Revive2012 February

Will you not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? (Psalms 85:6)

This Month:

Erasing Hell

Questions About Our Hope

P-R-A-Y

Prayer Focus - Sudan

CONTENT3 Erasing Hell

6 Current Events

8 Questions About Our Hope

10 Patience, Silence, Psalms

12 Project One

16 Ministry Update

18 Watch and Pray

CURE International

Open Doors

Food For the Poor

Gospel For Asia

Joshua Project

Operation World

27 Enduring Stories

Compass Direct

Prayer Force Alert

31 Revive

P-R-A-Y

Change

36 Foxes Book of Martyrs

38 Puritan VisionDesign: Domino MinistriesInformation is correct at press time. Visit our website - http://www.bethedomino.org

Watch and Pray

Watch and Pray is a prayer resource supporting the following ministries in prayer:

CURE International

Open Doors

Food For the Poor

Gospel For Asia

Joshua Project

Operation World

Every week we support these ministries during our weekly Watch and Pray feature. These ministries are the heart of the Watch and Pray ministry. Visit Watch and Pray for for information and weekly prayer guides.

Contact Information: email - whitt@bethedomino.org

Revive Magazine is a publication created by Domino Ministries. Be the domino that God uses to touch the lives of others.

FEBRUARY 2012

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Would you describe your prayer time as powerful?

I think if we are honest about it, most of us don’t feel as though we have a very effective prayer life. There are days when I wonder if my prayers are going any higher than the ceiling. Have you ever had days like that? Sometimes I wonder if my prayers are even worth praying. I think we all have times like that in our life. I have often heard people pray for a revival in the church, but I think in order for that to happen it has to start in our own hearts first.

Have you ever just longed to be refreshed, revived? Do you ever feel drained spiritually? Revival in the church has to start within ourselves, because as followers of Christ we are the Church. I want to share a quote with you that I read a while back, that really put things into perspective for me.

“Revival is not churches filled with people, but people filled with God.”

- A.W. Tozer The Pursuit of God

Revive Magazine

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. (Psalms 85:6-7)

Revive is a magazine devoted to strengthening and encouraging the body of Christ through prayer, intercession, and personal reflection.

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Erasing HellIn January I started a new blog series called “blogging stuff that matters” I can’t think of a more appropriate way to start off with than by discussing the book Erasing Hell by Francis Chan.

I’ve actually had this book for about 6-8 months, and last summer started to read it. I only got through the first 2 chapter before I had to put it down. I wasn’t ready for what was inside this book. The weight of the topic was too much for me to even think about. Months have passed, yet this book, sitting on my desk had remained unopened.

If you are excited to read this book, you have issuesHell isn’t exactly a fun thing to read about. In fact, the opening words in the introduction say “If you are excited to read this book, you have issues.” Francis Chan lays it all out in the opening paragraph by the weight of the topic, about the possibility of you and I being tormented in an eternal hell. Excited would be the wrong term, he says, Necessary would be more fitting.

I didn’t want to know what the book said, even though I knew what it was going to say. Does that make sense? Confronted with the reality of what the book says about hell, causes me to examine my own life, my own priorities, and the things that I think matter in this life. To be quite honest, most people don’t like to examine things in their lives. I know I don’t.

My wife has been reading a book and quoting pages of it at a time. I told her the other day, “Well I am definitely not going to read that one!” She asked why, and I responded “I don’t need that kind of conviction in my life!”

I said it jokingly of course, but isn’t that how we think sometimes? I think that reality can hurt. Especially

whenever it comes to things we don’t want to deal with, that we know we should. I’ve been telling my wife for the past few weeks that I knew God wanted me to pick up this book and see what it had to say. I just didn’t want to do it.

This morning, I was reminded once again that partial obedience is the same as disobedience. Even as I sit here this morning, my four year old is in the next room watching tv and drinking his chocolate milk, I don’t want to think about the possibility of him ending up

in a place of eternal torment, separated from God.

I don’t want to think about that with any of my children! I have family who do not have a relationship with Him. This breaks my heart to know that I have family who according to what Scripture says, based on His Word will not be in Heaven with me. You might be able to relate, whether you want to think about it or not, you know that there are people in your life who don’t know Jesus.

More than an opportunity blog about a hot topic (no pun intended, but ... maybe) it has been an opportunity to spend much time in prayer. Which it

turns out is the focus of this e-magazine.

Praying for the lost is something that I don’t believe any of us can do too much of. The reality of millions who are headed towards a reality of eternal tormet and eternal separation from God should be enough to drive us to our knees!

Join us as we continue blogging stuff that matters. Ask yourselves, could anything possibly be more important than someones salvation?

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Faith, and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom, and fruitage in prayer..

E.M. Bounds

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In The Future of the Global Church, Patrick Johnstone, author of six editions of the phenomenal prayer guide, Operation World, draws on his fifty years experience to challenge

us with his bold vision of the global Christian church.

The Future of the Global Church weaves together the strands of history, demographics and religion to present a breath-taking, full-color graphical and textual overview of the past,

present and possible future of the Church around the world.

http://www.francischan.org/#/erasing-hell

Current Events

Chinese Christian seeking exile in US

One of China’s most prominent Christian dissidents, Yu Jie, said on Friday he has sought exile in the United States, vowing to give a graphic account of a year under house arrest and episodes of torture during a crackdown on dissent in China last year.

Yu said he would recount the abuse in testimony before a U.S. Congress panel as early as next week, highlighting the issue ahead of a possible visit to Washington by Chinese leader-in-waiting, Vice President Xi Jinping, in the coming months.

Yu said authorities became heavy-handed after his fellow dissident, Liu Xiaobo, won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

“My circumstances dramatically worsened, and I experienced extremely cruel torture.”

Violence in Venuzeula, Church concerned.

CARACAS, Venezuela -- The leadership of Venezuela’s Roman Catholic Church raised concerns Thursday about rampant violent crime, urging President Hugo Chavez’s government to curb the country’s rising murder rate.

“The grave danger is that many crimes go unpunished in Venezuela,” Bishop Diego Padron, president of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, said in reading a statement prepared by the organization.

The Venezuelan Violence Observatory, a non-governmental group that tracks violent crime, says at least 19,336 Venezuelans were slain during the first 10 months of last year - a 9.8 percent increase from 2010, when 17,600 people were killed.

Boko Haram Defends Attacks On Christians

Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamic sect on Wednesday defended the recent attacks carried out by its members on Christian targets across the country and said the attacks were in retaliation to the killing of Muslims by Christians in recent years.

The leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, in a 15-minute video message posted on the You Tube on Wednesday said he was responding to the actions of President Goodluck Jonathan and the remarks made by the leader of the country’s main Christian organization.

In his message posted Wednesday, said the recent attacks by the group on Christians were to avenge the killing of Muslims in places like Jos, Kaduna, Zangon Kataf, Tafawa Balewa by Christians in recent years.

Muslim Extremists Strike at Christians

NAIROBI, Kenya — Far from the world media’s gaze in remote islands off the eastern coast of Africa, church buildings are razed and Christians are ostracized and imprisoned for their faith – leaving one with a skin disease. On Tanzania’s island of Zanzibar, in one week-long stretch last month Muslim extremists destroyed two church buildings, Christian leaders said.

The extremists torched the building of the Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship of Africa in Mtufani Mwera, about 12 kilometers (seven miles) from Zanzibar town, at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3, said Pastor Julius Makoho.

Damages were estimated at 1.5 million Tanzania shillings (US$9,350).

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Current Events

Children in Mexico - Criminals or Victims?

(CNN) -- At least 30,000 children in Mexico are involved in some sort of organized crime, according to a nationwide alliance of civic and social organizations.

