by donfinto | Dec 18, 2019 | The Good Report
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” -Revelation 14:13
Most of you will have heard of the death of Reinhard Bonnke, the German evangelist who spoke before millions during his life-time call to the continent of Africa. I am choosing to call his death a “good report,” since all of us who are followers of Jesus believe that life is grander after death – that death, for the believer, is a promotion, not a defeat. “To die is gain,” Paul told the community in Philippi, “I desire to depart to be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:21-23).
Some of us will remember with joy when Reinhard and Anni came to Belmont in the 90s. I especially remember two things about his visit.
- His recall of the time when God was calling him to Africa. He responded by asking God why he would choose him for this weighty assignment. The Lord’s response to Reinhard was that he was actually not God’s first choice. He was choice number three, but the other two had declined, then asked Reinhard, “Will you do it?” Thankfully he responded positively and became a surrendered instrument in the Lord’s hand.
- The other memory was when a few of us were having breakfast the next morning with Reinhard and Anni. Anni assured us that we were seeing the real Reinhard Bonnke. “This is who he is day and night. This is his vocation, his avocation, his hobby, his joy – talking about Jesus and preaching the gospel to the unsaved.”
And that he did. On one occasion he spoke to over 1 ½ million people all gathered together in one place in Nigeria.
Two other brothers and I traveled in 1991 to Kano, Nigeria, to join in one of Reinhard’s campaigns, but unfortunately we were not able to complete our assignment because of the radical Muslim uprising at the parade ground where the campaign was to have been held. We were, in fact, under heavy police protection during the few hours in Kano, before we were taken to the airport, and the airport closed, until all of us who were a part of his entourage were out of the country. We never felt unsafe, even though, from the reports, about 200 people who were setting up the arrangements at the parade grounds were killed in the uprising. The people back home were in serious prayer for us because they heard of the opposition that came against us.
So – I am rejoicing with Anni and the family that this esteemed husband, father, grandfather and friend-man of God is at home with Jesus.
May we all look forward to the time when we, too, will be gathered together with the Lord and with the believers who have gone before us.
by donfinto | Dec 4, 2019 | The Good Report
Hassan (not his real name) lives in Cairo, Egypt. He is an
ardent disciple of Jesus, and has studied Islam completely so that he will be
more capable in talking about Jesus to his Muslim friends. He knows that this
can be dangerous, and that he has to be careful how he approaches people, but
his passion is great to see more people come into an understanding of who Jesus
really is.
Though Hassan knew that he had a dangerous lifestyle, he still was not prepared for the encounter he had early one morning long before daylight when a masked man stood over him, the point of a revolver at his head, and demanding that he get up and come with him. As the masked man escorted Hassan through the streets of Cairo, Hassan assumed he was soon to be executed for his faith. “Lord Jesus, unto your hands I commit my spirit,” he prayed out loud as his captor continued to their destination. Together they entered into an abandoned building where a group of ten men were waiting. As the men saw Hassan enter their room, they all looked at him and began smiling. “We are all imams,” they said, “and we began having dreams about Jesus. We are now followers of Christ, and knew that this was the only way to get you here without endangering your life. We want you to teach us the Bible.”
After several minutes of laughing uproariously, Hassan
gladly began to oblige his captor and his fellow imams who had already come to
faith in Jesus.
This story and many others like it are contained in a book
by Tom Doyle called Dreams and Visions.
Get it, read it, and be encouraged.
The Lord is bringing millions of Muslims and other people
groups to faith in Jesus.
Join me in prayer – not only for a continuation of these
dreams and visions, but also for all of us that we are ready at any time to tell
people about this Jewish Redeemer/Messiah who is also the Savior of the world.
Have a blessed in the presence of Jesus week!
by donfinto | Oct 2, 2019 | The Good Report
1 Peter 5:8
According to 1 John 2:15, there are three basic temptations
in life: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
These were the temptations to which Adam and Eve fell in the
Garden. The fruit was “pleasant to the eye” (lust of eyes), would taste good
(lust of the flesh), and was supposed to make them “like God” (pride of life).
Jesus Himself conquered all these when He was tempted by the devil after those
40 days of fasting and prayer in the Judean wilderness. “Turn these stones into
bread in order to still your hunger” (lust of the flesh), “Jump from the Temple
to you’re your power since Scripture says that the angels will catch you”
(pride of life). “I will give you all the kingdoms of the world if you will
fall down and worship me. You won’t have to go to the cross (lust of the
eyes).
I have found both through personal experience and through
observing others, that we are most susceptible to these temptations when 1) we
are very tired, 2) when we are “very high,” 3) very stressed and self-medicate,
and 4) when we are in a strange environment.
When we are very tired, we may let down our guard and defenses,
and begin to think, even subconsciously, that we deserve a break. That “break” can
lead us to indulge ourselves in things we would not do if we were alert.
When we are “very high,” not necessarily on some substance,
but just high on life, things are going well for us, maybe we’ve received a
promotion, or received some honor, or maybe we’re even “high” in the Lord,
feeling so close to Him that we feel almost invincible and are not expecting
temptation to be lurking.
When we are very stressed, we do not go to the source of our
comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3) but self-medicate to avoid the Lord’s presence. Even
as we are stressed, are we standing on God’s Word?
When we are in a strange environment, we do not have around
us the people who often help to keep us focused.
In those moments, we can be the most susceptible to areas of
failure, expressing itself in some form of lust, self-focus, self-elevation,
maybe an outburst of anger, perhaps an offense because we are not appreciative,
or some other unexpected enticement.
In such cases, Peter’s word is the word for the moment: “Be
alert!”
Yes, Lord, may we accept this God-given-Peter-phrased advice,
always relying on Your help so that, even in those times, we walk forward in
strength.
