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December 3
It Must Be True
After sharing a simple Chinese meal, the Christian and his non-believing friend turned to some serious conversation. As the believer began to share the message of salvation, he realized that his friend had never before seen a Bible or even heard of Jesus. But as the truths of the gospel were shared, the nonbeliever affirmed his understanding and acceptance at every point. When they got to the resurrection, however, there was room for pause. It just seemed too incredible to be true. So the Christian asked the nonbeliever to read aloud the account from the Bible. That sealed it. After stating "If the Good Book says it, it must be true," he accepted Christ into his heart.
Leaving As A Follower of the King
Ten friends were gathered in a living room, praying and worshipping together, when the doorbell rang. In walked a young lady who was known to be a Communist party member. The group was not surprised to see her. This was her fifth visit to their gatherings. They continued their worship. Knowing he was under scrutiny, the host nevertheless shared a gospel message. Then the lady received the Lord! She had come as an instrument of the atheist government, but left a follower of the King.
November 13
The Heart of the Story
The university student had attended the English gathering to meet some new friends and practice his English. But he soon found himself in a small group reading through the gospel account of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding feast. Since the student had never before heard of Jesus, he assumed that the story was fictional. But as he heard others in his group talk about the Savior, it suddenly dawned on him that the story was true. His eyes grew round and his jaw dropped before he blurted out, "Do you mean that he actually turned the water into wine?" As others in his group nodded, he exclaimed, "Oh my God!" He had, of course, cut right to the heart of the story.
Disappointment Turns to Joy
The Christian worker was feeling pretty sorry for himself. He had traveled quite a distance to visit an elderly Chinese man in order to share the gospel, and when he arrived, the man was not at home. As he poured out his disappointment and frustration to the Lord in prayer, he received peace in his heart. Walking through forested mountains on his way home, he suddenly spied the man whom he had come to visit sitting in the middle of a pasture surrounded by three of his lifelong friends. The old men quickly made a place for the visitor and before the visit had ended, he had shared the gospel with all four of them!
October 22
Making the Most of Every Opportunity
Seated next to a Chinese stranger on an airplane, the young American decided to share Christ. He pulled out some postcards from recent travels to jump-start the conversation. Soon he and his seatmate were talking about important matters. The American told the Chinese man that he believes in God and the Chinese man responded that he believes only in money. "But what happens when the money is gone?" asked the American. Then he asked the Chinese man if he would like to hear his story. When the Chinese man consented, the American told about his life before Christ, how he accepted Christ, and about his life as a Christian. When he asked the new Chinese friend if he too would like to believe, the man said yes. Before the plane landed, he prayed to receive Christ into his heart. The two set a time to meet again and parted as brothers in Christ.
The Message
A Chinese man who viewed the Jesus film simply could not get the message
out of his mind. Over and over, he retold the story of salvation to his father. Finally his father challenged him, "You already told me this and I now I have accepted Christ. Why are you waiting?" The son, who had inadvertently evangelized his father, decided to accept Christ as well.
October 11
The Power of Prayer
Members of a nomadic Mongolian family had been believers for a short time
when they prayed for their neighbors who had lost six racing horses to
thieves. Having prayed for the return of one of their own horses in the
past, they knew that God does not always answer according to one's desires.
But even though their stolen horse was never returned, they still believed
in the power of prayer. This time they asked that God would help them catch
the thieves. That very night the thieves were rounded up and the race horses
returned. When the owner of the horses visited the Christian family to discuss
the amazing capture, the believers were able to tell him how they had
prayed. The race horse owner was so moved that he asked if someone could
come and teach the Bible in his ger. Soon everyone living in that ger accepted
Christ, and a new church was started.
Putting God First
A beauty shop owner was so committed to Christ that she decided
to close her shop during the busiest time of day to help lead her house
church meeting. Her nonbelieving husband wasn't happy about the decision
and kept the shop open anyway. He didn't know, however, that his wife was
praying with her Christian brothers and sisters that God would show Himself
strong. Sure enough, there were very few beauty shop customers during the
regular rush hour that day, but they were lined up after the house church
meeting was finished. It was a powerful reminder of God's presence and
provision for His people.
September 25
Finding True Meaning
A professional in his late 20's had tried Buddhism, Confucianism,
Daoism, and Qigong, but nothing seemed to give his life meaning. Two years
ago, he was visiting in a tea house when he saw a man smile. He
asked the man what made him happy, and the man told him about Jesus. He
trusted in the Savior and was immediately welcomed into a house church.
