Prayer

“It is necessary that we should be subject, from first to last, to the scourges of God, in order that we may from the heart call on him; for our hearts are enfeebled by prosperity, so that we cannot make the effort to pray.” John Calvin

Responsibility of a Christian

"If we have no sense of responsibility for the condition of humanity at this moment, then there is only one thing to say- if we are Christians at all, we are very poor ones. If we are only concerned about ourselves and our own happiness, and if the moral condition of society and the tragedy of the whole world does not grieve us, if we are not disturbed at the way in which men blaspheme the name of God and all the arrogance of sin- well, what can be said about us?" -Joy Unspeakable

"With Everything" by Hillsong United

The Importance of Hell by Tim Keller

"There are plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept.

In 2003 a research group discovered 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell. Not only are there plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept. Nevertheless, it is a very important part of the Christian faith, for several reasons.

1. It is important because Jesus taught about it more than all other Biblical authors put together. Jesus speaks of "eternal fire and punishment" as the final abode of the angels and human beings who have rejected God (Matthew 25:41,46) He says that those who give into sin will be in danger of the "fire of hell" (Matthew 5:22; 18:8-9.) The word Jesus uses for 'hell' is Gehenna, a valley in which piles of garbage were daily burned as well as the corpses of those without families who could bury them. In Mark 9:43 Jesus speaks of a person going to "hell [gehenna], where 'their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' " Jesus is referring to the maggots that live in the corpses on the garbage heap. When all the flesh is consumed, the maggots die. Jesus is saying, however, that the spiritual decomposition of hell never ends, and that is why 'their worm does not die.'

Read the rest at: http://redeemer.com/news_and_events/articles/the_importance_of_hell.html

Importance of Ministering to the Homeless

Powerful Sermon Illustration

Suffering in relation to missions, the American Church and us

The reason, I believe, that we experience God more vibrantly and powerfully in another country, specifically on missions is because the people there have and are suffering. Suffering because of there living situation, poverty, war, loss of loved ones and because of religious persecution. Suffering is one of the keys to unlocking greater intimacy with Jesus.

We rarely if ever suffer in the United States yet this is something the Bible talks about continually. We see this in the story of Joseph in Genesis chapter 37-48. We this in a list of ways that Paul suffered for Christ in 2 Corinthians 11. We see this in Christ. We see this in many more ways. If you focus on this theme, it will pop up more frequently than you think in the Bible. We are called to suffer for our Lord.

Christians in other countries suffer continually therefore relying on God for everything. It very hard to rely on God for everything here. If worse comes to worse, we can even throw some money on the credit card and get by for a few more days. Because they have to rely on God for everything, this produces persistence and trust producing God's joy, love, hope, power and provision.

"When life is rosy, we may slide by with knowing about Jesus, with imitating Him and quoting Him and speaking of Him. But only in suffering will we know Jesus." (Joni Eareckson Tada)

But only in suffering will we know Jesus. He is attracted to our weakness. Our weakness makes room for His power. That is what draws us back to those places of joyful, loving people.

Through suffering, God is closest and most visibly because only can we identify with Jesus in His death as well as in His life. We rarely suffer here. Instead of harping on what kind of music, pastors, sermons, denominations, money, look of a sanctuary, the American church should start focusing on relying on God with everything. Can you imagine a church tithing 90% or praying desperately because they want God to show them what the next sermon to preach. Praying has ignited every single spiritual awakening down throughout history. That is powerful.

We need to pray more. Pray on our knees for more opportunities to suffer for our Lord. Pray for trials. Pray for persecution. Pray for God to lead us in everything. And be willing to follow God no matter the cost. What would that look like?

The Joy of Suffering- Francis Chan

Treasuring Him

The Armor of God Prayer

Ephesians 6:10-20
Good morning, Lord. Thank you for assuring me of victory today if I but will follow Your battle plan. So by faith I claim a victory over ______________(A list of some things I know I will face today.)

To prepare myself for the battle ahead, by faith, I put on the Belt of Truth. The truth about You Lord - that You are a sovereign God who knows everything about me, both my strengths and my weaknesses. You know my breaking point and promised not to allow me to be tempted beyond that which I am able to endure. The truth about me, Lord, is that I am a new creature in Christ and have been set free from the power of sin. I am indwelt with the Holy Spirit who will guide me and warn me when danger is near. I am Your child, and nothing can separate me from Your love. The truth is that You have a purpose for me today- someone to encourage, someone to share with and someone to love.

