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Mar 26
Love0
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Day 27 – Pray for Muslims During The Night Of Power

By Blog

A few years ago, on a previous Night of Power, two believers in Turkey were walking and praying along the seafront in Istanbul, asking God to speak to Turkish Muslims that night. Ahead, they overheard an agitated couple having a video phone conversation with one of their mothers: No, anne (mother) still no baby. But tonight is the Night of Power and we will be praying all night for a miracle.”

Laylat al-Qadr, the “Night of Power” or “Night of Destiny” is one of the most sacred events in the Islamic calendar. Believed to be the night when the Qur’an was sent into the world and its first verses revealed to Muhammad, Muslims believe that prayers and good deeds done on this night are of greater value than those done in a thousand months. Some trust in the words of Muhammad when he said, “Whoever stands (in prayer) during the Night of Power out of belief and seeking reward, his previous sins are forgiven.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1901) Many Muslims spend the night praying for forgiveness of sins and reciting the Qur’an.

The exact night of Laylat al-Qadr is debated by Islamic scholars, as it is believed to occur on any of the odd numbered days in the last ten days of Ramadan. In order to be found faithful on the actual night, some Muslims will observe i’tikaf (seclusion) during the last ten days in order to focus on reflection, prayer and to avoid involvement in worldly affairs.

Mar 07
Love0
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Day 8 – Pray For Muslims in Sandzak

By Blog

During Ramadan, we are taking time each day to pray for people in the Muslim world. We are praying that they would hear the Gospel, have access to the Bible, have a divine encounter with Jesus, and be saved. We are also praying for Christians living as the minority in the Muslim world, that they would be protected from persecution, strengthened in their faith, and given opportunities to share the Gospel.

The stories and prayer requests that we are sharing have been taking from World Prayer Guides. You can visit their website (www.WorldPrayerGuides.org) to purchase a printable prayer guide for just $2.50.

The Only Christian in Sandzak

Hamza is sitting in one of the most famous ćevapi restaurants in the Serbian city of Novi Pazar with his foreign friend. People come here to drink coffee and to enjoy the best sausages and a good view of the pedestrian zone. Hamza, however, is here to learn from the Bible. On their mobile phones they read John 8:32 together: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

After a moment of silence, Hamza says: “That is what my people need. They should recognize Jesus as truth and as light. And then he will free them from the many dark powers and the slavery of money.” And he continues: “God sent you here for me! Without you, I would no longer follow Jesus.”

Sandzak is a historic region in the Balkans that straddles the border of Serbia and Montenegro. As the only known follower of Jesus in the entire region with around 250,000 Muslim residents, Hamza knows life in Sandzak. It is not easy for him to live his faith, but he always draws strength from the Bible. The Muslims in Sandzak are a significant majority locally, but overall, they are a minority in Serbia and Montenegro. Thirty years after the war, they are still discriminated against. This is one of the reasons why many Muslims here are very religious and devout. In the city of Novi Pazar alone, there are over 60 mosques, three Koran schools and an Islamic university for future religious teachers and imams.

How To Pray

  • That more Muslims from Sandzak will recognise Jesus as the truth and follow him.
  • That the people of Sandzak would recognise the light of Jesus to be stronger than all the dark powers that they have experienced.
  • For more workers and new ideas on how to reach the Muslims of Sandzak.
Mar 01
Love0
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Day 2 – The Turks In The Earthquake Zone

By Blog

Today is the second day of Ramadan and our second day of praying for people in the Muslim world. Every day from now until March 29th we will be sharing from the “30 Days of Prayer For The Muslim World” prayer guide, published by World Prayer Guides. We’d love for you to join us! Check our blog daily or follow us on Instagram (@the_global_mission) or Facebook (/theglobalmission). You can also download your own printable prayer guide from WorldPrayerGuides.org

Prayer Points:

  • Please pray that God will draw those copying out the scriptures to himself
  • Pray that the new believers will remain firm in their decision to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
  • Pray that God would make the church a light that points to Christ.

The Story:

In February 2023, two strong earthquakes destroyed the biblical city of Antioch, affecting over 9 million people in the region. But God prompted the leaders of one church to remain in the devastation to serve their fellow survivors. While providing food, clothing, tents and other emergency accommodation, they continued to hold services each Sunday that grew to over 100 people.

At one point, God moved the leader’s wife to suggest to two Muslim women that they might consider copying the New Testament (NT). They both agreed and were provided with the supplies they needed. Then two people became three, four, five, and now close to 600 Muslims are copying the New Testament!

One young man who had just finished copying had questions and asked what he should do about the sacrifices his family were preparing. He explained he had become a Christian from what he had read, without talking to anyone.

