He Came to Give His Life - Good Friday

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Mark 10:45

Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”
And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.
Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
Mark 15:33-39

So what is so "Good" about Good Friday? We celebrate and recognize and remember and give glory to the GOODNESS that God showed us, by sending His only Son to earth, to pay the price for our sins. We are thankful for GOODNESS that Jesus showed us, by being obedient to His Father and coming to earth, living a perfect and holy life, and then fulfilling His Father's will by going to the cross. The entire reason He came to earth, was for the cross.

And we celebrate the GOODNESS of knowing that the story does not end today, Good Friday with Jesus hanging on a cross, or lying in a tomb . . .

The story ends on Easter Sunday. . .

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Iran #2

This is just a reminder to be praying for Iran this month!

Join me as we pray for:

Those who are doing the persecuting in Iran. That just like Paul, they would turn from being persecutors of the Church to proclaimers of the Truth of the Gospel!

Pray for those being persecuted that the Lord would give them strength, hope, peace, joy, patience and endurance to continue to run the race. That through their light and example others around them would be drawn to Christ.

Pray for protection of Christians in Iran.

Pray that the Christians of Iran would find fellowship and that their joy would be made complete as they are encouraged by other believers.

Pray for the people of Iran, and all of it's leaders, that the Lord would soften their hearts and open their eyes. That Light of the Truth of the Lord would penetrate the darkness and that they would turn from their ways to the Truth of the Gospel.

I am Blessed

I was talking about my time in Romania this afternoon with some old friends. Sometimes I feel that when I talk about all that the Lord brought me through and all that He did for me and how He changed me there, I feel as though I am just telling a "story". As though I am talking about someone else. But then it hits me, it really did all happen, all those stories of the Lord protecting me, providing for me, and being there for me when I was alone, are TRUE. How He showed Himself faithful over and over and spoke to me through His Word, how He met me where I was and loved me enough to not leave me there.

"For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard." Isaiah 52:12

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by." Psalm 57:1

I am not the little girl who moved to Romania in 2007. I was put through some fire and floods and wildernesses.....but the Lord was always before me leading me, always behind me protecting me and always above me allowing me to hide in the shadow of His wings. He has kept me in the palm of His hand and has changed me in a way I know that would not have been possible had I not moved to Romania and experienced all the good and bad that went with that. Anything the enemy meant for evil the Lord worked together for good.

HE IS FAITHFUL.

And I am blessed.

Just had to share that tonight.

grace and peace,
rachel

In a Dry and Thirsty Land...

"O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water."
Psalm 63:1

A Month of Meditation

This is a great devo from Tozer...makes me think....it's sort of pathetic as Christians that we need to be challenged to spend "just a month" meditating on the Word of God...but I am going to accept this challenge....and prayerfully it will turn into a new habit and a life long commitment to take the Bible more seriously and more prayerfully consider and read through and meditate on the things written inside it. After all it is the WORD OF GOD....how amazing and blessed are we to be able to read this!

***

Prayer: Just Meditate for a Month

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates
day and night.
--Psalm 1:2

Let the old saints be our example. They came to the Word of God and
meditated. They laid the Bible on the old-fashioned, handmade chair,
got down on the old, scrubbed, board floor and meditated on the Word.
As they waited, faith mounted. The Spirit and faith illuminated.
They had only a Bible with fine print, narrow margins and poor paper,
but they knew their Bible better than some of us do with all of our
helps.

Let's practice the art of Bible meditation.... Let us open our
Bibles, spread them out on a chair and meditate on the Word of God.
It will open itself to us, and the Spirit of God will come and
brood over it.

I do challenge you to meditate, quietly, reverently, prayerfully,
for a month. Put away questions and answers and the filling in of
the blank lines in the portions you haven't been able to understand.
Put all of the cheap trash away and take the Bible, get on your
knees, and in faith, say, "Father, here I am. Begin to teach me!"
The Counselor, 136-137.

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Iran

It's a new month, and so it's time to start praying for a new country and our brothers and sisters serving Christ in countries where they are not free to do so! Please join me in praying for Iran this month.

Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Population: 74.2 million

Christian: 450,000

Main Religion: Islam

Government: Islamic republic

There was a sharp increase in the number of Christians arrested at the start of 2010. Although some were later released, pressure on the church remains high. Many of the approximately 350,000 believers from a Muslim background live in fear of harassment by the government. The regime lost credibility following the turmoil of the 2009 elections, and in an effort to distract attention from continuing protests against it, it is increasingly lashing out against Christians.

Things to Pray For:
• For protection for Christians in prison, and for perseverance for those under surveillance
• There is a huge need for Bibles. Ask God to supply His people with His Word.
• The majority of the population is under 30. Pray that many will be reached with the gospel and find real freedom in Jesus.

*Information obtained from the 2011 World Watch List

Not Alone

I love Tozer....there are times in my life where other than reading the stories of missionaries or men of the Bible I feel a little alone in some of the decisions I have made through much prayer and fasting...but again Tozer has shared something that reminds that I am not alone...

It's just nice to know that there are really others who think the same things and pray the same things I have.

Oh...not that I am in any way saying I am on the same level as Tozer or the others I mentioned.....but it still feels nice to know I'm not alone.

-------------------------------------

"But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at
Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the
gospel of God in much conflict."
-1 Thessalonians 2:2

"It is good for us to remember how strong He is--and how weak we are.
I settled this issue a long time ago. I tell you I have talked to
God more than I have talked to anyone else. I have reasoned more
with God and had longer conferences with God than with anybody else.

And what did I tell Him? Among other things, I told Him, "Now, Lord,
if I do the things I know I should do, and if I say what I know in
my heart I should say, I will be in trouble with people and with
groups--there is no other way!

"Not only will I be in trouble for taking my stand in faith and
honesty, but I will certainly be in a situation where I will be
seriously tempted of the devil!"

Then, after praying more and talking to the Lord, I have said,
"Almighty Lord, I accept this with my eyes open! I know the facts
and I know what may happen, but I accept it. I will not run. I
will not hide. I will not crawl under a rug. I will dare to stand
up and fight because I am on your side--and I know that when I am
weak, then I am strong!"

Praying for the Persecuted Church - North Korea #2

Watch this great Video on North Korea by Open Doors

Just as a reminder to keep praying for North Korea and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ there!

Here are some more prayer points:

Pray for the Christians in North Korea that they will be safe and that the Lord will put a hedge of protection around them.

Pray that they will grow in their knowledge of the Word and in their knowledge of our Savior.

Pray that the Lord will bless them with fellowship of other believers and that this fellowship would be protected, kept safe, secret and will bring them encouragement and blessing.

Pray that the Christians of North Korea will be light, salt and examples to everyone that they come into contact with. That the light of the Lord will shine through them and that their lives will bring glory to God.

Pray for boldness and wisdom, pray that the Lord will provide opportunities for them to share who He is with those around them.

Pray for strength physically and spiritually for the Christians of North Korea as they fight a tremendous spiritual battle in this spiritually dark country.

Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon North Korea, pray that the Spirit will transform lives, that people will be saved, that lives will be changed, that there would be hope for eternity, and joy in this life.

Pray for the underground church in North Korea that it will grow and be protected. Pray that it will flourish and that the enemy will not be able to stop its growth!

Thank you for joining me in praying for North Korea! The Lord has so much to say about prayer in the Bible. We are called to pray for each other in the body of Christ. We can't forget those who are isolated and oppressed! Let the Lord do what we cannot physically do ourselves .... prayer is so important!

:)

Answered Prayer

Can I just say that I LOVE it when I am specifically praying for wisdom in something, and then I open up my Bible to my daily reading, picking up where I left of yesterday (no coincidences here!) and I read a verse that SO completely answers my prayer that there can be no doubt in my mind that the Lord had that verse waiting for me tonight!

It's pretty awesome when He does that. If it has happened to you, then you know what I mean, if it has not happened to you, then I suggest you ask Him to speak to you and then you need to get into the Word, daily, and spend time in prayer daily....and see what He has to say to you!

