Join with Syria for Prayer and Fasting on Saturday May 11th

Lets pray for big things to happen as the Syrian church gathers in unity to pray.

Call to Prayer

Get the word out to pray for our brothers and sisters in Syria.  Let the Holy Spirit envision us to help in material ways.  But first find out what the need is.


A couple articles from International Christian Response.  I was able to talk with the USA Director of this ministry last week.  He said that the humanitarian crisis in Syria is not getting international support nor much attention.  Lets start with prayer and see where the Holy Spirit leads!

 Syria's Christian Minority Lives in Fear of Kidnapping and Street Battles 

Syria's beleaguered Christians - Die or Leave

Some ways to pray:

Special Day of United Prayer for Syria

Seeing God's Hand in our Lives

The presence of difficulties in our lives is not evidence of the absence of God's hand in our lives.

In America, Christians can get deceived into believing this.  In a lifestyle where far more than just needs are met, we can get to where we believe that our walk with God is all about our successes.  God has a different take in Romans.

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Cards everywhere say, "all things to work together for good to those who love God," but these are not the trite words we can make them into.  Where we say, God is going to make my life work for MY idea of good.  No, in the above passage these are words of solace to those who are gutting out their faith while going through very difficult trials.  This is where this scripture derives eternal significance.  I praise God that he gives us great victories and mountain tops, but we usually get to appreciate these most after the deep dark valleys.  In the valley we can choose to be thankful.  At the very least we can thank Him for the presence of His Holy Spirit, for considering us friends, of looking favorable from Heaven above with empathetic eyes of love AND favor.  Read James 1 to see His purpose for trials.

As this passage from Romans continues, Paul talks about being conformed to His image and His being Glorified.  Are these not the fruits that follow our trials.  All things, whether the our inevitabilities of loss in this life or great evils perpetrated on us, He will bring good.  He is good and will never stop being good.  Good is what God just is.  In these trials He conforms us to His will and in that He is glorified.

And yes, even in our failures and weaknesses He is there.  He doesn't just pull up stakes and leave us when we mess up.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  It is actually at those times we finally begin to listen to Him.

So next time you are weathering the trials of life, whether due to the things beyond your control or due to your failed humanity, you are in His favor.  You have His presence to carry you through.  All who seek the cover of His Son's overwhelming forgiveness, have this privilege, have this promise.  ALL circumstances work together for your good, "O favored one! The Lord is with you." Luke 1:28 (ESV).

Such a Time (and Place) as this - Christian America’s Calling

We live in relative calm in our nation.  It is a blessing from God.  Why are so many Christians living a lifestyle of ease that does not match the Word’s description of the early church or the conditions of other Christians worldwide?

I believe this anomaly exists because it allows God to have a people who live in such peace, that they are able to express His love throughout the world in faraway places.  The God given freedoms of this country also allow people from all nations to come and live where they can dwell in peace and hear His Good News from His faithful people.

Our purpose as Christians is not to promote our nation but our God.  This nation makes these things possible only by His grace.  Let’s begin to radically love the world.  God has us in this situation for a purpose, and that purpose is greater than any American Dream.  It is to bring Him Glory.

The Glory of God for the refugees and aliens who live among us.  The Glory of God for the world as we share the prosperity we have been given, only by His Grace.  The Glory of God to all peoples as we pray. Praying for those who have been sent, for those who are persecuted, for those who have yet to hear, for those who would even want to bring harm to our soil. 

The Glory of God to the nations we harmed when we came to these soils centuries ago (Yes, we had the gospel, but we also had a lot of baggage too).  The Glory of God to those who's forebears stepped on to our soils in chains and shame.

Not praying as one without hope.  Not praying a couple little repeated phrases.  Not praying with big words in a distant far away voice, but praying with a broken heart, with tears, or even on our faces beseeching the Lord of the Harvest to send us, His people, into the harvest.

Matthew 9: 36-38  Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Look at Mordecai’s words to Esther as an encouragement and as a warning.

Esther 4:13-14 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

God is speaking in His word of another time and place, but the spiritual significance can be eternal.

This reference from Esther just now came to mind, and was not planned when I started writing.  I believe God’s Holy Spirit dropped this into my mind.  He has a purpose in this writing and in the life of every believer.  Let this remind us of the Source of ALL prayer, of ALL good works, of ALL life.

We are connected to Father God through the Holy Spirit who is our helper in this life.  We only have this available to us because of the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, who bore ALL of our sins on the cross.  Let us accept this free gift of His and let His Spirit lead us in ALL prayer, ALL good works, ALL life.

Be thankful we live in such a time, and place, as this.  It is a gift and a responsibility.

Let His Spirit lead us in our prayers and to action.

What if North Korea………

How about a new take on the latest news?

Let’s not worry about nuclear bombs hitting America.  Let’s pray for our “enemies.”  As followers of Christ, we really don’t have enemies, but one.

Think about this.  If a nuclear volley was to occur, think of how many of the people of North Korea would die.  How many souls would go into an eternity of torment that would not know the grace of Jesus Christ?  That is the greatest concern.

Our God made the Korean Peninsula.   Kim Jung Un would not even have the land he rules over, if not for the grace of Father God.  Why worry about him, he hasn’t messed up God’s eternal purposes.

