Friday, October 31, 2014

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 8

What does the Lord say about praying for the Persecuted church?

He commands that we pray!
1 Corinthians 12:25-27 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.


The problem is we don't see them as members or Family.
Because if it was one of our Family members, we would be messaging everyone to pray and shaking Heaven and Earth to intercede for them.



So I challenge you to get involved; put a face on the "persecuted church".
And know what one goes through, we all go through!
Because except for the Grace of God there we go, also.

Today as we focus on prayer:

Your prayer could be the difference between Life and death for someone.

Let's intercede for our FAMILY!

LET YOUR HEART EMBRACE THE RHYTHM OF THE FATHER'S HEART

AS HIS HEART BREAKS FOR THOSE BEING PERSECUTED.

Release YOUR VOICE AND Release THE LIGHT OF GOD OVER THESE AREAS AND PEOPLE

2 Cor 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
2 Cor 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Cor 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Eph. 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:


PERFECT LIGHT CASTS OUT ALL DARKNESS!
John 1:4  What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by.
John 1:5  The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out.
2 Corinthians 4:6  It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

Dear Lord Jesus,
    We pray for our family of God all over the world that is in a state of persecution and we ask that you release your light into these dark areas so brightly that it destroys the works of darkness. Lord release angels to fight and to minister to them. Let the light of God be so strong that the most hard hearted that are persecuting our brothers and sisters start to have a Damascus road experience and fall to their knees and repent. 
Lord we stand in the gap for those standing for you and we ask for strength and joy to be released. And we pray right now for peace on the inside and that it starts working to the outside and taking ground all around them. And Lord send people to minister to them and cause hard hearts in America to break and to start seeing them as family and to start standing in the gap for them for except for the grace of God it could be us next. In Jesus strong name we pray, Amen.

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Thursday, October 30, 2014

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 7

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE PRAYER REQUESTS & COMMIT TO PRAYER AT YOUR CONVENIENCE
ACTION POINT FOR TODAY: 
Please Pray  Psalm 5(NKJV) "Psalm of the Persecuted"
Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my meditation.
Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
10 Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.
11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

PRAYER POINT FOCUS:
Verses 1-3:     Seek the Lord in Supplication and Submission, with praise & wonder
Verses 4-6:     Acknowledge His Sovereignty, Power, Mighty and His Wrath against evil.
Verses 8-10:   Acknowledge the truth of the wicked but do not dwell on this. The Lord will judge, we shall not.
Verses 11-12: Ascribe all praise, glory and gratitude in prayer for the Amazing Grace which Abba Father has shown to us, His people. Amen

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH - EXHORTATION

 EXCLUSIVE: A FAMILY THAT STAYS TOGETHER

PRAYS TOGETHER by LAURIE JALBERT

In a time when violence is on the rise, we are bombarded with news of severe persecution against Christians. Story after story of imprisonment, torture, rape, beatings and beheadings are being reported daily. The question I must ask is: Is there still a disconnect between the American Christian culture and the persecuted believers overseas?

Why is it that we can receive persecution news in “real time” and yet lack the
LAURIE JALBERT
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Persecution Resource Council
heart to pray? The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is on November 2nd. Advocacy organizations are working tirelessly to bring unity to our dysfunctional Spiritual family but research shows a lack of interest in participating in the IDOP.

The Persecution Resource Council reported, “During the week prior to the 2013 International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, we reviewed the websites of the one hundred seventy leading churches and denominations. Nearly all of these leading Christian organizations had Veteran’s Day- or Thanksgiving-related “food for the hungry” programs advertised on their home pages.

None of them mentioned the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on their website’s home page. Only ten of them had it listed on their website’s calendar of events or somewhere else on their websites.”

The statistics are clear: western Christians have lost their love and burden for the persecuted church. But these persecution stories are not just statistics; they are real people who are part of our spiritual family.

The media brings reports about my family...and your family too. This morning I asked myself the question, what would I do if my parents were threatened, abused and imprisoned? How would I respond?

Should I not feel the same urgency for all the fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters being persecuted right now? Jesus is calling us to “Remember those in prison, as if we were there ourselves. Remember also those being mistreated, as if we felt their pain in our own bodies.” (Hebrews 13:3)


ACTION POINT: 
Take at least five minutes to pray. Pray that God would revive your heart to “remember them as though you were with them” and that you would “feel their pain in your own body”. After all, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26) …because we are family, right?

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 5

PRAYER ACTION POINTS FOR TODAY:

ITEM 1 - Pray for Asia Bibi (seen in photo). Asia is a brave young Christian woman who was charged with "blasphemy" by the men of Pakistan, for declaring the following statement: "Our Christ is the true prophet of God,” she reportedly told the women, “and yours is not true.” She was working for a wealthy muslim land-owner in Pakistan at the time (in 2009) when she got into an argument over faith with several other women. They had been trying to convert her to islam, by force. She was arrested, tried in a religious kangaroo court and sentenced to death in 2010 for stating the obvious about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Her appeal went forth and four years later, on October 16 2014, it was thrown out of the Pakistan High Court. There is another appeal but it could take months or up to four years. In the meantime, word is that she is depressed, very depressed at the news, as she is still incarcerated for her faith.

