Our Dutch friend Harry has a friend and fellow countryman named Anne van de Bijl who is also known as Brother Andrew. John and Elizabeth Sherrill, who told Corrie ten Boom\u2019s story in \u2018The Hiding Place\u2019, published \u2018God\u2019s Smuggler\u2019 in the late 1960\u2019s. The book has been translated into 35 languages and has sold over ten million copies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a heart for the Jews but not a heart for the Palestinians, you don\u2019t have the heart of God\u2026 and if you have a heart for the Palestinians but not a heart for the Jews, you don\u2019t have the heart of God,\u201d is an example of Brother Andrew\u2019s wisdom that has impacted the ministry of Harry and Dagmar in Israel over the past decades. Regarding a visit to Andrew\u2019s home in Holland, Harry said: \u201cWhat impressed me most was his prayer group, a small band of same-aged friends he prayed with before going on his trips around the globe. The group had only 5 to 6 people in it and accompanied him throughout his entire lifetime of ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brother Andrew is in his 90\u2019s now and the impact of his life is immense. Not only did he smuggle thousands and thousands of Bibles into Communist countries behind the Iron Curtain, he started Open Doors, an organization that serves believers in lands where persecution is most severe.<\/p>\n
Brother Andrew sets an example for those of us who want to follow Jesus: surrender your life, ask for God\u2019s direction, pray with others who have faith, trust, obey\u2026<\/p>\n
When we walk with the Lord
\nIn the light of His Word,
\nWhat a glory He sheds on our way!
\nWhile we do His good will,
\nHe abides with us still
\nAnd with all who will trust and obey.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nI believe Brother Andrew would emphasize: \u201cGod is faithful to ALL who will trust and obey\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course we\u2019ll be uncomfortable at times; of course we\u2019ll make mistakes; of course we\u2019ll be asked to sacrifice; of course we’ll face hardship\u2026 but this is how it has always been. Jesus is the Head; He is the Way… and He says: “Take up your cross and follow Me.”<\/p>\n
As a new Christian in his twenties with a desire to reach the lost, Andrew accepted an invitation for all interested young people to come to a socialist festival in Warsaw, Poland. Sitting on a bench with Bible in hand, he heard music and looked up to witness the \u2018Parade of Triumph\u2019 advancing down the avenue.<\/p>\n
They marched because they believed. They marched eight abreast: healthy, vital, clean-cut. They marched singing, and their voices were like shouts. On and on they came for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, rank after rank of young men and young women.<\/p>\n
The effect was overwhelming. These were the evangelists of the twentieth century. These were the people who went about shouting their good news. And part of the news was that the old shackles and superstitions of religion, the old inhibiting ideas about God, no longer held. Man was his own Master: the future was theirs to take\u2026<\/p>\n
The Bible in my lap lay open, pages ruffling in the morning breeze. I put down my hand to hold them still and found that I was looking at the book of Revelation. My fingers were resting on a page almost as they were pointing. \u201cAwake,\u201d said the verse at my fingertips, \u201cand strengthen what remains and is on to the point of death\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Suddenly I realized that I was seeing the words through a blur of tears. Could it be that God was speaking them to me right now, telling me that my life work was here behind the Iron Curtain, where His remnant Church was struggling for its life? Was I to have some part in strengthening this precious thing that remained?<\/p>\n
But that was ridiculous! How could I? As far as I know, back then in 1955, there was not a single missionary working in this largest of all mission fields. What could I, one person without funds or organization, do against an overwhelming force like the one passing in front of me now?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But Brother Andrew did make a difference! As he trusted God and obeyed Him, he experienced the provision and protection of the One who is above all. Now he invites others to pray, to give, and to serve their brothers and sisters who are suffering because they love and follow the One who died for us all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.\u201d Revelation 3:2-3<\/p>\n
\u2018God\u2019s Smuggler\u2019 by Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, published by Signet, \u00a91968, p 82<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our Dutch friend Harry has a friend and fellow countryman named Anne van de Bijl who is also known as Brother Andrew. John and Elizabeth Sherrill, who told Corrie ten Boom\u2019s story in \u2018The Hiding Place\u2019, published \u2018God\u2019s Smuggler\u2019 in the late 1960\u2019s. The book has been translated into 35 languages and has sold over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3499"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3503,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499\/revisions\/3503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}