Lynn Green

Tag: Crisis

  • Can anything good come out of COVID-19?

    Can anything good come out of COVID-19?

    Photo by Chris Panas from Pexels.

     

    Yes, it can! 

    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

    The Apostle Paul wrote those words nearly 2000 years ago.  Inspired by God to write, his words have inspired millions of Christians since then to find the faith to rise above the worst circumstances and trust God to bring good—and he does!

    But what about Covid?  To answer that, we should first address the question that I have heard many times. “Did God cause Covid?” 

    DID GOD CAUSE IT?

    No, of course he didn’t. But he did create us in his image and that means that we have creative potential—for good or for evil.  It also means that we must live with the consequences of our decisions and behaviour; he does not routinely intervene and override our freedom.  That is why I don’t agree with the phrase that I hear so often, “God is in control!” 

    He is “in charge” but does not meticulously control human behaviour—as is obvious from reading the Bible.  If he is in total control then all the appeals from the prophets, and the calls from Jesus for people to repent, and the exhortations to change behaviour from Paul’s letters, are all misleading.

    THEN WHAT DID CAUSE IT?

    So yes, I am saying that Covid-19 is a consequence of human behaviour.  I am not yet sure what that behaviour was, but it seems that most experts have concluded that it came from one of two potential sources:  It could have been from the wet markets of Wuhan where a very wide range of animals are kept together in small cages to be sold alive.  Disease can pass from one species to another and mutate until it is a danger to people. 

    The second and more likely cause is that it was a result of an accident in a Wuhan laboratory that was studying bats that carry the Covid viruses but are immune themselves.  Given the response and reactions from the Chinese Communist Party, we will probably never have a conclusive explanation about its origins and why the knowledge of it was kept secret for so many weeks, while is spread globally.  It is worth noting that the second location where it began to spread was Northern Italy, where China had purchased some luxury Italian fashion brands and had changed the work force from Italians to Chinese, especially workers from Wuhan.  So, it seems possible, if not certain, that much of the world is suffering from a series of decisions that reflect poor judgment—at best.

    But what God is promising in Romans 8:28 is that, no matter what comes our way, he is never taken by surprise and will work within the problems that human sins produce.   And that applies to Covid too.

    HOW DO I FIND THE GOOD IN IT?

    There are, however, conditions.  The people who love him and are doing what he has called them to do, are people who look for his good work in everything they do and everything that comes their way.  They are people who see the world through eyes of faith, not fear.

    To my mind, the worst aspect of this current season is not the disease, which has accounted for about 3% of the total number of deaths in the world from January 2020 to January 2021 with the average age of those dying being just over 80 years old.  The worst aspect is the pandemic of fear.

    For the committed believer, Romans 8:28 is a description of the cure for the fear pandemic.  So, how are you faring?

    The cure is not available to those who are passive.  It is not available to those who have no consistency in prayer and the scriptures.  It is available for anyone who sets out, each day, to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, who read and study the scriptures and who actively “throw all their cares on Jesus.” 1 Pet 5:7

    SOME OF THE GOOD HAS ALREADY BEEN OBVIOUS, BUT MORE WILL COME

    Already some of the good that God can bring, and is bringing, out of Covid can be seen.  Here in the UK, our teams are finding that conversations with ordinary non-Christian people are deeper and more sincere than any time in our memory.  People are now more serious about the big issues of life and death.

    Many Christians have discovered that meeting with much smaller numbers of fellow Christians can often go deeper and be more relevant to daily life than their weekly experience as part of the “audience” in larger congregational meetings.  Often, the very large online events are a poor second to being together in live events with good worship bands, good preaching etc.

    “TWO OR THREE TOGETHER IN MY NAME”

    The smaller meetings, whether online or in person, are another matter.  When just a few people open the scriptures together and meet in the name of Jesus, his promise is true, “where two or three come together in my name, I’ll be there in the midst of them.” (Mat 18:20) These small meetings can be so much more personal, lead to application and change, create an environment of personal support and touch areas of our lives that remain a closed book in the larger meetings.  I’m not saying that the large congregational or celebration meetings are wrong or unhelpful, but they are not so likely to lead to such deep relationships as the smaller gatherings produce.  The gospel has to include the deep sharing of lives together.

    UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH!

    It is no accident that the greatest numerical growth the Church has ever known was in China from the 1950s through the 1990s.  Now the greatest percentage growth of the church in any people group is amongst the Iranians.  In both cases, they were not able to meet as congregations, but took great risks to meet in small groups where they read the scriptures together, helped one another apply what the Bible taught and prayed for one another.

