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Religion Comes from Looking at: Christian TV within the Heart East – ChristianityToday.com

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Strolling alongside the dusty streets of Cairo, Terence Ascott had an epiphany. Having served in literature ministry within the Heart East and all over the world, the British missionary grew somber as he handed via the native bawab (gatekeeper), his spouse, and 3 youngsters.
“How can such an illiterate circle of relatives ever be uncovered to the Christian religion?” Ascott mused.
Employed to protect a development website online, the Egyptians sat huddled underneath a makeshift tent with handiest probably the most rudimentary of kitchen pieces—and a tv that transfixed them and left Ascott not noted as he lingered.
Remaining 12 months, satellite tv for pc TV ministry SAT-7 celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary. Broadcasting in Arabic, Turkish, and Farsi, the embodiment of Ascott’s epiphany now communicates the gospel throughout 25 countries within the Heart East and North Africa, house to 400 million other people.
Having transitioned SAT-7 to native management however proceeding to function a member of its global council, Ascott became again to literature to replicate on 4 a long time of ministry.
Beneath is an excerpt from Dare to Imagine, a selection of Ascott’s anecdotes of religion from bizarre believers, telling the tale of his adventure—via civil wars, arrests, and deportation—to determine an evangelistic ministry embraced as of late via just about each Christian denomination within the area.
Tertullian, the early North African Christian author, noticed, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” When one considers the handfuls of murdered Christian employees in Algeria over the last a long time, it’s not sudden to understand that it hosts the fastest-growing church within the Arab global as of late.
The Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) used to be formally known via the federal government of Algeria in 1974. Whilst the precise selection of its contributors hasn’t ever been transparent, estimates in 2011 had been within the vary of 60,000 to 120,000.
Virtually all the club used to be now not from a Christian custom, with most of the 50 or so registered church buildings being within the Berber, Kabyle-speaking areas of the rustic. Even though those believers had confronted waves of persecution and church closures, their numbers persevered to develop.
The violence Islamists have dedicated towards Algerian civilians additionally seems to had been a think about turning many to Christ. This used to be graphically illustrated via a drawing a tender Algerian woman despatched to our kids’s program, AsSanabel.
It pictured Jesus at the go, retaining an Algerian flag in every hand. To Christ’s left used to be pictured one thing that no kid will have to be occupied with: a bearded Islamist slicing the throat of this younger artist with a sword. Over this gory a part of the image used to be a large X, rejecting the conduct.
To Christ’s proper used to be a contented kid retaining a go in a single hand and mentioning their freedom. And on the backside of the image she had written, “They’re killing the kids, however Jesus used to be killed for the kids.”
Rita El Mounayer, who used to be via then the manager director for SAT-7’s Arabic channels (and nonetheless the presenter and manufacturer of AsSanabel), and I flew into Oran on July 25, 2011. It used to be a long-postponed shuttle to fortify SAT-7’s ties with the church and native manufacturers there. Safety used to be tight however pleasant. A number of of the immigration team of workers within the airport known Rita from her common methods on SAT-7. This in all probability not on time issues a bit of, as they appeared frightened over the opportunity of us filming of their nation. We confident them we might now not.
Our first impressions of town weren’t that fab. For the second one greatest town in Africa’s geographically largest nation, with some of the global’s largest reserves of herbal gasoline, their funding in public products and services and infrastructure appeared underwhelming. Lots of the streets had been unpaved, suffering from garbage. And shall we to find shops promoting handiest probably the most elementary vary of native produce. Unemployment used to be top. Lots of the condominium constructions appeared poorly maintained and had no elevators or air con, in spite of the stifling summer time warmth.
However all of them had satellite tv for pc dishes!
Our Algerian hosts welcomed us warmly. They obviously had a middle for ministry and for sharing their religion with others in North Africa via SAT-7’s announces, particularly at a time when part a dozen church buildings within the nation had not too long ago been given orders to near. Those brothers and sisters had already been recording easy church products and services and different methods however had been clearly short of each higher and extra apparatus, in addition to some complex coaching in tv manufacturing.
Rita puzzled if the believers on the church products and services being recorded minded that their faces can be proven on tv, particularly given the increasing issues for such church buildings at the moment. Youssef, the ministry chief, defined that once they mentioned this factor in church, as an alternative of other people transferring to the again and clear of the cameras, many moved to the entrance to let their faces be observed extra obviously!
