EDITOR'S LETTER

Psalm 19 is a psalm of David that focuses on the revelation of God. Verses 1-6 speak of God’s general revelation through creation. God’s creation and the way which He sustains it day by day gives proof to all people that there is a living and true God. Verses 7-11 turn to the special revelation of God through His word. Several terms are used to describe the nature of God’s word, along with adjectives to explain what it is really like. To conclude the psalm in verses 12-14, David applies this teaching by asking for forgiveness and help from God to be kept from sin and to speak and think things that are acceptable in God’s sight.

The word of God is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true and righteous altogether. This has big implications for life. The Bible is absolutely trustworthy, just as Psalm 119:160 affirms, “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgements endures forever.” The Shorter Catechism: A Baptist Version says this about the trustworthiness of the Bible, “The Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments, being God-breathed, are infallible and inerrant in all their parts and are, therefore, trustworthy in all that they affirm concerning history, science, doctrine, ethics, religious practice, or any other topic.” Whether the topic is the beginning of history with God creating the heavens and the earth, the doctrine of God, how to be saved from your sins or how to live to glorify God, you will always find the truth in the Bible.

Psalm 19 also declares the powerful effects of God’s word in people’s lives. God uses His word to convert the soul, make wise the simple and enlighten the eyes. The Bible is like no other book because its teaching can change people’s lives for good by giving them a true knowledge of God so that they are converted to Him. This change brings a whole new outlook regarding God’s word. A Christian will find that God’s word rejoices the heart. It brings words of comfort, strength and direction which are applicable in all states of life. You may be going through difficult times, but you can rely upon the word of God to be “the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). No wonder the psalmist said in Psalm 119:72, “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.” God’s word can change your life and give you hope for eternity; something you will not get from the things of this world.

World Watch List 2025

Each January, Open Doors publishes its World Watch List of the fifty countries where persecution of Christians is the highest. Countries are given a points score based on the hostility people face for their faith in Christ. This takes into account the pressures people face in their private, family, community, national and church life, as well as violence against Christians.

1. North Korea - 2. Somalia - 3. Yemen - 4. Libya - 5. Sudan - 6. Eritrea - 7. Nigeria - 8. Pakistan - 9. Iran - 10. Afghanistan - 11. India - 12. Saudi Arabia - 13. Myanmar - 14. Mali - 15. China - 16. Maldives - 17. Iraq - 18. Syria - 19. Algeria - 20. Burkina Faso - 21. Morocco - 22. Laos - 23. Mauritania - 24. Bangladesh - 25. Uzbekistan - 26. Cuba - 27. Central African Republic - 28. Niger - 29. Turkmenistan - 30. Nicaragua - 31. Mexico - 32. Oman - 33. Ethiopia - 34. Tunisia - 35. Democratic Republic of Congo - 36. Bhutan - 37. Mozambique - 38. Kazakhstan - 39. Tajikistan - 40. Egypt - 41. Qatar - 42. Comoros - 43. Cameroon - 44. Vietnam - 45. Tűrkiye - 46. Colombia - 47. Kyrgyzstan - 48. Brunei - 49. Chad - 50. Jordan ---

Countries on this year’s list are: (last year’s place in brackets)

North Korea remains the most difficult country for Christians, with an increase in violence meaning it has its highest ever score. North Korea has been top of the list for all but one year in the past 24 years.

The biggest mover up the list and greatest increase in points score is Kyrgyzstan, a country in Central Asia, which rose to 47th (from 61st) and entered the top 50 for the first time. The main cause of this is a significant increase in violence against Christians.

There is good news in Indonesia which was 42nd last year, but due to less violence and fewer attacks on churches, it slips off the list to 59th.

One in every seven Christians faces high levels of persecution and discrimination because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

What Happened in February?

Polycarp was burned to death at the age of 86. He was one of the great leaders and preachers of the early church.
Diocletian began what was known as the “Great Persecution” of Christians. This was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire and lasted ten years. Churches were destroyed, biblical writings burned and Christians were tortured and killed if they refused to sacrifice to Roman gods. It is estimated 3000 to 3500 Christians were martyred. As always, the church was preserved by God and grew in the midst of persecution.
John Chrysostom became archbishop of Constantinople. He was one of the great preachers of the early church and people would push their way to the front of the church so they could hear him better.
John Knox was born in Scotland. He became the leader of the Reformation in Scotland and was a bold preacher.
William Williams was born in Wales. He is especially known as one of the great Welsh hymn writers. One of his hymns is ‘Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.’
The first book was printed in New Zealand. It consisted of 16 pages and contained the Bible books of Ephesians and Philippians in Maori.
William Williams died in Napier, New Zealand, aged 77. He arrived in New Zealand to begin mission work when he was 25 years old and remained here for the rest of his life. [Note: This is not the same William Williams who was born in 1717, otherwise he would have lived for almost 160 years.]
The final funeral service for Charles Spurgeon was held in London then he was buried. He was a great Baptist preacher in England. So many people wanted to attend his funeral that four funerals were held in London on the previous day, six days after a funeral was held in France where he died.

