Thursday, August 29, 2013

AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for the United Mexican States of Latin America

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)
Home > Aug 29: Mexico

Aug 29: Mexico

Mexico

United Mexican States

Latin America

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 1,958,201 sq km
Latin America’s third largest country. Wide range of topography and rainfall ranging from arid northern plateau, central volcanic plateau and the southern mountains and rain forests. Only 10% of the country is arable.
Population: 110,645,154    Annual Growth: 0.99%
Capital: Mexico City
Urbanites: 77.8%
HDI Rank: 53 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 317 (4% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Spanish; the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation    Languages: 297 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian
Religion               Pop %Ann Gr
Christians105,143,87795.031.0
Evangelicals9,166,3468.33.8
Prayercast

Challenges for Prayer

For 300 years the Catholic Church dominated Mexico. Recent times have seen it stripped of much of its privilege and power, while retaining a high degree of cultural influence. Catholicism in Mexico is very diverse in expression, from liberation theologians to charismatics to conservatives to syncretistic “popular Catholicism”. There is encouraging growth in Christ-centred renewal within the Catholic Church, but frequently the figureheads of such movements leave to start their own independent megachurches. The Alpha course is having a positive impact within Catholicism. Most Mexicans are culturally Catholic but not practicing; only 10% are regular churchgoers. Many others blend elements of Amerindian spiritism, including gods and goddesses, into folk Catholicism. Pray for renewal to spread and deepen by the Holy Spirit’s power, and for the polluting influences of ancient gods and the spirit-world to be broken among those with Christo-pagan beliefs and practices.
Evangelicals have grown, even amid some opposition in certain areas. Growth is in both international denominations and in vigorous newer indigenous movements. Pray that the momentum might be maintained. The highest concentrations of evangelicals are in large cities, in northern states bordering the USA and in southern states where there is a higher proportion of Amerindian peoples. Returnees from the USA are influential in bringing evangelical Christianity back with them. Many Mexicans seek a spirituality beyond what they see as empty religious traditions; both evangelicals and charismatic Catholics benefit from this searching. Pray for this growth to be sustained in both numbers and spiritual depth.
     For an additional 10 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

More Information

The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Mexico.
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Proverbs 29 (New International Version)



Proverbs 29 (New International Version)

Please click on the link below and it will take you to the Audio Feed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpFqWJEvGc0&feature=share&list=PL50CF0F4DEEBE0755



Proverbs 29

1 A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.

3 A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

4 By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down.

5 Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.

6 An evil man is snared by his own sin, but a righteous one can sing and be glad.

7 The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.

8 Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger.

9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.

10 Bloodthirsty men hate a man of integrity and seek to kill the upright.

11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.

12 If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.

13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.

14 If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.

15 The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

16 When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall.

17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.

18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.

19 A servant cannot be corrected by mere words; though he understands, he will not respond.

20 Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

21 If a man pampers his servant from youth, he will bring grief [a] in the end.

22 An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.

23 A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

24 The accomplice of a thief is his own enemy; he is put under oath and dare not testify.

25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

26 Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the LORD that man gets justice.

27 The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.

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Jeremiah 6 (New International Version)

Jeremiah 6 New International Version (NIV)


Please click on the link below and it will take you to the Audio Feed.
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Jerusalem Under Siege

6 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
    Flee from Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet in Tekoa!
    Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster looms out of the north,
    even terrible destruction.
2 I will destroy Daughter Zion,
    so beautiful and delicate.
3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;
    they will pitch their tents around her,
    each tending his own portion.”
4 “Prepare for battle against her!
    Arise, let us attack at noon!
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
    and the shadows of evening grow long.
5 So arise, let us attack at night
    and destroy her fortresses!”
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Cut down the trees
    and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
    it is filled with oppression.
7 As a well pours out its water,
    so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence and destruction resound in her;
    her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Take warning, Jerusalem,
    or I will turn away from you
and make your land desolate
    so no one can live in it.”
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Let them glean the remnant of Israel
    as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
    like one gathering grapes.”
10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
    Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed[a]
    so they cannot hear.
The word of the Lord is offensive to them;
    they find no pleasure in it.
11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,
    and I cannot hold it in.
“Pour it out on the children in the street
    and on the young men gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
    and the old, those weighed down with years.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
    together with their fields and their wives,
when I stretch out my hand
    against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 “From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.
14 They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
    when there is no peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls.
    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,
    ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
    But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 Therefore hear, you nations;
    you who are witnesses,
    observe what will happen to them.
19 Hear, you earth:
    I am bringing disaster on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words
    and have rejected my law.
20 What do I care about incense from Sheba
    or sweet calamus from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
    your sacrifices do not please me.”
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“I will put obstacles before this people.
    Parents and children alike will stumble over them;
    neighbors and friends will perish.”
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an army is coming
    from the land of the north;
a great nation is being stirred up
    from the ends of the earth.
23 They are armed with bow and spear;
    they are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
    as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Zion.”
24 We have heard reports about them,
    and our hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped us,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.
25 Do not go out to the fields
    or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
    and there is terror on every side.
26 Put on sackcloth, my people,
    and roll in ashes;
mourn with bitter wailing
    as for an only son,
for suddenly the destroyer
    will come upon us.
27 “I have made you a tester of metals
    and my people the ore,
that you may observe
    and test their ways.
28 They are all hardened rebels,
    going about to slander.
They are bronze and iron;
    they all act corruptly.
29 The bellows blow fiercely
    to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain;
    the wicked are not purged out.
30 They are called rejected silver,
    because the Lord has rejected them.”

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Romans 6 (New International Version, ©2010)



Romans 6 (New International Version, ©2010)

Please click on the link below and it will take you to the Audio Feed.

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 Romans 6

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.

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