ITEM 2 - Pray for Christians still under attack from Boko Haram in Nigeria. There are still kidnappings and church/village burning of Christian territories going on.

ITEM 3 - This is a positive item to pray for. Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey, who created the blockbuster "Bible" TV series, have just launched a massive $25 million dollar campaign to provide hands on help to Iraqi and Syrian Christians as winter quickly approaches. They have the surprising assistance of King Abdullah of Jordan, in this project of love in action! Their goal is to assist fellow believers in the "Cradle of Christianity". Several regional Christian leaders - from Archbishops in Syria to the Chaldean Christian Leadership - displaced after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 - are assisting in getting this moving ahead! Click here to read more on this but also pray for this goal to be attained as even $25 million is not enough to help clothe, feed and take care of hundreds of thousands of our brethren who were chased out of their 2000 year old homes, by the radical extremists now controlling the headlines and the deserts.

FATHER GOD, WE LOVE, PRAISE, ADORE, MAGNIFY, GLORIFY AND LIFT UP THE NAME OF JESUS - ABOVE ALL ELSE. HE IS THE ONE TRUE PROPHET OF GOD, THE KING OF HEAVEN, THE JUDGE OF JERUSALEM, THE UNITER OF THE UNIVERSE, THE EMPEROR OF THE EASTERN SKY AND THE ANCIENT OF DAYS, WHO WAS, AND IS AND IS TO COME. WE HUMBLY CAST OUR LIVES AND SERVICE AT HIS FEET IN SERVICE TO HIS KINGDOM 

FATHER WE PRAY THIS MORNING FOR THIS ONE BRAVE WOMAN IN PAKISTAN AND SISTER IN CHRIST ASIA BIBI. LORD, JUST LIKE THE PASTOR WHO WAS MARTYRED INSIDE OF A POLICE STATION IN PAKISTAN, AND MANY OTHERS INCLUDING YOUNG CHILDREN, ASIA HAS STOOD STRONG ON THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL AND IS NOW IN DANGER OF LOSING HER LIFE FOR IT. LORD COMFORT HER NOW IN HER DEPRESSION AS EVEN THE STRONGEST FEEL ALONE AT TIMES LIKE THIS, INCLUDING JOHN THE BAPTIST. GIVE HER COURAGE AND MORE OF THAT BLANKET OF SHALOM THAT PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, IN JESUS' NAME.

WE PRAY ALSO FOR CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA AND THE SURROUNDING AFRICAN COUNTRIES WHO ARE INCREASINGLY UNDER ATTACK FROM THE EXTREMIST MILITIAS OF BOKO HARUM WHILE THE WORLD'S EYES ARE ON THE MIDDLE EAST.  AND FATHER, WE PRAY ALSO FOR ROMA DOWNEY AND MARK BURNETT THAT YOU NOT JUST PROSPER THEIR WORK TO GET THE BIBLE OUT THROUGH TV AND THE MOVIES, BUT THAT YOU BE WITH THEM IN THIS LAUNCH OF A PROJECT TO RAISE OVER $25 MILLION TO HELP YOUR SAINTS - THE IRAQI AND SYRIAN CHRISTIANS, IN THE CRADLE OF CHRISTIANITY, TO SURVIVE THE COMING WINTER. BLESS THE KING OF JORDAN AS WELL, WHO IS LIKE CYRUS, WHO BLESSED YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL DURING THE BABYLONIAN EXILE, EVEN THOUGH HE, CYRUS, DID NOT KNOW YOU PERSONALLY. PROTECT THOSE INVOLVED IN THIS MASSIVE RESCUE MISSION TO HELP THIS DISPLACED AND PERSECUTED BRETHREN WHO HAVE LIVED IN THAT AREA, BEFORE ISLAM WAS EVER CREATED, SERVING YOU AND OBEYING YOU. WE ASK ALL OF THESE THINGS, IN JESUS STRONG AND MIGHTY NAME, AMEN.

Monday, October 27, 2014

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 4

NEWS FROM THE PERSECUTION FRONT TO BE IN PRAYER FOR:

ITEM 1Pray for the estimated one million Christians in Iran who are in need of Discipleship, study materials and trained mentors who will teach these brethren. Pray for the new PERSIAN version of the Bible which is being translated by Wycliffe Bible Translators and Elam Ministries. Elam plans to distribute 300,000 copies of this Persian Bible over the next three years and we pray for God's Hand of guidance, protection and favor to HIS people who will received this Precious Word of God.

ITEM 2 -Pray for the Protestant church in Turkey, now under islamist persecution. American Pastor Jensen, of the New Life Church in Turkey, has been fined and ordered deported from Turkey back to the USA, for no apparent real violations except running a Christian church. There are 5,000 Protestants in 120 congregations in Turkey. Their church leaders are not allowed to be trained and all kinds of roadblocks. This is a very small remnant in a huge country which is featured in the Bible as Asia Minor.

ITEM 3 - Pray for churches in Cuba who are seeing their leaders harassed and worse, by the atheist communist government of the Castro brothers.  The leftists routinely destroy churches and/or harass pastors and new Christians in that Caribbean island, especially when some of these new Christians are family members of the ruling communist party.  There is also a really desperate shortage of any christian resources on that island. Pray for heart changes in the communists and for God's grace to get Bibles and teaching materials into this persecuted area of our hemisphere.