    CONNECTING WITH GREATER EASE

    Another good is coming from Covid.  I note that geography has become less important.  The online world of meetings can be equally effective with a group of neighbours or with friends from several continents.  In recent months, I have regularly been in online meetings with people from more than a dozen time zones.  Just today I chatted with, and then presented a half-hour message of encouragement to, people from South- Central- and North America. I noted that there were about 130 devices connected and many of them had 15 or more people engaging with the screen.  Next week I expect around 3-4,000 people to be online for one of our YWAM family gatherings.

    I could think of more positives to come from Covid 19, but I will finish with just one more.  More than a year has passed since Marti and I were last separated from one another and that is the first time ever, since we met one another in 1969.  We have really enjoyed it!

    What about you?  Can you identify some of the “good” that God has brought out of Covid 19? Can you stop and give thanks for those blessings?  If you have been struggling, a thankful heart can be good medicine!

  • Faith and Finances – Session 4

    Faith and Finances – Session 4

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    Faith and Finances Session 4
    (Why God does not provide to me?)

    Don’t be surprised if you go through a period of time where you’re kind of living day to day and you’re not sure what you’re going to have for tomorrow. It’s a good exercise don’t resent it.

    Jesus said and Matthew 6 which is don’t be anxious about what you’re going to eat and what you’re going to wear and you said you know your father knows you. You have a need for these things but he said to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then all these things will be added unto you.

    Seek first the kingdom of God His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

    Lynn Green.

  • Will We miss the harvest?

    Will We miss the harvest?

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    That is a quote from my friend who works with Syrian refugees in Northern Iraq.  Here is the rest of it.

    “Working with refugees near Erbil: Went to a neighborhood today where Syrian refugees live, not in a camp. First got to go to a school some of the refugee believers have started for the kids because they’re not allowed in school locally. Did some distribution toys and warm winter hats for them. After that we did house visits.

    “One guy had had a dream of jesus and we got to pray for him and he felt heat through his body. 

    Another guy at the second house visit was super open, asked us why we came from so far, was super hungry, shared the whole gospel with him. He was so fed up with Islam. Also, he had had a dream last night of a white dove coming down (!!!!). He asked us why our faces were shining so bright. We prayed for him three times healing. First time he straightened up and his back popped in place and his back was healed. Second time was for his knee but didn’t fully heal. I felt to go over and kneel before him and pray for his knee laying on hands and blowing on his knees “the breathe of god, the life of god” and as a I prayed I felt something move in his knee and he was healed on the spot and the translator was super surprised. I was able to tell him how jesus was affirmed by the father as a son when he was baptized and I spoke over him how the father also speaks words of adoption and sonship over him.

    “I think God is saying that the prayers for openness in the Muslim world are being answered, but if nobody goes, we will miss the harvest.”

    Our teams and many others are still working to serve refugees, but there in Northern Iraq there is both a great need and opportunity for people to work on development.  It seems people are accepting that they will not go home in the foreseeable future, so they are starting their own schools, trying to develop businesses or find jobs and find houses rather than tents.  While there is still a need for hundreds or even thousands of short-term workers, they cannot be effective unless there are scores of longer-term workers who will plug into the daily organisational responsibilities.

    Some of those workers need to have training and wisdom in community development.  But the opportunities are unprecedented.   For example, “one guy had a dream about Jesus, so we got to explain and pray for him.  When we did, he felt heat through his whole body.  At the very next house, a man was clearly fed up with Islam, and wide open to know about Jesus.

    “He was so hungry;  we shared the whole Gospel with him.  He had a dream last night of a white dove coming down.  Then he asked us why our faces were shining so bright.   We prayed for him three different times for healing.  The first time he straightened up and his back (which was out of alignment and very sore) popped and was healed.  The second time was for his knee.  It was not completely better, so I felt to go over, kneel before him, lay hands on his knee and pray again.  Then I felt to proclaim over his knee the breath of God, the life of God, and I breathed on his knee.  As I did so I felt something move and he was healed on the spot.”

    One further testimony.  “In both of those houses families had beautiful birds as pets, but the birds don’t sing that much.  However, they said that when we walked in, the birds started singing beautifully, more than usual.  That happened in both homes and the people noted it.”

    I noted that amongst many young people today there is a great hunger to see the power of God in signs and wonders.  There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit works signs and wonders in places where the Gospel is first being proclaimed.

    If you want to see more of God’s power, there is room for you in Northern Iraq.  Our teams there report that it is safe, and long-term work is possible.

