Following Jesus

Woman Who Fled Communist China Delivers Grim Warning

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

From faithwire.com

Woman Who Fled Communist China Delivers Grim Warning to Americans ‘Abandoning Freedom and Arriving Into Socialism’

Photo: YouTube/Fox News


August 29, 2022

A woman who survived and fled China’s Communist Revolution is warning Americans against what she sees as an abandonment of freedom and a dangerous embrace of socialism.

“I just want to say it’s so ironic — 36 years ago, I run away from socialism when I left China to come to this great country for freedom,” Xi Van Fleet said on “Fox & Friends Weekend.” “Today, so many Americans [are] abandoning freedom and arriving into socialism.”

Fleet said these people do not understand socialism and have no concept of what it is like to live under its precepts.

In such, a closely monitored and controlled society, she said there are “no choices” and “no freedom,” appealing to her own experience to corroborate her contentions.

“I lived under Mao’s socialism. When the government controls everything and makes all the decisions big and small and decide how much grain, meat [and] cooking oil I could have,” she said. “What I should learn in school, where I should live, and what job I should have and how I should think.”

 

Van Fleet said there is an intentional intent to weaken and dilute the word “socialism,” explaining how socialism is the first stop on the perilous pathway to communism.

“China is a socialist country. Cuba is a socialist country, and so is North Korea. They are a socialist country run by communist parties,” she said. “And what’s the difference? What’s the difference between socialism and communism? Not much.”

Van Fleet added, “Socialism is the initial stage of communism, according to Karl Marx.”

This isn’t the first time Van Fleet has spoken out about her experience, warning last year that efforts to silence parents speaking out about contentious issues in schools are similar to crackdowns she saw at the hands of Chinese Communist Party officials.

Van Fleet specifically spoke at the time about disparaging labels given to parent protestors by the National School Boards Association.

“When I was in China, I spent my entire school years in the Chinese Cultural Revolution, so I’m very, very familiar with the communist tactics of how to divide people, how they canceled the Chinese traditional culture and destroyed our heritage,” told Fox News last year. “All this is happening here in America.”

Van Fleet continued, “They call them racists for a long time, but that did not work. So, they have to upgrade to ‘domestic terrorists.’”

The situation in China today remains contentious and dangerous for many.

Van Fleet’s warnings — considering the history — are undoubtedly noteworthy for Americans navigating the difficult moments of the current political structure.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

Families in Cell Groups

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment
Photo by Rajiv Perera on Unsplash

Families in Cell Groups

Every member of the family is created in God’s image, from the youngest to the oldest. Children are meant to be a part of the cell group. They can hear God and they can minister to other people just as powerfully as any adult.


I was talking to someone a month or so ago who said their cell group hadn’t met all year, partly because some of the children were a problem. They hosted the group at their home, but were tired of the children spending group time in their children’s bedrooms and “trashing the joint.” They were thankful when renovations made the home unsuitable for hosting the group.


My wife told these people, “If you do not include the children now, you won’t have them at all later.” We shared some resources and tips to include children in the group.


I lead a group in our church that is specifically family focused. We try to make it children friendly and also relevant to the adults. I am always sure to include worship music and some child-related videos that relate to the theme of the day. We also have a Bible passage that I encourage the children to read.


Food is important. We have the children prepare something that can cook during the cell meeting and they look forward to that for the end of the group.


Sometimes the kids are unruly, and the parents don’t discipline them or hold them accountable for their behaviour. Sometimes the adults are out of sorts and refuse to join in.


But other times I see the lights go on in the hearts of a child or a parent and I think, “Yes! God is working here, despite everything!”


Children need to be included as much as possible in group life. Some groups have a separate lesson time for children. They include the children for the Welcome and Worship segments, and then a different adult each week takes the children to another room for the Word part. That approach works, but make sure that you have child safe protocols in place- both the legal requirements for Working With Children Checks and your church policies and guidelines for children’s ministry.