Next Lord, I want to, by faith, put on the Breastplate of Righteousness. Through this I guard my heart and my emotions. I will not allow my emotions to rule in my decisions. I will set them on what is right and good and just. I will live today by what is true not by what I feel. I will not allow my desires to lead me into sin; I will protect Your witness and Your reputation with Your help. Lord, this morning I put on the Sandals of the Gospel of Peace. Send me where You will and desire. Guide me to those who need encouragement or physical help of some kind. Use me to solve conflicts wherever they may arise. Make me a calming presence in every circumstance in which You have placed me. I will not be hurried or rushed, for my schedule is in Your hands. I will not leave a trail of tension or apprehension. I will leave tracks of peace and stability everywhere I am sent.

I now take up the Shield of Faith, Lord. My faith is in You and You alone. Apart from You, I can do nothing. With You, I can do all things. No temptation that comes my way can penetrate Your protecting hand. I will not be afraid, for You are going with me throughout the day. When I am tempted, I will claim my victory out loud ahead of time, for You have promised victory to those who walk in obedience to Your Word. So by faith I claim a victory even now because I know there are fiery darts headed my way even as I pray. Lord, You know that they are and have already provided a way of escape.

Lord, by faith, I am putting on the Helmet of Salvation. You know how Satan bombards my mind day and night with evil thoughts, doubt and fear. I put on this helmet that will protect my mind. I may feel the impact of his attacks, but nothing can penetrate this helmet. I choose to stop every impure and negative thought at the door of my mind. And with the helmet of salvation those thoughts will get no further. I elect to take every thought captive; I will dwell on nothing but what is good and right and pleasing to you.

Last, I take up the Sword of the Spirit, which is Your Word. Thank you for the precious gift of Your Word. It is strong and powerful and able to defeat even the strongest of Satan's onslaughts. Your Word says that I am not under the obligation of the flesh to obey its lusts. Your Word says that I am free from the power of sin. Your Word says that Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. So by faith I take up the strong and powerful sword of the Spirit, which is able to defend me in time of attack, comfort me in time of sorrow, teach me in time of meditation, and prevail against the power of the enemy on behalf of others who need the truth to set them free.

So, Lord, I thank You for the armor of God. I go now rejoicing that You have chosen me to represent You to this lost and dying world. May others see Jesus in me, and may Satan and his hosts shudder as Your power is made manifest in me. In Jesus’ name I pray- Amen.
By Charles Stanley

Burma- Partners Relief and Development

Find out how to volunteer to help here:
http://www.godreports.com/organization-view/1073

Jeremiah Lanphier

In 1857 Jeremiah Lanphier was at a crossroads in his life; he was a single, middle-aged businessman without children and family. Following his heart to reach the neediest around him, he put aside his regular business and began to work with the North Dutch Church in Manhattan as a lay missionary. At that time, there were 30,000 men idle on the streets of New York. Drunkenness was rampant, and the nation was divided by slavery. Ministering in the dark slums of Hell’s Kitchen, Lanphier poured himself into the lives of people who were homeless, helpless and hopeless. Month after month he went door to door sharing the Good News, distributing tracts, and holding Bible studies with whomever would listen.

Lanphier would begin each day going from office to office, house to house, and shop to shop; but by midday he was physically, emotionally and spiritually worn out. He discovered that, even as the body needs food, the soul and spirit need prayer. Lanphier realized his need and regularly returned to a room in the church Consistory building to cry out to God for spiritual strength. This fresh, personal experience of the power of prayer suggested to Lanphier that there might be others, especially those engaged in business, who might profit from time in prayer. He handed out some 20,000 flyers advertising the first noonday prayer meeting on September 23, 1857.

For the first thirty minutes he sat alone praying. Eventually, steps were heard coming up the staircase and another joined. Then another and another until Lanphier was joined by five men. The next Wednesday the six increased to twenty. The following week there were 40. Lanphier and the others then decided to meet daily, and within weeks thousands of business leaders were meeting for prayer each day. Before long over 100 churches and public meeting halls were filled with noonday prayer meetings. God moved so powerfully that similar prayer meetings sprang up around the nation. For a season there were 10,000 conversions to Christ each week in New York City, and it is estimated that nearly one million people across the U.S. were transformed during this incredible move of God.