The Child Rights Network in Mexico says many of these children are taking part because of death threats or because of economic and social necessity. It is urging the government to start recognizing them as victims of child abuse.

“The drug cartels are not training them to be ringleaders,” spokeswoman Veronica Morales said. “It is a new form of abuse in which they are being used to commit an offense, to violate the law and to deceive authorities.”

In the past year, there have been numerous headlines of children being arrested in Mexico.

Downed airmen tell their tale

The U.S. aerial bombing campaign over Libya was just two days old last March when F-15 pilot Maj. Kenneth Harney and Capt. Tyler Stark got their mission - conduct airstrikes against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces near Benghazi.

Harney would pilot the F-15 in the front seat. Stark, a weapons system officer on his first combat mission, was in the back.

In exclusive interviews with CNN, for the first time both men told their harrowing story of what happened that night when their plane crashed.

They had not been permitted by the Air Force to talk until a months-long investigation was recently completed.

Students vow to end slavery

For the better part of an hour, 42,000 college students stood in the frigid Atlanta night, patiently waiting for a statue illustrating the fight against human trafficking to be illuminated.

The event was one of the final gatherings during the Passion 2012 conference, an annual meeting of 18 to 25 year olds. The students were encouraged to donate money to causes that battle trafficking.

The statue, covered in items made by slaves like clothes, represents many things said the man responsible for coordinating the outreach efforts with the organizations that will receive portions of the more than $2.6 million raised during the four-day conference.

Political Crisis in Pakistan

Pakistan is facing its most serious political crisis in years, with rapidly escalating conflicts between the civilian government, the military and the judiciary, against the backdrop of a faltering economy, widespread poverty, corruption and the bloody war with Islamist militant groups.

The country was founded in 1947 as a democracy, but in times of crisis the army -- Pakistan’s most powerful institution -- has overthrown the civilian government on the grounds that the leadership had been unfit and corrupt.

Rumors of another coup have been swirling around the current crisis -- but analysts say a military takeover is highly unlikely this time around.

Read the 5 reasons why

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Questions about our

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Questions About Our HopeBut since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

What do you do when nothing but uncertainty and insecurity fill your mind? How do you overcome the sensation that your entire body is burning as a result of fear and panic?

Whether we admit it or not, all of us will have to deal at times with circumstances that overwhelm us. We all go through problems that take us by surprise, come out of nowhere and make us feel trapped.

For some of us, we share the pain we are suffering because we are searching for answers and trying to sort through our thoughts and emotions. For others, we attempt to control and mask the thoughts and emotions so no one will suspect the struggles we face.

We need to ask ourselves a few questions...

What is the difference between how Christians handle these situations, and how the world handles them?

When the world looks at Christians can they see where our hope comes from?

Once we figure out the answers to those questions we are faced with an even tougher question...

Do we understand that we reveal the source of our hope in the trials that we face by the way we respond to them?

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:3-4)

My fear is that when the world looks at us, they don’t see us handling things any differently than they do. We look as though we hope in the same things that they do.

Even worse, is when we act as though we have no hope at all. The world is watching us. They want to know what we believe in, and they need to know it’s real.

We are called to hope fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23). Without wavering, what does that look like when applied in our lives? Let us hold tightly to the hope that we say that we have.

That is my prayer for you today. Hold tightly to the hope that you save that you have. How else will the world know? What are we showing them if our hope is based on the outcome of our circumstances? Why would they want what we’ve got, if it looks like the same thing they have?

Our hope should come from God (Psalm 43:5), it is a gift of grace (2 Thessalonians 2:16) and it is secured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ( John 11:25-26, 14:19; I Cor.15:17)

What do you do when nothing but uncertainty and insecurity fill your mind?

This is an important question to ask ourselves.

Where do you turn when the enemy of doubt and discouragement attacks?

Do we give up and waive our white flag in the air? Or do we stand firm in the Hope that is Jesus Christ?

When people see us going through a struggle do they see us responding in a supernatural way, or do they see us as someone who is desperate and searching for anything and everything to help us cope?

Is there a difference between where we say our hope comes from and what we are living out?

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Patience, Silence, and PsalmsI want to share with you the very personal lyrics of a song that pretty much sums up a lot of things that we deal with in life. I usually would not consider such a thing in a prayer magazine, but as you read the words, the focus, the intent, and the desire for prayer surrounds both the lyrics and the Psalm.

Intertwined in the lyrics are the words from Psalm 139. It wasn’t written that way by the band, but instead it is something very personal to me. The words to the song, and life in general seemed to go hand in hand with the Psalm. Honesty, Truth, Integrity, and Character.

There are many times in life that we want to let the world think that we’ve got it all together. Call it a mask, if you will. Christians are the worst about wearing these masks. Somehow we’ve bought into the lie that since we know Christ, we are supposed to have it all together. How backwards is that?? It’s because we don’t have it all together that we need Him. He alone holds all things together in His hands.

Patience and Silence

I’ve never had the spine I lead them to believe, the devil born in me feeds me lies.

He creeps into my mind and spreads confusion untilI’m left with fear of what could be and doubt of what has been.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. (Psalms 139:1-4)

Truth be told, I’d rather not know, it’s so much easier to quit, it’s just so easy not to care.

Truth be told, I’d rather not go, I want to run away and never come back again.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalms 139:7-12)

If all the world should come against me, I’d like to think that I could stand,

but I’m not always sure that they don’t have Your hand.

You’re the only one to fear, because You’re the only one who loves me as I am.

You alone are my Defender. You alone will be my Judge.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalms 139:13-16)

I just need to remember that time you told me…You’re the only one to fear. (Patience…) You’re the only one who loves me as I am. (Silence…)And You alone are my Defender. (Patience…) You alone will be my Judge. (Silence…)

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. (Psalms 139:17-18)

Peace be still. Peace be still.

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Come&LiveVisit omeandlive.com for a free download

Preson-Phillips.com

Project One

Praying for the unreached people groups of Africa throughout 2012

Project OnePraying for the Unreached People Groups of Africa

Joshua Project is a research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the least followers of Christ. Accurate, regularly updated ethnic people group information is critical for understanding and completing the Great Commission. Jesus said in Matthew 24:14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Jesus directly links His return to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. While no one knows the date or time of His return, we do know that this gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all the nations first. Revelation 5:9 and 7:9-10 show that there will be some from every tribe, tongue, nation and people before the Throne.

Joshua Project seeks to answer the questions that result from the Great Commission’s call to make disciples among every nation or people group:

•Who are the ethnic people groups of the world?•Which people groups still need an initial church-planting movement in their midst?•What ministry resources are available to help outreach among the least-reached?

In 2011 it’s a very sobering fact that despite the vast spread and use of technology, the growth of missionary groups, and the spread of the Gospel , that there are around 6500 unreached ethnic people groups with few if any followers of Christ.

Joshua Project gathers, integrates and shares people group information to encourage pioneer church-planting movements among every ethnic group and to facilitate effective coordination of mission agency efforts. Joshua Project compiles the work of numerous missions researchers to develop a list of all ethnic peoples that is as complete as possible.

Project One is a prayer initiative focused on the unreached people groups of Africa. Each month will have a focus scripture, and each day of 2012 we will be praying through the unreached people groups of Africa country by country.

We will present some information about the people groups, along with prayer points linking back to their page on Joshua Project.

There are many people groups with no picture, and little to no information about them. Although we will have little to go on, these are groups that we need to be lifting up to the Lord in prayer, that someone will come, someone will share the Gospel, the Good News. Pray for an outpouring of the Spirit. Pray that Jesus would be revealed to them through dreams and visions, and that they would have a hunger to know Him, and come into relationship with Him.