FATHER, IN THE MIGHTY AND POWERFUL NAME OF JESUS, WE PRAY FOR CHURCH RIGHT NOW, IN CUBA, IN IRAN AND IN TURKEY, WHERE EVIL MEN ARE KEEPING YOUR PEOPLE FROM LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOU, FROM WALKING WITH YOU AND FROM BEING IN FELLOWSHIP WITH THE ASSEMBLY BEFORE YOU. LORD, WE PRAY FOR COURAGE FOR THE OPPRESSED AND FOR A CHANGE OF HEART FOR THE ENEMIES OF GOD WHO ARE OPPRESSING YOUR PEOPLE.

FATHER IN THE SAVIOR'S HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER OF JOHN CHAPTER 17, THE LORD JESUS PRAYED THAT HE PRAYS NOT FOR THE WORLD, BUT FOR THE ELECT. THE WORLD HAS TURNED ITS EVIL BACK ON YOU AND AWAIT THEIR RECOMPENSE THINKING NONE IS COMING. BUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ALSO PRAYED FOR HIS ELECT WHO ARE IN THE WORLD BUT WHOSE FUTURE LIES IN THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM, REGARDLESS OF WHAT MORTALS DO THIS SIDE OF GLORY.

WE CLAIM THAT PRAY ON BEHALF OF ALL CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE, HERE, THERE AND ACROSS THE MILES WHEREVER YOUR PEOPLE ARE STEPPED UPON. FATHER, WE ALSO PRAY FOR LEADERS TO BE RAISED UP IN ALL THREE OF THESE CHURCHES - IRAN , WHERE THE SHORTAGE IS HUGE AS THEIR PASTORS ARE CONSTANTLY HARASSED AND PUT IN CHAINS BY THE ISLAMIC AUTHORITIES. WE PRAY FOR THE PASTORS IN THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES OF CUBA WHO ABUSED AND DRIVEN FROM THEIR PARISHES...AND WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO ARE LEFT LEADER-LESS IN TURKEY WITH THE REMOVAL OF PASTOR JENSEN.  WE CONTINUE TO LIFT UP THESE THREE URGENT NEEDS, FOR YOUR ATTENTION BEFORE THE THRONE, IN THE STRONG AND MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS, AMEN.

(News items courtesy Voice of the Martyrs - www.persecution.org

Sunday, October 26, 2014

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 3


WHY PRAY? – Part 2
The great 19th century Missouri teacher on prayer Edward McKendree (EM) Bounds said the following on prayer, in one of his many sermons: "It is a man's business to pray, transcending all other business and taking precedence over all other vocations, professions or occupations. Our praying concerns ourselves, all men, their greatest interests, even the salvation of their immortal souls. Praying is a business which takes hold of eternity and the things beyond the grave. It is a business which involves earth and heaven. All worlds are touched and worlds are influenced by prayer".

As I studied this EM Bounds quote, I discovered the following verses on prayer back up the old Missouri pastor's teaching on the "transcendence and prominence" of our prayer. In 
1 Timothy 2:1-2, Scripture says "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way".

It goes without saying, that a woman or man of God's thinking must transcend those of the rest of the perishing world.  If we think of the word "TRANSCEND", and we apply it to prayer, first in the natural its definition means "to go beyond the ordinary and its limited thereby exceeding in excellence". (Giving God prominence in our lives, regardless of our station, is already a given).

The Christian who takes up the mantle of making "all supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving for ALL people" has already transcended, surpassed and blown past the mediocrity of the average and thus, has placed the Work and Wonder of God in Prominent, Permanent display - to the praise and Glory of His Name! It is this type of Christian who, when called to 
"pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) can then proceed to have "such a hope, that we may be bold"(2 Corinthians 3:12)!

It is this characteristic of our Christian DNA which gives the purpose, thereby propelling us to intercede for our persecuted brethren in faraway lands AND next door. In the civilized western world, as post-Christian or post-modern as it is, persecution comes in different subtle ways. We must intercede for military chaplains and others in the public arena who are constantly under pressure to refrain from "praying in Jesus' Name", we should also pray for our young people who are put upon by an increasingly hostile public education system and are persecuted for simply believing the Bible and its truth. This same harsh treatments are not extended to the violent non-Christian religions, since these people are fulfilling the Will of God without knowing it, just like the pharisees who killed Jesus in 30 AD went did. So we pray for our children as well as those 
in the latest update from OPEN DOORS:
ITEM:"Boko Haram militants killed more than 30 civilians and burned two churches in two attacks on the border towns of Amchide and Limani in northern Cameroon on Oct. 15-16. The Cameroon Minister of Defense, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, said the heavily-armed Boko Haram members crossed the Nigerian border in armored vehicles and stormed the villages.

ITEM: "Unknown attackers killed a Christian man by machete and injured another in Bukoba in northwest Tanzania on Oct. 9, according to sources and reported by World Watch Monitor....church members have been receiving threats from Muslim expatriates in Bukoba, who have vowed to decrease the number of Christians in the area. 

