APRIL 1999 SEAM NEWSLETTER - scanned in, please excuse any errors...
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN MISSIONS, INC.
APRIL 1999
SEAM OFFICE:
phone 1-808-965-9984
fax 1-808-965-7339
toll free 1-800-797-SEAM
ALL GIFTS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.
PLEASE MAKE ALL CHECKS PAYABLE TO "SOUTHEAST ASIAN MISSIONS".
Dear friends, we have just celebrated Easter, the time of year when we commemorate our Lord's crucifixion and resurrection on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. At this time, as at no other time of the year, we are reminded of 'the GREATEST SACRIFICE and the GREATEST TRIUMPH the world has ever known!
Our Lord gave HIMSELF. The suffering He went through is something we can never experience. Think about His words as he suffered the extreme pain and ridicule of the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) Think of HOW MUCH LOVE HE HAD FOR US! -- TO BE WILLING TO DO THIS: to obey His Father and thereby to OPEN THE DOOR OF SALVATION to all who would accept Him and believe in Him as Savior.
Would any of us be willing to be mocked, tortured, & die for such sinners as are on this earth? He did it in obedience to His Father; He did it for us; He did it for the JOY set before Him!
"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:2
What does the Lord ask of us? Again and again He confronted His disciples with the challenge of the Christian life:
"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it. and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.
"For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Matthew 16:24-26
In Matthew 16:24-26 we can see three things that are required of us if we are to live a victorious Christian life:
FIRST, we must deny ourselves. Usually, we think of self-denial as giving up something -- for example, we might choose to deny ourselves a few luxuries for a week in order to contribute to some good cause. But this is not the self-denial that Jesus was talking about. Jesus asks much more than this. He wants us, in every moment of every day, to say "no" to self and "yes" to God.
SECOND, we must take up our cross. A true Christian life is a life of sacrificial service. We may have to sacrifice time, leisure, and pleasures in order to serve God: and usually our reward here on earth is small, and our prestige is non-existent.
In the Gospel of Luke, we read that we are to take up our cross DAILY. (Luke 9:23) Again, Jesus is asking us to take up our cross every moment of every day.
THIRD, we must follow Jesus. In everything we do -- in every thought, word, and deed, we must follow Jesus Christ. We must walk in the footsteps of Jesus, wherever they may lead us:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.11
Romans 4
This is what Southeast Asian Missions is all about: taking the Gospel to those who have not heard of Jesus even once. Using the nationals (natives) of each country to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to their own people.
REMEMBER It is the policy of SEAM to use 100% of your gifts as designated. For example, if you send $15 to support a child for a month, the entire $15 goes to that child. If you give $50 a month to support a worker and his family, the entire $50 goes to that worker and his family. We have very little overhead and our overhead is paid for by donations designated for office expenses. Each year an independent CPA firm goes over our books, although it is not required by law.
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Dear friends, almost every week at our SEAM international office we receive letters from overseas telling of some form of adversity, hardship, or persecution that our Christian workers are experiencing. As we draw nearer to the time of Christ's return, we should expect to hear more and more stories of Christians being persecuted for Christ's sake. The Bible says that this is what we can expect:
"And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.,,
Matthew 10:12
Several years ago, I heard a statement from someone who was going through great difficulties. It impressed me so much that I stopped to write it down:
ADVERSITY IS GOD IS OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE
HIS POWER IN OUR LIVES.
How true this is! Many times God allows us to go through difficult situations just so that He can show us what a mighty God He is!! In James chapter 1, we are told to "count it all joy" when we have trials, because the trying of our faith develops patience. (James 1:2-3) And in 1st Peter we are told that "after you have suffered a while" the Lord will make you perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (I Peter 5:10)
PRAY FOR INDONESIA:
If you have been reading the newspapers, you probably have read about the persecution of Christians in Indonesia. It is estimated that 90% of the people in this country are Muslim, while only about five per cent are Christian. For many years, Christians have been persecuted in this country, where it is against the law in most places to preach Christianity.
Just a few days ago the newspapers carried a story about a terrible massacre that took place at a Christian church complex in East Timor, Indonesia. According to the newspaper, the "pro-Indonesia" militiamen "invaded the church complex in East Timor, shooting and cutting down villagers". These Christian villagers were accused of being "pro-independence", but was this just an excuse for killing Christians? The newspaper called it a "scene of slaughter" where "at least 25 people died and dozens were wounded".
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Southeast Asian Missions supports many dedicated Christian workers in Indonesia. Please pray for their safety; and please pray that there will be a great harvest of souls in Indonesia: that many thousands will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
PRAY FOR INDIA:
Attacks against the Christians in India are still escalating. In a newsletter that we recently received from India, we read that "certain people in high office have made inflammatory speeches that have served to mobilize Hindu zealots to attack Christians.
"The frequency and viciousness of attacks on Christians have risen since the radical Hindu Party BJP came to power 8 months ago [in early 1998]. Starting from Christmas Day, the two armed wings of the [political parties] have unleashed a reign of terror on Christians, especially in North India."
One Christian leader reported that between Christmas Day, 1998, and January 4, 1999, 35 Christian churches were burned in one area of North India. Because the burning of the churches made national and international headlines, the Prime Minister visited the area and called upon the state government to step up security, even promising reimbursement for damages done. But barely two days after his visit, violence broke out again as two more churches were gutted, and some Tribal Christians were made to dip in the hot sulphur springs of Unai, thereby, "reconverting" them to Hinduism.
In another area of India, Christian institutions have been delivered an ultimatum: they must "wind up their activities and close their offices by March 31st".
As the Indian media continues to publish inflammatory articles against Christians, we will see more and more violence. Indian newspapers assert that "the spread of Christianity in the countryman. is a global conspiracy planned in great detail by the west."
But in all of this,, there are many praises: Christianity is spreading into areas of India that have previously been unreached. One Indian leader says, "It is the greatest revival we have known at this time, and you don't get this kind of revival without persecution, bloodshed, and martyrdom."
Thank you, dear friends,, for your prayers for Southeast Asian Missions and for all of our overseas workers. Please continue to pray for their safety, and please continue to pray that thousands upon thousands will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior because of the work of these dedicated men and women who are risking their lives for the cause of Christ.
In His Service,
(signed Dr. Matt Patrick)
