"Kenneth Elliot and his wife, Jocelyn, ran a hospital in Djibo, Burkina Faso that held 120 patients. He was known as the "Doctor of the Poor" and "Savior of the Sahel" because he didn't charge for his services a surgeon. But the greatest challenge of his life was just on the horizon. "In January 2016, the hospital closed down when the couple were kidnapped by Al-Qaeda. Thankfully, Jocelyn was let go the next month, but for Elliot it was a much different story. He was held against his will for seven years." https://gcrelief.page.link/mWwoVTb4SxRMGs9t9

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." Romans 8:18‭-‬21 The Creation is under a curse which will not be lifted until Jesus' brothers and sisters are sinless, imperishable, and powerful (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). At Christ's return, the Spirit will make Jesus' followers wonderful enough to live with Him (1 John 3:2) and will make the cosmos a wonderful enough home for them all.

Being adopted into God's family involves suffering in this world and glory in the resurrection. Like a child who has been stung by a bee, you can tell who our Father is by watching whom we instinctively run to, crying, "Father!" The "Abba! Father!" cry is not about trying to sense God's Spirit inside us. It is a reassurance that our faith is real when we find ourselves turning to Christ in hard times instead of fleeing from Him.

Jesus is Lord.

Those who are trusting Christ for their right standing with God are already living eternal life. The Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, is the Life of the age to come. The Spirit has already begun making us fit for that age and will, at Christ's return, finish this work as He raises us up to share Christ's glory.

"Global Christian Relief and our partners recently chatted with Hebem, a Christian woman who fled Manipur, India after Hindu mobs violently tore through the state, displacing thousands." https://gcrelief.page.link/ZsBJrzehpwFahsew6

Let me clarify two things about this verse. 1. Setting your mind on the flesh doesn't only mean to live a hedonistic life, being ruled by one's lower impulses. It is any manner of life that is lived relying on one's own strength, separated from God. It can manifest in rampant perversion, moralism, or anything in between. 2. Setting your mind on the Spirit doesn't mean a general openness to the unseen world. Most spirits that are interested in influencing your mind fervently desire your destruction. The true Spirit of God, who leads us in the path of eternal life, always draws us closer to Jesus Christ.

Even if a law is holy and perfect, like the law of God, it cannot produce righteous living. In fact, our sinful nature will rebel in the precise direction of that good law. Christ's death was a condemnation of sin itself. If we place our confidence in Christ, our sin is condemned while we escape justice. While sin continues to war against our good desires in this life, we are no longer held captive by its power. For the first time in our lives, we find the power to resist sin, NOT by fixating on the law as the basis for our relationship with God. Rather, Christ's Spirit helps us to fulfill the law as we chase after Him on the path He walked as the only Son of God. The law is useful for us, as a description of love which was fulfilled by Christ on our behalf.

" I was already in bed with my son when they broke into our home. They cut me with a machete on my back, hands and thighs. They left us thinking they had killed us, but we survived the attack and were rescued the following morning.." https://gcrelief.page.link/MbRuhGGtdfS8PPJ5A

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