One man’s obedience to prayer… began a revival… that transformed a nation.

"The Weight of Glory" by C.S. Lewis

"If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love. A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do contains an appeal to desire.

If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not to strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." -C.S. Lewis

Commentary on this passage by John Piper from "Desiring God": "There it is in black and white, and to my mind it was totally compelling: It is not a bad thing to desire our own good. In fact, the great problem of human beings is that they are far too easily pleased. They don't seek pleasure with nearly the resolve and passion that they should. And so they settle for mud pies of appetite instead of infinite delight."

Test of Faithfulness

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God. —Romans 8:28

"It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses.

Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today. We will be faithful to our work, to serving others, or to anything else; just don’t ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world. We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers.

The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son."

-Oswald Chambers
"Utmost For His Highest"
December 18

Light up the World- Desperation Band

C.T. Studd

"Some want to live
within the sound
of church or chapel bell;
I want to run
a rescue shop
within a yard of hell."

C. T. Studd
1860-1931
English missionary to China, India,
and Africa

"Your Hands" -JJ Heller

I love this song. It is such a awesome image of God holding us in his hands. Powerful.

New website offers networking tool for missionaries, ministries

"On his first overseas mission trip to visit Carl & Lauretta DuBois, two Wycliffe missionaries in the southern Philippines, Mark Ellis was surprised by what he found.
“They lived in a 350 square foot house – smaller than most American’s two-car garage,” he says. “They had to be evacuated twice due to various threats, and they survived a bout with cancer and a terrible accident that left their son partially paralyzed. They did all this to bring the gospel to the Tagabawa people.”

Ellis, a veteran senior writer with ASSIST News Service, knew he could tell their story through ANS, but he wondered how many other missionaries had similar stories and unmet needs.

“I knew I couldn’t cover all their stories, so I started working on a website that allows them to share their stories themselves.”

On www.Godreports.com missionaries and ministry organizations can create their own webpages – their “Godreports” – where they can share their vision, passion, prayer requests, needs and updates. They can link photos, video and worship music to their page.

“They can also raise funds for vital mission projects,” Ellis notes.

During the mission trip to Mindanao in the southern Philippines, Ellis met a man named Benancio who had fallen out of a palm tree and was paralyzed from the waist down. “After the accident, his wife abandoned him,” Ellis reports. “I went to visit him at his hut and saw him trying to care for his four small children. It was an appalling living situation.”

When Ellis returned home, Benancio’s plight weighed heavily on his heart. “I checked around to see if there was some way to help Benancio and his children, but I couldn’t find anybody to give me any direction.” A few years later, Ellis learned of Benancio’s death.

“I don’t want there to be any more Benancios, so I organized Godreports with an interactive map of the world,” Ellis says. Users can click on any country and find ministry organizations making a difference in each country.

Responding to spiritual and physical needs is an important goal of the website. “Suppose a missionary needs Bibles, food, or medical supplies to meet an urgent need and he’s unaware that someone is working only 50 miles away who could help with that need,” Ellis says. “I’m hopeful Godreports will help build greater collaboration on the mission field.”
As Ellis built the Godreports website, he says he had the privilege to meet Dr. Yong Cho at the U.S. Center for World Mission, in Pasadena, California, and was impressed by one of Dr. Cho’s observations:

“Missions are now from everywhere to everywhere, and while this is a good thing, it has also created a great deal of unnecessary duplication and even confusion…We remain largely ignorant of what each other is doing.” (Cho is international director of the Global Network of Mission Structures.)

“From the local church to the highest levels of the missions’ movement, there is a lack of networking and communication,” Ellis notes. “I hope Godreports will be a great tool to remedy this situation.”

For more information, go to www.Godreports.com. Mark Ellis can be contacted by e-mail at mark@Godreports.com"

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

"Highest Place" by Desperation Band

Clay Dyer- Inspirational Fisherman

Explosion of China's Underground Church and what it means for the West

"Chinese Protestants and the West since 1949"
Written by ChinaSource
Wednesday, 30 September 2009 17:24

This article should be encouraging to all. Please read or read the article in its entirety at the link at the bottom!!!

