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David Scudder
DaveBethel at gmail dot com Sr. Pastor of Bethel Chapel Church
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Generally, when we say someone is a missionary, we mean they have left their homeland to share the good news about Christ in a foreign land. Missionaries are able to do this because individuals and churches give them regular financial support. Roger, a friend of mine, is a good example. He has been in Hong Kong for the past 19 years, and our church helps to support him. He and his wife had all six of their children in Hong Kong. Roger and his family stayed in Hong Kong as British rule ended and the Communist Chinese rule began. He has learned the language, taught the Bible, planted a church, and even helped produce a Chinese study Bible that is being used in the underground church in China today.
You may be wondering what my friend Roger, who is a missionary, has to do with Father’s Day, the holiday we just celebrated. When Roger visited our church two weeks ago, he shared an interesting story about a father in China. It made me think about the fathers here in Juniata.
Several years ago an avowed atheist started coming to Roger’s church. He began coming to Hebron Baptist Church in Hong Kong because his wife had accepted Jesus as her Savior. He was very skeptical about Christianity, and he only came to investigate what was his family was being taught. In fact, when Hong Kong was a British colony and Communism wasn’t accepted, this man was a leader in the Communist Party. As the months went by, Roger wondered what truth from the Bible would open this man’s heart and overcome the darkness and prejudice in his background.
You would never expect a former leader in the Communist Party to attend church, would you? Yet here he was in Hebron Baptist Church every Sunday for six months. Why did he keep coming? He came because he loved his family, and he wanted to know what they were learning.
The miracle happened on Father’s Day. Roger was teaching about the responsibilities that a father has to teach the Bible to his children. For example, the Bible says: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:5,7). When this Chinese father heard that message, he wanted to accept God’s truth for himself. Later, he explained that he wanted to know the truth so he could teach it to his own children.
Today, this man, who used to be a committed Communist, is now a leader in Hebron Baptist Church in Hong Kong. The message about God’s forgiveness through Christ was powerful enough to change this Chinese father's entire life and world view. It was powerful enough to change my life, and it is powerful enough to change the life of anyone who opens his heart to God’s Word.
That is what made me think about the fathers in Juniata. There are fathers here in Juniata who need to be changed, too. Many of them are so overwhelmed by life’s problems that they have little energy left to meet their children's needs. Without the changing power of the Gospel, many children here in Juniata are doomed to repeat the same mistakes that their own fathers have made. I am sure there are fathers here in Juniata who know they should be teaching the truth to their children, but they too are not sure what that truth really is.
If you are a father, would you be willing to come to Bethel Chapel Church for six months just to hear to what the Bible says? Would you be willing to listen with an open heart to see if the Bible has the truth you are looking for? Once you have a confidence that the Bible is God’s truth, then you will have something life changing you can show your own children. Then you will be able to show them something that will guide them away from the hurtful mistakes that you have made.
Hong Kong is not the only place that has missionaries. Juniata has many missionaries, too. I am one. Maybe God wants you to be one too. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). God’s power is still available.
You may be wondering what my friend Roger, who is a missionary, has to do with Father’s Day, the holiday we just celebrated. When Roger visited our church two weeks ago, he shared an interesting story about a father in China. It made me think about the fathers here in Juniata.
Several years ago an avowed atheist started coming to Roger’s church. He began coming to Hebron Baptist Church in Hong Kong because his wife had accepted Jesus as her Savior. He was very skeptical about Christianity, and he only came to investigate what was his family was being taught. In fact, when Hong Kong was a British colony and Communism wasn’t accepted, this man was a leader in the Communist Party. As the months went by, Roger wondered what truth from the Bible would open this man’s heart and overcome the darkness and prejudice in his background.
You would never expect a former leader in the Communist Party to attend church, would you? Yet here he was in Hebron Baptist Church every Sunday for six months. Why did he keep coming? He came because he loved his family, and he wanted to know what they were learning.
The miracle happened on Father’s Day. Roger was teaching about the responsibilities that a father has to teach the Bible to his children. For example, the Bible says: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:5,7). When this Chinese father heard that message, he wanted to accept God’s truth for himself. Later, he explained that he wanted to know the truth so he could teach it to his own children.
Today, this man, who used to be a committed Communist, is now a leader in Hebron Baptist Church in Hong Kong. The message about God’s forgiveness through Christ was powerful enough to change this Chinese father's entire life and world view. It was powerful enough to change my life, and it is powerful enough to change the life of anyone who opens his heart to God’s Word.
That is what made me think about the fathers in Juniata. There are fathers here in Juniata who need to be changed, too. Many of them are so overwhelmed by life’s problems that they have little energy left to meet their children's needs. Without the changing power of the Gospel, many children here in Juniata are doomed to repeat the same mistakes that their own fathers have made. I am sure there are fathers here in Juniata who know they should be teaching the truth to their children, but they too are not sure what that truth really is.
If you are a father, would you be willing to come to Bethel Chapel Church for six months just to hear to what the Bible says? Would you be willing to listen with an open heart to see if the Bible has the truth you are looking for? Once you have a confidence that the Bible is God’s truth, then you will have something life changing you can show your own children. Then you will be able to show them something that will guide them away from the hurtful mistakes that you have made.
Hong Kong is not the only place that has missionaries. Juniata has many missionaries, too. I am one. Maybe God wants you to be one too. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). God’s power is still available.
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