ITEM: "On October 21st, Islamist militias invaded the ancient Christian settlement of Sadad, Syria, killing at least 45 people, and injuring many more." 

FATHER, WE AS A PEOPLE, COME TO THEE WITH BROKEN HEARTS, HUMBLE SPIRITS AND SURRENDERED SOULS SUBMITTED TO THE WILL AND PURPOSES OF CHRIST TO PRAY, INTERCEDE, CRY OUT AND BEG FOR YOUR MIGHTY, TRANSFORMATIVE TOUCH IN THE LIVES OF THOSE OF US WHO ARE UNDER DURESS HERE IN WEST, IN OUR SCHOOLS WHERE THE AGENDA OF THE LEFT IS TO CORRUPT AND LEAD YOUR CHILDREN ASTRAY, THEREBY TAKING AWAY THEIR LOVE AND TRUST FOR YOU AND INCREASINGLY, TO BUILD ON NATURAL HUMAN DOUBT TO MOLD IT INTO AN ATHEISM WHICH HAS NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE THE DAYS OF NOAH OR THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. WE PRAY FOR THE REMNANT STILL IN THE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM AS WELL AS THOSE WHOM THEY AFFECT, TO STAND BOLDLY AND LEAD COURAGEOUSLY WITH DYNAMIC SPIRIT-LED POWER TO PROTECT THE NEXT GENERATION OF PRAYER WARRIORS AND INTERCESSORS.

ALSO FOR TODAY, OH MOST HEAVENLY AND MERCIFUL GOD, IN JESUS' NAME, WE PRAY FOR THOSE IN THE VILLAGES OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN AFRICA WHO ARE BEING RUN OUT OF THEIR HOMES AND ARE HAVING THEIR VILLAGES AND CHURCHES DESTROYED BY BOKO HORAM.....NOT JUST IN NIGERIA, BUT INCREASINGLY IN CAMEROON, TANZANIA AND OTHER PARTS OF AFRICA WHERE ISLAM IS WIELDED BY THE MERCILESS SWORD OF HATRED FOR YOU AND THE CREATOR - JESUS CHRIST. 

WE PRAY FOR YOUR PEOPLE, OUR BRETHREN IN THE ANCIENT CHRISTIAN REGION OF SADAD, SYRIA, WHERE SCORES HAVE ALREADY BEEN MARTYRED, AND EVEN MORE INJURED, BY THE FOLLOWERS OF THE SAME RELIGION WHICH WOULD MAKE EVEN THE PRIESTS OF BAAL OR FOLLOWERS OF MOLECH CRINGE. LORD WE KNOW NOT HOW YOUR SAINTS IN THESE REGIONS PERSEVERE THROUGH TIMES LIKE THESE WHERE THE BODIES OF THEIR WOMEN ARE VIOLATED AND OTHERS ABUSED INHUMANELY, BUT FATHER OF ALL GRACE, WHOSE MERCIES ENDURETH FOREVER, GRANT THEM FAVOR, LOVE, COMPASSION AND STRENGTH RIGHT NOW, IN JESUS' STRONG NAME AND MAY THEIR PERSECUTORS RELENT, REPENT AND TURN TO YOU BEFORE THE COMING DAY OF JUDGMENT, IN HIS NAME, AMEN.

OH MOST HOLY AND REVERENT FATHER, WE LONG TO BE MEN AND WOMEN OF PRAYER, PURPOSE AND PASSION, WHOSE CALLING TRANSCEND THE ORDINARY AND SEE THE EXTRAORDINARY WHICH CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN YOU, AS WE LIFT YOU UP, FOR THE PRAISE AND GLORY OF YOUR NAME, THROUGH CHRIST OUR KING, AMEN AND AMEN.
 




Saturday, October 25, 2014

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 2

SO WHY PRAY AT ALL?  - Part 1
This is a valid question from many who are non-believers/professing and/or Cultural Christians. While this demographic is usually the same group of folks, even committed disciples of Jesus Christ have become seemingly helpless enough to inquire and ask "why doesn't God do something? He sees the pain of the persecuted by the religion of "peace" and various other atheists" in the countries of yesterday's World Watch List (from Open Doors). The shrinking numbers of those who care in the west, about these things, may even ask why the Lord has not intervened as this brutality increases? Can we discern the Mind of God and His thinking about this?

We can, to a certain extent. His Arm is not short and He is timing is flawless, whether we like it or not. Just as in the Days of Noah (Genesis 6) when the earth was so corrupt and evil with sin abounding, thus it is the same now before the Second Coming of the Son of Man. God will not act before His time. However, but He HAS done something. He has commanded us to pray. He has commanded us through His word. Here is the proof:

Luke 18:1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart (speaking about Jesus).
Matthew 26:41 "Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." (some final instructions from the Commander in Chief).
Colossians 4:2-4 "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. (The Apostle Paul, who spoke for Jesus).

