Many people struggle to believe the stories coming out of the Chinese house churches, because they just seem too unlikely. There are so many stories of miracles and healings, if the stories are true, why don’t we see those miracles here on the same scale?
It is a big theological question, which has no simple answer. But the stories coming out of China are confirmed by stories in other places, where the church is severely persecuted yet growing fast. More often than not, people come to Jesus because they experience or witness some kind of miracle.
When Jesus does miracles, they ‘reveal His glory’ (John 2:11). They show that Jesus truly is the son of God and has authority over the natural world, over the spiritual world and over every disease and bondage. Miracles are not a ‘right’ that good Christians can claim to live a comfortable life free of danger, poverty and disease. They are a powerful display of the glory of God, drawing people to himself. And they point us forward to the coming kingdom of God, where disease and death will be no more.
Believers in nations where there is persecution still suffer in many ways. But as they share the gospel in areas where people have been held in bondage for generations, God shows his power and confirms their testimony with miracles. Recently, we received a beautiful testimony of a lady in Iran, who was urged by a Christian relative to call out to Jesus on behalf of her dying daughter.
“My name is ****. When I became pregnant for the first time, I was filled with hope and joy. But when my daughter was born, the doctors told me that she had serious breathing and lung problems. Her condition was critical, and after some time, the doctors lost all hope. They said there was no cure and that her chances of survival were very low.
In the midst of my despair, my sister-in-law, who is a Christian, told me: “Jesus is the healer. Surrender her into His hands.” Every day, she called a church minister to pray for my daughter and even sent me voice messages of prayers. I stood by my daughter’s bedside, crying out and praying: “Jesus, I don’t know You, but I place my daughter in Your hands.” While the doctors had given up, something happened that no one expected—after one month, my daughter was miraculously healed! When the doctors examined her again, they were shocked and said that her lungs were completely healthy, with no problems at all! Now, it has been two weeks since she came home. Praise the Lord!”
This mother is now member of a house church. There are many like her, who were drawn to Jesus when they witnessed His power through miracles. Leaving Islam is dangerous, and the future of these new believers is very uncertain. But they have seen the power of the Lord they put their trust in. And we praise the Lord with her for the life he gave this little girl and the new birth he gave to her mother!
Praise the Lord