Christian Holiness Journal | Page 89 | a record of struggle and victory to know the mind of Christ

Christian Literacy Project

January 11, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Though the number of people incarcerated in America has dropped, “the total number of inmates [is] still massive compared with 40 years ago” (1).

1.53 million Americans are behind bars in state and federal prisons, according to a recent report from the Department of Justice (2).

Among those incarcerated, approximately 60% are functionally illiterate. 85% of all juveniles caught up in juvenile court systems are functionally illiterate. 70% of inmates who receive no literacy assistance will return to prison, while only 16% of those who receive literacy help will return to prison (3).

Our Christian Literacy Project provides easy-to-read Bibles to inmates in the U.S., either directly or through chaplains. We also provide easy-to-read Christian literature and Christian-based reading lessons.

You can help. Your $5 donation will provide one New International Reader’s Version Bible to an inmate. $100 donation will purchase a case of 24 NIrV Bibles for inmates.

To Help, go to https://www.gofundme.com/christianliteracy

1. Newsweek.com. http://www.newsweek.com/us-prison-population-sees-small-drop-537650, Jan 3, 2017

2. WPTV.com. http://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/water-cooler/us-saw-lowest-number-of-prisoners-in-decades, Dec 30, 2016

3. Begin To Read.com. http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html

Fear Not; Do God’s Work.

January 11, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I remember reading years ago of George Mueller, an incredible 19th Century man of faith who built five orphanages that housed 10,024 children during his lifetime. He built them on faith.
Once, three hundred of the orphans were dressed and ready for school, but there was no food in the orphanage for them to eat.

“Take the children to the dining room and set them at the tables,” he told the housemother. He then prayed, and thanked God for that which He provided, even before He had provided a bite to eat.

Within minutes a baker had knocked on the door and delivered bread to the children, telling Mueller that God had impressed it upon his heart to give it to the children. Then a milk man knocked on the door. His cart had broken down and the milk would spoil unless he found someone to use it. He gave the milk to the orphans.

Mueller never doubted that God would provide. Through his 92 years, Mueller lived by faith. In addition to five orphanages, he preached in the same church three times a week for most of sixty years. He worked beside D.L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, and Hudson Taylor. He traveled to 42 nations, preaching the Gospel. In the end, he personally preached to over three million people. All the while, he trusted in God to pave the way and provide the means.

He took the promise of God to David and Solomon to heart. “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.”

Do not fear. The same God who called you to do His work, has already provided the means for you to complete that work.

Fear Not 365 – Only Believe (Mark 5:36)

January 10, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

One never knows when tragedy will strike; it usually arrives without warning. 20 years ago, I was at work on a slow, rainy day, staring out the window at a parade of first responder vehicles racing down the highway. Little did I know they were headed toward an auto accident six miles down the road, one in which my wife had been hit head-on.

Jairus had no warning when tragedy struck his house (Mark 5). He was a man of some importance, a ruler in the synagogue, which is more or less like the chief administrator at the church. Life had been good to him. He was prosperous. He had a family. What could go wrong?

For most people, though, something usually does go wrong. Jairus’s daughter fell ill, very ill. He was desperate. This girl was the love of his life, his reason to live, as any daughter is for any good father. She was obviously dying and there was nothing that any doctor could do for her.

Then, Jesus arrived on the shores of his town. He begged Jesus to heal her, and Jesus immediately headed to his house, followed by a throng of people. On the way there, though, Jesus stopped.

“Who touched me?” said Jesus.

Jairus panicked. His daughter was deathly ill. There was no time to waste. He must have thought Jesus crazy, for He was surrounded by hundreds of people, each vying for His attention, yet the Master had asked who touched Him?

In his mind, Jairus screams, “Come, hurry, Jesus. There’s no time for this…” Only the dignity of his position prevents him from grabbing the Master by the arm and dragging him to his daughter’s side.

No sooner does Jesus bless and heal the woman that had touched Him, than Jairus sees his servants rushing into the crowd. They need not speak. He could tell by their expressions that his daughter had passed.

When the servants did speak and confirm his deepest fears, he lost it. Tears welled in his eyes. His lips quivered. His hands shook. His heart sank. Death had called on his home, and taken his daughter. Oh, that he could take her place. If only the woman hadn’t distracted the Master. If only…

The Master, though, had heard the servants and took pity on Jairus. “Do not be afraid. Only believe.”

Jairus heard those words and looked into the eyes of the Master and saw not death, rather he saw eyes full of life, light and love. What he felt as he did so compelled him to believe. For when Jesus spoke, the ruler of the synagogue understood this: no one loved his daughter more than he, except the Master. And, at that very moment, Jairus knew that whatever he found when he arrived home, all would be well because his home was in the hands of the living God.

Oh, that I had understood the lessons of Mark 5 twenty years ago, when the sheriff called my office and asked me to meet him at the scene of my wife’s accident. I would have saved myself a world of grief had I trusted in God like Jairus.

So long as we listen to the words of Jesus, keep our eyes on Him, and invite Him into our home, all will be well. No matter what tragedy strikes, it is but a small bump in an eternal road; God will provide us the strength to endure whatever besets us. “Do not be afraid. Only believe.”