Rita then requested Samia, each a presenter and a manufacturer of a number of displays, “Is it now not bad to turn your face on display screen?”
“Rita, what are you terrified of?” Samia requested.
“It’s not that i am afraid for myself or for SAT-7,” answered Rita, “however to your sake.”
“Afraid for me?” Samia stated. “Persecution is if truth be told a crown that we placed on our heads every and on a daily basis prior to going out into the arena. Don’t take this clear of us!”
Those are the Christians of North Africa.
***
Nowadays we’re seeing within the area a turning clear of faith, because of a number of elements.
First, non secular extremism. Many had been appalled via Muslims killing different Muslims within the title in their commonplace god. The upward thrust of the so-called Islamic State in 2014 handiest served to widen such attitudes.
Others had been became from faith via the hypocrisy and the corruption they have got observed in non secular leaders, particularly in theocracies like Iran.
This unhappiness and lack of agree with in non secular leaders and faith used to be exacerbated via the disgruntlement many of us had on the manner the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings became out. On the time, other people believed that those would result in new freedoms, new employment alternatives, and having the ability to reside with dignity. However all they were given used to be chaos and destruction. And unhappiness ended in a lack of hope, even some of the area’s Christian populations, motivating many extra to make the onerous resolution to to migrate.
However for many Christians and Muslims within the area, emigration hasn’t ever been a prison or sensible choice, one thing that has handiest added to their lack of hope, noticeably pushing up melancholy and suicide charges, particularly some of the younger.
It’s on this context that there hasn’t ever been a extra vital time for Christians to broadcast, on air and on-line, messages of hope in our area. However I don’t imply simply educational, theological messages of hope. I imply an entire gospel, to minister to the entire particular person, authentically touching all spaces of human want: the religious, the emotional, the mental, the socioeconomic, and the learning.
However it’s not simply taking a holistic method. It’s also seeing God’s Holy Spirit at paintings within the lives of our audience, once in a while in an overly particular manner via visions and desires.
The tale of Aziz is standard of such interventions. He’s a tender Iraqi who have been a militant, preventing with a violent Islamic crew in Syria. He telephoned SAT-7 to give an explanation for that he have been hiding in a destroyed church throughout a fight when he had a life-changing imaginative and prescient. He noticed the damaged pews restored and Christians filling the construction, worshiping God.
A person in white, radiating gentle, walked over to him and touched his shoulder. The militant known him as Jesus Christ from the Jesus movie he had watched on SAT-7’s Arabic carrier. And it used to be to a SAT-7 counseling line that Aziz became after he left the ruined church a modified guy.
“The residing Jesus himself got here to me,” he stated. “He referred to as me and I informed him, ‘I wish to practice you.’”
Media continues to offer the Christians of the Heart East and North Africa the alternative to come back out in their church buildings and houses and to be the salt of the earth, a town on a hill, a lamp on a lampstand.
During the last quarter century, the Christians of the area have shared their lives via media with tens of millions who would possibly by no means have spoken with a Christian prior to. They have got shared their sorrows, their joys, and the religion and hope which might be theirs. As folks and a group, they have got proven the unconditional forgiveness of God via their very own public acts of forgiveness, once in a while within the wake of horrible acts of violence towards them.
God is the usage of this witness to convey many to himself and, within the fullness of time, I imagine that the remainder of the worldwide church will likely be stunned, even stand in awe, when all that is occurring as of late, in secret, turns into transparent to everybody.
If there’s something I’ve discovered from my time residing amongst our Christian brothers and sisters within the Heart East and North Africa, it’s that the majority of them please God on a daily basis via their daring religion in him, in bold to imagine. And they have got additionally helped display me that now not bold to imagine—now not being prepared to agree with God in such a space of the arena—is way more bad.
Terence Ascott is founder and president of SAT-7 and writer of Dare to Imagine.
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The Friend Who Sticks Closer than a Brother

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The Friend Who Sticks Closer than a Brother

Embracing True Friendship: The Friend Who Sticks Closer Than a Brother

Friendship is a valuable asset that enriches our lives by providing companionship, support, and a shoulder to cry on. But have you ever had a buddy who goes above and beyond—someone who remains closer than a brother? In a world where relationships can be fickle, a friend who sticks by us through thick and thin is a rare and priceless gift.