One Continent, One Prayer, One Year.

ResourcesProject One Page - http://www.bethedomino.org/project-one

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/project1africaFacebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-One/105912562859849

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Project One Scripture Focus

And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and

I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.

(Haggai 2:7)

During the month of February we will be praying for the unreached people groups of Sudan.. Sudan is Africa’s largest country.

Northern and southern Sudan have fought each other for nearly 40 years since the country gained independence from Britain in 1956.

In 2011 the North and the South split in two. After decades of violence and on-and-off civil war Christian Sudanese in the south have successfully split from their Muslim neighbors in the north to form South Sudan, the world’s newest country.

The establishment of the new country was long desired by the overwhelmingly Christian population, concentrated in the southernmost portions of the nation, who approved of the split from the Muslim north in a referendum vote that had been crafted as part of a key 2005 peace agreement drafted to help avert an otherwise perpetual civil war.

Sudan had been effectively in a state of civil war just two years after becoming an independent state in 1956. The civil war officially began in 1962, originating in the south and inspired by the Anya Nya movement. According to a BBC News time line, Sudan became an Islamic government in 1964. Just eight years later, the south became independently governed, in one of many efforts to keep the peace.

Warring scenes would play themselves out over the next few decades, with coups and assassination attempts ensuring constant instability throughout Sudan.

The Sudanese plight became more widely known in 2004 when pro-Arab militias turned much of the Darfur region into killing fields.

Over the next few months we will begin in prayer for the unreached people of Sudan, starting this month with South Sudan.

Please keep the following least-evangelized people groups on your heart over th next few months:

Darfur Province was Christian a millennium ago. Though one of the least-evangelized areas in the world, there are now handfuls of believers in many of the people groups of this region.

The Beja on the Red Sea Coast were famed as the “Fuzzie Wuzzies” . They were once Christian, but now practice folk Islam. There is limited ministry among them, only a few Christians are known.

The Nubians of the Nile valley - an ancient people with great kingdoms were Christian for 1000 years. Relentless Muslim pressure led to their Islamization 600 years ago. There are only a handful of believers there today. To Download this month’s prayer guide visit bethedomino.org/project-one

Gospel For Asia

Going Fisihing.The catch is miraculous.

Many Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries joined together to proclaim the Good News through Gospel literature. These pastors started the day with 20,000 Gospel tracts—and by the end of the day, not one was left. The eight pastors led 60 believers from their churches in passing out Gospel literature and sharing the love of Christ with those they met on the streets. The group then distributed Gospel tracts at a medical clinic, where patients and doctors heard and responded positively to the message of the Savior.

In another region, 12 missionaries brought the message of God’s love to this town. Despite the area being deeply rooted in a traditional religion, many received and read the tracts with enthusiasm, and no one opposed the missionaries. At an annual festival, a team of 10 pastors and 15 believers shone brightly with Christ’s light.

Through Gospel tracts, 52,000 people heard about Jesus!

For more information visit Gospel For Asia’s website.

Ministry Update

Domino Ministry Update

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Week 6

Exodus 19-21Exodus 22-24Exodus 25-27Exodus 28-29Exodus 30-32Exodus 33-35Exodus 36-38

Week 7

Exodus 39-40Leviticus 1-4Leviticus 5-7Leviticus 8-10Leviticus 11-13Leviticus 14-15Leviticus 16-18

Week 8 Leviticus 19-21Leviticus 22-23Leviticus 24-25Leviticus 26-27Numbers 1-2Numbers 3-4Numbers 5-6

Week 9 Numbers 7Numbers 8-10Numbers 11-13Num 14-15 & Ps 90Numbers 16-17Numbers 18-20Numbers 21-22

Week 10 Numbers 23-25Numbers 26-27Numbers 28-30Numbers 31-32Numbers 33-34Numbers 35-36Deut. 1-2

Reading the Bible in Chronological Order

Project One

During the month of February we will be in prayer for the unreached people of South Sudan. An unreached or least-reached people is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group. Visit the Project One page for more information and consider joining us in our one year prayer campaign for the unreached people groups of Africa in 2012.

Being a Domino CUREkids Campaign

Starting Feb 1st through the end of March, Domino Ministries is raising money to fund a child’s surgery through CURE International.

Samuel is a 9 years old boy who has untreated burns and lives in Malawi where care for his condition is hard to get. Fortunately he is scheduled for care at CURE Malawi on 04/16/2012. and you can help.

Check out our fundraiser, and prayerfully consider giving to make a difference in Samuel’s life. Be the domino God uses to touch his life.

One Year Anniversary

In January, we celebrated our one year anniversary with the announcement of a blog team.

“If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full.” - John Piper

This quote was the foundational truth by which our team was formed. Their heart and their passion for God’s Glory is contagious! Take a few minutes and Meet the Team, and be sure to visit their links!

Emergency

The new website for Emergency is up and running. With a renewed vision and mission statement our prayer is that this ministry will take off hitting the ground running.

Emergency exists to serve and encourage, to compel and empower men in their relationship with Jesus Christ. We exist to build up the body of Christ by seeking a community focused on honesty and integrity.

We desire accountability and

relationship with God and with others.

The heart of this ministry is to build a community of men who are compelled to seek Him as their treasure, and empower them to walk in their identity found only in the person of Jesus Christ.

Visit the Emergency Website

Erasing Hell

During the month of January we’ve been blogging through the book Erasing Hell by Francis Chan in a new series called “Blogging Stuff That Matters.” The idea is to go through a topic or a book, and blog thoughts and ideas based around that book.

This will be an ongoing series in the future.

Prayer Requests

One of the new software features we are implementing is our prayer request box. A user can submit a prayer request that goes to this page, and they have the option to be notified whenever someone prays for this request.

Watch and Pray

Cure Internatonal

Open DoorsJoshua Project

Gospel for AsiaFood For the Poor

Operation World

Watch & PrayJoin us every Wednesday for an hour in prayer.

Each Wednesday we will post a prayer guide on the website at 4 am. Feel free to pray as you feel led for the time that you feel led. The important thing is that you are spending time in prayer with the Lord.

Watch and Pray is merely a guideline of things to be in prayer for. You can and should choose to pray however the Lord leads you.

Prayerfully Consider

Is there any unconfessed sin in my life?*Do I have unforgiveness or bitterness towards anyone or anything?*Are there any questionable activities going on in my life?*Am I obeying the Holy Spirit promptly in all things?*Am I confessing Jesus Christ unashamed?

Consider any obstacles that may be hindering your prayer life:

*Conscious - unconfessed sin (Psalm 66:18 Isaiah 59:1-2)

* Idolatry - (Ezekial 14:3)

* Covetousness (Proverbs 21:13; 1 Timothy 6:10)

* Unbelief & Doubt (John 16:9; James 1:6-8)

* Unforgiveness & Bitterness (Matthew 6:14-15)

*Pride (James 4:6)

*Selfish Motives (James 4:3)

* Critical Spirit (Matthew 7:1)

* Ingratitude (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

* Love for the World (1 John 2:15)

Prayerfully consider any unsaved family members, friends, co-workers, or acquaintances. Pray for their salvation, that God will bless them spiritually, socially, emotionally, and pray for their felt needs as well as spiritual needs.

Pray for Any Personal Needs

Ask the Lord to reveal new things to you, things that He wants you to notice and pay attention to. Ask God to reveal His will and plans to you. Ask the Lord for things that are on His heart that He wants you to pray about. Prayerfully consider writing down or journaling these things, and what you sense God is saying to you.

Read and pray through 2-3 Psalms.