These are the Commands and Exhortations from the verses above:
- Pray and do NOT lose heart.
- Keep watch (be vigilant) and pray, 
- Prayer will keep us from physical and emotional sin so our prayers will be effective.
- Not just pray once, but be DEVOTED to a lifestyle of prayer.
- Pray for those in bondage (like Paul was in Philippi), who opened up prison ministries and even led the Philippians prison guard and his family to the Lord. Pastor Saeed has led over 30 people to Christ in the Iranian prison which the muslims are keeping him in, just to torture him for being a Christian.
- There are more passages which will be explored and prayed over on Day 3/10. The key is -we pray!

SO FATHER, IN THE POWERFUL AND MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS, WE REST ON YOUR WORD AS OUR COMMAND AND DIRECTION TO PRAY. LORD, UNLIKE THE WORLD AND THOSE WITH RELIGIOUS TITLES WHO REJECT THE VERTICAL RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU TO SERVE THEMSELVES AND WALK AROUND IN LABYRINTHS AND OTHER CREATIONS OF THE SINFUL CORRUPT MINDS OF MAN, WE COME DIRECTLY TO YOU, IN HUMILITY, GRATITUDE AND AN ALERT MIND TO THE THINGS YOU HAVE CALLED US TO,

FATHER, YOU TOLD US TO BE ALERT AND VIGILANT MORE THAN ONCE THROUGHOUT YOUR WORDS TO US, BECAUSE THIS IS THE PRICE OF FREEDOM TO WORSHIP YOU. LORD WE ALSO KNOW THAT THE SPIRITS OF THOSE UNDER PERSECUTION ARE WILLING BUT UNDER SUCH STRESS AND DURESS AND BRUTALITY FROM THE SONS OF THE DEVIL, THEIR FLESH FAILS AS OUR BRETHREN AS MORTAL MEN, SUCH AS WE ARE. THEREFORE, YOU HAVE COMMANDED US TO PRAY FOR THEM AS ONES WHO ARE PART OF THIS SAME BODY OF CHRIST - THE CHURCH.

THEREFORE FATHER, WE PRAY FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND THEIR BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN TO NOT LOSE HEART. WE PRAY, RESTING ON THE SCRIPTURES (BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THEM WITH ALL OUR HEART) FOR THEIR COURAGE TODAY. LORD EVEN AS THEIR FLESH FAILS, EVEN IF YOUR ENEMIES STARVE THEM, EVEN IF THE REST OF THE WORLD AND ITS POMPOUS LEADERS IGNORE THEM, WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE NOT. WHILE YOUR SPIRIT WILL NOT CONTEND WITH MAN FOREVER, YOUR HEART IS FULL OF LOVE FOR ALL YOUR ELECT, AS YOU SEE THE BEGINNING FROM THE END, AND YOU SEE THESE PERSECUTED SAINTS WILL BE GREATER IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN THAN THOSE WHO ARE ENJOYING THEIR REWARDS NOW, ON THIS SIDE OF GLORY.

FINALLY FATHER, WE BELIEVE THAT EVEN IN THIS STATE, YOUR PEOPLE CAN TESTIFY TO THE HOPE THAT IS IN THEM, EVEN TO THEIR CAPTORS - LIKE PAUL IN THE PHILIPPIAN JAIL & LIKE SAEED IN IRAN RIGHT NOW. SO WE PRAY THE SCRIPTURES, WE PRAY LIKE PAUL THAT A DOOR WILL BE OPEN FOR THESE UNNAMED SAINTS TO REACH EVEN ONE OR TWO OF THEIR PERSECUTORS TO SPEAK THE GOSPEL OF LOVE AND SALVATION CLEARLY TO THEM, LIKE GRACIA BURNHAM DOES, TO PRAISE AND GLORY OF YOUR NAME, AND ETERNAL SALVATION OF THEIR SOULS, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, AMEN.

Friday, October 24, 2014

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 1



For the next ten days, (October 24 - November 2, 2014) we will be praying for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. (The actual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church - IDOP - is on November 9, but many begin observing it from November 2-9). Many in the US are being awakened to the persecution of the people of God, due to the sermons of Houston, Texas pastors being demanded in court documents or ordained ministers in Idaho threatened with fines etc. if they do not perform a certain type of wedding. This is mild in comparison to what is taking place around the world, in both atheist countries (like North Korea) and the islamic countries across the Middle East and India.

Before the current persecution of Christians, who have lived outside Baghdad, Iraq and Syria for almost 2000 years, almost 163,000 (according to the British Broadcasting Service and others) are persecuted/martyred each year for being followers of the Son of the One True God - JESUS CHRIST. This is an average of a Christian being persecuted every four minutes or so. As the weeks and months go by, this number is set to increase.

According to OPEN DOORS, which produces the World Wide Watch list annually, North Korea heads up the list of countries with the dubious honor where the Lord is not welcome, in a violent way. Each year, Christians observe the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). This year, it falls on Sunday November 2. So for the next ten days, we offer a series of encouraging prayers, articles and encouraging posts, from different writers, leading up to that day. This day - November 2 - also sees a collection of some of America's top Bible teachers and ministers, led by the President of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson, Pastor Mike Huckabee and others for a nation-wide simulcast at 7 pm EST for a Rally to make a stand for the Gospel and Religious Freedom. We pray for that event as well. Therefore.....