Also, when you are thinking about whether the group is getting to the size where it needs to multiply (i.e. 12-14 people), make sure you count the children. They are people too, and they are apart of the inter-personal dynamics of the group.


So let’s keep on persevering in including all people of all ages in our groups, and celebrate the wonderful things that God can do.

Cell Ministry

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

In biology, a cell is the smallest unit of life. Your body is made up of millions of cells, all of which carry your DNA and all of which contribute to the functioning of your body.

In church life, a cell is a small group, usually numbering 5 to 14 people, which meets regularly to worship, read the Bible, to pray for one another and to pray for people who do not know Jesus.

These simple activities lead to growth in the quality of our walk with Jesus. We can encourage one another and prompt one another to do better in the Lord. Because we meet together often, we form deep friendships which can help us to keep moving forward with God, especially in times of crisis.

A typical cell group meeting runs for about 90 minutes and follows a four fold agenda:

1. Welcome. An ice breaker may be used to stimulate discussion and to break down barriers between people.

2. Worship. In worship, we turn our eyes upwards to God. He is the reason we are here. He is the reason we live. He needs to be the focus of our lives

3. Word. We read the Bible together as it is the revelation from God above all others. It teaches us about who God is and how we should live as we try to follow the way of Jesus.

4. Witness. Every cell group is charged with the responsibility to make disciples. We pray for people who are not saved. We look for ways to include our friends in the group. We plan special events specifically for the purpose of including people who are not yet members of the group.

Sometimes a particular need of one of the members comes out in the discussion. At those times, we divert from the set agenda and we take time to minister to that need in whatever way we can.

Cell groups are awesome expressions of the love of God made real in the lives of individuals. If you are not part of a cell group, join one today. You can find details at our web-site http://www.new-life.org.au

Magpies And Demons

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

As I write this, we have just entered magpie season, the two month part of the year when some male magpies get very protective of their newly hatched offspring and attack anything that they deem a threat.

The Australian magpie is a very intelligent, and usually friendly bird. In exchange for food, they will usually come quite close to people. They have a melodious warbling sound that seems to a sophisticated form of communication amongst the local birds.

In late winter and spring, however, about 10% of males become very aggressive. They swoop from behind, often coming very close indeed to the victim’s head. Usually they make a warning warble and clack their beak. Sometimes they dispense with the warning and attack silently from the rear. They rarely make actual contact. With small children they sometimes stand in front of the child and then leap from the ground at the child’s face.

For some reason, cyclists can be at particular risk of attack. At the back of my home there are some football fields. The magpie that patrolled that particular area, whom we nicknamed “Nut job” because he was particularly nasty, was fine with hundreds of people on the oval, but if anyone dared to ride a bike through the crowd they were targeted. On the other hand, when you are wearing a helmet, they can’t cause too much of an injury.

In our area, the season usually starts around August 1st. Some years it can be as early as July 25th, but this year we had a late start, with the first swoop that I experienced happening on August 9th. While the so-called experts claim that magpies only swoop for 6 weeks,the real period is more like 10 weeks. If you have different birds starting and finishing the season later then it is really the end of October before we start to feel safe again.

Magpies are a little disconcerting, but mostly harmless. You get ready for the attacks and stoically endure them.

On the other hand, there is another swooping creature that we often don’t even see, even though they surround us all the time. Demons are the literal army of the devil. They inflict people with temptation, sickness, mental illness, curses and much more. They are generally considered to be so-called “fallen angels”, that is angels who chose to join in Lucifer’s rebellion against the Lord.

They have afflicted humanity since the beginning of time, and will until the end of this age.

There are hierarchies of demons, in the same way that any army has its different ranks and officers. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:11-12

Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Christians need to be aware that we are fighting in this spiritual battle. The atmosphere is full of creatures who have assignments to torment individuals and those which are assigned to geographical, political and cultural regions.

God has given us the appropriate PPE, Personal Protective Equipment, to keep us safe from all demonic attacks. Again Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:13-17

Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The key to standing firm is to recognise the battle that we are waging and to resist satan’s carmies with these weapons.

