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Markethive

God Creates Beautiful Stories

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A story of a young girl coming to the feet of Jesus.

Written by GodLife on 13/03/2018

Series: Weekly Devotional

Tags: Church And Community, God, Salvation, Testimony

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:10

Relentless pursuit

In Nenet’s heart, the Holy Spirit began to plant seeds of belief before she was even aware of the possibility of His existence. As a young woman, Nenet was actively involved with her Muslim faith, pursuing Allah alongside her family in Cairo, Egypt. 

When her mother introduced more instructions on how to dress and how to read the Koran more rigidly, it put a different face on the faith she had cherished and known and caused her to be curious about other faiths.

Going through the motions of her cultural Muslim faith didn’t give Nenet any increased feeling of closeness to the God she worshipped, so she hungered for something more.

As a result, Nenet turned her energy into researching Muslims who had converted to Christianity. What she found only increased her hunger to know more, and her activity on the Internet eventually brought her to GodLife, where she began a relationship with her Online Missionary, Mike. 

Nenet made it clear to Mike that she still had many inquisitions and reservations about Christianity. Over the next year, they engaged in meaningful conversation in which Mike answered Nenet’s questions about Jesus, Christianity, Islam, and even Judaism. Her thirst was gradually quenched with each sip of living water that he poured out for her.

Even though she had initially desired to read the entire Bible before converting, the Spirit’s tug and her thirst for truth and love became too great, so she chose to spark a new relationship with God and enter into a Christian life after six months of consistent and faithful correspondence. 

A new life

“Deep inside I was believing that Islam couldn’t be from the real god, but I was still afraid, afraid and not brave enough to face myself to admit in a loud, clear and decisive statement that I am not a Muslim anymore and that I refuse the teachings of Islam,” Nenet said. “But I couldn’t wait. I accepted Jesus, before finishing that Bible. My love to him forced me to accept him before finishing the whole Bible.”

Because her family continued to follow Allah, Nenet’s hunger evolved into a yearning for a Christian community. With some help, Mike was able to connect her with a pair of local Christians named Adom and Masika, who walked with her as she lived a life of secret
conversion in the midst of Muslim family and community. 

Rejoice with us that Nenet has found contentment through the blood of Christ! Her story calls us to remember James 4:8, which says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Nenet’s story is a refreshing adventure of a beautiful and valuable life redeemed by Jesus, but also a reminder of the strong power of the Lord’s truth and the enticing tug of the Holy Spirit.

Pray this week:

Lord, I’m sorry I’ve strayed away from your path. I want to draw near to you and please draw near to me. Amen.

Do you want to have a God-centered friendship? 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Which Apostle Are You Most Like?

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This is what Jesus' ministry meant to the people with whom He spent the most time.

Written by GodLife on 12/03/2019
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Mission, Discipleship, Leadership, Evangelism, Witness
…uneducated, common men…” [who] “…had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:13
If you’ve seen paintings of the Apostles, they might have given you a limited idea about Jesus’ followers. The earliest disciples were unique individuals. Very human, they had no halos and were prone to the same kinds of mistakes we make. A fresh look at them might even make you find yourself identifying with a few of them. Let’s take a quick tour of their stories. Which of them sounds most like you as we read more about them?

The earliest followers: Andrew, Philip and Nathanael
Like his mentor John the Baptist, Andrew made it his purpose to get his brother Simon to Jesus (John 1:40-42). Jesus then went looking for Philip, and Philip’s first recorded act was to find his friend, Nathanael, introducing him to Christ (John 1:43-46). Nathanael was initially doubtful—until Jesus revealed that He had known him and been able to see him even before meeting him (John 1:46-51). 

Were you easy to convince, like Andrew? Do you sense God sought you out, like Philip? Or did something have to happen in your life to convince you like Nathanael? Have you been eager to start introducing others to Jesus? Consider what Jesus told the Apostles: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit…” (John 15:16). Jesus had a purpose for picking each one.

The inner circle: Peter, James and John
John was probably the other disciple of John the Baptist mentioned with Andrew in John 1:35-37. We can easily imagine him introducing his brother James to Jesus. Together, they left their fishing business to follow Jesus (Luke 5:10, Mark 10:28). Then, Peter, James and John were invited to witness some of the most amazing miracles of Jesus’ ministry, including raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:35-42) and the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). Have you ever wondered why Peter, James and John got special treatment? Maybe it had something to do with the unique mission for which each had been selected:

James and his brother John were nicknamed “Sons of Thunder” by Jesus. Before knowing Him better, they asked Jesus to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village that wouldn’t receive their message (Luke 9:54). James was the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom. Acts tells us that Herod “…killed James the brother of John with the sword” (Acts 12:2).
Jesus renamed Simon, “Peter” (meaning “a stone”), after getting him to declare to the others Who Jesus was, affirming that God the Father revealed it to him (Matthew 16:13-19). Then, He immediately had to rebuke Peter as Satan had prompted him to tempt Jesus to avoid the cross (Matthew 16:23). Jesus established Peter’s confession as a key starting point for the early disciples. Peter’s sermon at Pentecost launched the Jerusalem Church (Acts 2:14-41). Then, he became first to bring the gospel to the gentiles when Cornelius the Centurion believed his message (Acts 10:34-48). Although he had failed in denying that he knew Jesus, Jesus tenderly restored him and asked him to take care of His sheep (John 21:15-22).
John, the other “Son of Thunder,” had schemed with James and their mother to get Jesus to promise them special positions in His future Kingdom (Matthew 20:20-24). But when he wrote his Gospel, in looking back on His memories of Jesus’ ministry in His Gospel, he was satisfied just being “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 20:2). He said he wrote so that his readers would “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31) He and Jesus’ mother were at the foot of the cross as Jesus died, and He committed the care of Mary to John (John 19:26-27).
What mission might God be preparing you for? How can you know for sure? If you haven’t seen yourself in these first six disciples, be sure to read next week’s article. As we’ll see, following Jesus requires a lot of heart examination and prayer. We may tend to think the pressure the early Apostles felt from the surrounding world was unique to their day and time, but Jesus’ urgings about preparation are as suitable to us in our day as they were to them. Why not begin a study of the Apostles’ lives and mission as a way to re-energize your walk with Jesus?

Pray this week:
God, will you make me a real disciple? Help me sincerely follow You as the Apostles did.

Have you read the Gospel of John? 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member