Stars and Sand: Roger Aubrey

Pray and act for the church in Minsk, Belarus

Many of you will have heard of Slava Goncharenko (pictured, left with his fellow leader and translator Sergei Vaschevic), the leader of New Life Church in Minsk, Belarus. Just a few weeks ago Slava attended our annual Worldwatch conference at All Nations and spoke of the current condition in his country and the wonderful way in which Jesus is moving powerfully through the Holy Spirit. Belarus is ruled by the Soviet-styled dictator Alexander Lukashenko and the church there has suffered intense persecution for many years under him. (Here's a current article on Lukashenko from this week's Guardian newspaper).

Just a few days ago we received communication from Slava that the city authorities in Minsk are demanding that the church vacates their building (which they own and have paid for) and hand it over to the authorities. This is part of a long running campaign of intimidation and threats against the church, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Here is the communication from Slava and Sergei, along with a request that we pray and act on their behalf:

Dear Caring and Praying Friends,

Today, on November 27, we at New Life church received court summons from the Supreme Economic Court, in which our church is to vacate its building, then make an extra set of keys for representatives of the Moscow District Household Management Department of the Minsk City no later than December 5th 2012. Transfer of the church building and its keys to the representatives of the Minsk City Household Management Department is to be carried out on December 5th at 11.00am. We are not going to give up our church nor our right to worship the Lord there!

Please forward and share this news with your friends, your Congressman, your Senator (s), newsmakers, media outlets, reporters and send protest letters to the Belarusian Embassy in your nation.

You can follow recent developments and news at: www.newlife.by/eng_index.php

In Christ, sergei for all of us there

For Youcef Nadarkhani - 1,000 days in prison

Youcef Nadarkhani is a Christian pastor in Iran. For the past one thousand days he has been in prison awaiting trial and execution for 'crimes against national security'. He is actually in jail on trumped up charges because he is a Christian who refuses to recant his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and lives each day with the threat of death. If you are a Christian this man is your brother in Christ. Pray for him. Tweet about him; post a message on Facebook regarding him. Use the tools that God has put in your hands for this important purpose. Help Youcef.

For more on Youcef, read here.

Bryn Jones site launched!

I am totally overjoyed by the recent launch of the site theradicalchurch.com dedicated to the life and ministry of Bryn Jones. It's fabulous to be able to get hold of videos, audios and written material from one of the most significant Christians of the second half of the twentieth century. Bryn was a true pioneer and radical disciple of Jesus; he and others like Arthur Wallis blazed a trail that changed the face of the church. I am looking forward to hearing, viewing and reading Bryn's messages again. They are just as relevant and necessary as when he first delivered them. I recommend that you visit the site, and follow the Twitter and Facebook accounts so you can get notified of all the regular updates as they appear.

Jon Rigby's amazing miracle!

Some of you will have heard about what happened to a dear man of God, Jon Rigby, recently. He has had an amazing miracle, in which he survived a terrible accident in his own home. Jon has kindly allowed me to post his account of what happened. Here is Jon's story in his own words.

Download Jon Testimony

Ottawa miracle

Dianne and I have recently returned from Ottawa, Canada. We were visiting All Nations Church, led by four great men: Steve Wilkins, Tim Brock, Pat McKinnon and Todd Pulsifer. We taught in the Bible School, had various other meetings and travelled over to Peterborough, Ontario to see the wonderful folks of New Life church there.

Perhaps the most significant event of the week was being able to witness a wonderful miracle. Friends of ours in the church in Ottawa are expecting their fourth child in October. A few weeks ago the doctors became concerned about the baby and ran tests, all of which confirmed that the baby – a girl – had a severe genetic disorder. The couple were counselled over the severity of the situation and the various options open to them, including abortion. Our friends naturally prayed much, asking Jesus to perform a miracle for their baby. The final test was carried out while we were there and the results were expected within a week. The next day the hospital rang our friends to say that the latest test showed no genetic abnormality at all – praise Jesus! This is a remarkable miracle and we rejoice that Jesus is alive and doing wonders among us today!

The man who decided to stop being gay

Here's an interesting article from Today's Times. It's about a man who has decided to stop being homosexual. He is not a Christian; bear that in mind when you read it. I trust you find it  interesting.

The day I decided to stop being gay

Oral Roberts: 1918-2009

Today I want to pay tribute to the memory of Oral Roberts, who died yesterday at the age of 91. Roberts was one of the most significant, ground-breaking and controversial preaching evangelists of the twentieth century. It's been interesting to see the wide range of responses at the news of his passing: everything from vitriolic hatred of him through ridicule to deep appreciation and love.

I believe Oral Roberts was a man of God: imperfect, like every one of us, but with a passion for Jesus and a desire to see the miracle power of the Lord at work in people who were sick. It's easy to kick a man and criticise him from the comfort and safety of an armchair, pulpit, study or blog. I have learned that I earn the right to criticise when I have walked in a man's shoes. So today, rather than all take the opportunity to bash a man, let's thank God for Oral Roberts: for those who came to know Jesus through his ministry; for those who were healed by Jesus through his prayers and faith; and for a man, who despite great personal suffering and tragedy, stayed true to his faith in Christ.

(If you only read one of Oral Roberts' books, read 'Seed Faith'. It changed my life).

Faith matters

Yesterday I happened to see an interesting programme about Tony Blair. It was called 'Fern Britton meets...' and is a series examining the faith of famous people. Tony Blair recently became a Catholic; but the programme was more about his faith in general and how it affected his political life, especially the decision to go to war against Saddam. Included in the programme was an interview with Blair himself.

Putting aside a number of aspects of the programme, one part of it impressed me. When he was Prime Minister, wherever he was in the world, and no matter what the situation, Blair would insist on going to a church service on Sunday. Even if he was physically exhausted, emotionally drained, or had to make world changing decisions, he would do his very best to be there. This was attested to by his aides and colleagues. It was the one non negotiable. The effect on him was evident to all: he would be refreshed, even rejuvenated by his time in what he described as a humbling act, acknowledging that he was in the presence of God.

What impressed me about this was that, despite the intense pressures and the physical demands of his office, Blair always found time to get to Sunday services; and regarded himself better for it.

I have to admit that sometimes I get frustrated with those saints who find it hard to crawl out of bed on a Sunday morning because they have had 'a hard week', or are feeling a bit under the weather, or just decided to take time off for no particular reason. I am all for relaxation and rest; but there seems to be a tendency among some that being together with other brothers and sisters in the presence of God is an option that can be exercised at one's own discretion. But the Bible says, 'Let's not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing...' (Hebrews 10:25). That word 'habit' actually means 'ethic'. As I watched Blair, I thought, if this man thought it was important enough to be in the presence of God, along with other believers, that it became part of his 'ethic', and he had enormous pressures, is it too much to ask believers to get out of bed and join together with their family to worship God? And be there on time?

Image of the day

This is Heinz Zak, a high wire walker. I personally think he's crazy; but he has my admiration for where he chooses to show his craziness.

I get vertigo on a pile carpet; so there is absolutely no way that I would even countenance doing such a thing.

This shot is part of a photo essay that appeared recently in the Guardian. For more of Heinz, go here.

Marmite Jesus

Apparently Jesus loves Marmite. His image has just appeared on the inside of a lid. For those of you who can't stand the taste of Marmite, this must be a shattering blow. For us Marmite lovers it's great to have the Lord's endorsement. The sad thing is that the family who have made this discovery are from Wales. And we were doing so well.

If you really want to read more about this headline-grabbing story, here's the link.