Pass it on for Eternal Benefit

32 In spite of this they still sinned,
And did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
34 When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 For He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
39 For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again.

So far in this psalm, Asaph has focused on God’s wonderful works for Israel and their response, primarily their failure to believe in the Lord God. That continues in these verses.

After mentioning the wonderful way God provided for His people in the wilderness by feeding them with manna from heaven and quail, he said that the people still sinned. What was the sin of the people? The primary sin was not complaining or disobedience, but a failure to believe in God despite all the mighty works He performed in their midst. As Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him.”

“When God brought punishment upon them for their sins, they were quick to seek Him and cry out for deliverance from their misery.”

God responded to their lack of faith, which was also shown by their refusal to enter the land of Canaan when He told them to, by consuming their days in futility. ‘What does that mean?’ you may be asking. God led the Israelites on a futile mission of wandering around in the wilderness for forty years until the unbelieving generation, except Joshua and Caleb, had all died. The people were so close to entering Canaan, but now they would waste away the rest of their lives and never experience the fulfilment of God’s covenant promise to inherit the land of Canaan.

Asaph went on to describe the fickleness of the Israelites. When God brought punishment upon them for their sins, they were quick to seek Him and cry out for deliverance from their misery. They remembered times in the past when they called out to God in their severe distress and He answered them and saved them. However, this was always a short-lived turning to God. Yes, they did seek God and promise to serve Him, but they were not faithful to follow the covenant God made with them. Before long, they complained again or strayed from the path of obedience and disobeyed the Lord’s commandments again. This was not just the common response during the wilderness wanderings, but also through so much of Israel’s history. The period of the judges, as recorded in the book of Judges, gives a vivid illustration of the Israelites forsaking God, calling out to Him in the midst of their troubles and promising to follow Him, then forsaking Him again and going back to their unfaithful ways.

“He showed compassion toward His people and did not utterly destroy them. When they returned to Him, He forgave their sin and redeemed them from their troubles.”

The Israelites were fickle and unfaithful to God, but we see that God remained faithful. How wonderfully that is described in verses 38 and 39. God did not utterly destroy His people. He remembered the covenant which He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He showed compassion toward His people and did not utterly destroy them. When they returned to Him, He forgave their sin and redeemed them from their troubles.

Moses knew about the compassion and forgiveness of God. Following the people’s refusal to enter Canaan and His threat to destroy the Israelites, Moses repeated the Lord’s own description of Himself in his prayer on behalf of the people, “The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation. Pardon the iniquity of the people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now” (Numbers 14:18, 19).

As you consider the fickleness of the Israelites and the faithfulness of God, there are lessons for you to learn. Believe in God and trust fully in Him. He is almighty in power and is always faithful to His people. Make sure that you remain faithful to God and do not just seek Him in times of trouble, and then go back to your sinful ways. That is not truly seeking God and living for His glory. Seek Him with all your heart, all your life.

More Words of Comfort

Jesus gave a great promise to His disciples in John 14:16-18, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

Although Jesus was leaving His disciples because He would go to the cross to die to pay the price of sin for His people, to then return to His Father in heaven after His resurrection from the dead, He promised to ask His Father to give them another Helper who would always be with them. This is the third person of the Trinity; the Holy Spirit. Since He is just as much God as the Father and the Son, He would be the perfect helper for them who would abide with them always.

This wonderful truth was not just for Jesus’ disciples. It is also for all God’s people. God promised in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Paul also made it clear in Romans 8:9 that the Holy Spirit dwells in all of God’s people.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

But there is more. Since the Holy Spirit is God, He possesses all the attributes of God. He is almighty in power, so He is unlimited in the help He can give to His people. He is all-knowing, so He knows what you need and when you need it.

Jesus went on to give further comfort to His disciples, and to us, in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” The disciples received great teachings from Jesus. It would be easy to forget some of them, but what a promise Jesus gave them. The Holy Spirit will “bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” How good is that! They did not have to rely on their own memories, but could rely upon the Holy Spirit, who knows all things, to remind them of the things Jesus told them. If that is not enough, there is more. The Holy Spirit would also teach them more of God’s truth.

As if to convince them that it was actually a good thing for Him to leave them, Jesus said in John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” If you are a Christian, you have the great blessing of the Holy Spirit with you to help and teach you all things.

We hope you enjoyed the excerpts from this month’s volume of The Christian Informer.
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More Words of Comfort

Content

EDITOR'S LETTER

World Watch List 2025

What Happened in February?

Pass it on for Eternal Benefit

More Words of Comfort

Sovereign Grace Church

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

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Matt 11:28

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Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. | Matt 11:28 |

More Words of Comfort

Content

EDITOR'S LETTER

World Watch List 2025

What Happened in February?

23rd, 155

23rd, 303

26th, 398

28th, 1513

11th, 1717

17th, 1835

9th, 1878

11th, 1892

Pass it on for Eternal Benefit

More Words of Comfort

What Are Your Priorities?

‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Sovereign Grace Church

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

|

Matt 11:28

|

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. | Matt 11:28 | Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. | Matt 11:28 |

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. | Matt 11:28 |