The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Youth

['Recently I had the privilege of interviewing Mojtaba Hosseini for our HTB services. He is a young pastor who was imprisoned, aged 20, for running house churches in Iran. He was imprisoned alongside murderers and drug dealers. He spent long periods in solitary confinement, not knowing if or when he would be released.\nMojtaba felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to share the good news of Jesus. So when the opportunity arose, he began sharing his testimony and the gospel with the other prisoners, proclaiming, ‘Jesus is alive.’\nHe said, ‘It doesn’t matter what situation I’m in. I can work in God’s kingdom wherever he places me. And at that time God placed me among the prisoners.’\nOf one fellow prisoners that he helped lead to Christ, Mojtaba said:\n‘I heard this message from God: “Mojtaba, whatever you have been through, being away from your family, all the humiliation, all the suffering, all the pain and solitary confinement and everything you will still go through… It’s worth it for this man who came to Christ.”’\nThe message of Jesus is the most powerful message in the world. It is good news. It changes lives. It changes cities and cultures. Yet it is also a message that provokes opposition. God equips you to pass on this message by giving you the Holy Spirit.', None]

Recently I had the privilege of interviewing Mojtaba Hosseini for our HTB services. He is a young pastor who was imprisoned, aged 20, for running house churches in Iran. He was imprisoned alongside murderers and drug dealers. He spent long periods in solitary confinement, not knowing if or when he would be released.

Mojtaba felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to share the good news of Jesus. So when the opportunity arose, he began sharing his testimony and the gospel with the other prisoners, proclaiming, ‘Jesus is alive.’

He said, ‘It doesn’t matter what situation I’m in. I can work in God’s kingdom wherever he places me. And at that time God placed me among the prisoners.’

Of one fellow prisoners that he helped lead to Christ, Mojtaba said:

‘I heard this message from God: “Mojtaba, whatever you have been through, being away from your family, all the humiliation, all the suffering, all the pain and solitary confinement and everything you will still go through… It’s worth it for this man who came to Christ.”’

The message of Jesus is the most powerful message in the world. It is good news. It changes lives. It changes cities and cultures. Yet it is also a message that provokes opposition. God equips you to pass on this message by giving you the Holy Spirit.

['Almost everyone makes plans. We make plans about how to spend our evenings, our weekends or our holidays. Some people plan how many children they are going to have; they make plans for their education. We need to plan our finances and our giving. Individuals have plans. Businesses have plans. Churches should have plans.\nI love these pages in my own Bible in One Year. In June 1992, alongside the verse, ‘Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed’ (Proverbs 16:3), I wrote the plans we had for ’92/’93. God blessed these plans more than we could ever have asked or even imagined. Every year thereafter, I have written down the plans for the year ahead. I find it so encouraging and faith building to look back at how much the Lord has done for us over the years. It is so easy to forget his kindness and faithfulness.', None]

Almost everyone makes plans. We make plans about how to spend our evenings, our weekends or our holidays. Some people plan how many children they are going to have; they make plans for their education. We need to plan our finances and our giving. Individuals have plans. Businesses have plans. Churches should have plans.

I love these pages in my own Bible in One Year. In June 1992, alongside the verse, ‘Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed’ (Proverbs 16:3), I wrote the plans we had for ’92/’93. God blessed these plans more than we could ever have asked or even imagined. Every year thereafter, I have written down the plans for the year ahead. I find it so encouraging and faith building to look back at how much the Lord has done for us over the years. It is so easy to forget his kindness and faithfulness.

['A few years ago, David (not his real name), a young lawyer, was in our small group on Alpha. On the first night, he told us that he was an atheist and had come with a sole purpose of disrupting the small group, which he attempted to do every time he came. Unlike many who come with this attitude, he did not change at all throughout the course.\nAfter the talk on ‘How Can I Resist Evil?’, one young woman, Sarah (not her real name), who was not a Christian, said that she definitely did not believe in the power of evil. This was a major stumbling-block to her becoming a Christian.\nBut later that evening David became extremely angry for no apparent reason and, as if he were taken over by a demonic power, he physically threatened one of the helpers in our group in a terrifying way. Sarah happened to witness the incident. She saw God’s power at work in the gentle, restrained reaction of the helper. Her eyes were opened to the whole spiritual world. She put her faith in Jesus that night.\nJohn Wimber defined ‘power encounters’ as the clashing of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.\nThe apostle Paul writes, ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil’ (Ephesians 6:12). God’s power in you is so much greater than the power of evil.', None]

A few years ago, David (not his real name), a young lawyer, was in our small group on Alpha. On the first night, he told us that he was an atheist and had come with a sole purpose of disrupting the small group, which he attempted to do every time he came. Unlike many who come with this attitude, he did not change at all throughout the course.