In the end, we are assured of total victory. Satan, for all his bluster is not equal to God. He is a created being just as you and I are, and in Christ we already have the victory. Hallelujah!

When you are tempted to feel overwhelmed by the battle remember this:

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

The Holy Spirit is in you and is greater than the spirit in the world which is satan. Take courage, and stand firm. Demons are like magpies, a little scary until you realise that the power of God in you is far greater than theirs.

Big Questions

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment
Photo by Simone Secci on Unsplash

Do you ever stop to think about the really deep questions of life? Our secular culture tries to distract us with endless scrolling, loud entertainment and shiny gadgets. So most people avoid thinking too hard.

There are three questions that any person or group has to wok out about life.

1. How did we get here?

You might think that everything is random and that you are just a collection of chemicals. It doesn’t make you feel too good about yourself though. The Bible tells us that everything was made by God and that every person is uniquely designed by Him.

2. What am I here for?

Some people think life is just about making a buck and looking after your family, maybe watching the footy and having a beer on the weekend. If you think that you are just a random collection of chemicals, maybe that’s as good as it gets.

Some really smart men in the 17th century wrote the Westminster Catechism which was a series of FAQs about faith. The first question they asked and answered is “What are we here for?” and the answer they gave was “The chief end of men (and women) is to glorify God and enjoy him for ever.” That’s a big answer that gives us a bigger sense of purpose.

3. Where are we going?

Our culture avoids the issue of death. We hide it away in hospitals and nursing homes. The reality is that we will all die. So what happens next? Is there some purpose for my existence that goes beyond the grave? When you have gained 60 or 80 years of wisdom and knowledge, does it all just get deleted? The Bible tells us that everyone who follows Christ will be raised up to eternal life with him. Death isn’t the end of life but a new beginning.

When we sort out these questions, our life gains purpose and meaning. It is the “abundant life” that Jesus promised to give to us when we trust in him.

Yarning Circles

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Recently we had the privilege of meeting a well-known Aboriginal pastor, Henry Weatherall. Henry has moved around regional NSW and ministered in places like Moree and Condobolin, as well as an itinerant ministry through much of the nation.

During our conversation, Henry said that he likes to get into prisons and minister to young indigenous inmates in yarning circles. In a small group, people share their stories and why they are there. Henry also shares his story of how God set him free from alcoholism and turned his life around.

Henry said that indigenous people really need to have these opportunities to get their hurts and struggles out in the open. Everybody needs that, otherwise we just carry the soul sickness around with us and never receive healing.

At New Life we emphasise our own yarning circles, which we call cell groups. In cell groups we have opportunities to share our stories and to minister to one another, all in the safe environment of people who care about each other. We laugh together, we worship together, we cry together and we pray together. All the time the Holy Spirit is deepening our love for one another and for Him.

This is an important part of our life together. We want to be healed, whole and strong to take the gospel of the kingdom to our friends and families.

Yarning circles – cell groups – whatever the name, they are a great idea.

Atheist rejected God because of science, then science led her to God

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Atheist rejected God because of science, then science led her to God

Decidedly “100% atheist,” Mariah Jones pitied Christians, believing they reject reason and the advancements of scientific knowledge.

“I did not believe in God,” Mariah says on a 2019 video on her YouTube channel. “I didn’t believe in spirituality at all. I thought believing in such things was silly. Basically I was just a strong believer in science.”

Right after high school, Mariah joined the Navy in 2013. It was in the Navy that she developed anorexia and bulimia.

“It grew more and more aggressive as the years went by,” she says.

Once out of the Navy, she enrolled in college, and she positively relished the science classes which at first affirmed her belief in nothing.

“I used to enjoy when people would bring up God so that I could try and destroy their argument with science.” she admits. “I would ask them impossible questions that would put them in this awkward position and make it pretty much impossible for them to answer.

“I hated when people would talk about Jesus.”