"What has been the nature of the relationship between Christians inside and outside of China over the last 60 years?

From the dark years of the Cultural Revolution, the Protestant church has more than recovered its vigor and has see an explosion in numbers, particularly in the house church movement. Few unbiased observers would suggest that China has fewer than 50 million Protestants, and some estimates easily double this figure. Christianity has also enjoyed something of an image make-over. Once condemned as a feudal superstition, destined for the rubbish heap of history, even Christianity’s cultured despisers admit that it is associated with much that is good about Western progress. The Economist newspaper recently noted the contrast with attitudes towards the faith in Europe: “In much of Christianity’s former heartland, religion is associated with tradition and ritual. In China, it is associated with modernity, business and science.”1 In looking once again to the West for direction, many Chinese see Christianity as one of the secrets of success. Some scholars see interest in Christianity as tied closely to the popularity of Western culture more broadly or to the phenomenon of globalization generally.

Chinese Christians are participating as never before in the global Protestant movement. Many Chinese Christians no longer view the faith as Western, but as a world-wide movement—one that is gaining momentum. Nor do they reflexively look to the West for all of their insights. The old teacher-student relationship between Western and Chinese Christians is slowly breaking down. Though the faith is not unique to China, there may be a uniquely Chinese contribution to be made. Poised to dispatch legions of missionaries to the world, some to take on the re-evangelization of the West, the Christians are asking: “What can China do for Christianity?” Even in a country so steeped in the Confucian tradition, it is still possible for the student to become the teacher."

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.chsource.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226&Itemid=80&lang=en

Louie Giglio- Laminin

More than 1 billion going hungry, U.N. says

(CNN) -- "The global economic crisis has caused a spike in world hunger that has left more than a billion undernourished, United Nations agencies said in a new report. "It is unacceptable in the 21st century that almost one in six of the world's population is now going hungry," said Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Programme. "At a time when there are more hungry people in the world than ever before, there is less food aid than we have seen in living memory."

The report by the WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization was released Wednesday, ahead of World Food Day on Friday.

Nearly all the world's undernourished live in developing countries, according to the report.

An estimated 642 million people are suffering from chronic hunger in Asia and the Pacific. An additional 265 million live in sub-Saharan Africa while 95 million come from Latin America, the Caribbean, the Near East and North Africa. The final 15 million live in developed nations. The number of hungry spiked as the global economic crisis took hold and governments pumped resources into stabilizing financial markets. The move meant smaller investments in agriculture and food distribution.

"World leaders have reacted forcefully to the financial and economic crisis, and succeeded in mobilizing billions of dollars in a short time period. The same strong action is needed now to combat hunger and poverty," said Jacques Diouf, director-general of the FAO.

"The rising number of hungry people is intolerable."

The report calls for greater investment in agriculture to tackle long and short-term hunger by making farmers productive and more resilient to crises.

"We know what is needed to meet urgent hunger needs -- we just need the resources and the international commitment to do the job," Sheeran said."


As Christians, what should our response to something like this be?

GETTING INTO GOD'S STRIDE

"Enoch walked with God." Genesis 5:24 "The test of a man's religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on. The worth of a man is revealed in his attitude to ordinary things when he is not before the footlights (cf. John 1:36). It is a painful business to get through into the stride of God, it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride; but when we have got into it, the only characteristic that manifests itself is the life of God. The individual man is lost sight of in his personal union with God, and the stride and the power of God alone are manifested. It is difficult to get into stride with God, because when we start walking with Him we find He has outstripped us before we have taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined into His ways. It was said of Jesus - "He shall not fail nor be discouraged," because He never worked from His own individual standpoint but always from the standpoint of His Father, and we have to learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned by atmosphere, not by intellectual reasoning. God's Spirit alters the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and things begin to be possible which never were possible before. Getting into the stride of God means nothing less than union with Himself. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don't give in because the pain is bad just now, get on with it, and before long you will find you have a new vision and a new purpose." -Oswald Chambers "My Upmost for His Highest" http://www.myutmost.org

The Challenge