The new believer was amazed to be fully included in the small group worship.
He was also involved as they set aggressive goals to reach many thousands
for Christ. That is now happening, and he is a part of a church planting
movement that is underway in a large China city.
Once Lost, Now Found
Eager for his American visitors to experience Mongolian
culture, the Christian worker was determined to take them to the ger* where
some of his nomadic Mongolian friends lived. But he couldn't find it. A
stop at another ger to ask for directions turned into a lengthy visit as
the hospitable family invited the visitors to ride their horses and camels,
and then served them tea. One of the American visitors took photos of the
visit and when she mailed them to the Christian worker, he made a point
of delivering them. The relationship developed into repeated visits that
resulted in the entire family accepting Christ. A church was born in their
ger.
September 11
This is Truth
Some visiting ladies prayer-walked with a worker on a lengthy journey. At one point on the journey, they met a little girl named Janice*, who invited them home with her to her village. Janice listened excitedly as the worker told her the story from creation to Jesus. Since her mother only spoke their minority language, Janice would translate from time to time. From the very beginning her mother seemed to be agreeing with what the worker said. She said to her daughter, "Janice, this is truth! We have the same story, that God created man from the dust, and woman from a man's bone. Listen to the rest of her story, for it is true!" So, Janice did. And by midnight, she was a new believer.
August 28
A Day of Rejoicing
When members of a house church in northwest China invited their
friends and families to an all-day countryside outing, about 40 people
participated. Half of them were nonbelievers. Removed from the distractions
of the city, the believers led 17 of them to Christ. Among the new believers
were the daily-hire bus driver and his daughter. Aware that he had received
a wonderful gift, the driver refused to accept payment for the day.
Clear Calling
A well intentioned American visitor offered to pay the way for a committed Chinese
ethnic-minority evangelist to travel to the United States and tell the churches
how God is working among his people. Some might jump at the chance to visit the
country widely considered to be the land of opportunity, but it was not so for
this young man. Clear about his land of opportunity, he looked the American in
the eye and replied, “My work is here among these people.”
August 14
Because of a Dream
“I don’t know anything about
Jesus, but He was in one of my dreams,” said the Chinese
university student. Asked by a Christian friend how he knew it
was Jesus, the young man replied, “He said He was Jesus.” One
month later, the young man accepted Christ. Now he leads a house
church on his campus.
A Change of
Heart
Jackie* had clearly been under conviction
for some time, but still hadn’t accepted Christ. As a child,
he had been involved in Buddhist rituals, and he still wore a
bracelet given to him by his Buddhist master. So burdened were
Jackie’s Christian friends that they cried out to God,
asking in faith that He would save Jackie within one week’s
time. Jackie disappeared for a few days, and when he returned,
he told his friends that he had just made a trip to his hometown
to return the bracelet to the Buddhist master. Seated before
his childhood mentor, he had said, “I’m sorry. I
can’t accept this religion anymore. Buddha is not my God
. . . is not the real God. Jesus is the real God.” Back
at the university, he made a profession of faith in Christ.
July 31
Devotion
Having spent years trying to reach a resistant
ethnic minority Muslim group for Christ, the Christian worker
was pleasantly surprised to open his front door and see three
Muslim men standing before him. Unable to recognize any of them,
he asked why they had come. The Muslims explained that they were
trying to raise funds to build a new mosque. Over cups of tea,
the host told them that he was a follower of Jesus, and that
although he could not give them any money, he would pray for
them. To their surprise, he then proceeded to do so. After securing
contact information for further follow-up, he passed an Arabic-language
Bible wrapped in a white cloth to the men. As he bade them farewell,
he prayed silently that one day they would be even more devoted
to Christ's body than to their local mosque.
Heavenly Rewards
Because Chinese was his second language, the
ethnic-minority student often struggled in his university studies.
He was ridiculed by both his classmates and his professors. At
the completion of his studies, he was asked to pay a bribe in
order to receive his diploma. Compelled by his convictions to
refuse, he was nevertheless heartbroken over the consequences
of his decision. He soon reconnected with a Christian friend
who had tried earlier to tell him about Jesus. This time he was
ready to listen. He accepted God’s gift of salvation and
began learning how to lead others to faith in Christ. He realized
that although he had been cruelly denied a rightfully earned
earthly reward, God had bestowed on Him a heavenly reward beyond
all measure.