After the talk on ‘How Can I Resist Evil?’, one young woman, Sarah (not her real name), who was not a Christian, said that she definitely did not believe in the power of evil. This was a major stumbling-block to her becoming a Christian.

But later that evening David became extremely angry for no apparent reason and, as if he were taken over by a demonic power, he physically threatened one of the helpers in our group in a terrifying way. Sarah happened to witness the incident. She saw God’s power at work in the gentle, restrained reaction of the helper. Her eyes were opened to the whole spiritual world. She put her faith in Jesus that night.

John Wimber defined ‘power encounters’ as the clashing of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.

The apostle Paul writes, ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil’ (Ephesians 6:12). God’s power in you is so much greater than the power of evil.

['After an Alpha Weekend, a soldier called Quincy Bellot wrote to me: ‘This pain started twelve years ago. After joining the Royal Marines, it became extremely bad. The cartilage below the kneecap was completely gone. Last year was the worst when the ligaments and the tendons were torn and the kneecap went in a forty-five-degree angle. It has been a long and painful journey. I could not sit or stand for too long.\n‘Cut a long story short, I decided to try God and try Alpha. I got back from the Alpha Weekend and agreed to come to HTB after much hesitation. I heard people testifying and I was thinking, “yeah, yeah, yeah”. When someone said [a word of knowledge] about the cartilage issue, I took the sharpest breath I ever took. I agreed to be prayed for. I felt God moving in my knee. I dropped on my knees to test it and remarkably no pain. It’s just miraculous. I went for a run last night… it was the first time after a very long time I haven’t had any pain. God is real.’ The email was headed ‘Brand New Knee!!’\nGod is a God of miracles.', None]

After an Alpha Weekend, a soldier called Quincy Bellot wrote to me: ‘This pain started twelve years ago. After joining the Royal Marines, it became extremely bad. The cartilage below the kneecap was completely gone. Last year was the worst when the ligaments and the tendons were torn and the kneecap went in a forty-five-degree angle. It has been a long and painful journey. I could not sit or stand for too long.

‘Cut a long story short, I decided to try God and try Alpha. I got back from the Alpha Weekend and agreed to come to HTB after much hesitation. I heard people testifying and I was thinking, “yeah, yeah, yeah”. When someone said [a word of knowledge] about the cartilage issue, I took the sharpest breath I ever took. I agreed to be prayed for. I felt God moving in my knee. I dropped on my knees to test it and remarkably no pain. It’s just miraculous. I went for a run last night… it was the first time after a very long time I haven’t had any pain. God is real.’ The email was headed ‘Brand New Knee!!’

God is a God of miracles.

['Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie were middle-aged Christian women in Holland when World War II erupted. They resolved to conceal fleeing Jews from the Nazis. They rescued many. But they were eventually arrested and taken to Ravensbrück concentration camp. Betsie died there. Corrie miraculously survived to bear witness to the way in which God can save, heal and forgive.\nWhen asked how to prepare for persecution, she used to tell this story about her childhood:\n‘When I was a little girl, I went to my father and said, “Daddy, I was afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.” “Tell me,” said father, “When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?” “No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train.” “That is right,” my father said, “And so it is with God’s strength. Our Father in heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need just in time.”’', None]

Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie were middle-aged Christian women in Holland when World War II erupted. They resolved to conceal fleeing Jews from the Nazis. They rescued many. But they were eventually arrested and taken to Ravensbrück concentration camp. Betsie died there. Corrie miraculously survived to bear witness to the way in which God can save, heal and forgive.

When asked how to prepare for persecution, she used to tell this story about her childhood:

‘When I was a little girl, I went to my father and said, “Daddy, I was afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.” “Tell me,” said father, “When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?” “No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train.” “That is right,” my father said, “And so it is with God’s strength. Our Father in heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need just in time.”’