Lewis

"If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty
until they were secure,
the search would never have begun.”
CS Lewis

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Libya #2

Here is our reminder post to continue praying for Libya this month!

If you are interested in knowing more ways to pray for Libya on a more regular basis LIKE this facebook page.

Here are some ways to pray for Libya, directly from the Pray4Libya website.

1. Pray that God's peace, healing and blessing can spread throughout this land at this time.

2. Pray for spiritual principalities and strongholds in this land to be defeated.

3. Pray for the miraculous-protection, deliverance, dreams, visions, and healings.

4. Pray that God's people can appropriately respond and assist the Libyan people both inside and outside the country.

5. Pray for the government and its leaders within Libya. Pray that God would guide all leaders involved in this chaotic time.

6. Pray for a bright and vibrant future for the country and its wonderful people.

also remember to pray for our brothers and sisters who are in harms way, both from the violence that has been taking place in Libya and from the persecution that exists against Christians in this country.

Pray that the Lord will protect, keep safe, and bless the Christians of Libya. Pray for His Holy Spirit to be poured out upon them and that they would feel His presence, peace and joy.

Never Forget

I don't think any of us will ever forget where we were on September 11th when we first heard about the attacks in New York. I was driving on the 55 fwy and exiting at 4th Street when I turned on the radio to KROQ and heard Kevin and Bean saying that a plane had hit another tower, they just kept saying "Oh my God" and I thought for a split second, "that really isn't a funny thing for them to joke about" then the next second, I realized they weren't joking. I rushed to work and ran in and found a radio. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Our America would never be the same after that point. The love that was poured out by our fellow Americans and the patriotism that came arose during that time was made me proud to be an American. I can't think back to that time in my life without it bringing tears to my eyes. Tears for the horror of the event and the lives that were lost, tears for the heroes on flight 93 who fought to take down the plane in Pennsylvania, tears for all the heroes who were first responders, and tears for all of us as Americans, and how we came together during that time in a way that is truly AMERICAN. This is what we do, we stand together, we support each other.

After 10 years, some of that love and unity has been forgotten....I hope that today we will again remember that unity we had 10 years ago. And I hope that today we as Christians in American will join together and pray for our country, pray for unity, pray that the Spirit would be poured out upon us as a Nation and pray that lives would be changed, that people would repent of their sins and turn to Christ.....

We sang this song this morning at church, I thought I would leave you with this....


America The Beautiful
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Libya

September is already in full swing and so we need to get praying for a new country!

Join me in lifting up Libya and the Christians that are there this month. Please just take a few moments each day to remember and pray for our brothers and sisters in Libya. We are one body in Christ and we should be praying for those who are suffering.

An article from the Mission Network News on August 24th said,

"Given the significance of the persecution and harassment in Libya, just 3% of the population is believers. That begs the question: Is Libya home to a remnant church? Nettleton replies, 'There is a vibrant group of believers that are there, that are sharing the Gospel. So while I would say a 'remnant' is a fair description, don't be confused into thinking that there aren't really bold, on-fire believers there, because there absolutely are.' "

Let us join and lift up those 3%, pray:

that they would be bold in sharing their faith
that the Lord would protect them and watch over them
that He would give them wisdom
that He would blind the eyes of those who wish to persecute Christians
that He would open the doors to religious freedom in Libya
That He would pour out His Spirit afresh on the Christians in Libya, giving them courage, hope, faith, joy, peace and love.

Your prayers truly do make a difference in the spiritual battle that is being fought right not across the world.

Keep it up!

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Nepal #2

As the month is closing up, let us remember to pray for Nepal and the persecuted church there. We need to support our brothers and sisters in Christ through prayer. There is a real spiritual battle out there, let us lift up those in the family of Christ.

Persecution.org has a great list out of the Psalms to help guide us in our prayers. Please take 5 minutes and pray for the Chrsitians in Nepal.

• that they will know that the Heavenly Father defends the oppressed and the fatherless (Psalm 10:17, 18).
• that they will rest in the knowledge that the Good Shepherd walks with them through this difficult time (Psalm 23).
• that God will protect the children who are left without their mothers' care, and that the mothers will have the joy of knowing that the Lord is caring for them in their absence (Psalm 68:5).
• that bereaved families will know that God is the defender of widows and a Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5).
• that God will either judge or bring to repentance those who afflict His people (Psalm 83)
• for the provision of Bibles and other Christian literature to reach the most remote and needy areas where they are in the shortest supply. (Psalm 119:42-43).
• that God would bring verses of Scripture to mind that will comfort them (Psalm 119:49-56).
• that God will bring about justice in an unjust world (Psalm 140).

Those Who Sow in Tears...

WOW, this Tozer Devo totally got to me tonight. Take time to really read it over and process all that he is saying here. Use it to help examine your own heart tonight...

* * *

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes
forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again
with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
--Psalm 126:5-6

"The testimony of the true follower of Christ might well be something
like this: The world's pleasures and the world's treasures
henceforth have no appeal for me. I reckon myself crucified to the
world and the world crucified to me. But the multitudes that were so
dear to Christ shall not be less dear to me. If I cannot prevent
their moral suicide, I shall at least baptize them with my human
tears. I want no blessing that I cannot share. I seek no
spirituality that I must win at the cost of forgetting that men and
women are lost and without hope. If in spite of all I can do they
will sin against light and bring upon themselves the displeasure of
a holy God, then I must not let them go their sad way unwept. I
scorn a happiness that I must purchase with ignorance. I reject a
heaven that I must enter by shutting my eyes to the sufferings of my
fellow men. I choose a broken heart rather than any happiness that
ignores the tragedy of human life and human death. Though I, through
the grace of God in Christ, no longer lie under Adam's sin, I would
still feel a bond of compassion for all of Adam's tragic race, and
I am determined that I shall go down to the grave or up into God's
heaven mourning for the lost and the perishing."
AW Tozer

My Memorial Photos

My pictures have been selected to be used in an online memorial for the Jewish people who were deported from Romania during the Holocost. The Lord's people are so close to my heart, I take pictures of all Jewish synagogues, cemeteries and memorial sites that I find as I am traveling around. I was honored to be used on this website.

