The Effect of a Fortune Teller

Have you ever had your fortune told? Robert Robinson did once. It had a profound effect on his life. Here's the story of a young man who fell in with bad company . . . and the result . . .

One day Robert's gang of rowdies harassed a drunken gypsy (sic). Pouring liquor into her, they demanded she tell their fortunes for free. Pointing her finger at Robert she told him he would live to see his children and grandchildren. This struck a tender spot in his heart. "If I'm going to live to see my children and grandchildren," he thought, "I'll have to change my way of living. I can't keep on like I'm going now."

Robert Robinson decided to go hear the Methodist preacher George Whitefield. To cover his "weak" urge, he suggested that the boys go with him and heckle the gathering. Whitefield preached on the text: "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7). Robert left in dread, under a deep sense of sin that lasted for three years.

Finally, at the age of twenty, Robert made peace with God and immediately set out to become a Methodist preacher himself. Two years later, in 1757, he wrote a hymn which expressed his joy in his new faith:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Story taken from Christianity.com

We don't recommend having your fortune told. The Romany we know who used to earn a living that way do not recommend it, either. Like Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz, fortune tellers are usually reading people rather than palms. But God can use even rowdies and fortune tellers to change hearts. 

International Mother Language Day

Today, on International Mother Language Day, I warmly recommend to you a message from the SIL Executive Director, Michel Kenmogne, reflecting on the power and role of local languages.

The words and pictures in the short video below show glimpses of a few places in our world where people have decided to give their children a strong foundation in life by allowing them to receive their first years of schooling in their own language, before continuing to learn in a regional or national language.

It is my hope that many Roma children in Europe and elsewhere, will be able reap the benefits of this kind of opportunity for them also. I am thankful for the hard work of others elsewhere that allow there to be good examples and encouragements in my continued networking and advocating for good quality and relevant education in Roma communities.

Sincerely,

Marianne Fast

Literacy Consultant SIL International

https://www.sil.org/literacy-education

  

Click to watch the video.

"Bob," "Joe," and Keith

This past month Keith worked on a recording project with "Bob" and "Joe." We can't tell you their real names. We can't tell you the language they were recording. And we can't show you any more of "Bob" (or is that "Joe"?) than you see here.

Yes, people are still being persecuted for their faith. And yes, it can compromise people's safety if it were known that they worked on a Christian recording.

Our neighbor was surprised to learn about that. We're not. We've known of Open Doors since Brother Andrew smuggled Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. We've had CBF team members who couldn't have their photos publicized, either. We've worked with Bible translators and consultants who took the photo at group meetings because they could not be in the photo.

We respect "Bob" and "Joe" for the work they do and the calculated risks they take. Join us in praying for all of our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer for the sake of the Gospel.