OUR MOST HEAVENLY AND GRACIOUS FATHER, WE COME TO YOU IN THE MIGHTY AND POWERFUL NAME OF OUR GREAT LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST - REVILED AND PERSECUTED BY MEN, YET HE HUMBLED HIMSELF EVEN TO THE CROSS AND PAID THE DEBT FOR ALL MANKIND, FOR ALL TIME, THAT WE MAY BE RECONCILED TO THEE. 

FATHER, EVERLASTING FATHER, MOST MERCIFUL GOD IN HEAVEN, WE REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US, AND GIVEN IT ALL FOR THE PRAISE AND GLORY OF THY NAME. FROM STEPHEN TO PETER, PAUL AND THOMAS TO POLYCARP AND THE SAINTS IN THE ROMAN COLOSSEUMS AND THROUGHOUT TWO MILENNIA UNTIL TODAY, WE THANK THEE THAT MANY HAVE COUNTED THE COST OF GIVING ALL FOR THY HOLY NAME, AND HAVE NOW FOUND THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING. 

TODAY, OH GOD, WE PRAY MOST URGENTLY FOR THY CHILDREN WHO ARE BRUTALIZED BY THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW YOU IN THE DESERTS OF IRAQ AND SYRIA. LORD WE PRAY FOR THE FAMILIES RIPPED APART. WE PRAY FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN FORCED TO PERFORM HORRIBLE UNSPEAKABLE THINGS. WE PRAY FOR MEN WHO ARE LOSING THEIR LIVES FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL. WE PRAY COMFORT FOR THE CAST-ASIDE; MERCY FOR THE MULTITUDES THERE; PROVISION FOR THE POWERLESS; PROTECTION FOR THE PERSECUTED AND PEACE FOR THE BROKEN-HEARTED.

FATHER, YOU SENT YOUR SON THAT ALL THE WORLD MAY BE SAVED. YOU ALSO SENT HIM TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE AND BIND UP THE BROKEN-HEARTED. LORD WE PRAY THAT HEALING ON YOUR BODY TODAY AND FOR THE DAYS TO COME. WE PRAY THAT IRAQI AND OTHER CHRISTIANS WILL FIND THE STRENGTH (PHIL 4:13) TO PERSEVERE THROUGH THIS MADNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND IF NOT, THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE THEM TRIUMPHANTLY AS YOU RECEIVED STEPHEN IN THE BOOK OF ACTS. 

LORD, WE CONTINUE TO LIFT UP OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND THEIR LOVELY CHILDREN, AND WE ALSO PRAY FOR THE CONVERSION TO CHRIST OF THEIR PERSECUTORS, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF THIS OUTRAGE, IN JESUS POWERFUL NAME AND PRESENCE, AMEN.


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

LOOKING FOR A CITY .....(OUTSIDE THE CAMP)

12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
Hebrews 13:12-14
(Bible Gateway- NASB)

Any study of the history of Christianity will reveal the sheer brutality which the persecutors of the Lord Jesus visited on those who followed His teachings, His Truth and His Way. The first three centuries were highlighted by the blood of the martyrs, who laid the cornerstone for the Faith we enjoy today. The first to shed His Blood was the Master Himself - the Ancient of Days, the Great I Am - YHWH - Who descended to reconcile man back to God. He was nailed to a Cross, suffered and died by evil men - Romans and Jews. 

Stephen was the first martyr of the modern church, led outside the gates (outside the camp as verse 13 above says) to be stoned by priests. Present was one zealot by the name of Saul. When Christ saved Saul on the Road to Damascus and changed his name to Paul, the latter spent and give his life in hot pursuit of souls to make up for what he had done to followers of the Way in the past. Every disciple of Jesus Christ was martyred except John. He wrote the Books of John, 1/2/3 John and the Revelation of Jesus Christ and died of natural causes at the ripe old age of 95.



The protective valley of Pella, Jordan,  where God sent the first
Christians from Jerusalem to save them from Titus (AD 70)
Photo Credit: www.bibleistrue.com
CHRISTIANS SAVED FROM ROMAN DESTRUCTION IN AD 70
When Jerusalem fell to the Roman General Titus in 70 AD as prophesied by Jesus Himself in detail in Matthew 24, not one Jewish Christian was killed because the Lord had removed His remnant and hidden them in a place called Pella. The Book of Hebrews was written, before this crucial event, to some of these same brethren to encourage them as they were persecuted by the Pharisees. The Lord knew this was coming down and wanted His elect to be fully aware of what they believed. The majority heeded the advice of the Apostle Paul in this Book and while the Romans killed millions at Masada and by starvation etc. in Jerusalem, King Herod Aggripa II welcomed the Elect to Pella. Pella is a city in the Decapolis which is just beyond the Jordan River.


To the Jew of the period, Jerusalem was the sacred and eternal City of God. The Good News is - Jerusalem STILL IS and will always be! But verse 14 above instructs those of us who are now in a spiritual "Pella" that this city is still to come. It is known in Scripture as the "NEW JERUSALEM".  This is a part of our history, as believers, to which scant attention is paid. 

