Today I’m celebrating that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Welcome to Joni and Friends. I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I am so grateful that Jesus is the truth. And I’m so glad he tells the truth about everything from the resurrection to retinal disease; he tells the truth about everything from the atonement to autism; from redemption to reflex dystrophy syndrome; from sanctification to spinal cord injury. Because I tell you what, there are a lot of lies out there circulating about Jesus… and a lot of lies about the medical conditions that fall under his sovereign decree. And the devil, the father of lies, is behind each and every one. Let me give you an example…
Our Ministry Associates here at Joni and Friends were recently in Nigeria, West Africa to do disability training in Abuja, the capitol city. More than 30 Christian leaders attended, including pastors and nurses. Things were going really great during the first part of the training, but then when we began to get into some in-depth theology of suffering, a hushed heaviness fell over the room. It was as if a light went on in the eyes of the Nigerian Christians. Especially when we underscored portions of God’s Word about his sovereignty over disabilities; verses like Exodus 4 where God says, “Is it not I who makes men blind? Is it not I the Lord who does these things?” We could honestly see the Holy Spirit awakening a sense of conviction, repentance, and a resolve to correct some terrible wrongs. As the day wore on we began to understand what some of those wrongs were…
During the break, one pastor shared that it was fairly common for people with seizures or epilepsy to be labeled as witches by others in the community. If a Nigerian was mentally ill or if he had suffered a brain injury which left him with a seizure disorder, people in the community – and I don’t necessarily mean villagers in the poor countryside; I’m talking about educated people in the cities – these people believe that anyone who experienced seizures was a witch. And if they weren’t an actual witch, then they were cursed by the local witch doctor. The sad part is, even many Christians believed this. This same pastor confessed that sometimes the “witch” would be taken outside the village and stoned to death. Another pastor shared that it was common for those with disabilities to be kept outside the church where they belonged… that is, until they got healed. Another pastor shared how his own sister, when she was born with cerebral palsy, was left out in the forest to starve to death – it was the family’s way of ridding itself of the bad omen of a baby born with a disability.
Friends, this breaks my heart. But it also inflames my passion to keep telling the truth about the love of Jesus for these people who have seizures, or who are brain injured, or who have cerebral palsy. It’s why I’m so passionate about our ministry going global – Jesus tells us to shine the truth of his Word into the darkest corners of the uttermost parts of the earth. And this is why I ask you to join me in praying that God will help us keep fanning the flames of his truth and love as we take wheelchairs and Bibles around the world, do disability ministry training in places like Nigeria, and hold Family Retreats around the world. Hey, if I’ve inspired you, then tell me today – drop me a note on my radio page at joniandfriends.org. And don’t forget, this is the last day you can order your copy of my booklet “Christianity with Its Sleeves Rolled Up.” I’m really looking forward to hearing from you and thank you for listening… thank you for letting me tell you the truth about Jesus… and about the disabled people around the world that he loves.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends