Letters to Disciples in Africa (1996-2015)

By John Black

John Black has been a missionary to Africa for a number of decades, and has sent hundreds of letters to the churches he has worked with there, full of Bible teaching and encouragement.  The recipients have valued these so highly that they have been kept for future use; now 143 letters, spanning an eighteen-year period have been collated and published in one volume for the first time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hayes Press
• Release date: Dec 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386494102

John Black

I am a writer living in the UK. I was born in Yorkshire but grew up in Lincolnshire. After living in various other parts of the country I am back in, as Henry VIII called it, 'The most brute and beastly of my shires'. (It's not that bad...) Avoiding anything as sensible as a career I've tried to do as many jobs as possible that would sound interesting in a writer's CV not limited to a postman, night receptionist in a motel, running a market stall, ebay trader and something involving chicken bones and a skip I'd rather not think about too much plus a lot of much lest interesting sounding jobs in IT. When not writing I do all the usual boring things like walking, watching films, surfing the internet, photography and drinking the odd glass of whisky. I've previously written for a number of different publications under other names but I am now putting out my first novels with the indie publisher Refraction. I read widely and my favourite writers are Iain Banks, Iain M Banks, Time Willocks, Harry Harrison and Alan Moore.

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(1) AN OFFERING FOR GOD (25.9.96)

BELOVED:

In Exodus 25:1-9 God asked His people for an offering.  This was their OBLIGATION.  God said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering.  It was a command, really, but it was very reasonable for God to ask something from them.  He had given them so much, starting with the Passover lamb in chapter 12 when He told them, ‘Each man is to take a lamb.’  He provided these lambs in the first place; then He saved them from wrath, and delivered them from Egypt. He provided food and water in the desert, and protected them from their enemies.  He directed them in His way and gave them His laws to keep, for their good and for His glory.  They owed Him a lot, as we do too, for all His goodness and grace.  He was not asking too much from them, or from us when He asks us to show our gratitude by our offerings.

MOTIVATION.  The instruction was: ‘You are to receive an offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.’  What made godly people give their offerings?  It was for God, who had done so much for them.  Their appreciation of His kindness made them want to give.  This moved their hearts to bring their gifts. Don’t we feel the same?  Thoughts of the Cross make us want to give Him more.  The hymn says, What Thou hast done for me demands my all for Thee.

CO-OPERATION was necessary for the task ahead.  Individuals brought a variety of gifts (vv.3-7), but these items were to be made by the people into a house for God. He said to Moses, ‘Then have them make me a sanctuary.’ Both the giving and the workmanship would be done TOGETHER.  This is also a great New Testament word.  God wants us to work in harmony to accomplish His aims.  We cannot do the work on our own.  Our efforts have to be co-ordinated with others.  Paul urges us: ‘Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace’ (Eph.4:3).  Whilst the Holy Spirit brings us and keeps us together, we have an enemy who wants to divide and scatter us.  We must guard against discord and disunity, for that will hinder God’s purposes through us.

HABITATION. The grand purpose of it all was to provide a House for God.  ‘I will dwell among you.’  This is something we marvel at, that God should want to live amongst His people, especially when we consider how often they failed Him and grieved Him, just as we do too, alas.  It’s good to remember that it should be a place of rest for God.  Psalm 132:8 says ‘Arise, O Lord, and come into your resting place.’  And this brings us back to our first word. Once again God’s people face an obligation, to live up to His standards.  He says, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’ (1 Pet.1:16).  We must make sure there is nothing in our personal lives, or in Assembly life to disturb His peace amongst us.

REVELATION. God told Moses, ‘Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.’  No one would have known what to do without the plan being revealed by God to them.  This is still God’s way.  We are so thankful for His Word and His Spirit to instruct us and teach us in the way we should go (see Psalm 32:8). They were strictly warned not to deviate from God’s plan, and we should heed the warning too, for people love to do things their own way these days without paying attention to the instructions. May the Holy Spirit help us to follow God’s Word to do God’s Work in God’s Way for God’s Glory at all times

Warm love in our Lord Jesus.

(2) DAY BY DAY (5.3.97)

BELOVED:

God does not give us life a year at a time.  He measures it out Day by Day.  His Word has quite a lot to say about this.  Let us think about the subject together.  When Moses instructed Israel about the Passover he said, ‘So that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt’ (Deut.16:3).  God never wants us to forget our deliverance by His mighty power from Satan’s control.  Such memories of God’s goodness will help us to keep another important daily duty.  David said, ‘I will exalt You, my God the King; every day will I praise You,’ (Ps.145:1-2).  We have much to praise Him for too and we should ‘praise our Saviour all the day long.’