We can look at End Times prophesy, as pre-Wrath/pre-tribulation believers, and
Petra, Jordan, future hiding
place of the Jewish Remnant
Photo: www.gomadnomad.com
are certain as to the taking out (rapture) of the church. Scripture tells of the hiding of the Jewish remnant which will be saved during the Tribulation, in the protected city of Petra. Just as the Lord saved the first Jewish Christians from the rampaging Romans in AD 70 by sending them to Pella, the one third of modern Israel which will be saved (during the Great Tribulation) will be housed in Petra - both being in the area of Jordan...both being "outside the camp"!


OUTSIDE THE CAMP
But what does this "outside the camp" really mean? Well, the answer is actually in the brief passage above! Followers of Jesus Christ know His Word and His Word dwelleth within. Therefore, we instinctively know that Scripture explains Scripture, because the Same Holy Spirit Who inspired the writers of the Bible to physically write down these words, lives inside everyone who is truly born again and rejuvenated, as adopted son or daughter of Abba.

Verse 12 (Hebrews 13) says Jesus suffered outside the gate...that He may continue to mold us into His Image (sanctify). We know He was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem and died for the sins of all mankind, for all time. Therefore we are to "remain outside the gates" of the world as well, so that we remain worthy of being continually cleansed into spiritual growth, by His Precious Cleansing Supernatural Blood.

This means while we live in this world, our entire being - body/mind/soul - are to be set apart OUTSIDE of this corrupt system of the evil one in order to be aligned with His Holiness, His Truth, His Cleansing Power and His Righteousness. Anything else is anathema. Any other doctrine is the doctrine of demons. Any compromise to co-exist outside of the Will of God is idolatry and all three of these will be punished in the Judgment. We must NOT defile the sacrifice He made outside the Gate on Calvary, by running back into the City of Sin and its closed walls of death.

Verse 13 (Hebrews 13) gives us the road map of where we are to land, once we have made the conscious and intellectual decision to allow His Sanctification into His Image and Likeness. There is a work to be done. This work is not for the purpose of salvation but for the principle of submission. Here is where the majority of professing Christians in the western hemisphere (mostly North America and even Australia/the UK) have a problem. The verse says "let us go to Him outside the camp BEARING HIS REPROACH"!
There is a cost to this. We are not going to be loved and tolerated, even by those who like to talk about "love and tolerance". The biggest enemy of the true church is, get this - the apostate church! We already know who the atheists are and their modus operandi. We already see what false religions are doing to God's people in the Middle East, Nigeria, North Africa and Asia. But it is those who claim the Name of Jesus and constantly select out of context phrases from the Sermon on the Mount, while rejecting the Diety of Christ and the Inerrancy of the Word, are stumbling blocks. You and I will lose many of these as friends. Some of them walked with us, ate with us, and even went to church with us....but when the rubber met the road and then it came to the point of going outside the Culture and the demands of the Corrupt modern societal norms, they walked from Jesus just like those "disciples" of John 6:66. Are you ready to bear the reproach...which in today's definition means - the insults, mocking and cursing by the lost because you and I have Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior? Only those to whom Jesus is LORD will persevere to the end.

Verse 14 (Hebrews 13) is the reward as well as the exhortation to not look back on the door that just slammed behind us as we walked away from the perishing of this evil world (in spirit and in truth). He says "we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come". Therefore what He (the Spirit) means is what the old baseball legend, Satchel Paige from the old Negro Leagues of 100 years ago once said "Don't look back, something mighty be gaining on you"!
This word specifically implies that the former abode from which Christ rescues us - IS NOT GOING TO LAST! Thus, He wants us, because we are now being molded and shaped into what Christ wants ....and because we have gone outside the gates, and turned from the fleeting/useless love and praise of mortal men into the growing in grace and maturity of the True Worshipper by taking the heat as a Disciple, we can now keep our eyes up to the skies, from whence cometh our help!

That help is the home which He first promised us in John 14:1 ("in My Father's House there are many rooms"). Those "rooms" reside in the Eternal City of the New Jerusalem! This eternal and everlasting city, where none of the filth, corruption, political correctness, distractions and diabolical plans of this current system exist, is the 100% REAL hope of the Believer. 

This will be the home of Stephen, stoned outside Jerusalem while the future Apostle Paul held the coats of his murderers. 
This will be the home of Paul, beheaded in Rome by Nero. 
This will be the home of Polycarp who refused to bow and burn incense to an evil one like Caesar. 
This will be the home of Athanasius, St. Nicholas, John Hus, Tyndale, Wightman, Jim Elliott, Pastor Saeed and the millions and millions of Christians from 100 AD until now whose names are only known to our Great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This will be the home of those of us, who take up our Crosses daily, live outside their gates, knowing Who bought us with His Life, and is now maturing us into the men and women of God, that He wishes all could be. Amen

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

WHAT KIND OF MAN IS THE SON OF DAVID (JESUS) IS CALLING US TO BE?

THE EXAMPLE? - THE MIGHTY MEN OF KING DAVID!

King David was on the run from his archenemy Saul for many years. He was successful for two big reasons - first - the LORD His God was with him (David) and secondly, David had 400 trusted, tried and true warriors who believed in him, the cause and the men themselves were searching for purpose in their lives! 

