Won't you pray for them???

Today is the National Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  

Please pray!

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow

 prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you 

yourselves were suffering.

Hebrews 13:3 

IDOP...

Sunday, November 13th is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

In March my daughter Abby and I were blessed to get to attend a regional conference for the Voice of the Martyrs. Walking into the building we were met with a wall of martyrs. What  a sobering way to begin our journey, with a solemn reminder of why we were there.

The verse engraved along the bottom says:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

Every 5 Minutes a Christian is killed for his faith!
There is not enough room on the VOM wall of martyrs for every name.  Daily the list grows longer. 


What can you do?
PRAY
Not just on November 13th, but daily. 


This video contains several ways to be praying for the Persecuted Church, it also contains statistics that literally made me cry as I watched this video. I am thankful that I am not in a country where my faith puts my life in danger everyday. I wonder if I would be strong enough to withstand all that the persecuted church does. These Christians are true examples of living out faith. May we not only pray for them, but be inspired by them as well!

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3

Here are some websites that give even more information on the Persecuted Church.

Voice of the Martyrs

One with Them

INcontext Ministries

How much do you love your Bible??

 This picture represents all the Bibles in the upstairs portion of our house. There are 12 Bibles here and I didn't even go downstairs to where our bookshelf is, which I'm sure contains at least 12 more. This does not include any of my daughters' Bibles as they are away at school and my husband has several at his office, in his truck and in my van as well. I estimate the five of us own at least 40 Bibles!! We have them in every translation, from New King James to the Message, we even own at least two Greek New Testaments!! As you can see from this picture some are well loved and others seem brand new.

Now, I know not every family has as big of a Bible obsession as we do, but in America the average family owns at least 6. Did you know there are countries where owning even just one Bible is illegal? I found a list of 51 countries, this includes China, Indonesia, Libya, Iran and Iraq.

What would we go through to get God's word if we lived in one of these countries? There is a story told in On This Day by Robert J. Morgan of three men who came to know Christ and wanted to bring His word into Korea. This was in the 1800s and the Gospel was illegal back then, so by trying to take God's word across the border they were risking their very lives. The first two men were executed when the Bible was discovered on them. The third man devised a plan to get God's word into his country. He carefully tore out each page of his Bible and folded them into long strips. He then wove those strips into a rope which he tied to his pack. He made it across the border easily. Once across he carefully unwove his "rope" and put the pages back together to make his Bible whole again. He then spread God's news across Korea.

Can you imagine going to those lengths for God's word? It got me thinking, which is something I do a lot. How thankful am I for all those Bibles in my home? How often do I sit down and read it and meditate on it. Currently I am reading through the Old Testament, I am now in Leviticus, and it is slow going at times. If I had the right attitude I would be drinking up even that one book, because it is the inspired Word of God!! How often do I skip a day, or two or ten of reading my Bible? While at the same time there are men and women in this world risking their lives just to have one Bible to share. How greedy of me, to waste the freedoms we have here and skip out on God's word. Why? Because it may be "boring" or I slept in too late, or I'm just too busy?

God's word is precious, God's word is true, God's word is living and 
active, sharper than any two-edged sword.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

Hebrews 4:12

Many years ago when we lived in South Dakota there were some kids in our church who did a special number for Sunday night church. The song they sang has stuck with me ever since, "I Like the Bible". I can still hear those little voices screaming this song, so all could hear. I don't have a copy from that night but here is some kids performing that song. We need to love our Bible and read and do it...EVERYDAY!

Prayer...

Almost ten years ago our family set out on a great adventure that is still impacting us to this day. We began what we called The Goliath Project. We named it that because it was bigger than us and we felt like we were the five smooth stones setting off to make a difference. The Goliath Project was simply a prayer trip; our family traveled to the 48 continental states and prayed in or near the capitol of each state.

Soon after this trip began we encountered 9/11. We were in California at the time, it was a day we will never forget. The unknown of what this meant for our country and for us filled our minds. "What if there isn't enough gas for us to get home?" "What if there is another attack?" "Will we be safe on the road, in all these government buildings?"

These questions only lasted a day or two. It was then that a verse from Esther, "for such a time as this," took on new meaning to us. We needed to be praying for our country. Our country was hungry and desperate for prayer. So we continued on, praying through the fall of 2001 and then again the spring of 2002.

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? 