Thinking of God’s salvation reminds me of Psalm 96:2 and a challenge, ‘Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.’  This is another pleasant daily duty as the Lord gives us opportunity, to tell others what He has done for us, and can do for them too.  It is sad if in this day of good news we don’t share Christ with those who are perishing, though we must seek the Spirit’s guidance when to speak and what to say, or we may hinder His work.  God didn’t just save us and leave us on our own.  We need His help day by day.  When Solomon dedicated the temple he prayed to God, ‘That He may uphold the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel according to each day’s need’ (1 Kin.8:59).  The God who saves is the God who cares and provides for His own.  Our eyes are upon Him and we trust Him for all the circumstances of life’s journey.  He will not fail us.

When it comes to spiritual nourishment God expects us to make good effort to build ourselves up.  He promised Israel, ‘I will rain down bread from Heaven for you.  The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day’ (Ex.16:4).  In this we see a lesson to gather from God’s Word food for our souls and be like the righteous man of Psalm 1:1-3, ‘whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.’  This leads to the spiritual fruitfulness verse three speaks about.  Another helpful word is in Proverbs 8:32-34, ‘Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.’  We all know the difficulty of finding time to be alone with the Lord in this way because life is so busy, but we have to make the effort if we want to make spiritual progress.  And as we grow we will be able to say with Paul, ‘Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day,’ (2 Cor.4:16).  We do well to follow Moses’ advice about God’s Word for Israel’s kings. He said, ‘It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law’ (Deut.17:18-19). Thankfully we do not have to write it all out for ourselves, though no doubt we could all benefit from the practice!

Another necessary daily duty goes against our natural desires.  As we read God’s Word we’ll be constantly reminded that the purpose of life is not to please ourselves but the Lord who bought us.  For disciples the cost is clear: ‘He must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me,’ said the Master (Lk.9:23). But what seems loss is the way of gain, for He also said, ‘Whoever loses his life for My sake will save it’ (v.24).  He knows what is best for us, and what we must do to achieve it.  We’ll finish with a pleasant duty from Hebrews 3:12-13: ‘See to it brothers that none of you has a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today so that none of you be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.’  There is much to discourage disciples along the way, but we can all help others to go on for the Lord by giving them good support as we journey Homeward.

Warm love in our Lord Jesus.

(3) JESUS IS LORD (20.3.97)

BELOVED:

Let us consider together some of the wonderful attributes of our Lord Jesus:

His Supremacy.  Matthew 22:41-46 shows the Trinity in unity about this.  David spoke by the Holy Spirit and said: "The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand till I put your enemies under your feet.’"  The Lord Jesus confirmed this by saying, ‘You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am’ (John 13:13).  And ever since Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost to tell the people, ‘God has made Him both Lord and Christ,’ preachers have been proclaiming, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord of all’ (Acts 10:36).

His Ability.  Have you noticed how often people called Him Lord when they came for help, like the leper in Luke 5:12, and the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:25?  They trusted His ability, and no one was ever disappointed, for He used it to bless them.  He told the man in Mark 5:19, ‘Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.’

His Authority was strongly resisted by men, and they took Him to the cross.  Paul said if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor.2:8).  (Isn’t that a lovely title?)  But, the hymn says:

On the cross ‘tis still the same,

Never can He yield His glorious claim;

Still to Him belong the words,

King of kings and Lord of lords.’

His authority was also resisted by some who would have liked to follow Him on their own conditions (Lk.9:59-61).  One said, ‘I will follow You, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.’  The man’s request seemed reasonable, but putting himself first was wrong.  Many still do the same today (see Phil.2:21).  And one apostle made a mistake too.  In Acts 10:14 when the Lord instructed Peter to eat he said, ‘Surely not, Lord!’  It was good that he yielded to the Lord’s authority and took the Good News to a Gentile family.  As the message has gone out the Holy Spirit has helped people understand who Jesus is and millions around the world have made Him Lord of their lives.  This will go on till that great day when all resistance will be overcome, for, ‘God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Phil.2:9-11).

The question is, ‘What does all this mean to me personally?’ Our individual response to Him as Lord is the important thing. We must be careful not to resist His authority in any way, either by not doing what He tells us, or by doing what grieves the Holy Spirit.  It is good when we confess Him as Lord of our lives by our actions as well as our words.  May God help us all to be more submissive to His control as we travel on to meet Him.