Click HERE for the part of the site with my pics, and HERE for the site home.

The site is like a virtual memorial with information from memorial sites all over Europe.

Who May Abide?

You know, one thing I love about being a child of God, is that He loves me enough to never leave me alone, and He always wants me to grow and to renew me from glory to glory. Sometimes this means going through trials, sometimes it means He disciplines us, sometimes it's pure love and joy and grace shown to us that causes us to change, and sometimes it can be the Holy Spirit speaking through the Word.

The other night in my daily reading I read Psalm 15. "Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?" The verses that followed are completely applicable to us all...they are a great reminder of what is important and what is not. They are black and white in a very gray world. So I thought I would share! I've been meditating on them since I read them, praying over them, asking the Lord to search my own heart, to transform my mind and thoughts. His Word is so good, so true, so full of life.

---

LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the LORD;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

Psalm 12 - Help LORD!

Read this tonight and all I could think of was "WOW", this chapter in Psalms is so applicable to our day. HELP LORD!

***

Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the LORD;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

The words of the LORD are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
You shall keep them, O LORD,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Nepal

Well we are already a week into August....Time to be praying for a new country and our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as for those who don't know Christ. This month, join me in praying for Nepal. For more information on how you can help send missionaries out into Nepal, check out Gospel for Asia's Website.

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Nepal is a nation that needs your prayers. From over a decade of bloody civil conflict that claimed thousands of lives to ongoing political instability in its government, this picturesque Himalayan country has suffered greatly and bears deep wounds.

But there is hope for Nepal—and through the prayers of His people, God has been working both in the political front and through His Church.

Read on to step inside some of the challenges for prayer in Nepal.

More than a Decade of Civil War

The civil war that raged between government and Maoist forces lasted more than ten years, claiming 14,000 precious lives and inflicting trauma on countless others. A peace agreement was signed in 2006, which was an incredible answer to prayer. But then political instability and sporadic violence continued, raising fears of a return to all-out fighting.

Please pray for lasting peace for Nepal—and for its people who have suffered so much to find true healing and redemption in Christ.

The Government

For more than 200 years, Nepal was officially a Hindu nation, posing many difficulties for missionaries sharing about Christ's love. But in an amazing turn of events, changes in the government in 2006 and 2008 paved the way for the birth of a democracy. Nepal was on its way to becoming a secular nation with more religious freedom.

The Constitution

Nepal is still in transition, as its recently elected Constituent Assembly has yet to draft the country's new constitution. This would officially establish democracy as well as complete a four-year peace process between the government and the Maoists.

The Assembly missed its May 28 deadline to draft the new constitution. In the weeks leading up to the date, the nation suffered from strikes imposed by the Maoist political party. A one-year extension has been granted to the Assembly.

Please lift up the writing of this new constitution; pray that it can be completed in a timely manner and for it to provide for a favorable environment in which the Gospel can flourish.

Drought and Food Crisis

Every year, parts of Nepal are affected by severe droughts and food crises. The droughts dry up crops, creating the food shortage. The people in these areas have also been especially vulnerable to the cholera epidemic. According to reports, 425 people died from cholera during just a two-month period.

One factor contributing to the drought is that farmers in the mountainous areas lack a good irrigation system and must depend on rainwater. And when monsoon rains are delayed, the crops suffer. It is a vicious cycle that puts many at peril.

Please pray for Gospel for Asia-supported pastors and missionaries ministering to suffering people in the areas affected by the drought.

National Missionaries and Their Churches

In this nation that has suffered so greatly from political turmoil, Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries and the churches they shepherd serve as bright lights and beacons of hope to their communities. The very real risk of persecution, steep mountain trails to be hiked and frigid temperatures are a few of the challenges faced by these missionaries—yet they gladly endure these things for the sake of Christ. And their efforts are bringing forth fruit! Reports have even come in of new believers eagerly trekking for hours to attend church and worship the Savior.

Pray that the missionaries in Nepal will be filled with joy, Christ's love and physical stamina as they diligently take His Good News to their people. Pray they will encounter receptive hearts, and pray for new believers to be strengthened daily in their faith.

A Thriving Radio Ministry

By God's grace, GFA Radio has been able to broadcast the Good News on various stations throughout the country, including on Radio Nepal. And there has been tremendous response, showing people's hunger to know more about Jesus. In some areas, rallies for radio listeners provide opportunities for people to hear more about Jesus and meet GFA-supported pastors.

Given the rugged and remote terrain found in much of Nepal, radio has proven to be a valuable tool to take the Gospel to difficult-to-reach places. Many people live in mountain villages with stunningly beautiful views, yet may never have heard about the God who created that beauty. Radio can be a powerful means to reach these precious people.

Please pray for continued open doors for GFA's radio ministry in Nepal. Pray that many people will tune in to the broadcasts and that many hearts will be drawn to the Savior.