Day: February 18, 2015

In This Issue: Celebrating Jesus, Stories from around the World

• INDIA: Dreams from God
• WORLD: Migrant “Ghost Ships” Abandoned at Sea
• PAKISTAN: Son of Imam Follows Christ
• LIBYA: 21 Egyptian Christians Beheaded
• THAILAND: Bangkok Church Has Big Vision

Greetings!

Holidays and festivals are on my mind once again. I learned that Hindu festivals take place somewhere in India 255 days of the year! This does not include secular/national or cultural holidays like Punjab’s “rural Olympics” (don’t miss it!). I was privileged to witness the Magh Mela and Sankranti in India last month. I believe Indians know how to celebrate like no other culture.

Though Hindu extremists warn couples not to celebrate Hindu extremists warn couples not to celebrate Valentine’s Day with all of its Western trappings, some apparently celebrate a whole Valentine’s WEEK!

Mardi Gras and Lent have come while I’ve been wrapping up this edition of Newsbriefs, and the Chinese are beginning the year of the sheep/goat.

Holidays and festivals say a lot about a people. What do they value? What are the stories behind these “feast days?”

If any of this stirs your interest, check out this website. Or if you’re a little less adventurous, check out using the Christian calendar as an opportunity to throw parties. However and where ever you celebrate, though, know that the best party is yet to come!

Celebrating Jesus,
Pat

 

Source: ActBeyond, February 16, 2015

Two weeks ago Brother “Joshi” was leading his small congregation in Uttar Pradesh. Joshi is a young, part-time farmer, full-time leader and trainer in an ongoing movement in North India, and also pastor of his own congregation which he leads when he is in town.

During the Word discussion time in the worship service, Joshi noticed a man standing outside the door of their small meeting space. He saw the man had a skull-cap on. This man was a Muslim! There are hundreds of Muslims in this village, [but] it’s pretty much unheard of for a Muslim to show interest in a Christian worship service. Muslims in India stay pretty well segregated from both the Hindu majority and from the Christian minority.

Joshi invited the man, “Please come in and join us.” He came and sat on the floor where everyone else was. He listened to them discuss the Word together and then Brother Joshi exhorted the community about generosity and giving. Even the Muslim man participated in the discussion.

After the service, the man shared his story. “Every day for the last three days I’ve dreamt the same dream. I’ve dreamt of your building, this building where the Christians meet. I told my wife about my dream. I told her we should become Christian, but she said we can’t because we are born Muslim. That’s simply what we are. Still, I kept having the dream until finally I knew I needed to come. I feel very good being with you this morning, and I want to become a Christian.”

» Read full story.

» See also When a Veiled Woman Visits Your Church (Mission of God blog).

Source: 24/7 Prayer, February 17, 2015

In recent months, thousands of people seeking refuge from war-torn Syria, where almost 200,000 people have been killed and millions displaced have been found on large, crewless freighters in the Mediterranean Sea.

Smugglers have found a new, wholesale means of transporting refugees who have fled to Turkey. They buy derelict freighters ready for salvage, pack their holds with refugees at $4,000-$8,000 per head, then set sail in the Mediterranean, pointed toward southern Europe. After the voyage is underway, the crew abandons the ship, leaving the refugees on their own.

Recently, a ship was set on autopilot running full speed across the sea. Fortunately, the vessel ran out of gas. When rescue crews boarded, they discovered 359 illegal migrants on board. Another freighter, with 970 people locked in the rusty hold, was found adrift near Greece.

This perilous form of human trafficking has become a profitable business for organized criminals, who fear getting caught with banned cargo such as drugs or weapons. People smuggling, an international crime, is on the rise.

• Ask God to provide safety to those seeking refuge, who are willing to risk their lives through this perilous travel.
• Pray for peace, salvation, and restoration for individuals seeking asylum. May they find shelter in legal, peaceful living conditions.
• Pray that these smugglers are identified and their criminal activity stopped.
• Please pray for these asylum seekers to be intercepted, rescued, and restored.

» Read full story.

» See also these stories about refugees stuck in limbo: Western Sahara’s Stranded Refugees Consider Renewal of Morocco Conflict (The Guardian), Conflict-Related Displacement: A Huge Development Challenge for India (IPS News), and No-Man’s Land: the Iraqis Trapped between IS and the Kurds (IRIN News).

Source: Mission Network News, February 5, 2015

The Operation Mobilization Pakistan team shares with people about God in towns and marketplaces, while also distributing literature that talks about how they can have a relationship with God’s Son.

One man took a leaflet. He read it and re-read it, but it did not satisfy him. He wanted to know more about the God who wants a relationship with ordinary people. So he began to search for others who knew this God.

Then he met believers in Jesus. They had a personal relationship with God and seemed to know him the way the man hungered for. It excited him, and his questions poured out.

They began to meet regularly, and soon the man learned a lot about Jesus and salvation. He read the Bible for himself and accepted Jesus as his personal savior and friend. As his faith grew, he made a public step of faith by being baptized as a Christ follower.

However, others in his village were concerned with his new faith. They went to his father and complained that his son had become a believer in Jesus. What was he, an imam—a Muslim religious leader—going to do about it?

“My son is adult and mature; he is accountable to God for his deeds, just as I am accountable to God for my deeds,” replied the father. “If he has become a follower of Jesus, he will have to give an answer to God why he did this. However, I can see he is not stealing things or not doing adultery; he is not doing any wrong thing to create problems for others. He knows what is going on, and his God knows it, too.”

» Read full story.

Source: WEA Religious Liberty Prayer News, February 17, 2015

On Sunday [February 15], the Islamic State (IS) released a video allegedly showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians by militants pledging support to the IS in Libya.

Subsequent to the video release, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi confirmed that those killed in the video were Egyptian Christians taken hostage in Libya and announced seven days of national mourning.

In response to the killings, Egypt’s military carried out raids early on Monday against IS camps, training sites, and weapons storage areas.

• Pray for Jesus’ comforting presence over the families grieving the loss of loved ones.
• Pray for God’s protection over all Christians in Libya and across all the conflict areas in the Middle East.
• Pray that those perpetrating violence would experience a change in heart, repent, and come to know God.
• Pray for an end to all bloodshed in the Middle East.

» Read additional stories from this prayer bulletin.

» Editor’s note: Please also pray for the people of El-Aour, the small Egyptian town that was home to 13 of the men killed (NPR) and read a letter from the head of the Bible Society of Egypt. See also Murder of 21 Coptic Christians (Middle East Concern).

Source: Godreports, February 17, 2015

In a storefront location on a bustling street near two malls and a university lies a glittering diamond in God’s kingdom, poised for growth in a nation where only one percent follows Jesus.

“We started with three people,” says Gai Tanangunvirog. She and her husband Khajorn lead Tai Church, which has grown to 100 and already planted five churches in other provinces of Thailand.

More than 70 percent of the church are former Buddhists. “Every week my staff shares the gospel,” notes Pastor Khajorn, who has an evangelist’s heart and is a sought-after speaker in other churches in Bangkok.

“We have a big dream,” says Gai. A decade ago Gai says the Lord revealed in a dream the church would grow to 60,000 people. “It’s such a big number it’s hard to imagine,” she confesses.

“People ask me why we’re so busy. I tell them our vision is not from man but from God.”

» Read full story.