One person wanted to understand the NT better, so having finished, is copying it all out again. Another said, “I am so glad I took a package for my grandchildren. We are really enjoying copying, as a family!” Having finished copying the whole NT, one couple has begun copying the entire Bible. They have come to faith.

One young woman after copying the whole NT was asked what she had understood from what she had copied. She answered, “You know, I used to only like people who liked me. I had no use for anyone who was not interested in me. Now I am trying to love them! I used to be jealous of everyone. But now I’m trying to not be jealous.”

Prayer Points and The Story are taken from WorldPrayerGuides.org. Please consider purchasing a printable version or making a donation to World Prayer Guides to support their ministry.

Feb 28
Love0
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Day 1 – The Tuareg of West Africa

By Blog

Today is the first day of Ramadan, a very important holiday for Islam. For the next 30 days, Muslims all across the globe will fast from sunrise to sunset. They will spend more time praying, reading the Quran and attending Mosque. They will also be focused on charitable deeds and have many celebrations with friends and family.

For Christians, Ramadan is a great time for us to pray for salvation for Muslims. Every day we will be sharing from the “30 Days of Prayer For The Muslim World” prayer guide, published by World Prayer Guides. We’d love for you to join us! Check our blog daily or follow us on Instagram (@the_global_mission) or Facebook (/theglobalmission). You can also download your own printable prayer guide from WorldPrayerGuides.org

Day 1 – The Tuareg of West Africa

How Can We Pray?

  • That God would reveal to the Tuareg, a proud people, their need for repentance and the joy of freedom in Christ.
  • For audio scripture resources to be distributed more freely.
  • That God would raise up believers to be church leaders in their community.

The Story:

Lee grew up in a typical Tuareg community where, left to mind the family herds and farm, he never had opportunity to attend school. He dreamt of one day learning to read. One evening as a young man, he finished work in the onion fields and came to the nearest town where he found a gospel worker selling books and tracts. He purchased several books, commenting that he wished he knew how to read them.

The worker asked, “You just spent money buying books that you can’t read?” Lee replied, “That is my next question. Would you be able to help me learn to read? It has been my dream almost my whole life.”

Together they spent months learning to read materials produced in Tamajaq, one of the languages of the Tuareg. They started with words, then sentences and eventually progressed to a book of animal tales. As Lee’s reading got stronger, they went on to read the first twelve chapters of Genesis. From Genesis, they went on to read the gospel of Luke.

One evening, Lee said to his friend, “I have something to tell you. I have decided to follow Jesus like you.” The worker asked, “Lee, who is Jesus for you?” His response was unforgettable.

Lee said, “Do you remember when Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, but at the last minute the angel stopped Abraham and there was a ram in the thicket that took Isaac’s place? As we have been reading in this book of Luke, I can see that Jesus is my Ram!”

*The prayer points and story were taken from WorldPrayerGuides.org. Please consider purchasing your own downloadable prayer guide or making a donation to sustain that ministry.

Feb 12
Love0

Switchback

By Blog, Involve, Personal

Sometimes you feel like you’re taking a step backward.  Other times 2 steps forward and 1 step back.  Other times, just chasing your tail in circles.  Today is a switchback.

 

A switchback takes the long way to go a short distance.

But because the grade is steep, it’s too difficult or dangerous to tackle head on.

 

A switchback is a road where it’s hard to see around the bend.

 

Spiritually speaking, a switchback is a process for us to keep moving forward and put our trust in God.

He knows the reasons even when we don’t.

He sees the destination even when we can’t.

He puts value in the process despite our desire to avoid it.

He uses the switchback to help refine character, develop patience and perseverance, increase humility and dependence – all while keeping us safe in the palm of His hand.

Today is a switchback because Lovekin didn’t get to go see the specialists, we don’t have a treatment plan, we don’t know anything more than we did yesterday.  Another day of nothing.  My heart is restless, but I know He is present.  As present for her as He is for me.  God doesn’t ask me to like it.  It is.

 

Keep praying; stay faithful.  Keep your eyes on Him, all the way around the bend.

 

Photo credit: Chris Harnish
Feb 10
Love0

Heartache

By Blog, Involve, Personal

Lovekin was born in August 2015. Her mother died a few weeks afterward due to complications from childbirth, and most likely from AIDS.  Her father was not involved in her life and her grandmother is struggling to care for her and cannot afford to feed her.  When we met her she was malnourished and had a fever and a variety of minor medical ailments.  To avert her grandmother deserting her, the Chanje Movement engaged in her life and took care of her immediate needs, including baby formula and medication.

