest.  Evangelizing and seeing people make a profession of faith comes much easier than church-planting as a whole; and discipling new believers one-on-one is something I'm finding myself to be underequipped for giftwise.  In America, if you lead someone to Christ, you're better able to disciple them, because you begin to bring them into the community of the local body of Christ.  But we don't have that option here, and it is working from the ground up, trying to help new believers be interested in being new disciples. 

If the Lord assembled a team of some more people together here to join us in establishing a church, then the new believers would be becoming part of a community--a local body, that would help them grow much faster, because they wouldn't just have our words to teach them--they would have the experience of gathering together with other believers to worship and pray and seek the Lord's will for their lives.  I lay awake sometimes at night dreaming of what could happen if there were six or eight more believers with us long term to help establish God's church. 

That also brings up our other main prayer request for our ministry now--which is for a building of some sort to have meetings in.  In this culture, home Bible studies are hard to establish because people have been taught since they were young that you need to encounter God inside a building that is devoted as a church, and they are very slow to be willing to gather in our home to learn more of the Lord.  Sure, even in this culture, mature believers would be willing to do home fellowships and have house churches--but we're talking about babes in Christ, and they are much more hesitant to join up with something that is different from what they've always viewed a church to be. 

So we need wisdom and help from God for every aspect of our continuing ministry as we move to the next level here in Buzau, as well as a particular location to meet with new believers if God sees fit, and more laborers if the Master of the harvest is willing to send them into this part of His field.  Please be praying for all these things as you are led. 

And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself.... Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God.... Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?
--James 3:6, 9, 11 (NLT)

         There are two kinds of fire your speech can be:
         1) The tongue under God’s control speaks forth His praise and shares His word boldly, as at Pentecost, when they had tongues of the Holy Spirit’s fire to proclaim the good news of God’s wonderful salvation.  The fire of the Spirit-guided tongue is a fire that refines and convicts and warms the heart.  It blazes, but does not consume or destroy, like the fire of the bush God spoke through to Moses.  It provides light and guidance, like a pillar of fire leading those who hear your speech to the ways of God.
         2) The second kind of fire that your speech can represent is the destructive fire of hell itself.  This fire destroys the listener.  This fire is filled with lies, hate, and destruction.  Just a spark of it ignites a massive blaze that quickly runs out of control, leaving the one who spoke unable to undo the damage that has been done.  It turns a life and a home and a church into dead scorched earth in no time.
         Which of those two types of fire is in the way you talk to others?
         How would others who know you answer that question about you?

         There are also two kinds of water your speech can be:
         1) The first is fresh water.  It is living water.  It is the water of the Word of God.  It is a refreshing, life-giving stream that flows out of the mouth after springing up from a heart changed by God’s grace.  It is a river of love, of compassion, of comfort.  Its guidance tastes sweet to those who drink it.  This water’s quickness to forgive graciously douses out the fires of hellish tongues.  It brings strength to the weary.  All those who thirst for fellowship with God will be drawn to the streams from the tongue that produces fresh water.
         2) The second kind of tongue water is bitter.  It is dirty and filled with decay.  Rather than cleansing and bringing life to those who drink it in or bathe themselves in it, this person’s speech leaves others’ spirits filthy, infected, and sick.  Rather than heal emotional wounds, it causes them to fester.  It tastes terrible as it spews forth from the unguarded mouth.  Those who drink only the water from a bitter tongue eventually get dehydrated and die.
         Which type of water is in your speech?
         How would others answer that question about you?

So why does God allow his enemies to do things like blow up innocent people in honor of a false god named Allah?  This kind of question puzzles every time we see the carnage anew.  Well, if you believe Bible prophecy, (and you should), you might be able to find an answer as you look at the big picture.  And as you look at the UN this week.  It's leader Kofi Annan gave an address that basically portrayed seeking peace in the Middle East as the greatest goal ever sought by humankind. 

The islamic terrorism is a terrible thing, but one reason it is allowed to happen perhaps, is that it focuses the attention of the entire world on a little country called Israel, which God chose and formed thousands of years ago for the purpose of restoring His own Kingdom rule upon the earth.  Through that nation, He brought the Messiah Jesus, who died for the sins of mankind and rose again to bring new life to all who believe. 

In this day that nation is not as a whole acknowledging their Messiah, and thus not fulfilling their purpose of glorifying God, but the Bible teaches this is only temporary.  The reason Satan and his followers hate the Jews so much and so irrationally even now while Israel doesn't believe their Messiah, is because the devil wants to thwart God's plan to soon save people from every tribe and tongue through the Jews and establish the rule and Kingdom of Christ on earth from Jerusalem.  This will happen one day, but for the events that will precede it to happen, the world has to have all its focus on its craving for peace in the middle east.  Human beings, being basically selfish in nature, would only long for the peace of Jerusalem if the muslims war against Israel hurt them, too.  So I believe God allows the terrorists to hurt people from the world's most powerful nations to get them involved. 