Pray for Leaders and PastorsPray for the YouthPray for the nations

Every Wednesday we pray for the following ministries:

CURE InternationalOpen DoorsJoshua ProjectOperation WorldFood For the PoorGospel For Asia

Pray for breakthroughs in various global challenges(AIDS, HIV, Cancer, Disease, Clean Water)

Pray through the Names of the Lord

Pray for the Persecuted Church

Pray for your spouse

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Watch & Pray

CURE International

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Samuel Shadrick

Condition: untreated burnsCountry: MalawiAge: 9 years oldTreatment Date: 4/16/2012

Burns are one of the worst injuries a person can sustain. Not only do they hurt more and for longer than any other kind of injury, they cause so much more residual damage than any other wound. Cuts leave scars but they lay flat on the surface of the skin

and simply connect tissue that was disconnected, whereas scars for burns are tissue created to replace skin that was completely taken away. They end up being extremely restrictive and can cause as much dysfunction as the initial burn. Nine-year-old Samuel Shadrick is all too familiar with this turn of events, as he was burned at nine months old and has lived with the destructive contraction of his toes and foot due to scar tissue for his whole life.

Make a difference in Samuel’s life today.

Watch & Pray

Open DoorsOpen Doors works in the world’s most oppressive countries, strengthening Christians to stand strong in the face of persecution and equipping them to shine Christ’s light in these dark places.

Prayer Force Alert“Prayer is the most important, powerful, exciting and dynamic weapon that we as Christians can wield.” —Carl Moeller, President/CEO Open Doors USASign up to receive the Prayer Force Alert Calendar.

Algeria - In the second half of 2011 the pressure on the church has clearly increased. Pray for an end to the pressure and that Christians and leaders are not limited due to the anti-Christian sentiment. The governement in Algeria tried to control the church. Please pray for wisdom for the pastors and church leaders.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

World Watch ListThe World Watch List (WWL) is a ranking of 50 countries where persecution of Christians for religious reasons is worst. First of all, the list covers persecution of Christians of all denominations in the entire country. The focus is onpersecution for their faith, not persecution for political, economic, social, ethnic or accidental reasons

Afghanistan - #2 on the WWL

All Afghan Christians come from a Muslim background. Believers who are discovered face discrimination from family and community, Muslim clergy and local authorities. The government treats converts in a hostile manner, using any means possible to make them recant.

The tiny Christian minority cannot meet in public; meetings in private homes are possible, but require great caution. Not a single official church building remains, not even for expatriate believers. In February, an Afghan Christian was released after spending nearly nine months in prison on charges of apostasy.

Pray:For courage and perseverance for individual Christians with so little fellowship

That Taliban threats against Christian relief organizations will come to nothing

For the church to grow despite the difficulties.

Shockwave (Open Doors Youth)

Shockwave is a youth event that Open Doors is hosting on March 2nd through March 4th.

Over the 2-4 March 2012 young people across the time zones and nations will unite in prayer for the persecuted, and put 1 Corinthians 12:26 into action. Over SHOCKWAVE we want to create a huge wave of prayer and ask God to build his church in the most closed countries on earth. SHOCKWAVE can be big or small, you just need to be willing to pray, we can provide you with some great prayer resources.

From the Open Doors News

Ugandan Girl Tortured for Christ Regaining Use of Legs.

BWERA, Uganda, January 17 (CDN) — A 15-year-old Christian girl in western Uganda who lost the use of her legs after her father locked her in a room for six months for leaving Islam has begun to take tentative steps.

Susan Ithungu of Isango village, Kasese district, had been hospitalized since September 2010 after neighbors along with police rescued her from her father, Beya Baluku, who had given her hardly any food or water. He was arrested shortly afterward but quickly released. She and her younger brother, Mbusa Baluku, lived alone with their father, who was divorced from their mother. Read more on the Open Doors Website.

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Watch & Pray

Food For The Poor“I will sing a new song to You, my God;on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to You.” (Psalm 144:9)

Our gracious heavenly Father, we are thankful for new beginnings in this new year. It symbolizes a time to bring closure, a fresh start, and new opportunities. With hearts lightened, we now sing a new song to You, in acknowledgment that You are worthy of all our praise and glory. May our very lives be an offering of beautiful music to You. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

lohud.com: Crispinelli parents retrace steps of daughter killed in Haiti quake, understand her last days

KATONAH, N.Y. (Jan. 22, 2012) — It has taken the Crispinelli family two years to journey to Haiti and follow the last steps of 19-year-old Stephanie, who died during the earthquake in Haiti that struck Jan. 11, 2010. To read more, click here.

Thousands of meals are heading to Haiti, thanks to Lynn University

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 13, 2012) — More than 200 students, staff and volunteers packed Green Hall on the campus of Lynn University on the second anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. They were not there to mourn, but to participate in a food packing event to help feed families still recovering from the 2010 natural disaster.

The precious cargo – white rice, lentils, dried carrot, onion, tomato, celery, cabbage, bell pepper and a dash of Himalayan sea salt – was vacuum-sealed on the Boca Raton campus and packed into 120 boxes. Each box contains 48 bags of the dried ingredients, and each bag equals six meals or 288 meals per box, a total of 34,560 meals. All of the boxes were then signed with loving words of encouragement, loaded onto a truck and delivered to Food For The Poor’s warehouse in Coconut Creek.

“The students at Lynn University are so full of energy, we’re so grateful to them and to our donors with Feeding Children Everywhere for their gift, which will feed hundreds of families in Haiti,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Higher food prices are challenging our ability to feed the number of hungry we need to reach, so we’re very grateful for this donation.”

Each box contains 288 meals, for a total of 34,560 meals. The critically needed food will be shipped to Haiti.

This is the second year Lynn University has partnered with the Orlando-based food pack charity, and donated those meals to Food For The Poor. The critically needed food will be shipped to Haiti by the end of the month.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:Wanda WrightFood For The PoorPublic Relations954-427-2222 x 6079wandaw@foodforthepoor.com

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Watch & Pray

Jan. 26: A Salvadoran girl beams with pleasure after receiving new shorts and hat. Food For The Poor supporters donated the clothes to the San Salvador family through the charity’s

Gifts In Kind department.

Jan. 24: A Haitian boy drinks thirstily from a Food For The Poor water pump. With the support of donors, FFP has been able to complete more than 110 such water projects in Haiti, providing safe, clean water to communities that would otherwise rely on potentially polluted rivers and streams.

Gospel For AsiaGospel for Asia - We are committed as a family of believers to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with lost men, women and children throughout Asia who have still not heard His precious name.

12 Year Old Fights Throat Cancer

Surendra, child of Gospel for Asia-supported missionary Jatan Singh, was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his throat four months ago.

Doctors informed Jatan that his 12-year-old son has moved into the final stages of the illness and has to undergo a major operation immediately.

No date was given as to when the surgery would take place.

Please pray fervently for Surendra, that he would receive healing, and the Lord will be glorified through this. Pray the operation happens soon and goes well.

Pray, also, that his family will be comforted and encouraged during this time.

Bridge of Hope Child Passes Away

On January 18, Bridge of Hope child Sweta Kumari went to be with the Lord. She was 9 years old and an active third-grade student in her Bridge of Hope center.

A few weeks before her passing, Sweta contracted an illness that caused her nose and mouth to bleed. She was taking medication, but the sickness had already taken its toll.

Sweta’s father, mother, brother and four sisters need our prayers. Please pray they feel the Lord’s sweet comfort as they grieve the loss of their child and sister.

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Watch & Pray

Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Anu Kumar lost his wife last week. Nayanbala, 35, suffered from severe heart problems for the past five months.