We were in the intake process for Lovekin at Chanje Lakay in hopes of saving her life when we discovered she is HIV positive.  Our shelter is not equipped to deal with the care for her, so we are actively trying to find her a home where she will have the best care.  She is a delicate bundle of joy despite the circumstances of her early life. She has a sweet, contemplative demeanor and loves to be held!

We have created a designated fund for Lovekin to provide for her needs in the weeks, months and (prayerfully) years to come.  In the event that the generosity of donors outlasts her life, the remaining funds will be used to care for other Haitian babies and children who are HIV positive.

We will be posting actively as her story unfolds…

Oct 03
Love0

The Beauty of “No”

By Blog, Envision, Equip

Three things happen when you say no to an opportunity, invitation or appointment.

First, you create margin in your life.  When we say yes to too many things – even good things – we fill our schedules and lives beyond our capacity.  You’ve probably heard the expression, “the good is the enemy of the best.”  One has to say no to appointments, invitations and other opportunities to leave margin in life.  For the person living within appropriate margins, when something excellent comes along, he or she can say YES.  For the person juggling all the balls in the air, adding another thing simply means something else must fall.  Wouldn’t you rather be ready for the best than under a pile with the rest?

Second, when you say no, you make room for God’s peace and leadership in your life.  Remember the scripture that begins God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble? Just a few verses later, the psalmist prescribes how to find your rest in His fortress: Be still and know that I am God.  The visual of the peaceful, empty park bench also communicates that quietness; He offers us communion with Him when we cease striving.  When we say yes too often, we don’t have time to pray, to connect with the Lord, to discern His path for our lives and relationships.

Third, saying no develops your character.  My friend Don recently shared a quote with me from a Sunday sermon he heard years ago: “The rejection of adversity is the mark of an immature soul.”  Think about it… aside from the unrealistic dream of vast lottery winnings, there really is no “something for nothing” of true value in this world.  Victory in virtually everything with high value is accomplished through adversity.  Even in salvation, we receive Christ by grace alone through faith alone, but remember the price Jesus paid on our behalf.  My character needs me to say no to easy but meaningless ventures and to say yes to challenges with depth and worth.  Too often we shy away.  When we say yes to the boring, the mundane and the mediocre, we reject healthy growth and maturity.

Reject the lie that being over-capacity honors God or is useful.  Good stewardship of my life isn’t visible in a hectic and frenetic schedule.  My decision to say no clears away the detritus and pollution of my life, and frees me up to be the person God wants me to be.

No can actually be very beautiful.  When free to choose, take your margin, peace of mind and maturity into consideration, and ask the Lord for guidance.  He always leads faithfully.

May 24
Love0

Finding Jesus in the Chaos

By Blog, Equip, Headfirst, Personal

You may have seen the jokes posted with the tag #FirstWorldProblems.  They ridicule the frustrations of our lives in contrast to the life struggles of the 3rd World.  Some are mean-spirited, but many raise awareness that sometimes our “big problems” are insignificant when held up to the “big picture.”  I’d like to offer one contrast of my own: Too busy for God.  This applies to Christ-followers and unbelievers, but my comments here are intended for the believers who are drowning in this conflict every day.

This isn’t a book, so let’s skip the chapter where I try to convince you that there is chaos in your life and you’ve allowed it to distance you from God.  If you don’t have this problem, move along.  I do, so I’ll just write for myself and you’re welcome to read along as an observer.  (Yeah, I just said that I have chaos in my life, and even the calling to lead a missions ministry has not made me immune.  Actually, it contributes, just like any other occupation.  It just has it’s own unique twists.)

So let’s embrace reality: my work, recreation, health, family, iPhone, friends, hobbies, travel, responsibilities and to-do lists…  they’re all part of a noisy, clanging, distracting battle where focusing on God and my relationship with Him gets obscured and lost.  Not because they are bad things, but because they aren’t Him.  They don’t simply dovetail into a beautiful symphony.  Some people recognize this, begin to re-prioritize, and re-launch the search for the elusive “balance.” (Surely if all my choices are honoring to the Lord, then everything will supernaturally sync.  Right?)

Let’s go after this from the other direction.  I want to find Jesus.  I want Him everywhere in my life.  I want to walk with Him but my life is full of chaos.  Not because I’m making horrible unbiblical decisions.  Rather, because I don’t live in the Garden, and I’m plagued by the consequences of sin and all its deformities.  Death and disease have come into this world, and I must work and sweat and battle.1  Jesus has won the war and I am victorious in Him, but every day until His Kingdom, I must battle.  One of those battles is against chaos.