That way, when the church is raptured out, and the Holy Spirit's hindering presence is momentarily removed from the world, allowing the Antichrist to assume power, the entire world will be prepared to follow him.  The Bible teaches that he will rule for a time of tribulation on the earth and that this tribulation period will begin the day the Antrichrist confirms his peace covenant with Israel.  He will promise Israel peace and protection, while persuading the muslims to leave them alone (they will follow him because he does Satan's will as they do.)  Then the whole world will look at him and say, "He did it.  No one else could do it.  For years people have tried to broker this peace, and in no time at all, he did it.  He is obviously the greatest leader mankind has ever had the opportunity to follow." 

But then, during that same seven years, 144,000 of the Jews, having come to faith in their Messiah, will be evangelizing the whole world, seeing more people than ever before in history turn to the true and living God to follow Him, and await the return of Messiah Jesus, who will close that 7 years of tribulation on the earth by returning and establishing His kingdom, putting down the Antichrist and all who have followed him in their rebellion against God, and ushering in a time of true peace and prosperity worldwide, as His saints reign with him on the earth. 

The evils of 21st century terrorism will be long forgotten then, except perhaps as we look back and see how God was in control throughout history, to bring about His perfect plan. 

This weekend, Lord-willing, we'll be in Slobozia, and I'll be preaching at the church picking up where I last left off in our study of the book of Acts, with chapter 7.  Since I'm thinking on that chapter, I'm sharing here a devotional I wrote several years ago based on a closing point at the end of that chapter.  Hope it ministers to you today.

Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!"  Having said this, he fell asleep.
--Acts 7:60

           As Stephen faced death, martyred at the hands of Saul's accomplices, he shouted, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!"  This was no small task, for the ordeal Stephen faced in that moment was beyond terrifying.
          Preachers become accustomed to hearing "Nice sermon" after they bring their messages on Sunday morning.  But on what would be his last day on earth, Stephen preached one of the most profound sermons of all time; and the reaction of some who heard it was to take him outside, surround him, and begin mercilessly pelting him from head to toe with large rocks.  They ripped his flesh to shreds and shattered his bones.  With each stone's impact on his dying body, the unbearable intensity of Stephen's pain multiplied.
          His reaction to this torture is an undeniable witness to the truth of the gospel.  Were Mohammed or Buddha's followers ever to face the same thing, they would die cursing their gods and the people who tortured them.  But Stephen left this earthly life honoring Jesus Christ and fervently, with all His might begging God to treat his torturers as if they had done him no wrong at all.
          And in the case of a zealously anti-Christian leader who watched over the execution, the Lord answered Stephen's prayer.  Just a short time later, God granted Saul the gift of repentance and faith and forgiveness for all his sins.  The end result is that through Paul's witness, countless millions of people, including you and I, have been saved from the wrath of God our sins deserved.  What a great debt the church owes to Stephen for his dying prayer!
          Brothers and sisters, let us have the attitude of Stephen when we face persecution and trials.  Let us not just cry out, "Lord, spare me of this suffering for Your Name," but instead ask God to save the persecutors from the wrath that awaits them.  And He will often do just that.
          Today in heaven, Stephen and the man who endorsed his violent death rejoice with one another with a deep and abiding love for each other and for their Savior.  May it be so one day for us and any who deny Christ and hurl insults like stones at us for our attempts to share Jesus with the world.
          When we are mistreated, let us practice "dying prayer," like Stephen.  Dying prayer -- the prayer that dies to self for the glory of God.  The prayer that says, "Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done."  The prayer that says, "Whatever happens to me, Lord, please be merciful to those who mistreat me, that they may come to know You as I do, and become my brothers."

On this anniversary of 9-11 I stumbled across a website promoting Buddhism that makes claims that, in light of what today is the anniversary of, are stunningly foolish.  Every sincere adherent to any religion is made good by it and will go to heaven, the site claims with great dogmatism, although basing their claims on nothing but their feelings. 

So if what the owner of that website proclaims in no uncertain terms is true, then the terrorists of 9-11 five years ago were good people, as the most sincere adherents to the teachings of the Koran, and they went to paradise for answering the Koran's call to die in the act of killing others in Allah's name.  No thinking, rational person would say such a thing.  But I bet if you asked Americans on the street if the adherents of any religion would be righteous enough to go to heaven, most people would say yes to that.  (At least if you didn't bring up 9-11 while you were asking the question.) 

But one of the important things the events of that terrible day teach us is that religion does not lead to righteousness; and in fact it more often than not leads to evil.  All of the religions of the world system are an act of rebellion against God--they do not bring us closer to Him.  Only being cleansed of our sins by the blood of Christ does that.  In the eyes of God it is a wicked thing to be sincerely religious and self-righteous.  We must have a righteousness from God apart from the law that comes by faith, or we will not be righteous at all. 

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness
         --Genesis 1:3-4