Why do I say that? Well, let's examine just who these 400 men. First Samuel 22:2 describes just who they were: "everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him!"


That's it! These are the champions from whom 37 Mighty Men were listed by the Holy Spirit in 2 Samuel 23 and in 1 Chronicles. These are the heroes of Israel who had impact into the reign of King Solomon. And these are also the type of men whom King Jesus uses to be His called out ones - His Elect.


The Elect are the Gideon's Army of the Lord of Hosts. The Commander in Chief of the Universe is Jesus Christ Whose army carries only Bibles, prayers and words of encouragement.  But this army consists of men like you and I. We were (and still are in some cases) men who were in distress and going now where. We are in debt up to our necks in a lot of instances. And before we were safe, we were discontented with our lives!!! This description of our spiritual condition before we were elected by Jesus Christ, adopted as sons and then drafted into the Lord's Army, is identical to the 400 men who left their homes and more to follow David, while he was on the run from Saul!

So what were the characteristics of these powerful men of God? Who were these men who never backed away from a fight and killed lions with their bare hands? Who were they? 
Watch the video message here:

Also what was it in David that would cause such men to leave their comfortable homes and go out with him for the greatest adventure of their lives. And what is it about King Jesus that He would draw all men unto Himself? What are the similarities between King David and the SON OF DAVID? 
Watch this video message here:

One clue - both men - King David and King Jesus were outsiders. They were rejected by men, religious leaders and though the masses followed, the Remnant  caught the vision of these anointed men of God, they followed the same maxim described here by Paul in Hebrews 13:12-14: "Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come". 

Are you and I ready to "go outside the camp" and suffer the reproach of Christ? God is calling us to be mighty men of the Son of David. Let's roll - no time to waste!


Monday, October 13, 2014

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

JUDGMENT DAY COMING
Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!  Why would you have the day of the LORD?  It is darkness, and not light,  as if a man fled from a lion,  and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,  and a serpent bit him.  
Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18-20 ESV)

There is a large segment of western church-goers who are extremely fond of saying the following:
"I can't wait..."; "Come take me away, Jesus (also known as "Calgon Theology") or "I wish the Rapture would happen right now" or name your variation of any of this. Usually these statements are made by pew-sitters. These are the majority of Christians in our churches who come in weekly for an hour or so, in order to get their weekly inoculation of what they think they need. They then go about their lives for the rest of Sunday and the following days, thereby leaving no distinguishing mark between then and the next guy. We all know people like this.

We have all been around enough sincere believers to know that weak pewsitter from the "real deal" or the remnant. The remnant are very few as Jesus Himself said when He spoke about the "elect". When He prayed in John 17 for this future followers - the saved, the elect - He said "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." in John 17:9. This is absolutely correct. 

There are two truths - God does NOT hear the prayer of an unrighteous man (unless he is seeking forgiveness and salvation) and secondly, Jesus is our Advocate and Intercessor before the Father. The Savior only becomes one's Advocate (or defense attorney if you will), if you and I are one if His Children, His elect. We become that by being born again,  by repentance , by believing the Gospel and being saved.


In Amos 5, we read of the coming Judgment day of the LORD (YHWH, Jehovah, Jesus) on the northern Kingdom of Israel. However we know that ALL Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit and meant for OUR INSTRUCTION FOR ALL TIME. There are more End Times (now) prophesy written by the "Old" Testament prophets than the New Testament Scriptures. The modern Christian ignores that truth to his/her peril and should NEVER neglect the Holy Word sent to the ancient prophets who longed to see this day, and are awaiting the fulfillment of the Age.

This passage above (Amos 5:18-20) jumped off the page as relevant for today's wayward church. This is the church full of cultural corruption and doctrinal decay.  We can read through the entire chapter of Amos 5 and replace every mention of the word "Israel" with "America" or "The West"! Like those idol-worshiping 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, to whom the prophet Amos was sent, we have people who have absolutely NO knowledge of the Holiness, Power and Majesty of God, sitting in churches feeling good about themselves.

They know not because they are not taught by a widening pool of building managers called pastors and because they are not shepherded correctly, they know not the Word of the Lord! This is affecting more and more so-called Bible teaching churches in North America! By calling for the "Rapture" or for "Jesus to take them away" when most of them have never been born-again, in your church and mine, or could name a time or place when God. through Christ radically changed their lives from a child of hell to a child of the King, they are basically setting themselves up for a huge, eternally-fatal disappointment!

When a person, who is not really right with God, no matter what nice clothes they wear on Sunday, have the whitest teeth and the fattest check-book or even helps serve donuts and coffee, calls for "THE DAY OF THE LORD" - they are calling down Judgment! God Himself in Amos 5:18 asks them "do you really know what you're asking for"?! You're asking for perpetual darkness, dread, devastation and divine separation for eternity!

So may some of our friends in the seats or pews over from us....or those who even sit next to us, may one to reconsider their wishes, and search their own hearts to see if they are really qualified to call upon the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY for His return, in such a way. When He first came, He came as a Baby to save the world. This time His Return will herald the fearful "DAY OF THE LORD" which was testified of, over 5000 years ago. It will not be a good day, for those who do not belong to Jesus Christ, and have accepted Him as Lord and Savior.