Franklin Graham Will Return To Celebrate The 60th ...

1 Planning is well under way forFranklin Graham , Billy Graham s son, tomake a whistlestop tour of Australia incelebration of Dr Graham s 1959 visit,which had such a profound and lastingimpact on Christian life in Australia. Givenrecent events here, the visit could nothave come at a more opportune time. Asdarkness deepens, the light of Christneeds to be shone more brightly, and thisvisit will be one of those ways for this Hamm, BGEA Vice President ForInternational Events,asks church lead ers, When the darknes is getting darker,how will we respond? It s easy to curse it;it s easy to run away from it; but we mustengage darkness with the truth andChrist alone is truth. Sixty years on, we aim to Celebrate Dr Graham s 1959 meetingswith a series of Proclamation Eventswhich focus on the Cross of Christ and honour what God has done.

2 We want to encourage involvementof all the churches through establishing preyer groups, attending Christian Life And Witnessclasses, at tending the meetings and bringing a friend. Beginning on 9 February 2019, meetings will be heldin Perth, Darwin, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaideand Sydney. Watch this space for further details as they come in. See also February 2018 Vol 80 No 13 Free On Request: Tell the people the full message of this new life Acts FOR YOUON REQUEST Graham Will Return To Celebrate The60th Anniversary of Billy Graham s 1959 TourOf AustraliaCCoolloosssseeuumm WWiillll LLiigghhtt UUpp TToo RReemmeemmbbeerrPPeerrsseeccuutteedd CChhrriissttiiaannss AArroouunndd TThhee WWoorrllddThe Roman Colosseum will be illuminated by red lights on Saturday 24 February to draw attention tothe persecution of Christians around the world, especially in Syria and Iraq.

3 At 6pm that day, the Colos seum will be spotlighted in red, to represent the blood of Christians who have been wounded or losttheir lives due to religious persecution, according to Crux. The event, sponsored by Aid To The ChurchIn Need follows a similar initiative last year, which lit up London's Parliament building in red, as wellas the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris and the cathedral in Manila, Philippines. In 2016, the famousTrevi Fountain in Rome was lit. Dan Wooding, ASSIST News Service19592019 NEW LIFE 15 February 2018 Page TwoNEW LIFE 15 February 2018 Page TwoVOLUME 80 NUMBER 13 ISSUE DATE:15 February 2018 FILE NO: NL 2018-02-15 ISSN:1033-7903 FOUNDER:Eric J. Daley (1910-1992)EDITOR:Rev Bob ThomasPhone:0417 592 Address:PO Box 457 Mitcham VIC 3132 OFFICE MANAGER:Rachael VriezePhone: 0415 612 On RequestACCEPTANCE OFADVERTISINGDOES NOT LIFERESERVESTHE RIGHT TO REJECTADVERTISING BY:New Life Australia LtdABN: 15 005 035 138 NOTE TO CONTRIBUTORS:New Lifeis archived by theNational Library of Australia.

4 It is assumed that contributorsagree with this arrangement andso are willing to be published onthis basis. The Saints In Prison 20 Centuries Later The Saga ContinuesMany Christians have prayed for Ahok,the Christian Governor ofJakarta, who was imprisoned in 2017 for allegedly insulting Islam becausehe quoted a verse from the Koran. He was given a two year prison sent this message out of prison for Christmas and the New Year. It givesus a glimpse of his Christian character: Christmas Greetingsto all Christians and New Year's wishes to all In donesians. May God, the source of hope, grace us all with good health, joyand peace. People ought to be selflessly loving because it is who we are made in the image of the selfless God; loving others is whatmakes us truly human. Happy New Year. The message was written in bothEnglish and Indonesian in his own handwriting and was uploaded to In stagram by his has now served one quarter of his sentenceand was given a 15 day sentence reduction for good behaviour at Christmas.

5 What a testi mony of one who in Christ finds strength to 'turn the other cheek' andshow love even to those who wanted him killed!Meanwhile, Pastor Andrew Brunson languishes in a Turkish prisonand pleads for prayer to endure his suffering as a good soldier of JesusChrist. Please have prayer for me, he asks his wife, I am very discour aged. It's been 16 months since his arrest,and Pastor Brunson, an innocentUS citizen, remains locked away in a Turkish prison, seemingly held as apolitical prisoner while his emotional and physical states deteriorate. Lastweek Pastor Andrew and his Turkish attorney had a formal meeting withthe prosecutor in Turkey, which was only just recently scheduled. Al though this was the first such meeting since Pastor Andrew's detention,very little was accomplished. With still no access to the case file, indict ment, or end in sight, Pastor Andrew penned a heartbreaking note to hiswife via an embassy official shortly after the meeting.