On January 18, Anu brought her to the hospital where doctors conducted tests and found a buildup of fluid in her heart. Nayanbala was in critical condition when she underwent a major surgery to fix the problem. The following night, however, Nayanbala went home to be with the Lord.

Please pray Pastor Anu will feel the Lord’s comfort and peace at the loss of his wife. Pray also that he walks in the Lord’s strength to continue his ministry.

Joshua ProjectJoshua Project is a research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the fewest followers of Christ.

Kagoro of Mali

The majority of the Kagoro are animists, believing that non-human objects have spirits. In addition, they practice ancestor worship, and rites are celebrated to worship them. The dead are appeased with offerings of millet flour and water.

The Kagoro believe that sometimes their ancestors may take the form of animals or even vegetables! Illiteracy is a major problem among the Kagoro. Some Islamic schools have been established, but most villages fail to educate their children because their help is needed on the farm.

Ministry Obstacles

Mali is not a hospitable region for Christian workers. Creative means of access from outsiders are needed.

Outreach Ideas

A low literacy rate suggests the need for oral communication of the Gospel message. Stories from

Scripture, and Gospel recordings and videos, can be very helpful.

Pray for the followers of Christ

There may be a few followers of Christ among the Kagoro community; pray they will be nurtured by the Spirit of Jesus, and will become strong in the faith. Pray they will be joyful always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all circumstances.

Pray for the entire people group

Pray the Kagoro will be set free from the bondage of worshipping created things. Pray also for improved living conditions, and for good schools for the children.

Visit the Joshua Project website for more information on unreached people groups. Be sure to visit their Prayer Resource page to find out how you can help make a difference in prayer.

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Watch & Pray

Operation World

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Watch & Pray

Sudan has known only war for its entire modern history. Violence is rife throughout Sudan, which is regarded as one of the world’s least stable nations. The belligerent government/military waged war against restive populations in the south, west and east at massive human and economic cost to its own citizens. With such religious, ethnic and linguistic diversity added to civil conflicts and hostile relations with neighbors, peace is nearly impossible.

Eleven people died after a militia group allegedly allied to the northern Sudanese government attacked a southern town, an official said Saturday June 25th, as violence in the contested areas between north and South Sudan continued to escalate ahead of the South’s independence next month. A Southern Sudanese County Commissioner Domenic Deng said that eight members of the militia and three Southern Sudanese soldiers died in a morning attack on Turalei.

“All of the offensives are actually targeting the coming separation on the 9th of July,” Deng said.

North and south Sudan ended more than two decades of civil war, in which more than 2 million people died, in 2005 with a peace deal that promised both Abyei and the south a self-determination vote.The south voted overwhelmingly in January to secede and becomes an independent nation July

9. Abyei’s vote never happened, so its future was being negotiated by the north and south.

In July 2011 violence erupted in South Kordofan state when Sudan’s military attacked a black community aligned with Sudan’s south. A U.N. report said dozens of Nuba people were killed, but officials have not been able to confirm an exact toll amid rumors that the military has been rounding up the Nuba people for mass executions.

Pray for sweeping change at the highest levels and throughout the land – for repentance, restitution and rebuilding of communal life. Pray for the families of the 11 dead in an attack in a town in South Sudan.

Sudan is rich in agricultural and mineral resources. One of the world’s fastest -growing economies, but there are so many Sudanese who are remaining in poverty. The different dynamics between the north and the south differ greatly. Over the years there has been a rapid increase of crude oil productions as well as a great potential in mineral exploitation.

Years of widespread economic mismanagement, civil war, diplomatic isolation, and famine have held back progress. This has been devastating to the south.

Agriculture still employs the largest segment of population, and it accounts for 37 % of the GDP which refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country.

Whenever I was reading the introductory facts about Sudan via Operation:World, I read that the average income per person for Sudan is $1522. That is 3 % of the United States.

Let that soak in for a minute. The GDP for the United States is averaging $47,440 a year. This information should be enough to keep in praying for hours on end.Today when you pray consider what you have. Consider what it would be like for you to live on $1522 a year.

Joshua ProjectJoshua Project is a research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the fewest followers of Christ.

Berber, Filala of Morocco

Greek, Roman and Phoenician texts make reference to the forerunners of the Berber peoples, located in the eastern portion of Egypt. “Berber” is a generic name given to numerous heterogeneous ethnic groups who share similar cultural, political and economic practices. Contrary to the romantic, popular image that portrays Berbers as nomadic people who cross the desert on camels, their main activity is sedentary agriculture. Today, significant Berber income comes from the large number of immigrants in Europe, especially in France.

Ministry Obstacles

Morocco is not an easy place for Christians to enter, and to work.

Outreach Ideas

Perhaps Berbers working in Europe will encounter Spirit-filled Christians, those who seriously follow Christ, and who will be able to assist Berbers as they also seek Christ.

Pray for the followers of Christ

Pray for the followers of Jesus who will soon be apparent among the Filala Berbers, that they will clearly understand and rest upon the Gospel of grace, not mixing it with the requirement to do good works. Pray they will understand the need to live obediently to Christ, as a result of His forgiveness and presence within.

Pray for the entire people group

Pray for the Berbers to provide adequately for their families. Pray that the indigent, the widow and orphan, may be cared for.

Scripture Focus

“All nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord, they will bring glory to your name.” (Psalm 86:9)

Visit the Joshua Project website for more information on unreached people groups. Be sure to visit their Prayer Resource page to find out how you can help make a difference in prayer.

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Enduring StoriesStories from the Persecuted Church

Compass DirectCompass Direct News is a news service dedicated to providing exclusive news, penetrating reports, moving interviews and insightful analyses of situations and events facing Christians persecuted for their faith

Former Muslim Extremist in Uganda Flees Wrath of Ex-Colleagues

By Simba TianNAIROBI, Kenya, January 27 (Compass Direct News) – A former member of a Muslim extremist group in Uganda who converted to Christianity is in hiding in Kenya, his movements severely restricted following threats to kill him. Hassan Sharif Lubenga, 54, was a sheikh and member of the Buk Haram, a violent group of Islamists whose name suggests that the Bible is corrupt and therefore forbidden.

Originally from Chengera, seven kilometers from Kampala, the husband to four wives began his conversion process four years ago; in June 2011, he said, after dreams and visions in which Jesus appeared to him, he made a full commitment to follow Christ. In 2009, he said, a message from Jesus came to him in a vision: “Do not hide your Christian faith.” Within a few months, a threatening letter arrived: “If you do not join Islamic Jihad, then we shall kill you.”

His father, Morshid Kabide, came to his house in July 2010 to establish the truth of the rumors he had heard, Lubenga said. When he affirmed his faith in Jesus, his father was crestfallen; he later committed suicide, leaving a letter that read, “I have decided to kill myself because my son became a Christian” and urged all family members to curse him.

Lubenga said that since then he has been in hiding, growing more terrified as threats intensified. “But I kept my faith in Jesus,” he said. “I sold some of my belongings to build the church structure at Chengera, outside Kampala.” As a result of this act, threats on his life grew more shrill, and he fled to Kenya.

Two Catholic Priests Kidnapped in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 25 (Compass Direct News) – Islamic militias loyal to the Sudanese government have kidnapped two Catholic priests in Rabak, Christian sources said.

A large truck smashed through the gates of the St. Josephine Bakhita’s Catholic Church compound in Rabak, 260 kilometers (162 miles) south of Khartoum, on Jan. 15 at 10 p.m., and the assailants broke down the rectory door, the sources said. The Rev. Joseph Makwey and the Rev. Sylvester Mogga were kidnapped at gunpoint.