More Than Just Blood Ties

Consider the tie between siblings, which is based on blood and shared history. Consider a buddy who is more than just a family member. “One who has untrustworthy friends soon comes to ruin,” says Proverbs 18:24 (NIV), “but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

This verse describes a friendship that goes beyond basic conditions. It’s a bond founded on trust, loyalty, and real concern for one another.

Continuous Support

Consider a buddy who is present not only during happy times but also during difficult times. This type of friend is unconcerned about changing circumstances or personal gain. They provide their presence, encouragement, and steadfast support.

Jesus expresses the core of such friendship in John 15:13 (NIV): “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. This selfless affection serves as the foundation for a lasting connection.

Journeys Together

Consider a friend you’ve shared many stages of life with—the highs, the lows, and everything in between. This shared experience forges a link that extends beyond surface-level exchanges. The value of companionship is brilliantly captured in Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 (NIV): “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”

A friend who sticks closer than a brother is someone who goes beside us through life’s ups and downs, lending a solid hand and an ear to listen.

A Mirror of God’s Love

As a symbol of God’s love for us, consider the buddy who sticks closer than a brother. God Himself offers an unbroken, unchanging, and everlasting companionship. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” says the Bible in Romans 8:38–39.

God’s love is the ultimate paradigm of true friendship—a love that is not conditional but remains faithful regardless of what happens.

Conclusion: Value true friendship.

A friend who sticks closer to you than a sibling is a treasure to be treasured. This type of friendship is founded on love, trust, and mutual care rather than convenience or shared interests. May we seek to be that sort of friend to others in our lives, just as God offers us His unfailing love.

In a world where relationships can be fleeting, let us create friendships that will endure. Let us be the sort of friends who are present in both joy and sadness, who offer unconditional support, and who mirror God’s unfailing love. We are reminded of the beauty of true friendship, which clings closer than a brother, as we welcome and cherish these unique and valuable ties.

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The Just God

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The Just God

The Just God: The Divine Balance of Justice and Mercy

The concept of justice is intertwined with the fabric of human society. We seek justice, responsibility, and reparation for wrongs done. But have you ever pondered a God who is not only just but also perfectly just? The Just God is a lighthouse of truth and righteousness, providing a profound awareness of justice and kindness that transcends human comprehension.

Justice in Pursuit

Consider a world where wrongdoers go unpunished and the disadvantaged have no recourse. The pursuit of justice is a natural human goal that reflects a feeling of rightness and order. And if we as humans value justice, how much more should the Creator of the universe, who is completely just?

According to Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV), “He is the rock; his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. He is a loyal God who does no wrong, who is straight and just. This verse reveals God’s character, which is characterized by unwavering justice.

Justice and Mercy in Balance

Consider yourself in front of a judge who holds you accountable for every action and decision you make. Imagine that same judge showing mercy and giving you a second opportunity despite the evidence against you. The just God is kind as well as just.

This delicate balance is captured in Psalm 103:10–11 (NIV): “He does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor does He repay us according to our iniquities. For his love for people who fear him is as high as the skies are above the earth. God’s justice is balanced by his unending love and kindness.

The Redemption of Justice

Consider a debt that you will never be able to repay—a debt of mistakes and wrongs that weigh heavy on your soul. In His perfect justice, the just God provides a solution. God provides a mechanism for justice to be served and redemption to be offered through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” says Romans 3:23–24 (NIV), “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. This is an example of justice being met via the redemptive act of Christ’s sacrifice.

