Friday, May 6. 2005
After many examinations in specialised clinics following her
infection with Hepatitis A, Christina Roth from Dresden was
diagnosed as suffering from Hodgkin's Lymphoma (lymph node cancer).
Only 20 years old, the diagnosis was a deep shock. She went through
chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Many Christians prayed for her, but
she was not supernaturally healed; the therapy was effective, and
the tumour disappeared. The next shock came only four weeks later
during a check-up: she had leukaemia, perhaps as a result of the
radiotherapy. On 9th November 1999, she started her
second chemotherapy. Weeks passed in which she was sometimes close
to death. Her doctors later suggested a stem cell transplantation,
which Christina refused, much to their concern, because they
thought she wanted to die. (The stem cell transplantation had a 50%
chance of success, chemotherapy 10-20%.) Christina, though, decided
to trust God, "who is above all chances of success". Whenever she
spoke with her doctors about God, they listened without paying any
real attention. A check-up at the Carl Gustav Carus University
Clinic in November 2004 finally delivered the long-hoped-for
result: "Complete remission of both Hodgkin's Lymphoma and the
secondary Acute Myelitic Leukaemia..." "I can now declare you
healed!" the doctor said, a statement which is very seldom made of
cancer patients.
Source: Christina Roth, Dresden, in Josua Bote (Joshua Courier), Germany. Fax
+49 30 672 1415
Daniel Hari, Pastor and founder of Omegalive.ch, an initiative
for evangelising New Agers, writes about his recent seminar about
"Healing like Jesus" in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of
Switzerland:
"Fifty-one people took part in the course, many of whom found
Jesus and were baptised. One morning, one of the participants had a
strange experience: 'I suddenly sensed the spiritual presence of my
Indonesian guru, and felt dizzy. The feeling only passed when
someone prayed with me and I renounced my connection with him. I
used to revere him, and was impressed by his wonderful ability to
lovingly heal people while in a trance - it seemed so pure and
powerful, and I had never seen anything like it in Christian
churches. Now, my eyes have been opened: I was deceived. He wanted
to sleep with every woman in his seminars, including me. I managed
to keep him at a distance. Now, though, I am completely free, and
have no grudge against him. Jesus Christ freed me from the man, and
I can now bless him."
Source: Daniel Hari, www.omegalive.ch
Kingdom Ministries, a Swiss missions agency, assists in starting
church planting movements, particularly in India. One of the key
elements are local Christians involved in saturation (house) church
planting. Kingdom Ministries regularly receives reports like
this:
"In the name of Jesus, stand up and walk!" G. Singh used the
words Peter spoke to the invalid. 66-year-old Mayadar rode a sort
of trike from house to house, begging, and expected Singh to give
him some coins. Singh, though, prayed with authority, and Mayadar
was healed! He rose from his 'wheelchair' and could walk! He was
baptised, and now leads other beggars to Christ.
Deliverance and church planting
37-year-old Iqbal, a Sikh, came to a Christian meeting. He was
tormented by evil spirits, and had torn 15 suits in 20 days. He was
delivered following intense prayer, and decided to follow Christ
after listening attentively to God's Word. Last year, the church
planter working in the region led 158 people to Christ and baptised
them. There will soon be a church in every village in the
region.
Source: Kingdom Ministries, Switzerland, tel.
(+41) 33 439 3099
People used to skip church to go fishing. Today, they go fishing
to experience church. An increasing number of churches and mission
agencies are specialising in reaching unchurched anglers and
outdoor-enthusiasts below a typical church radar, according to a
Charisma report. Terry Chupp, founder of Team Jesus Ministries
(www.teamjesusministries.org)
believes these groups to be the least-reached in the USA. "If you
only fish in your own bathtub, you'll catch nothing. You have to go
where the fish(ermen) are," he says. There are an estimated 50
million recreational anglers in the USA. Evangelist Al Odom reports
that over 2,500 anglers have come to faith in Christ; "We use
fishing as a lure, pardon the pun, to draw men into an environment
where they can experience the life-changing power of Christ." The
New Testament, he says, has many references to fishing, and 8 of
Jesus' 12 disciples were fishermen. "I think it was no coincidence
that God's plan was to use fishermen to bring his Word to all
people," says Jim Grassi, founder of Let's Go Fishing Ministries
(www.letsgofishing.org).
Source: www.charismanow.com
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