On Jan. 19, the kidnappers forced the two priests to call their bishop with a ransom demand of 500,000 Sudanese pounds (US$185,530), 250,000 Sudanese pounds each. Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Adwok told Compass by phone that there was no direct communication between the bishop and the kidnappers, though the priests managed to convey that they were being mistreated.

“We are worried about the two priests,” he said. “They are not treating them well.” The kidnappers have attempted no communication with church leaders since then, Adwok said. Neither Makwey, in his 40s, nor Mogga, in his mid-30s, are supporters of southern Sudan military forces in territorial conflict with Sudan over border areas, he added.

Eyewitnesses told Compass that they saw the assailants severely beating the priests while abducting them. The kidnappers also looted the priests’ living quarters, stealing two vehicles, two laptops and a safe. The incident caused panic and terror among Christians in Rabak, with church leaders saying they fear for their lives as they become targets of the Islamic government and it allied militias.

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Enduring Stories

Compass Direct

Seven Christians Killed in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Many injured, church building destroyed.BAUCHI CITY, Nigeria, January 24 (CDN) — Early morning attacks in Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi state on Sunday (Jan. 22) left at least seven Christians dead and a church building destroyed. The attack on the Evangelical Church Winning All Church 2, residents of Tafawa Balewa said, was carried out by area Islamic extremists alongside members of the Boko Haram sect, with the church building and surrounding houses bombed. Yunnana Yusufu, a pastor with the Church of Christ in Nigeria in Tafawa Balewa, told Compass that the assailants arrived in the early morning hours and began shooting at Christians in the town, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Bauchi City. “I saw seven dead bodies of some of the Christians killed,” Yusufu told Compass by phone. “The situation is terrible, and I am about to go out to other parts of the town, to see the extent of the damage caused by the attackers.” Yusufu said that many other Christians were injured.

“Some of them have been taken to the General Hospital here, while others are being treated at home by medical personnel who are Christians,” he said. All churches have cancelled services. “The situation we are in calls for attention to the injured and taking appropriate steps to calm frayed nerves over the attack,” he said. Bauchi Police Commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba reportedly confirmed the attack on Tafawa Balewa, saying two soldiers and a policeman, as well as eight civilians were later killed in a gunfight. He added that six suspects had been arrested. Police also reported that bombs were thrown at a Catholic church building and an evangelical church building in Bauchi City, causing little damage and no deaths or injuries. Bukata Zhadi, secretary of the Christian Elders Council in Tafawa Balewa, said attacks on Christian communities in the area have been incessant, with Sunday’s attack bringing to 10 the number of Christians killed in the past two weeks in Tafawa Balewa. A fortnight ago, gunmen believed to be Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacked three Christian farmers on their farms in Pyakman village, near Tafawa Balewa, killing the three of them. Corpses recovered from the farms had bullet wounds and machete cuts, Zhadi said. Boko Haram, the name given to the Islamic extremist group officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad – “The People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” – seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates loosely as “Western education is forbidden.”

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Enduring Stories

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Prayer Force Alert Enduring Stories

The number one request from persecuted Christians is not for comfort and escape, but for others to stand in prayer with them.

Prayer Force Alert is a monthly prayer guide published by Open Doors. You can sign up to receive the Prayer Force Alert here or by signing up for Frontline Faith – a Monthly newsletter about those who share our faith but not our freedom.

Each week I want to highlight a couple of the prayer requests in the Prayer Force Alert bulletin, and ask that you would be in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ who share our faith but not our freedom.

They share our faith but not our freedom. If you have followed Open Doors or this blog even, you’ve probably heard that phrase, but have you ever truly considered what it means?

“Hundreds of millions of Christians today suffer severe discrimination, imprisonment, torture, kidnappings, and even death… because they have decided to follow Jesus Christ”

Every November many churches and ministries come together to support the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. It is a day that is set aside to remember, to pray for, and lift up persecuted Christians around the world. For Open Doors, it is an event that this ministry spends all year preparing for. This year I began to think about what happens the day after? I don’t want to take away from International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, but they need prayer for longer than just a day.

Our brothers and sisters in Christ need more than a mention during the Sunday morning offering. My friend Kevin McMahan said that we needed to change it to “International Day (To Start) Prayer for the Persecuted Church. I agree.

One of the sad realities of our day and age is that many people are so busy in their day to day activities, they forget to pray. Forgetting to pray? For some that is almost like forgetting to breathe! Others don’t forget, they are simply too busy to stop and pray. The events of the day overwhelm them and their ‘to-do lists’ have taken top priority. I believe that is exactly where the enemy wants us.

Too busy to pray. Have you ever felt like that before?

My wife has been reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala (something I am apparently going to have to add to my reading list). One of the quotes she shared said “Does anyone really think that America today is lacking preachers, books, bible translations, and neat doctrinal statements and cliches? What we really lack is the passion to call upon the Lord until he opens the heavens and shows Himself all powerful.” Now that is praying!

That is exactly the kind of thing that the enemy doesn’t want happening! And we go along with it, because we’re too tied up with our schedules and calendars, television shows, and ballgames to stop and do anything about it anyways.

What I would like to do each week is post one or two of the Prayer Force Alerts from the Open Doors bulletin and lift those up in deep, personal, and intentional prayer.

Will you join us in prayer each week for the persecuted church?

Revive

Revivals begin with God’s own people; the Holy Spirit touches their heart anew, and gives them new fervor and compassion, and zeal, new light and life, and when He has thus come to you, He next goes forth to the valley of dry bones…Oh, what responsibility this lays on the Church of God! If you grieve Him away from yourselves, or hinder His visit, then the poor perishing world suffers sorely!

Andrew Bonar

Revive

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P-R-A-Y

Need a kickstart for prayer when words fail? Try this simple, easy to remember approach.

P-R-A-Y.

Often I come to God to pray, and find myself without words. I don’t know where to begin, and when this happens, I begin to pray in a format similar to this one. By no means is this the only way we should pray, for there are many books written on this subject by people much wiser than I, and Jesus, Himself, tells us how to pray in God’s word. This is merely a suggestion for moments when it seems your words aren’t penetrating the ceiling.

P- Praise

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations. Psalms 100:4-5

There are days when I just don’t feel like praising Him – but those are the days when I must do it anyway. Praise is a sacrifice, when you do it out of complete obedience, and Hebrews tells us we are to continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God. As Beth Moore teaches, sometimes you praise first and you feel it later.

For lack of a better way to say it, praise “gets the juices flowing” and often I don’t ever have to think about the other letters. Praise and worship of my

Father moves my heart near His and the rest comes easy. When words fail, praise Him for Who He is. Praise His character, His power. Praise naturally brings you to a sweet place of reminiscing and repentance.

R- Reminisce and Repent

Reminisce with Him. Walk down memory lane with the Father. Reminisce about his history, whether it be in your personal life, the life of someone you know, or in a story in the Bible.

Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from his mouth. 1Chron 16:12

When we take time to remember the things He has done for us, ways He has provided for others, and things He has taught us, our spirits began to relax and trust begins to build. God has a track record worth reviewing.

Praise and reminiscing with my Father tend to shed light on places about me that don’t align with the character of Christ. As those are revealed, I have an opportunity to repent in order to restore fellowship with my Creator.

In the midst of praise and reminiscing, is not the Kingdom of Heaven at hand? Then we should repent (Matt 4:17) Once I have repented, my heart feels clean and I can ask of Him without shame or reservation.

By Amy DotsonAmy Dotson is a self-confessed gold digger! In Revelation 3:18, Jesus advised the church in Laodicea to buy their gold from Him – gold that had been purified by fire.Amy writes and teaches not because she is rich in knowledge and truth, but because she is poor and has found that the only gold that satisfies is offered in none other than Jesus Christ.A working mother of two and pastor’s wife, Amy blogs about nuggets of gold she finds in everyday life at

Beyond Sunday Morning.