Her distaste for Christianity was extreme, fueled by the grip of the evil one in her life.

“My mentality towards Christians and anyone who was religious was like, You’re wasting your entire life trying to live by these impossible standards and these rules that supposedly God created just to go to a place after you die,” she says. “I thought religion was a man-made construct that was harmful to people.”

Then a boomerang struck in 2017 in her second year in college. The same science that in the first year of college affirmed her atheist became the science of the second year of college that undermined her atheism.

Specifically, how could biological molecules with astronomical number of atoms all sequenced with confunding minute precision have just come together by chance? she wondered.

See related article: scientist Sy Garte became a Christian when he studied molecular biology.

So at first science contributed to her atheistic arrogance. Then, as the classes advanced, they deconstructed it.

“Having to accept that everything just formed on its own by itself on accident, it didn’t make sense to me,” Mariah admits. “It really started to bother me because deep down I didn’t want to believe something. I didn’t want to take that responsibility.”

Mariah stayed after class and probed professors looking for logical answers.

“What came first, was it the blood or was it the heart that pumped the blood?” she quizzed them. “Was it the skin that held it all together or the organs inside the skin? How did nothing turn into something? How did nothing result in intelligent life? How did an explosion result in living breathing loving unique beings?”

The professors were of no help with these befuddling questions. So, her mind wandered to the obvious: there had to be an outside agent guiding the process, an external agent with a purpose from another dimension.

Her progression bugged her. She had always felt sorry for those who saw the need to believe in God. But now science was leading her towards him.

“Eventually I recognized my biases and I knew that I was being closed-minded towards the alternative which was God,” she says.

As she pondered what she had vowed never to do, she prayed to God.

“I refused to call it a prayer at this time,” she recalls. “But I basically said, ‘God if you’re real and you really exist, would you not want me to know you? Would you want me to wonder forever about if you exist? I don’t want to be disrespectful to you. But I just if you’re there, I want you to give me a sign and I’ll believe.’”

Immediately… nothing happened. To be truthful, Mariah felt embarrassed and dumb.

But as the next six months unwound, things happened: vivid dreams that reflected Bible verses and scary events rattled her.

Mariah was disinclined towards Christianity. So she searched every other religion: Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, you name it, she researched it.

Finally, she looked into the character of Jesus in the Bible, and what she saw startled her.

“I started studying the Bible and learning about Jesus and the meaning of his life and death and what he claimed his purpose was,” Mariah says. “I ended up finding out that his purpose was essentially for me.”

Then in December 2017, her battles with anorexia and bulimia came to a head.

“I was trapped in this violent cycle that would never end, never, no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break out of it,” she admits. “I remember being in the bathroom. I was in the bathtub and I was throwing up. I remember feeling like, How long will I keep doing this? I felt so enslaved by this disease, this addiction”

As the water was running, she broke down crying for the first time.

Without any forethought, she cried out: “Jesus, please help me.”

This time the response was immediate.

“I can’t explain the feeling what it was. It was love. Someone loved me. I felt stillness, peace,” she explains. “Within seconds the crying stopped, not on my own. Something had come over my entire being. There are no words. The entire room was filled with Jesus.”

The anorexia and bulimia simply disappeared from her life.

“I felt healed,” she thinks. “It felt almost like I never had an addiction to begin with. This darkness, this heaviness that was over me for four years, gone completely. I went to bed that night shocked – in a good way. I just could not believe what happened to me. I still can’t fathom what he did to me.”

A few days later, she received Jesus Christ into her heart.

Initially, Mariah was reluctant to share her testimony online because she feared a blowback from her atheist friends.

“I know what I’m going to face. I know people will probably make fun of me. I’ve accepted it,” Mariah says. “I know who I used to be. I would have laughed at me. But I don’t care. I will never forget what he did for me. I will always be in his debt. This is just a small, small portion of my gratitude for what he did for me.”

If you want to know more about a personal relationship with God, go here

From: God Reports

Do Not Be Afraid!