July 17
Clean to the Core
A recently retired head of a provincial bureau was suffering from a terminal illness. Once powerful and greatly feared, he was not considered by many to be a good man. No one, not even his family, visited him in the hospital. However, an uneducated Christian woman worked as a janitor at the hospital. She shared the gospel with him as she was cleaning his room and he accepted Jesus into his life. The man has since passed away, but the humble janitor still works at the hospital, cleaning rooms and telling people about Jesus.
"I Want to Believe!"
The Tibetan man who worked as a driver for some Christian workers from overseas had heard the Jesus stories before and he had asked a lot of questions. But even though his wife had accepted Christ, he had not yet decided to follow Jesus. This time it was different. As he listened to an American woman explain the gospel once again, he suddenly plunked down the Tibetan prayer beads that he had been fingering and exclaimed, "I am finished with this! I want to believe in the True God!" His daughter soon followed him in accepting salvation. Now the entire family believes.
July 3
An Answer to Prayer
Two men living in the same China city had each been praying for an evangelism partner. One of the men was a Chinese physician and the other was a full-time Christian worker from the U.S. One night they both attended an informal English gathering. The American was talking to the group about Christ when he looked down at his watch and realized that he had to move on to another appointment. "I'm sorry," he told the group. "I've got to go." The Chinese doctor, who had been standing in the background, suddenly asserted himself. "I'm a believer too," he told the group, "and I would be more than happy to answer your questions." The two men eyed each other across the room, both of them suddenly aware that God had answered their prayer.
I Can't, But God Can
The ethnic-minority lady had been a believer for about five years. She had received quite a bit of evangelistic training, and had accepted more and more responsibility among the local believers. But she felt overwhelmed. She sought out her trainer and confided that she simply could not continue to try to reach people for Christ and then train them to reach others. It was just too much for her. They talked and prayed about what she should do. Two weeks later she returned to the trainer with new resolve. "I can't do this," she said, "but God can do it through me. And I want to be a part of reaching my people for Christ." Shortly after that, she led a countryside training session of participants who walked for three hours or more to attend. But she knew that the training didn't depend on her. God was doing it through her.
June 19
A Time For Reflection
Lying in a hammock staring into the night sky, the contented American lady was thinking that the next day would be Easter. As she ate a brand name Easter candy and sipped a tasty cup of flavored coffee, she rejoiced at God's provision for her family. She and her husband had recently returned to the U.S. after three years in China, and were living in a nicely furnished home provided through the generosity of a church. But with Easter quickly approaching, faces of Chinese friends flooded her memory. She remembered how she and her husband had shared the Easter story with lost Chinese people in recent years and had seen many of them come to know the Risen Lord. Now in her comfortable American trappings, she reflected on how those Chinese believers would meet on Easter in small, secret groups halfway around the world to praise the One who had set them free. Even as she enjoyed her present surroundings, she knew that nothing could surpass the riches that God had allowed her to experience in China.
Worth It!
The American lady lives near the Gobi Desert in northern China. Pollution in her city is terrible. Not only is there a constant deposit of dust from the nearby sandhills, but most of the city residents burn coal to heat their homes and businesses in the winter. No matter how often she mops her tile floors, there always seems to be a layer of soot. So when this one, who treasures cleanliness, has to take a brush to the soles of her feet to scrub off the dirt, she calls the English names of some of the 38 Chinese people that she has led to faith in Christ in the past year and a half. “Gary is worth it,” she says. “Mimi is worth it,” she resolves. “Bill is worth it,” she reminds herself. Before the dirt washes down the drain, she is renewed.
June 5
The Message of Love
An overseas volunteer team and some Christian workers living in China recently joined together to minister in a school for impoverished children. Although the volunteers could not speak the language, they told the children over and over with their smiles, their hugs, their actions, and the few Chinese words that they had learned that Jesus loved them. The message of love carried so clearly that one afternoon, one of the little students followed the group to the bus stop and handed a red envelope to one of the teachers. "Can you give this to Jesus?" she asked. They were quite surprised, and when they discovered that the envelope contained a tiny necklace -- perhaps the only thing of beauty that the child owned -- they were overwhelmed. A Chinese-speaking Christian teacher arranged to talk with the young student the next day. The little girl listened to a clear presentation of God's plan of salvation and decided to give Him something even more precious than her necklace in a red envelope. She gave Him her heart.