Revive

Revive

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P-R-A-Y

A- Ask

…for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8

You may be surprised that after you have praised Him, and reminisced with Him, the Spirit will often alter your prayer. He often reveals impure motives to my questions and begins to restructure my thinking on a subject mid-prayer, often completely changing what I am going to ask, which brings us to “Y”.

Y- Yield

Yield to His will.

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” Matthew 26:39

After we have praised Him, reminisced of His history, repented, and asked, we must come to our own personal Gethsemane moment of yielding to His will,

which is often very difficult. Our Gethsemane moment allows us to lay everything down that is our control, lay down our arguments on why something should be the way we think, why the answer should be the one we seek, and says “No matter what I think, no matter how I would like for this to turn out, not my will, but Yours.

I trust You with this and I am willing to live it out in whatever way You chose because You know best, God.”

No matter how you approach the Father in prayer, whether it be with this method or another, the important thing is that you approach Him.

As James 4:8 teaches, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Isn’t that what matters?

By Amy DotsonAmy Dotson is a self-confessed gold digger! In Revelation 3:18, Jesus advised the church in Laodicea to buy their gold from Him – gold that had been purified by fire.Amy writes and teaches not because she is rich in knowledge and truth, but because she is poor and has found that the only gold that satisfies is offered in none other than Jesus Christ.A working mother of two and pastor’s wife, Amy blogs about nuggets of gold she finds in everyday life at

Beyond Sunday Morning.

Beyond Sunday Morning is a place for you to quietly rest your soul in who He is and to be reminded of how much He loves you.

“God, what do I know of you?”, that’s the question I began asking God... just to know Him more. As I asked, I began to write the answers everyday as He showed me. It’s amazing what can change because of a simple question. That question is where Beyond Sunday Morning began. I want my eyes to be open to see Him in the midst of everyday experiences and now I want to share with you. I pray you fall in love with Him more everyday.

RevivePraying the Names of the Lord

Lift up Your Name: Yahweh-Elohim, we lift up Your name as “God the Creator” over all the earth. (Gen.2:4-25)

May all people profess and worship You as the one and only “Creator” of the earth and the heavens.

Reveal His character: Wonderful and good Lord, let the Church arise, live and proclaim that the Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him, that it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord (Lam.3:25-26). Cause the Church to know and make known that our God is a God who saves! The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death (Ps.68:20).

Declare His works: We declare over the earth and its inhabitants that the Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He dwells among the cherubim; let the earth be moved! (Ps.99:1). We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your Name is near (Ps.75:1).

Cry for mercy: Jesus Christ, have mercy, forgive us for despising and blaspheming Your Name.

Issues of the Heart

In Ezekiel 16:30 God speaks to all of Jerusalem saying: See how degenerate is your heart. In the preceding verses Ezekiel speaks about the people of Jerusalem worshipping other gods, building altars for them and even killing their own children by sacrificing them to other gods.

The further away we live from God, the more degenerate our hearts become. When, during the week, we do business in such a way that people would not see any difference between our business dealings and that of a non-Christian, there is something wrong.

When we cheat ‘just a little’ on our spouse and see it as ‘only a joke’, then we serve immorality and not purity.

When we take or pay money that was not worked for or earned, we serve injustice and treachery, the opposite of righteousness and justice.

Fear is a form of unbelief, not trusting that God will take care of a situation. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind (2 Tim.1:7).

Ask the Lord to show you the other gods you serve in your life, and begin to wilfully remove them from your life.

In Ezekiel 18:30-31 God literally cries out to Israel; repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.

Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. …For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies.

Satan wants us to live in terror of God, whom we think is just waiting to pounce upon us if we put a foot wrong. But God is crying out to us to abstain from even putting one foot wrong, because He knows exactly how eager Satan is that we do, so that he has the right to destroy our lives completely, causing us to believe God is unjust for being so strict.

God is telling you now to just stop doing what is wrong.

Come to Me, get a new heart and your spirit will be renewed, for I, God, want you to live.

The message can not be any simpler. Make a decision today to believe God. He is life. Let go of the things you hold on to which are destroying your life

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ReviveChange

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. (Psalms 85:6-7)

Change is an extremely difficult thing to pray for. Change means that we will have to step out of our comfort zones into the unknown. It means there has got to be an action on our part. Every December my wife and I pray for the coming year and for God’s will to be done in our lives. I remember one year my wife prayed that God would move us out of our comfort zones, it seemed as though just a few weeks later, our world was turned upside down! I told her the next year we weren’t praying for that one ever again!

The truth is we needed change. God knew that we needed it long before we realized it. Once we were open to the idea and allowed Him to work, He didn’t waste any time. He moved in our lives and things changed.

We have to ask ourselves some very important questions. Do we even want change? Are we open to the possibility that we might need to change some things in our lives? Are we comfortable where we are at? Are we too comfortable?

The first thing that has to happen before revival can start in our hearts is a willingness to be open for any change that God wants to do in us. In order for a revival to be successful, change is something that can’t be avoided. It might be, that you nothing in you wants to change, even though you know that there is a need for it. Pray that God will change your heart.

Read Romans 12:1-2 from your Bible. Then read the following translation below.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

This translation helped put this into perspective for my life. “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.”

In the world: Am I honest in all circumstances?

Resolve: Forsake all questionable habits and activities.But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)

I will not go to bed this evening or live this day without removing from my life every habit or activity I cannot be absolutely sure is approved by God.

For Further Study

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:17

What does this scripture say about change in the life of a believer?

Read the following passages of scripture and learn about change in the life of a believer, and about God who never changes. What does each scripture say about it?

Matthew 18:3Acts 3:19Hebrews 13:8Matthew 4:171 Kings 8:47Jeremiah 7:5-7Isaiah 43:18-19Numbers 23:19James 1:17

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Compass Direct

Lao Officials: Give Up Your Faith or Face Eviction

DUBLIN, December 23 (CDN) — Nearly 50 Christians await their fate today after officials in Natoo village, southern Laos, on Wednesday (Dec. 21) summoned four of their leaders and warned that they would evict the entire church “within 24 hours” if they refused to give up their faith.

Officials told the Christians they had forfeited their right to live in the village because of their faith, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF) reported.

Established just two years ago, the church in Natoo village, Palansai district of Savannakhet Province meets every week in the home of church leader Sompu. The forty-seven members include men, women and children belonging to four extended families.

Immediately after the discussion with Natoo officials, Sompu reported the incident to sub-district police, but at press time district officials had not intervened, according to HRWLRF.

“We are alarmed because the police and military seem to have taken over authority from the religious affairs department in Savannakhet,” a spokesman from HRWLRF told Compass.

Religious affairs staff should take action, he added, because village officials have violated Lao law, the Constitution and international human rights standards by threatening eviction on the basis of religious belief.Click here to read more about this story.

Family of Convert in Pakistan Seeks to Track Him Down

LAHORE, Pakistan, December 8 (CDN) — When Malik Pauloos of Bhakkar district, Punjab Province finally decided to trust a close relative with the secret that he had left Islam for Christianity, there was no question in his relative’s mind that Pauloos’ relationship with the family was over. The family had been custodian of an Islamic shrine, the Pir Syed Karamat Shah in Kot Islam, for three generations. Though Pauloos had moved to Karachi, the capital of Sindh Province, 20 years ago to start a scrap business, he had continued fulfilling his duty to prepare the shrine for annual pilgrimages – but after he withdrew from it over time upon his conversion, shrine leaders were asking pointed questions about his adherence to Islam. “I told him [the relative] to get the shrine people off my back, because I did not want to keep any point of contact with my past life,” Pauloos, 36, told Compass. “Although shocked, my relative said that he would first try and make my family understand the situation, and then they could figure out a way of letting me walk away peacefully.” Pauloos did not realize that, beyond disowning him, his family would file a police complaint against him because – as a murtad or apostate deserving death – he was said to have committed “blasphemy.” With authorities’ help, family members are trying to track him down, he said. Click here to read more.