Esther 4:14

Fast forward to 2011, our country still needs prayer, it is still a Goliath sized project. Lately God has put so many things on my heart to pray for; sometimes I get overwhelmed with the enormity of it all. But I just keep trusting God and praying to Him, that is what I am called to do.

I am called to pray for my husband, that he would be the man God wants him to be.

I pray for my children, that they would continue to follow God's will in their lives and make a difference in the lives of those around them.

I feel called to pray for the unborn, that they would be allowed to live. I pray for those in a crisis pregnancy, that they would not resort to abortion, but choose life.

I pray for the persecuted church, as I wrote in my last post, these brothers and sisters need us as intercessors for them.

I pray for all the hurting marriages and families out there, Satan is having his way right now, and it makes me mad. I pray for husbands and wives to lean on God and allow Him to heal their relationships.

I am called to pray not only for my church, but The Church. That we would be God's hands and feet, that we would be an Acts 1:8 church!

There are many more things I am called to pray for, but currently this is my top list. The enormity of the problems in this world can be overwhelming. It can seem like Satan is winning, but then I remember as Paul Harvey would say...the rest of the story...and God wins!!

I think we are all living now "for such a time as this." Will you join me in praying for the many needs in our world? of our country? of your town? of your church? of your neighborhood? of your family? Join me in praying that another Great Awakening would happen in this country. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? Join me in continuing the  Goliath Project!!

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

2 Chronicles 7:14

If you hammer a nail's head....

If you hammer on a nail's head it gets harder to pull out of a wall.

This quote was shared with me this weekend at a Voice of the Martyr's conference. The woman who spoke this quote is named Helen, she is from the country of Eritrea. These words were spoken as her body was literally hammered on in order to get her to renounce her faith in Jesus. Wow, that just floored me. I can't imagine the horrors she went through, and I can't imagine having that amount of boldness. Yet, she is not alone. The world is full of people just like Helen, willing and ready to give their lives for the Gospel of Christ. In America, we have no concept of true persecution.

Can you imagine risking your life every time you attend church? Can you imagine not having access to a Bible? Can you imagine giving up food in order to buy a satellite so your family can get fed on the Word? Can you imagine reading from a burnt Bible? Can you imagine being imprisoned for a year and forced to live in the jungle with your captors, only to have your husband killed during your rescue? I know I can't imagine these things, yet they happen, daily around our world.

I can't even begin to share the impact these stories have had on me. The work that Voice of the Martyrs does is amazing. They provide so many resources to persecuted Christians; Blankets to Sudan, Action Packs filled with clothes, Bibles to countries where it is illegal to own one, and they send parachutes into Columbia with radios so the locals can hear Christian radio programs. That is just some of what they do. I encourage you to visit their website and explore this ministry. We are such rich people in comparison to the rest of the world and our Christian brothers and sisters need our encouragement. 

www.persecution.com

Voice of the Martyrs

Action Packs ready to ship out!

Even if you can't help in any of the ways that require money, you can always pray. Prayer is powerful and God does move! Gracia Burnham (her husband was killed in the Philippines) shared a very practical way to remember to pray. As you dress in the morning take time to read the labels on your clothes and then pray for that country. Today my sweater told me to pray for China. So I remembered some of the things Bob Fu shared with us about China and I am praying today for the 130,000,000 Christians there who have been struck down but not destroyed. I know I will be praying differently and more diligently, I also know I will never look at a hammer the same way again!

   Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

Hebrews 13:3 

Live for the Line Not the Dot...

 

"Foolish people live for the dot. Wise people live for the line."

This quote is from a book my son and I are reading for his high school finance class. It is called Money Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. Every day as we read, this book just convicts me more and more about how I am living my life.

So what exactly does this quote mean? Well, the dot in the picture represents our time here on earth. The line represents eternity; the time we will live in heaven. We need to keep this in perspective. Our time, the dot, is temporary and actually quite short. Our time, the line, will last forever. So why don't we live with eternity in mind?

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. Matthew 6:19-20

Our treasures on earth will stay on earth. But the treasures we store up for ourselves in heaven will last forever. They will never run out! If we were to live everyday with eternity in mind, I wonder how differently we would live our lives? Would we make different choices? Would we treat each other differently? Would we waste as much of our time? I ask myself these questions and challenge myself to stop living for the dot, I want to live for that line!!! Join me, I have a feeling it will be a great adventure!