The Ride of a Life
Their taxi driver was a man in his mid-50s who said he had driven vehicles for many years. As his passengers, a Christian couple, began to converse with him, he admitted that his life didn't have much purpose. But he expressed interest in the peace that his female passenger said could be found in Christ. As she continued to share and her husband prayed silently, the driver interrupted her to ask if he could have the peace. It was a plea of urgency. He wanted to accept Jesus right then and there. The lady asked a few questions to assure that he was sincere, and the driver reiterated that he wanted to know Christ. She prayed with him as he confessed his sin and asked Christ to come into his heart. Arriving at their destination, the couple rejoiced that their driver had chosen the road to salvation.
May 22
Relational Introduction
The young Chinese man heard from an overseas friend about the gospel of salvation and wanted to accept Christ. But first he had a few questions. Since this was the first time he had ever heard of Jesus, he asked the bearer of the good news, "Who told you about Jesus?" His curiosity satisfied on that point, he continued, "Well who told them?" Then, "Well how did they find out?" The questions resulted in new understandings for the one who had shared. "Relational introductions must have gone all the way back to Jesus' time and must be the same for anyone who now believes. We all owe our thanks to somebody before us," he reflected. How will they hear unless someone tells them?
A Perfect Fit
The young Chinese lady had grown up in a Buddhist home. But as a college student she heard about Jesus and believed in Him with all her heart. She grew quickly in her spiritual walk, and soon she set out with others on a mission trip to another location. But because she was so overt in witnessing, it was determined that she was putting other Christian workers at risk, and she was asked to leave the group. Riding the train back to her campus, she observed a stranger walking up and down the aisles telling people about Jesus. She quickly introduced herself to the lady as a sister in Christ. For ten days they traveled from one destination to another, sharing Christ with everyone possible on one train after another. When her original teammates heard of the experience, they smiled inwardly as they realized that God had provided the perfect opportunity for her overt witness.
May 8
Not Five But Fifty
The cold winter day was a low point for the young American father serving in China. It was the day that his cousin was to be buried a half a world away. Still he was faithful to the task to which he had committed, but his expectations were not really very high when he met the Chinese people whom he had been training. He asked a 60ish-year old Chinese man if he had seen spiritual fruit since the last training. When the man held up five fingers, the trainer expressed delight over five salvation decisions. Knowing that he had been misunderstood, the Chinese man made it clear that each finger represented not one, but ten decisions. He had led 50 people to the Lord! On that day of loss and sadness, the American worker was reminded of God's victorious plans and purposes.
"Don't Worry. They'll Find You"
The young couple hadn't been in their city very long and were still wondering how they might best get connected with Christians there. They had been told by others, "Don't worry. They'll find you," but hadn't yet found it to be so. One night they traveled by taxi to a local hotel to meet some friends. When they disembarked from the taxi with their infant, they were handed a slip of paper on which was written the taxi license number. The paper proved to be important when they realized they had left their baby stroller in the trunk of the tax, but to their surprise, it would prove to be even more significant. In the process of retrieving the stroller, they struck up a friendship with the non-Christian taxi driver and shared phone numbers. When they met him for supper, he brought his wife, who turned out to be a Christian. A few days later the wife visited the apartment of the young couple, accompanied by a Chinese pastor responsible for the leadership of numerous house churches. They had come to welcome them to the task of reaching the city for Christ.
April 17
Nine New House Church Members
The Jesus film was shown to the members of an ethnic minority house church and they were encouraged to show it to their friends and neighbors. As a result, nine people came to faith: three siblings and their spouses, their mother of the siblings, her neighbor friend, and another relative. In the fall, just before the weather turned bitterly cold, they held a baptism service at their family watering trough located in their household courtyard. Although eight of the nine were planning to be baptized, the mother had said that she wouldn't. But as she saw the others excitedly enter the baptismal waters one by one and emerge with joy on their faces, her heart was moved. All of the sudden she started tearing off her layers of clothing and shouting, "I'm next. I'm next." She too was baptized that day. Since then she has shared Christ with her friends and neighbors and several of them have invited Jesus into their hearts.
Mongolian Grandmother Accepts Christ
More than seeing the sights and experiencing the culture, the senior American lady longed to tell someone in Mongolia about Jesus. God answered her prayer. While visiting in the countryside, she sat in a ger* and told a Mongolia grandmother about how God had miraculously healed her of cancer. The story so amazed the Mongolian lady that she told her friends about a God who could heal people of serious diseases. Several days later, her heart was ripe to listen to her new American friend explain God's plan of salvation. Having heard the truth of the gospel, the Mongolian grandmother prayed to accept Christ into her heart.
