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.

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"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.

Reaching Together

To go along with the idea of serving....an awesome study by Tim Chaddick and Reality LA

Click HERE to listen and watch!

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L O V E

In my Bible reading this morning I read 1 Corinthians 13. To me it sort of seemed to be a continuation of the theme for my post from yesterday. So now that we know that the first and most important thing is our relationship to God, to worshiping Him and to being holy, what is next? Well a response to a right relationship to Christ is naturally service. So, how do we serve?

Do we serve out of duty, do we serve just to "do" something? I'm going to let scripture answer this one for me. God's word always speaks better than I do. :)

This isn't JUST about service but life in general, and I know that many of us know this chapter, but it is always nice to be reminded and refreshed by the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 13:

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Which Comes First?

Having done a lot of work in the ministry through the years and having worked in various fields and areas with Christians, I find this question to be a place where lines seem to become blurred. Which comes first? Worship? Service? Holiness? Work?

We know that when Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus and Martha was rushing around "serving" and "working" that when she asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her, Jesus made it very clear that Mary was the one doing the right thing by sitting at the feet of Jesus, by being in a place of worship. We are also told in 1 Samuel 15:22,

"So Samuel said: 'Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.'"

God wants our obedience, our worship, He wants us to be Holy as He is Holy.

Somehow along the way, it seems that service and "doing" things for people has risen to become the most important thing in the eyes of many churches and Christians. I'm not trying to sound like I'm judging, I'm honestly just making an observation. Much importance is put on saving the orphan and feeding the needy, all of which is good and talked about in scripture. But where is the spiritual aspect? Why are we not placing an even greater importance on our hearts and the hearts of those who we are serving? If we feed them and clothe them and save them from worldly troubles but don't feed their souls our point them to Jesus, or lead them to salvation, are we really doing anything for them other than providing a more comfortable road to hell? Service should be an overflow of our relationship to the Lord. It is important, but it is not the most important thing.

Our world is greatly helped and blessed by Christians and Christian organizations....but how much more of an impact would be made on our world, if we as Christians and as churches were MORE concerned with the spiritual lives of our fellow Christians and those we are helping and with being Holy and worshiping God. If those were our main concerns, I really believe that the there would be an even greater outpouring of service in this world.

So where is this all coming from? Well I encountered a lot of service seeming to be greater than worship and holiness through the years and so this theme has been something that is really strong on my heart...and then this morning I read the devotion below by Tozer. It once again reminded me that yes, it is good and great to serve, but we NEED to be worshiping God and we NEED to be Holy FIRST, because these things are the most important. We were created to WORSHIP God! Serving those in the world is secondary to worship and holiness.

Below is the awesome devotional by Tozer.

***

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His
mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of
the Holy Spirit,...that having been justified by His grace we should
become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
-Titus 3:5-7

"To teach that the filling with the Holy Spirit is given to the
Christian to provide "power for service" is to teach truth, but not
the whole truth. Power for service is but one effect of the
experience, and I do not hesitate to say that it is the least of
several effects. It is least for the very reason that it touches
service, presumably service to mankind; and contrary to the popular
belief, "to serve this present age" is not the Christian's first
duty nor the chief end of man....

The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to restore the lost soul to
intimate fellowship with God through the washing of regeneration....
God wants worshipers before workers; indeed the only acceptable
workers are those who have learned the lost art of worship. It is
inconceivable that a sovereign and holy God should be so hard up
for workers that He would press into service anyone who had been
empowered regardless of his moral qualifications. The very stones
would praise Him if the need arose and a thousand legions of angels
would leap to do His will.

Gifts and power for service the Spirit surely desires to impart;
but holiness and spiritual worship come first."

Satisfied

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a "foodie". I very much enjoy food and trying new things and going to new places all over the world and sampling the local cuisine. And if you are a foodie as well, you know how fun it is to do this, you also know what I mean when I say that when you try something new, and it is REALLY good, it just makes you happy, and sort of gives you that "wow, this is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G" feeling. Sometimes the food is so good that there is no need for anything sweet afterward.

Well, tonight, I just had one of those moments, but not with food...I had it during my devo time. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 15:16,

"Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts."

I love this verse because I relate to it so much. One, because I'm a foodie and so the analogy naturally works in my mind, and two, because I truly do feel this way about the Bible and the Word of God. And not just about the Bible, but about spiritual truths.

I had barely started my devotional time tonight, when I was hit with one of those truths. I know this quote almost by heart now as I have read this devotional for so many years. Once again this quote has nailed me in the heart, reminding both of how much the Lord loves me, and how I am to serve HIM, and not focus my eyes on the people around me.

Matthew 20:28a says,

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister"

and Mr. Oswald Chambers had this to say,

"If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and broken-hearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is love to God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men . . . When we realize that Jesus Christ has served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness, and sin, nothing that we meet with from others can exhaust our determination to serve men for His sake."

I hope I didn't take so long to lead into this great piece of truth that is was lost on you. How huge is this?!?! So often we take our eyes off of Jesus and serving HIM alone, and we put them on those around us, we begin to serve man, our boss, our co-workers, people at church, our family....all of which is totally and completely good, providing that while we are serving them, our EYES and our FOCUS and our HEART remains gazing on Christ. We can get so down, and depressed and frustrated when we are doing things for 'man' because we are expecting them to 'notice' us and to give us some sort of acknowledgment for what we are doing. Then when the acknowledgment doesn't come our way, we are angry! "How dare they not notice how much I am serving them!" That right there should show us where our hearts are...where our focus is.

As Paul tells us, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men.

When our hearts and minds and eyes are focused on the Lord, we have absolutely no reason to not always do our best no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the situation is, big or small....and no matter who it is we are serving. Because those things are secondary to the ONE we are ultimately serving...and that should be Jesus Christ. We can never do more than He did for us, and if our hearts are focused on Him, and we find that not one single person says "thank you" to us, it won't even matter, because we aren't looking for a thank you from them anymore...we are awaiting the day when we will see our Savior face to face and hear HIM say, "well done good and faithful servant".

I don't know about you, but that was some heavy stuff for me tonight.....good stuff. The kind of wonderful truth that leaves me satisfied, full and not needing much else.

We have a great God and King and Savior and Redeemer!!!

Grace and peace on your hearts.

Search My Heart

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

"I believe we should profit immensely were we to declare a
period of silence and self-examination during which each one of us
searched his own heart and sought to meet every condition for a real
baptism of power from on high. ."
AW Tozer

Seeking Approval

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
-2 Timothy 4:2

"I cannot believe in the spirituality of any Christian man who keeps
an eye open for the approval of others, whoever they may be. The
man after God's own heart must be dead to the opinion of his
friends as well as his enemies. He must be as willing to cross
important persons as obscure ones. He must be ready to rebuke his
superior as quickly as those who may be beneath him on the
ecclesiastical ladder. To reprove one man in order to gain the
favor of another is no evidence of moral courage. It is done in
the world all the time.

We'll never be where we should be in our spiritual lives until we
are so devoted to Christ that we ask no other approbation than His
smile. When we are wholly lost in Him the frantic effort to please
men will come to an end. The circle of persons we struggle to
please will be narrowed to One. Then we will know true freedom,
but not a moment before."

AW Tozer
The Price of Neglect, 141.