Our God knows each unique person in North Korea.  He knows them more intimately than even themselves.  He has spent their lifetime calling them to Himself.  Some have been encouraged by very faithful and wise believers to follow Christ.  Others, far too many, have heard the “veiled” message without the direct witness of Christ, as revealed in Romans 1:19-20.

because that which is known about God is evident within them.  For God has made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

God does answer prayer.  Let us pray with our whole heart that the North Korean people would come to know the mercy of our King.  Pray for those whose ministry it is to reveal the love of 
God to a people made in the lovely image of God. 

We can and will have a part in the great work God is doing if we pray.  Ask God for His heart.  A heart that will pray for people you will likely not see.  A prayer with no earthly reward – until someday, in another place you will see with new eyes a person brought to Him by your faithful prayer.

He will lead you in this, as His Spirit leads you on…………….

Wrestling with God

Genesis 32:24-25

The Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until day break.  And when he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.  Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.”  But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”  So he said to him, “What is your name?”  And he said, “Jacob.”  And he said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with man and have prevailed.”

God approaches us.  What do we do? Respond to Him like He was a mere man.  One whose intentions we would question?

Hebrews 12:10 says of our fathers,  “For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.”1

Picture a stranger, or even a friend approaching you.  They get too close and you back off, or raise your hands in protection, or even challenge them.  You raise your defenses.  You do not fully trust their intentions and maybe you don’t trust them at all.

I plead with you to see God as different.   He ALWAYS has our best interest in sight.  He ALWAYS intends good for us.  He knows our life.  He knows us better than our closest friend – even ourselves.  He made us and created us for a purpose.  He knows everything about us and made us in accordance with the purpose He has given us. He is good to us ALWAYS.  You can trust Him TOTALLY.  Trust His Word.  Trust Him in your circumstances, seemingly good or bad..

Again Hebrews 12:11 says, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

What is our posture before God?  Let’s look at an example from Jesus’ life.

And they came to s place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.”  And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled.  And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.”  And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour may pass Him by.  And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”  Mark14:32-36

Jesus had the hardest road to follow, but He trusted His Father.  I see Him, arms spread wide before His Father - total trust - total submission - total acceptance of what the Father called Him to do. 

He did not stand in defense, nor stood in defiance.  He simply said “Thy will be done,” and followed His Father's will to the cross.  Father God does not call us to do what His Son did that day.  He went to the cross so we could have the gift of eternal life.  He does call us daily to pick up our cross. 

Is he calling you to draw near to Him.

Encouragement to Pray for our Muslim Brothers

The Middle East is unsettled.  Uprisings and protests are ongoing in several countries.  Some of these situations may be contrived in part by groups that would want to take advantage of any potential “power vacuums.”  God, though, may have other plans.  Quite possibly, this could be a great “God” opportunity.  How many of us, likewise, had to be “unsettled” before God could go to work on our lives.

This is a call for all followers of Christ to pray for those who declare themselves to be Muslims.  It is also a call to ask God to give you His love for Muslim people.  There is a lot of history that can’t be overlooked between Christian and Muslims.  As fervently as Christians respond to concerns about Muslim extremists or infiltration of Muslim culture into our society, we should even more fervently be praying for them to see God’s hand of blessing in their lives and to respond to the voice of their true Master, the servant Master.

The best way to encapsulate this prayer is as follows:

Pray that God would turn the heart of Ishmael back to his Father Abraham.

Ishmael was the son of Abraham (half-brother of Isaac).  Ishmael became the father of the Arabic people.  In this prayer, the name Ishmael could be applied to Arabic Muslims, as well as in a broader sense, their spiritual brothers, Muslims from all people groups. 

Ishmael’s father was Abraham.  Abraham’s spiritual Father is God.  The picture is of Ishmael having his Fathers heart for God.

Pray that God would turn the heart of Ishmael back to his Father Abraham.

We, as followers of Christ, are in a spiritual sense Ishmael’s half-brother.  We have, by God’s grace, been grafted into Abraham’s “family tree” through Christ.  With one heart, let us pray for our half-brothers during these times.  What could God do if the body of Christ prayed with one heart and one voice for this purpose.

And the glory which thou hast given Me I have given to them: that they may be one, just as we are one; I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst sent me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me. (John 18:22-23)

Let us also pray for fellow believers who live in and those who minister to these countries.  Pray for God’s favor to be upon them and their witness, pray for Gods heart of Love to be ever present in their hearts, and pray for their safety in these troubled times.  Pray that even in the midst of persecution they would not shrink back, but would be faithful to show God’s LOVE and forgiveness.

Pray also that God would unsettle our own hearts.

Calling all Faithful

I have a laughable vision.  It is not about Issac, but Abraham’s other son.

It is a desire that Christians on a large scale would unite in prayer for the Muslim people.  The best way to emphasize this prayer is for God to turn Ishmael’s heart back toward his father, Abraham.  To turn the heart of Arabic people (or in a broader sense, Muslim people) toward God through Jesus Christ. 

As fervently as Christians respond to concerns about Muslim extremists or infiltration of Muslim culture into our society, we should even more fervently be praying for Muslims (many who are Muslim only by name or nationality). For them to see their need for Abraham’s God and the Messiah He promised as Abraham’s seed.

Along this line, we also need to pray for Egypt.  It seems pretty amazing that the government overthrow has been peaceful so far.  I think it may have something to do with the peace agreement that Egypt has withIsrael.  Though it has been a tenuous peace since Camp David, it has stood.  We need to pray that fair minded leaders will rise up who are favorable to this peace and would allow freedom to those non-Muslim Egyptians.  Also to pray against the advancement of extremist Muslim groups that have promoted this uprising for their destructive purposes. 

Please pray for revival in Egypt and in all Muslim countries.