6 Meanwhile, themost recent monthly legal appeal of Pastor Andrew's wrongful detentionis still pending, but there is little hope that it will be granted. Further dis heartening is the fact that in Turkey Pastor Andrew can be held for upto seven years without any formal add Pastor Andrew to your prayer list,that God would give himstrength and that he would soon be released from ACLJ continues to advocate on Pastor Andrew's havealready taken his case to the US Congress, the Oval Office, and the UnitedNations. They will not back down, but will continue to fight this violationof justice and human rights until Pastor Andrew is released and returnedhome to his family in plight of such brethren underlines the continuing hostilityofthis world against Christ and His people. Their witness in dark placeschallenges us to be thankful for the freedom we enjoy and to bear faithfulwitness in our lives of comparative LIFE 15 February 2018 Page ThreeNEW LIFE 15 February 2018 Page Three FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH GO ON.

7 FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH GO ON .. Belgrave Heights Convention cele-brated 100 Years of Witness, 1918to 2018 this all thank Godfor faithful leaders over the last tendecades, who had the vision to buy theproperty at Belgrave Heights and ex pand the convention, from Upwey toBelgrave Heights. We especially thankthe Centenary Committee whoplanned the celebrations. The amazingdisplay in the auditorium foyer wasbuilt and presented by Sally and An drew Minett, with the help of theirsons, James and Tim. It was like walk ing into a museum. The 100 years ofministry was set out in chronologicalorder with pictures and written expla nations, all taken from the marvelous book Belgrave Heights Convention Minett, a council memberand Bible Study Fellowship teacher, with the help and support of JustineJasmine Well and Michaela Otterson, compiled this remarkable publication.

8 Order your copy from theconvention office ($60). It is being reprinted in time for the Easter Convention. The display will remainfor Easter as well. The centenary book is a wonderful history in words and pictures of the many highlightsthroughout the looks back over the great workings of Godin the last century and also looks forward to the chal lenges of the future. In 2013, Sally accepted the challenge of writing the history of BHC, and then pre senting the magnificent display. It is the story of growth, development, new ministries, testimonies,challenge and mission. It is not the history of events, but the story of a movement in the lives of many,many people; lives touched, changed, transformed. At the first seminar Sally s topic was Reflections OnThe Centenary History. One part of the BHC message is evangelism; another is mission, but the main pur pose is the deepening of spiritual life in the all started in 1878, when Rev Macartney visited Keswick, in he was changed andrevived, he returned home with the same burden for Melbourne.

9 He started the Evangelization SocietyOf Australia. He began actively to pray for the city and for an evangelist to make a difference. After manyyears of persevering and faithful prayer, in 1891, Keswick sent a missioner to the colonies, George 1902, Torrey was invited to Melbourne with his singer, Charles Alexander. Before they arrivedthere were between 1,700 and 2,000 weekly prayer meetings in the city, organized by Smith, managerof the Federal Coffee Palace. The Melbourne Gospel Crusade came from that, with day long meetings atEltham and Black Rock. At the end of the war in 1918, with the help of James and John Griffiths (of Grif fiths Brothers Tea fame) who had holiday homes in Upwey and The Basin, the first Summer Conventionwas Smith had been a journalist and he produced a Keswick Quarterlypublicationto keep peoplein touch between conventions.

10 Thirty of these magazines were available for Sally s research and for usto carefully peruse after the Coombs, BHC chairman, interviewed Will Renshaw,the oldest living attendee of the con vention. He was carried into the meeting in his mother s arms at the Summer Convention of 1926 27,and he has been coming ever since. Will s father was one of the founders of The Melbourne Gospel Cru sade. He made his first commitment to the Lord aged five, when his older brother spoke to his siblings.(Continued on Page Four)Belgrave Heights Convention Celebrates100 Years Of WitnessBHC Convention meeting in the refurbishedauditorium. Pic by Al WatsonNEW LIFE 15 February 2018 Page FourNEW LIFE 15 February 2018 Page Four FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH GO ON .. FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH GO ON .. (Continued from Page Three)Then during 1941-42 Summer Convention Will committed his life fully to Jesusat the evangelisticmeeting with the speaker, Rev Tinsley.