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

The recent Covid Pandemic showed how much fear rules the lives of many people, including those who claim to be christians.

Governments fanned the fears so they could institute tyrannical lock downs, vaccine mandates and mask mandates. They didn’t have to try very hard because people were already hyperventilating in fear of a new disease.

If you have no god other than yourself, fear is a natural response to almost everything. If you are responsible to control everything in your life that is a terrible burden. No wonder people were so happy to contract this to government officials- just tell me what to do to stay safe and I will be happy.

The commandment “Do not be afraid” occurs hundreds of times in the Bible. There are also commandments to “Rejoice” and to not be anxious.

There is only one thing that makes these commandments feasible. We are told in 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

When we know that God loves us we have nothing left to fear. If a pandemic kills us or cancer or we have a fatal car accident, we know that we will go to be with God in perfect eternal joy. And if we lose all of our money or our job, God has got that as well because He promises to meet our needs.

When you know God, really know Him, and you know His promises and commands, then there is nothing that can ever make you afraid. There is nothing that is stronger than God. Nothing can snatch you out of His hands. Nothing can steal your salvation.

Don’t be afraid. God loves you perfectly.

Rescue Plan

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

It was a perfect morning for bike riding, as so many of them have been lately.

It was a Saturday morning, and I was nearly home after a 40 km ride that took me down the Kamilaroi Highway to Turrawan, across the Tariaro Bridge and back along the Old Gunnedah Road. Whenever I take this route, I stop at the bridge and admire the beauty of God’s creation.

Less than 2 kilometres from home, I noticed that the back tyre felt soft, and a minute later it was clear that there was no air in the tyre at all. The greatest hazard a cyclist faces is a puncture in the middle of a ride.

Without a second thought, I called my wife, who jumped into the car and came to rescue me. I was thankful that it was only a 2 km ride home and not a 20 or 30 km ride.

A couple of days later, the inner tube was replaced, and I was back in business.

My need to be rescued reminded me of an even greater need that we have.

Our tendency to run our own lives our own way is described by the Bible as “sin.” Our lives work best when we live God’s way, but we all want to do things our own way, regardless of the cost to ourselves or other people.

Sin separates us from God. It destroys the relationship that we have been created for. We can’t fix it on our own abilities.

But God initiated His own rescue plan, by sending Jesus into the world to pay the penalty for our sin. The most famous verse in the Bible reminds us: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

If you are finding that your life is about as much fun as a bike with a flat tyre, why don’t you ask God to take control? Say “Sorry” to God and ask Him to lead you to a church where you can learn to live God’s way.

School Chaplains To Be Defrocked

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

In Narrabri, we have always supported our Schools Ministry through the churches. After all, the Government giveth and the Government taketh away. It is absolutely no surprise that within weeks of gaining power Labor want to remove school chaplains.

From news.com.au

Education Minister Jason Clare to overhaul school chaplaincy program

The federal Education Minister is moving to dump one key component of a scheme in place at schools across the country.

Supplied video obtained Tuesday, May 8, 2018 of Treasurer Scott Morrison, delivering his 2018 budget speech at Canberra’s Parliament House.

The Albanese Labor government is moving to dump the compulsory religious element of the national school chaplaincy program.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the major change was aimed at giving schools greater choice around pastoral care.

The voluntary scheme supports more than 3000 school communities across Australia.

“The government will open up the program to give schools the option to choose either a chaplain or a professionally qualified student welfare officer,” Mr Clare told NCA NewsWire.

“We believe that principals and school communities are best placed to understand their students’ needs, so we will give schools a choice about the services they need and the staff they hire.”

The $60m-a-year school chaplaincy program was introduced under the Howard government.

Its religious streak has been a point of contention ever since.

Australian Education Union boss Correna Haythorpe welcomed the news.

“Public schools are no place for religious proselytising and instruction,” she said.

“The AEU has always said that students and families who need support should be able to access evidence-based mental health, social and wellbeing assistance from qualified professionals.”