     

  • Nobody is illegal – Mahmood Najjar storie

    Nobody is illegal – Mahmood Najjar storie

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    My name is Mahmood Najjar, I was born and lived in Racca, Syria in 1993, I am 24 years old. There are seven children in my family, my father has died. My passion and love since a child has been to be a world champion break dancer! Yes, I had very big dreams when very small. I used to watch break dancing on American films and shows I copied what I saw in my garden. Slowly I developed my own moves and started to get some recognition for my skills. Dancing has always brought a lot of joy to my heart. The more I danced the happier I was.

    “we were all filled with hope”

     

    Then when just about to enter some serious competitions in Syria the civil war started. In fact it was quite good at first because the free Syrian army took over Racca. It was a very big change for us, more freedom to do what we wanted and an excitement that Syria was going to change and catch up with the rest of the world. Girls could wear what they wanted which was very beautiful, I could dance as much as wanted, we were all filled with hope.

    Then the blackness came, with bullets and bombs and cruelty. Isis took over our town with better weapons and trained foreigners. Everything changed very quickly. Woman wore black, men and boys were forced to fight. My family and I packed up and fled to Latakia, a government held town in Allawite territory by the Mediterranean. More troubles came because at every check point along the road we were stopped. My two older brothers were always asked “Why have you not joined the army, why are you not fighting for your country?”

    “Dear God, please help me. I do not want kill, I just want to dance and bring joy to people.”

    As soon as possible they borrowed some money from a friend and bought a ride to the Turkish boarder about 25kms away. My oldest brother made it all the way to Germany very quickly, he was the smart one in the family. My next brother made it as far as Athens.

    For myself I was close to 18. One day some soldiers stopped me and said I must join the army, they also said only girls dance. This made me very angry. They took me by force to the army base. I was taken underground for interrogation. While sitting in a room waiting I closed my eyes, bowed my head and said a prayer from my heart. “Dear God, please help me. I do not want kill, I just want to dance and bring joy to people.”

    I was taken down a corridor by two soldiers. Just then a door opened and a man wearing pyjamas stepped out. He was only in pyjamas with slippers on his feet. He told the soldiers to stop. I realised he was an officer. He said, “Where are you taking this boy?” They replied, “To interrogation, he is from Racca, he is selling weapons to Isis!”

    The officer then said: “Can’t you see he is only a boy? His mother will be looking for him, he is not selling weapons to anybody, let him go.”

    The soldier’s then left me standing in front of this strange man in pyjamas. He asked me “Are you all right my boy, can I help you.” I said: “Please let me return home to my mother in Latakia.” He said: “Go quickly.”

    I ran all the way home and my mother said:

    “Mahmood, it is time for you to go west, leave here before they make you fight.”

    My mother gave me some money which she borrowed and my younger brother and I travelled to the Turkey . On the way we were stopped by Russian soldiers, then more Syrian troops, finally we passed into free Syrian army territory. They were kind to us, good people, fighting for freedom and a new life. They helped us across the border into Turkey.

    From there we caught a coach to Istanbul. We spent two years in Istanbul looking for work. We were lucky and got work, I sent money back to my mother and she repaid our loan. It was not easy in Istanbul, so when I had enough money my brother and I travelled to Avalick on the Turkish coast. Here we paid to join a rubber boat with 40 others and crossed the sea last August. Thank God the crossing was smooth and the weather warm.

    One day all will be good, I know because God heard and answered the cry of my heart. “Let me dance and not kill.”

    Since then we have lived in Moira camp. To stop me getting bored and depressed I have found a place outside the camp where I can teach other boys how to dance. This has given them joy and a smile on their faces. I like to teach dancing and it is good to have the freedom here in Greece to do so. It is normal here which is good, the Greeks like to dance.

    I hope my brother and I can travel on to Berlin where my smart older brother lives. I want to break dance on the streets of Berlin. Then maybe live in Austria, I have seen pictures of Austria, it is a very beautiful country and they like dancing. I want to enter competitions and become a world champion. Even amongst all the difficulties I hold on to my dream. One day all will be good, I know because God heard and answered the cry of my heart. “Let me dance and not kill.”

    I know there is a God who hears and answer’s prayers. I do not know if he is Muslim or Jew or Christian, I just know he is there and he hears. I don’t want to say I believe in one or the other, this seems to only bring pain and suffering and war.

    I am so happy that I can come to Next Wave on Wednesday night. I see so many joyful people and smiling faces. The music and singing are very good. If there was room I would dance! So many nationalities helping and being helped. There is goodness in the world, there is hope, there is freedom.

    Thank you.

    Mahmood Najjar.