For me tonight it was Exodus 14:14
"The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

That was all I needed to hear....my prayer was answered with wisdom...now I just need to trust in Him and to remember Philippians 4:6
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;"

and Luke 11 where it tells us to keep asking, keep seeking and to keep knocking...persistence with the Lord through prayer....and to not just forget about it, but to keep bringing it before Him and to wait and watch Him work....

:)

Praying for the Persecuted Church - North Korea

"Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit,
with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty.
To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance,
interceding in behalf of all the saints"
From Ephesians 6:18 (The Amplified Bible)

OK, so I would like to say that I do this all the time....pray for the persecuted church around the world, but I don't do it all the time. I do try to do it though when I am reminded or receive an email from Voice of the Martyrs.

Anyway, tonight it is on my heart...so I think we need to do a monthly praying for the persecuted church. A country a month for the year. So we will start with North Korea...


Print out this pic, or make a note of your own...something to help you remember to pray for North Korea, something that will be a reminder for you, that every time you look at it, you will remember to lift up our brothers and sisters in North Korea.

Need help on what to pray for? I'll be listing things through the month...but let us begin with some country info from Persecution.com:

"North Korea is one of the most repressive and isolated regimes in the world. Government officials deny the country’s citizens even the most basic human rights. The country’s previous leader, Kim Il Sung, founded an ideology called “Juche,” which centers on the worship of the country’s leaders. Government-organized religious activities exist solely to provide the illusion of religious freedom.

Category: Restricted Nation
Religion: Non-Religious 64.31%, Traditional ethnic 16.00%, Chondogyo 13.50%, Christian 1.69%
Ideology: One-man dictatorship/Communism
Head of State: Chairman Kim Jong Il

North Korea is the worst perpetrator of persecution against Christians in the world. Christians must practice their faith in deep secrecy and are in constant danger, but many continue to stand strong under relentless persecution. The government considers Christians to be a stability threat, and they are hunted all over the country. Being a Christian carries a more severe punishment than espionage. The largest number of Christian worshipers in North Korea exists in concentration camps. In addition, one out of four Christian prisoners are sent to political prison camps where prisoners almost never leave. Experts estimate that of the 200,000 people incarcerated in political prison camps, at least 40,000 are Christians. Many North Korean Christians have fled to China, where there are an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 North Koreans. The Chinese government offers a bounty for North Korean refugees equal to one year’s salary. When refugees are caught, they are returned to North Korea, where they face torture, imprisonment and often death. This year the UN’s Human Rights Council passed a resolution expressing concern at “ongoing grave, widespread and systematic human rights violations” in North Korea. Despite this horrific oppression, some Christians have returned to North Korea to share the gospel. As many as 100,000 are thought to worship secretly. In 2009, the authorities are said to have stepped up their surveillance of Christians, and house searches are said to be more rigorous than in the past. Across North Korea, Christians continue to pray privately for evangelism and unity."

Here are some things to pray for from Operation World:

• Praise God for the faith of Christians in North Korea. Pray that they will be able to share the good news with trusted friends and family. Pray for grace, mercy and perseverance for persecuted Christians.
• Pray that NGOs will feel burdened to serve in North Korea and help to improve the health system. Pray for the safety and effective witness of Christian NGOs in the country.
• Pray for all those in prison camps in North Korea. Prison staff are taught to regard prisoners as unworthy of respect, mercy or kindness. Pray that God would convict the hearts of prison guards and pour down his grace and mercy on those suffering in unbelievably harsh conditions.
• Pray that non-Christian prisoners would be struck by the faith of Christian prisoners and hunger to know more.
• Pray that Kim Jong-Il would discover the reality of the true God. Pray that he will care and work for the good of the North Korean citizens.
• Pray that it would become a country that the international community can trust. Pray that ongoing mistrust regarding nuclear issues may be resolved.
• Pray for North Koreans who have gone to South Korea via other countries, that they will be treated with mercy and kindness. Pray for people who help those Koreans.
• Pray for a just government that honors God and relates well to those in the South.