March 13
No More Fear
The Chinese surgeon used to be filled with fear when he went into surgery. He and his physician colleagues knew that if they made a mistake, they could be sued – or worse. Even as a nonbeliever, he used to pray before surgery with other non-Christian surgeons, “God, if you are real, please help us.” Since that time he has come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. There is no fear anymore. It has been replaced with peace and assurance.
Overcoming Obstacles
It might not make sense to others, but one Christian worker is planning to make a very long journey to disciple just one young believer at a university in a remote area of China. The new Christian is a member of the ethnic minority group that his family is trying to reach for Christ. Unfortunately her Chinese is too poor to read the Bible and her English is too poor to communicate very much with other believers on her campus. Having been alerted to the situation, the worker who can speak the heart language of the young believer knows that this young student might be the key to many others of her ethnic group coming to Christ. God has affirmed his thinking as he has already heard of three other students on that same campus who are seeking truth. The weather is bitterly cold and the timing has caused some challenges for his family. But just as the men of old traveled from afar to seek the truth, he is one of many men of today who travel afar to share the truth.
February 27
The Impact of a Movie
“You wouldn’t think you could lead a monk to the Lord,” the enthusiastic Christian worker said. “But they are coming to the Lord. We saw several decisions this past year. It’s exciting.” One of the former Buddhist monks who now knows Jesus was introduced to salvation through the Jesus film. When the movie became available in his ethnic-minority language, the monk was so impacted by its message that he gave copies to various family members. Six months after hearing the gospel for the first time, he turned from his allegiance to false teachings to accept Jesus Christ into his heart.
Why Not You?
The 80-ish year old man was sitting in a Sunday night worship service in his home church when a comment made by their pastor of senior adults hit him like a bolt of lightning. It was something to the effect of, “You seniors don’t have anything better to do. Why don’t you go to the mission field?” Why not indeed? Now he and his wife are serving in a China mega city where they frequently have opportunity to lead others to Christ, gather them into groups, and disciple them.
February 13
Just Give Me Jesus
Earlier in the week Whitney* had scheduled a dinner with a Chinese friend. But by the time that the appointment rolled around, she was exhausted from a long week and was less than enthusiastic about the meeting. Knowing she might not have another opportunity, Whitney mustered her energy and headed for dinner. Her friend brought along a colleague who immediately asked about the meaning of Christmas. After Whitney explained to her that Jesus was the real reason behind the holiday, the conversation quickly moved on to other things. An hour later as Whitney tried to politely excuse herself from what seemed like a fruitless conversation, she was surprised to hear one of the women exclaim, "But wait! You haven't told me about Jesus yet." Whitney promptly sat down and told her how to accept Jesus.
On Fire for Jesus
At a commissioning service for her trip to China last Christmas, Julie* was moved to tears by the support of her family, pastors, and church friends. The candlelight service was deeply meaningful to the university student. Following the closing prayer, she reached out to hug her teammate and her long hair brushed the flame of her friend's candle. There was quite a commotion as those standing nearby quickly extinguished the flames in her hair. Then she heard someone say, "Talk about being on fire for God!" Relieved that tragedy had been averted, everyone burst into laughter. They knew that it truly was the fire in her heart that would take her to China to tell others about His love at Christmas time.
January 7
Carrying Jesus in Her Heart
They were preparing for a dramatic presentation of the Christmas story on a university campus in China last year when the student who was playing the role of Jesus' mother Mary sought out the director. She had been so moved by the story of Jesus' birth that she wanted to know more. So on the night before the presentation, the director shared the rest of the gospel story with the young lady. When the drama was enacted the next night, the young lady who played the part of Mary carrying Jesus in her womb truly did carry Him in her heart.
Finding the Answers
The volunteer student team visited a very remote town in western China at Christmastime to share Christ. Through English classes, music, and drama, they told more than 200 students about the true meaning of Christmas. Star* accepted Christ as a result of their witness and has since led several of her classmates to the Lord. Those who know her well believe that she will be greatly used in reaching her ethnic-minority group for Christ. Reflecting on her salvation, Star said, "I had searched for this since I was seven years old. No one could tell me, but I knew there was something that I was missing. Not until those students came at Christmas and told me who Jesus was did I find what I was looking for. I am so thankful that they came."
*name changed
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