Warm love in our Lord Jesus.

(4) IN YOU, WITH YOU, FOR YOU (25.4.97)

BELOVED:

There are three expressions in God’s Word to think about.  The first is in Philippians 2:13: ‘It is God who works IN you to will and to act according to His good purpose.’  The others are in Deuteronomy 20:4, ‘The Lord your God is the one who goes WITH you to fight FOR you against your enemies to give you victory.’  These are great words.  They assure us that God’s power enables us, God’s presence comforts us, and God’s protection gives us victory over the spiritual forces of evil.

Paul was telling the Philippians to work out their own salvation.  We are so thankful he didn’t mean their souls’ salvation.  That would be an impossible task for spiritually dead sinners, who can’t do anything to please God.  Our Lord Jesus did it all for us on the Cross, and we are so grateful to Him for finishing the work.  Salvation is now offered as God’s gift to all who receive it and Him by faith.  Then, having been saved Paul tells them to show outwardly what is within.  What does ‘fear and trembling’ mean?  Someone has explained it like this: "Not trusting self, but with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ."  This is helpful and challenging, but how can we possibly maintain it?  Only by God working in us to produce the results He wants.  He replaces our weakness by His power and helps us to be the kind of people who please Him.

What are such people like?  They are ‘blameless and pure (or ‘innocent and uncontaminated’) children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation’ (v.15).  We are to show the characteristics of our Father: holy, righteous, honest, gentle, loving, kind. In other words, God wants to see something of Himself reproduced in His children who should be ‘shining like stars in the universe,’ [NIV] in contrast to those around us.  The darker the sky the brighter the stars shine!  The danger is that God’s children can be affected by our environment, and end up ‘like those who go down to the pit’ as David described them in Psalm 143:7.

One other thing God expects of us - we are to ‘hold out the Word of Life’ (v.16).  What a message we are to preach!  What riches are on offer!  What blessings are available to enjoy through having our Lord Jesus in their lives!  Alas, so many don’t want it.  They don’t know what they are missing, but let us not be discouraged.  Rather, let us keep on holding it out to them, and some will respond and discover for themselves that Jesus came to give life, ‘life in all its fullness’ (Jn.10:10).

Ah, you say, it’s not easy being this kind of person, doing this kind of work.  True, but let us always remember ‘the Lord your God is the one who goes with you’ and this makes all the difference.  He promises us His presence at all times, and does not leave us to struggle on our own but will ‘strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being’ (Eph.3:16).  But, you ask, what about the influences in our lives working against God’s purposes, causing us to fail?  Remember, the One who goes with us does so ‘to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’  The Lord Jesus is able to help those who are tempted (Heb.2:18).  When Paul struggled with himself in Romans 7 he realised deliverance comes through our Lord Jesus Christ (v.25). Praise God for His victory!

We close with the words of a great song which says some of these things very powerfully.  Five men were trying to take the Gospel to a tribe who had never heard of our Lord Jesus. They sang this song the night before they were all killed in their attempt to reach them.  The Lord honoured their sacrifice for some of the widows carried on with the task, and now almost 40 years later hundreds of these people love and follow the Lord. Our God is able!  He is with us, He fights for us, and He works in us.

‘We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender,

We go not forth alone against the foe.

Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender

We rest on Thee and in Thy Name we go.

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,

And needing more each day Thy grace to know;

Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,

We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.’

Warm love in our Lord Jesus.

(5) PAUL REVEALED IN HIS LETTER TO PHILIPPI (20.6.97)

BELOVED:

We learn some things about Paul from his letter to the Philippians:

HIS COURAGE.  Having been jailed for the Gospel’s sake he could have been afraid, but he boldly preached Christ, bringing souls to the Lord, which encouraged others to do the same (Phil.1:12-14).  As a result, the message even reached the emperor’s household (Phil.4:22).  God’s purposes are wonderful and His word is powerful.

HIS CONFIDENCE shines through the letter:

a) In chapter 3 he speaks about his confidence, not in his origins, religion, righteousness or zeal, but rather in his Lord and in the righteousness He gives (vv.3-9).

b) In chapter 1:6 he expresses confidence that God, who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion till the day of Christ.  This encourages us to press on and stay true to the Lord, knowing that with His help we can succeed in spite of the devil’s efforts to turn us aside.

c) Paul’s well-known words about prayer in chapter 4:6-7 encourage us to have confidence in God too as we trust Him to meet our needs (v.19).

