How North Korean Christians Avoid Becoming Bitter When They Are Imprisoned (These Are The Generations Bonus Material, Part III)

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Pastor Foley

generationsThird in a series of weekly posts by Mr. Bae, the co-author with Pastor Foley of These are the Generations, the story of third generation North Korean Christians. For Part I, click here. In today’s post, Mr. Bae details the first time he ever saw the word of God in print and the indelible impact that had on his post-imprisonment life.

In North Korea, God is the one force more powerful than Kim Il Sung.

My perspective on North Korea was dramatically different the day I stumbled out of prison than the day I was dragged in.

What I came to realize is: Of course North Koreans are not living well. That’s because the land is polluted with idols. Every person wears a Kim Il Sung button. Every mountain extols his virtues. Even the smallest village has a study center dedicated to his life.

North Korea tried to take everything away from me because I turned away from its idols in order to worship the one true God. But all North Korea managed to take away from me was its illusions.

Once I could see clearly I realized that far more important than a house or food or even physical health is the word of God.

What I will remember most from my post-imprisonment time in North Korea is not the house or health I lost but the one tiny, torn, and tattered 15 cm by 20 cm booklet I gained.

My mother went to China and brought the booklet back for me. It was not fancy, but it was crammed with learning material for the new believer.

Now, please understand: When I was growing up my mother had taught us the 10 Commandments and many stories from the Bible, but I had never seen the word of God in written form before.

I had never seen even a single Bible verse written on a single scrap of paper. So to see the word of God written even in this tiny booklet made my heart stop.

To think that you now launch New Testaments into North Korea by balloon is beyond my ability to comprehend.

I was alive because of God’s work, so I was desperate to know more about Him. That is why my mother risked her life and I risked mine so that I could receive this tiny booklet. I knew I had to teach my own children more fully than I had been able to do before I went to prison.

Most prisoners emerge from prison bitter and broken. But because of the word of God I absorbed from that booklet, I became gentle and patient.

(To be continued next week…)

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Video – God’s Hospitality is Seen In Both Egypt And The Promised Land

Posted on April 4, 2014 by tdillmuth

Pastor Tim reminds us that God shows us His hospitality throughout the pages of Scripture–even the tough pages! For example, even though God hosted the Israelites in Egypt, we often fail to realize God’s hospitality in this story.  Ultimately, God extended hospitality to the Israelites by bringing them to Egypt to begin with, and 400 years later by rescuing them from Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land.

For all of the latest podcasts on Doing Good and on past Works of Mercy visit our Seoul USA Podcast Page!

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What Is The Bible’s Number One Church Growth Strategy? Philoxenia

Posted on April 2, 2014 by tdillmuth

WLO_openhome

What makes a first-time church visitor return?  The music? The preaching? Sister Betty’s chicken casserole?

Church growth specialists, pastors, and bloggers often debate the topic, but does the Bible say anything about it?

Admittedly, the Bible doesn’t seem concerned with growing your church congregation from 100 to 500 or from 10,000 to 25,000. But it does talk a lot about the spiritual and practical significance of hospitality to the one who offers it.

Unfortunately, when we think of the word “hospitality,” we reduce it to things like cooking church meals, front-door greeters, and general friendliness. These don’t tend to grow the host.

But philoxenia is the Greek word in the New Testament that’s translated into the English word hospitality. Importantly, it doesn’t have much to do with being friendly to church friends and family. Instead, the New Testament concept of hospitality has to do with the receiving and loving of strangers–those who are very different than you.

One of the ways God demonstrates his hospitality to us is that he hosts humanity on this earth. The Bible says that He hosts both the righteous and the unrighteous. But when we experience God’s hospitality we are often tempted to ask, “Why do the righteous suffer?” Or, “Why do the wicked prosper?” Matthew 5:45 reminds us that the sun shines and the rain falls on both the evil and the good. Why? Because God not only shows hospitality to those that know Him, but also to the stranger and even His enemy.

This concept of hospitality is evident in the relationship between God and the Israelites in the Old Testament. The OT paints a picture of the people of Israel as alienated people who are dependent on God’s hospitality (Ps. 39:12; Heb. 11:13).

The essence of Christian hospitality is to receive the church stranger/visitor in the same way as you were/are received by God. You rain on the just ones and the unjust ones. You show favor to those who exhibit no discernable value to your church enterprise.

Ultimately our goal in hospitality isn’t to grow the numbers of our church, but rather to grow in our own love of strangers so that we love them as God has loved them throughout the Scriptures. Your visitor program will never be effective until it is at least as much about your own spiritual growth as it is the growth of your congregation. Then, as Jesus says in Matthew 5:45, you will be called children of your father in heaven–the father who has the paradigmatic case of philoxenia.

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