A Call to Justice

Consider a society in which justice is not simply a notion but a way of life. In our interactions with others, the just God calls us to exemplify justice. Micah 6:8 (NIV) states unequivocally, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. What does the Lord expect of you? Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

Living justly entails treating people with fairness, compassion, and respect, as the character of the just God requires.

Finishing: Adoring the Just God

The Just God asks us to comprehend the breadth of His justice—a justice that supports truth, requires accountability, and strikes a balance between mercy and justice. God’s justice and mercy merge in the person of Jesus Christ, offering us redemption and restoration.

May we turn to the just God as our ultimate standard as we traverse a world that frequently grapples with issues of fairness. May we seek His wisdom and counsel in order to live justly and treat others with love and justice. We find not only a paradigm of perfect justice but also an invitation to experience the transformative power of His kindness when we embrace the Just God.

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The Pleasure of Serving Others: A Pathway to Achievement

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The Joy of Serving Others: A Pathway to Fulfillment

The Pleasure of Serving Others: A Highway to Contentment

Have you ever ever felt the nice and cozy glow that effects from lending a serving to hand to a stranger, the enjoyment that lasts for days after the act of kindness? That emotion offers a way of the pride of serving to others. The straightforward act of serving to can give us a sense of function and pleasure in contrast to the rest in a society that incessantly pushes us to place our consideration on ourselves.

The Want to Serve

Believe a society the place everybody labored to fortify the lives of people of their instant neighborhood. The need to lend a serving to hand, proportion a load, and supply comfort is on the core of carrier. The instance used to be established through Jesus Himself when he stated, “For even the Son of Guy didn’t come to be served, however to serve, and to provide his lifestyles as a ransom for plenty of.” (NIV, Mark 10:45)

Serving others is extra than just a nice deed; it is a way to emulate the compassion and love that Christ proven for us.

Discovering Pleasure in Selfless Giving

Believe spending time with the aged or going to a neighborhood refuge to hear their stories and cause them to really feel essential. Those tiny acts of kindness won’t appear to be a lot, however they be capable to make any person’s day higher, create relationships, and toughen a sense of group.

A better feeling of pleasure emerges after we set aside our personal issues and be aware of the wishes of others. The Bible admonishes us, “Every of you can use no matter present you’ve gotten won to serve others, as trustworthy stewards of God’s grace in its more than a few paperwork.” (NIV) 1 Peter 4:10 We specific the particular talents God has given us through serving others, and it’s in those deeds of carrier that we discover authentic pleasure.

Have an effect on Unmeasurable

Take into consideration the impact if all of us realized to experience serving to others. If we take a bit spoil from our tense schedules to lend a hand a neighbor, supply a sympathetic ear, or donate cash to a reason we reinforce. Small acts of kindness have the facility to unfold, sparking a sequence response of generosity and optimistic exchange.

In step with the NIV translation of Matthew 25:40, Jesus stated, “Actually I inform you, no matter you probably did for this sort of least of those brothers and sisters of mine, you probably did for me.” No longer simplest can we fortify the lives of other folks we serve, however we additionally perform Jesus’ command to like and deal with the ones round us.

Development Relationships and Connections

Believe the sensation of camaraderie that comes from cooperating with others to reach a shared purpose. Folks come in combination via carrier, growing ties and friendships that differently won’t have took place. It serves as a reminder that we’re all part of a broader group, and that group would possibly take pleasure in the acts we do.

Serving others permits us to peer the arena from many angles and to realize the demanding situations and victories of other folks round us. Our lives are enriched and {our relationships} are deepened through this sensitivity.

Conclusion: Discovering Contentment Via Carrier

Every people has a skill that is able to be opened: the pleasure of serving to others. It serves as a reminder that our lives are meant to be about extra than just our personal pursuits; they’re an opportunity to fortify the lives of others.

Let’s thus embody the pride of serving to others, if it is by means of deeds of kindness, volunteering, or simply being conscious about their wishes. The easy act of serving would possibly supply mild and hope in a global that every so often turns out overwhelming. As we emulate Christ and prolong ourselves in love, we no longer simplest exchange the lives of others but additionally revel in a deep feeling of success and enjoyment that overflows into our personal hearts.

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