HIS COMMITMENT is an example to us too:

a) He was determined that absolutely nothing should hinder him from growing in the knowledge of his Lord, whatever it cost him (vv.7-8).  How can we deepen our knowledge of our Lord?  Through His Word with the Spirit’s help, of course, but also by experience as He shows Himself through the help He gives us.

b) Another thing he really wanted was to understand fully the reason why the Lord had laid hold on him.  We sing, How I praise you, precious Saviour, that Your love laid hold of me, but do we realise why He has done so?

c) He was also determined to forget what was behind, whether it was good or bad, and strain towards what is ahead, pressing on towards the goal to win the prize for which God had called him heavenwards in Christ Jesus.  Are we responding in the same way to our calling?

HIS CITIZENSHIP is in Heaven, he says (chapter 3:20).  He was a stranger in the world, and the things of earth mattered little to him.  His thoughts were about Heaven because that is where he belonged and expected to go one day, unlike others whose minds were so much on earthly things that God’s things meant little to them.  Our aim is to have a right balance between the two so that we can give God pleasure while still taking proper care of our affairs down here.  Paul was eagerly awaiting the time the Saviour would come to change us and make us like Himself by His mighty power.  What a great day that will be for us all.

HIS CONTENTMENT in chapter 4:11-12: ‘I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.’  This is no easy thing.  Only those who are fully taken up with the Lord can truly say this.  Someone was asked, How much is enough? He replied, Just a little more than I have!  And the more they have the more they want.  How true are the words of the apostle to Timothy: ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain.’ He went on to speak of the destructive effects of the love of money, and of some who had wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Tim.6:6-10).  Living for what they think is gain they suffer loss for eternity.  Again, we realise there’s a balance in all this.  We require to give due attention to our needs, but must guard against thinking too much about earthly possessions.  The Lord must always be first in our thoughts and hearts.

HIS COUNSEL from which we can benefit:

a) ‘Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ ... stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel’ (chapter 1:27).  Later, in chapter 4:2-3, he expresses concern about the disagreement between two saints and wants someone to help them, a situation we can often be faced with too.

b)  They were to be like-minded, humble, thinking about others (chapter 2:1-4).

c)  They were to be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in this wicked world (chapter 2:15).

d) Finally, he gives them good advice about what they should be thinking about (chapter 4:8).  We need the Holy Spirit’s help to control our thoughts and ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Cor.10:5).

HIS COMMENDATION to the church for their support for him and for the Gospel by sending him gifts which he called ‘a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God’ (chapter 4:19).  This makes our giving to the Lord much more important than a mere transfer of money, doesn’t it?  He also calls it ‘fruit to our account’ (v.17).  We’ll never lose by giving to God.

Warm love in our Lord Jesus.

(6) A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY (28.7.97)

BELOVED:

The book of Ruth is a lovely illustration of God’s dealings with us in the Gospel, bringing us near who were far from God (Eph.2:13):

HER DARKNESS.  Ruth lived first in pagan Moab, without the knowledge of the living God.  Then she heard about Him, and about Bethlehem which means House of Bread.

HER DECISION.  This changed her life so wonderfully.  She could never have begun to imagine the blessings God had in store for her in the future, but her mind was made up, and nothing would turn her back.  She made two great promises that day: ‘Your people will be my people, and your God my God.’  We long to see people with the same attitude being called out of darkness into God’s marvellous light to follow the Lord with such determination.

HER DILIGENCE.  She worked hard, gathering corn in the harvest field.  She was allowed to enjoy God’s provision for the poor (see Lev.23:22), but nobody put the food into her mouth.  The lesson here is that disciples of our Lord Jesus must learn to feed on God’s Word by gathering daily for ourselves precious thoughts to nourish our souls.  Jeremiah 15:16 speaks of the pleasure this can give as we enjoy spiritual food (see also 1 Peter 2:1-3).  Then we can share with others from our own supply, as Ruth did with Naomi (ch.2:18).

HER DIRECTIONS.  Boaz gave Ruth careful instructions.  In chapter 2:8-10 he said:

a) Listen to me (Attention);

b)  Don’t go anywhere else (Location);

c)  Stay here with my girls (Companions);

d) I have told the young men not to harm you (Protection);

e) Stay with my workers till end of harvest (v.21) (Duration).

We can see the lessons we can draw for ourselves from these points.  The Lord Jesus wants us to listen to Him in life, to be in His harvest fields, enjoying His provision and protection, in the company of His own, until the harvest is over and we are taken Home to glory.