There are two pillars I’ve learned that guard my soul in the fight against chaos so that I might walk closely with God.  Their names are Peace and Order.  We need to see that when we instill peace in our lives, we restrain chaos.  Peace means more than quiet (though silence is certainly peaceful.)  Quieting my heart means slowing, slowing, stopping.  My mind begins to drift to other thoughts that are not of Jesus…  stop.  Come back.  Slow.  Easy.  Nothing else, just Him.  Peace means surrender – of my soul.  Learning to be present in His presence.  “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”2  How could my heart be still then?  Only in my abandon to the Shepherd of my soul.

Order also restrains chaos.  It is more than structure – putting things in their places so that nothing distracts.  Order is intentionality.  Singularity of purpose.  I have no other agenda.  The Creator brought order out of chaos.  He can do the same in the depths of my heart.  “No weapon forged against you will prevail.”3  Purposefully give Him His rightful place and deny that which brings distraction and disharmony.

When I guard my heart and mind in Christ, when I let His peace and order reign over me, the chaos fades and I can find Jesus.  It’s not easy – surrender never is.  I must lay my will down and lift His cup.  “Not my will but yours be done.”4  It happens in His power or we fail every time.  I’ve been learning to invite God into moments and to ask Him to help me yield to Him.  To usher in His peace and His plan… and to let me come to a stop and purposefully surrender, that I might know Him.  More and more.

This week, the Lord brought to mind how much I need Him every moment.  A hymn came to mind and I decided it would help me build the pillars higher as I battle chaos.  I found this version on YouTube – the author (Sam Robson) seems to have created a number of these moving performances.  It was exactly what I needed to help me enter His presence.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3wSbLa2uGg

  1. Genesis 3:17-19
  2. Psalm 23:5
  3. Isaiah 54:16-17
  4. Luke 22:42
May 23
Love0

Persistence

By Equip, Personal

Sometimes I don’t even have the persistence of peanut butter.

If you put a healthy portion of Skippy on your PBJ sandwich, you’re going to need a tall glass of milk.  That concoction of starch and spread has the ability to relentlessly bond to the roof of your mouth.  Someone will inevitably ask you, “How’s it going?” when you can’t even mutter in reply.  But with a nice glass of milk, it all washes sweetly down.

That peanut butter has a certain persistence – but it also has its limits.  And that’s the point of my thought at this moment.  What is the limit of my persistence?

God has told us many things about prayer in His Word – here are just a few:

If you’re like me, you have many needs and wants.  Are you persistent about praying for them?  Or have you been more like I’d been recently – lackadaisical, inconsistent, perhaps even lazy or fatalistic? (i.e. if God wanted it to happen, it would have happened by now; He doesn’t need me nagging; my prayers won’t change a thing.)

The Persistent Widow?

Our family has a yellow Labrador retriever.  Gabi is the sweetest pup on earth and extremely affectionate with all of us. (She really liked our boys when they were little – she would clean the extra food off their faces!)  But sometimes the reason Gabi licks me isn’t solely because she loves me – sometimes it’s because she wants something.  Her kisses mean something along the lines of  “Hey, I love you, please take me for a walk,” or “You are so awesome – when you share your steak with me!  Go ahead!  C’mon!  Please?”  She can be extremely persistent.

So I was pondering this morning, as Gabi affectionately (and repeatedly) asked me to walk her, how persistent am I in asking my Master for what I want?  Honestly!  If I’m so aware of my needs, why am I so reluctant to fervently appeal?  God tells us to “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11.)  Stop right now and put this into practice – fill in the blanks with your needs:

Jesus – I need You!

I need You more than anything!

For everything else I need, I ask You now, and will continue to ask You for Your blessing.  For … …  … , I ask You, and for … …  … , I ask You, and…

I don’t know if what you want is what God will give you.  There is no formula.  I don’t know if it’s His answer, His timing, His method.  But isn’t it time to rightly value the power of God, the love of God, and the call of God?  He is able, He gives good gifts, and He wants us to ask!

Let us pray persistently, expectantly, urgently and without ceasing, that the God who loved us enough to die for us would answer our prayers.  Won’t you join with me?

And now I need to go make a PBJ.  Maybe a couple.  As it turns out, Gabi likes Skippy too.

Jan 04
Love0

Haiti Video Recap

By Envision, Involve

Here is a moving video which is an excellent wrap-up and moving video of last month’s recent mission trip to Haiti.  Thank you to Jake Hart for his work producing the video.  To answer the inevitable question about how to get a hold of the soundtrack, you can purchase ‘ “Hold On” by Rapture Ruckus from iTunes, Amazon or your favorite media store.

We’re grateful for your partnership with The Global Mission!

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