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Foxes Book of MartyrsWith millions of copies in print, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs has become a classic of magnificent courage and faith. Beginning with Jesus Christ, this unparalleled volume traces the roots of religious persecution. Some of the heroic figures examined are John Hus, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Anne Askew, Lady Jane Grey, and Martin Luther. Every month we will take a look back into the history of the Persecuted Church.

CHAPTER I

History of Christian Martyrs to the First General Persecutions

Under Nero

James the Great

The next martyr we meet with, according to St. Luke, in the History of the Apsotles’ Acts, was James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother of John, and a relative of our Lord; for his mother Salome was cousin-german to the Virgin Mary.

It was not until ten years after the death of Stephen that the second martyrdom took place; for no sooner had Herod Agrippa been appointed governor of Judea, than, with a view to ingratiate himself with them, he raised a sharp persecution against the Christians, and determined to make an effectual blow, by striking at their leaders.

The account given us by an eminent primitive writer, Clemens Alexandrinus, ought not to be overlooked; that, as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle’s extraordinary courage and undauntedness, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus did the first apostolic martyr cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup, which he had told our Savior he was ready to drink.

Timon and Parmenas suffered martyrdom about the same time; the one at Philippi, and the other in Macedonia. These events took place A.D. 44.

Philip

Was born at Bethsaida, in Galilee and was first called by the name of “disciple.” He labored diligently in Upper Asia, and suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis, in Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified, A.D. 54.

Matthew

Whose occupation was that of a toll-gatherer, was born at Nazareth. He wrote his gospel in Hebrew, which was afterwards translated into Greek by James the Less. The scene of his labors was Parthia, and Ethiopia, in which latter country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd in the city of Nadabah, A.D. 60.

James the Less

Is supposed by some to have been the brother of our Lord, by a former wife of Joseph. This is very doubtful, and accords too much with the Catholic superstition, that Mary never had any other children except our Savior. He was elected to the oversight of the churches of Jerusalem; and was the author of the Epistle ascribed to James in the sacred canon. At the age of ninety-four he was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a fuller’s club.

Matthias

Of whom less is known than of most of the other disciples, was elected to fill the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded

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Foxes Book of MartyrsWith millions of copies in print, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs has become a classic of magnificent courage and faith. Beginning with Jesus Christ, this unparalleled volume traces the roots of religious persecution. Some of the heroic figures examined are John Hus, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Anne Askew, Lady Jane Grey, and Martin Luther. Every month we will take a look back into the history of the Persecuted Church.

CHAPTER I

History of Christian Martyrs to the First General Persecutions

Under Nero

Christ our Savior, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, hearing the confession of Simon Peter, who, first of all other, openly acknowledged Him to be the Son of God, and perceiving the secret hand of His Father therein, called him (alluding to his name) a rock, upon which rock He would build His Church so strong that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. In which words three things are to be noted: First, that Christ will have a Church in this world. Secondly, that the same Church should mightily be impugned, not only by the world, but also by the uttermost strength and powers of all hell. And, thirdly, that the same Church, notwithstanding the uttermost of the devil and all his malice, should continue.

Which prophecy of Christ we see wonderfully to be verified, insomuch that the whole course of the Church to this day may seem nothing else but a verifying of the said prophecy. First, that Christ hath set up a Church, needeth no declaration. Secondly, what force of princes, kings, monarchs, governors, and rulers of this world, with their subjects, publicly and privately, with all their strength and cunning, have bent themselves against this Church!

And, thirdly, how the said Church, all this notwithstanding, hath yet endured and holden its own! What storms and tempests it hath overpast, wondrous it is to behold: for the more evident declaration whereof, I have addressed this present history, to the end, first, that the wonderful works of

God in His Church might appear to His glory; also that, the continuance and proceedings of the Church, from time to time, being set forth, more knowledge and experience may redound thereby, to the profit of the reader and edification of Christian faith.

As it is not our business to enlarge upon our Savior’s history, either before or after His crucifixion, we shall only find it necessary to remind our readers of the discomfiture of the Jews by His subsequent resurrection. Although one apostle had betrayed Him; although another had denied Him, under the solemn sanction of an oath; and although the rest had forsaken Him, unless we may except “the disciple who was known unto the high-priest”; the history of His resurrection gave a new direction to all their hearts, and, after the mission of the Holy Spirit, imparted new confidence to their minds. The powers with which they were endued emboldened them to proclaim His name, to the confusion of the Jewish rulers, and the astonishment of Gentile proselytes.

I. St. Stephen

St. Stephen suffered the next in order. His death was occasioned by the faithful manner in which he preached the Gospel to the betrayers and murderers of Christ. To such a degree of madness were they excited, that they cast him out of the city and stoned him to death. The time when he suffered is generally supposed to have been at the passover which succeeded to that of our Lord’s crucifixion, and to the era of his ascension, in the following spring.

Upon this a great persecution was raised against all who professed their belief in Christ as the Messiah, or as a prophet. We are immediately told by St. Luke, that “there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem;” and that “they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

About two thousand Christians, with Nicanor, one of the seven deacons, suffered martyrdom during the “persecution that arose about Stephen.”

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Puritan Vision

Puritan VisionHow to Know If You Are A Real Christian - By Jonathan Edwards

Part Two: Knowledge of God alone is no proof of salvation.

This is seen even more clearly when we think about what demons are like. They are unholy: anything that they experience, cannot be a holy experience. The devil is perfectly wicked. “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.” (1 John 3:8 )

Therefore the demons are called evil spirits, unclean spirits, powers of darkness, and so on. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12)

So it is plain that anything in the minds of demons cannot be holy, or lead to true holiness by itself. The demons clearly know many things about God and religion, but they do not have a holy knowledge.

The things they know in their minds may make impressions in their hearts- indeed we do see that the demons have very strong feelings about God; so strong, in fact, that they “shudder.” But they are not holy feelings because they have nothing to do with the work of the Holy Spirit. If this is true of the experience of demons, it is also true of the experience of men.

Notice this, that it does not matter how genuine, sincere, and powerful these thoughts and feelings are. Demons, being spiritual creatures, know God in a way that men on earth cannot. Their knowledge of God’s existence is more concrete than any man’s knowledge could be. Because they are locked in battle with the forces of good, they have a sincerity of knowledge as well. On one occasion Jesus cast out some demons.

“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” (Mat 8:29) What could possibly be a more clear-cut experience than this? However, while their thoughts and feelings are genuine and powerful, they are not holy.

Also we can see that the holy objects of their thoughts doesn’t make their thoughts and feelings holy. The demons know God exists! Matthew 8:29 shows they know more about Jesus than many people do! They are thoroughly that Jesus will judge them some day, because He is holy. But it is clear that genuine, sincere, and powerful thoughts and feelings about holy, spiritual things, is no proof of God’s grace in the heart. Demons have these things, and look forward to eternal punishment in hell. If men have no more than what the demons have, they will suffer in the same way.

The following excerpt is available for download at puritansermons.com

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Contentment (A Puritan Prayer)

Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.

When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin’s tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labour to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must become to me more than vile lust had been; that His sweetness, power, life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.