HER DESTINY.  Ruth must have felt that Boaz’s kindness in chapter 2 was wonderful, but God had something far better in store for her.  Naomi became quite excited when she heard about Boaz because she realised the significance.  As a relative he had the right to redeem (see Lev.25:25). She saw beyond the harvest fields to the possibility of marriage for Ruth, with its security, love and prosperity.  Boaz was important, wealthy and kind.  His name means ‘Strength,’ and in all this he reminds us of our Lord Jesus.  Her relationship with him in chapter 2 was like a servant to a master, a dependent to a provider, and we can see good lessons here to do with our relationship with our Lord Jesus.  But God has much more for us, too.  Jesus is called the Bridegroom, and we are His Bride.  We can’t get closer than this!  The question to each of us is, ‘Do I enjoy Him in this way?’

It’s interesting to see how Ruth prepared herself to meet Boaz in chapter 3:3-4, as Naomi instructed her.  She needed to be washed, anointed and dressed.  Then she was to present herself, and wait, ready for further directions.  We are prepared for our heavenly Bridegroom the same way: sanctified by Christ (Eph.5:25-26); anointed with the Holy Spirit (once for all, 1 Jn.2:27), and clothed in God’s righteousness (Is.61:10). Do we present ourselves day by day to Him for His pleasure and His instructions to us?

HER DOWRY.  Boaz paid a price for Ruth (chapter 4:10).  We are not told how much, but we do know the price of our redemption, the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet.1:18-19).  This shows our value to the Lord Jesus, and should help us love Him more.  It should also help us remain faithful to our Bridegroom all our days.

HER DESCENDANTS.  Ruth’s union with Boaz was fruitful. Her son was grandfather of King David whose line led to our Lord’s coming.  It’s amazing to think that we benefit today from Ruth’s Decision all these years ago! God expects fruit from our union with Jesus too (see Rom.7:4).  As we win others for Christ the royal line continues.  Let us make sure that, God helping us, it will not die out with us.  Wouldn’t it be sad if any of us fail to produce a spiritual child for the Lord?  What a joy it will be to meet people in Heaven who gave their lives to Christ through our witness to them about Him!  Let us pray for this fruit.

There are important lessons to be learned from the other characters in the story.

Elimelech is a sad case.  His name means ‘God is King,’ but he didn’t live up to this meaning, because in the time of famine he abandoned God’s inheritance and took his family to live in Moab, enemy territory.  Perhaps he intended to return some day, but he died far away from God’s people, and so did his sons.  It’s a serious warning to us today.

Naomi, his wife, did come back, feeling bitter and empty, but recovered to be a blessing and a spiritual mother to Ruth.  Thank God for His restoring grace to some who fall.

Orpah felt drawn to God’s special place and people at first, but went back to her own people and her gods.  She lost a lot, like people who are attracted at first to the Lord, but are not willing to pay the price of discipleship.  They turn back to their own ways, to their eternal loss.  It costs us much to obey Him, but to choose our own will means greater loss.  Wise people make the great Decision Ruth made, gaining God’s good blessings as a result.

Warm love in our Lord Jesus.

(7) KEEPING GOING (21.8.97)

BELOVED:

‘Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’  These words in Hebrews 12:1 present us with the great challenge of life.  We are so thankful that God’s call opens up to us marvellous opportunities and great blessings in our Lord Jesus.  This helps us to start off in this great race, but to each one comes the challenge to keep going.  The word perseverance means patient continuance, steadfast pursuit.  It is one thing to follow our Lord Jesus when we are enjoying all the riches of His grace, but when the problems of life and the pressures of temptation come our way it is much harder to keep going.

There are many exhortations to keep going.  Paul told Timothy, ‘Watch your life and doctrine.  Persevere in them’ (1 Tim.4:16).  Our lives are to be righteous, worthy of our Lord Jesus. Teaching, doctrine, takes us back to Acts 2:42.  The early disciples persevered in the ‘apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and the prayers,’ faithfully doing their Lord’s will as revealed in the teaching He had passed on to the apostles.  When the Gospel touched other places Paul and Barnabas visited them again, ‘strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith,’ (Acts 14:22).  They wanted them to persevere, to keep going in the faith delivered once for all to the saints (Jude 3).

In Acts 13:43 they had urged the disciples ‘to continue in the grace of God.’  Strong gives the thought of ‘God’s influence on the heart.’  If we can know His influence on our lives day by day it will be much easier to keep going for Him in the race He sets us, won’t it?  The Lord reminded Paul that His grace was sufficient for him, as we believe it is for us, too.  The