Sunday, April 7, 2013

Ezra 2 (New International Version)


Ezra 2

The List of the Exiles Who Returned

1 Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, 2 in company with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah): The list of the men of the people of Israel:
3 the descendants of Parosh 2,172

4 of Shephatiah 372

5 of Arah 775

6 of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab) 2,812

7 of Elam 1,254

8 of Zattu 945

9 of Zaccai 760

10 of Bani 642

11 of Bebai 623

12 of Azgad 1,222

13 of Adonikam 666

14 of Bigvai 2,056

15 of Adin 454

16 of Ater (through Hezekiah) 98

17 of Bezai 323

18 of Jorah 112

19 of Hashum 223

20 of Gibbar 95

21 the men of Bethlehem 123

22 of Netophah 56

23 of Anathoth 128

24 of Azmaveth 42

25 of Kiriath Jearim, [a] Kephirah and Beeroth 743

26 of Ramah and Geba 621

27 of Micmash 122

28 of Bethel and Ai 223

29 of Nebo 52

30 of Magbish 156

31 of the other Elam 1,254

32 of Harim 320

33 of Lod, Hadid and Ono 725

34 of Jericho 345

35 of Senaah 3,630

36 The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua) 973

37 of Immer 1,052

38 of Pashhur 1,247

39 of Harim 1,017

40 The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel (through the line of Hodaviah) 74

41 The singers: the descendants of Asaph 128

42 The gatekeepers of the temple: the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai 139

43 The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,

44 Keros, Siaha, Padon,

45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,

46 Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan,

47 Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,

48 Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,

49 Uzza, Paseah, Besai,

50 Asnah, Meunim, Nephussim,

51 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,

52 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,

53 Barkos, Sisera, Temah,

54 Neziah and Hatipha

55 The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda,

56 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,

57 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim and Ami

58 The temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon 392

59 The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel:

60 The descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda 652

61 And from among the priests: The descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name).

62 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 63 The governor ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there was a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.

64 The whole company numbered 42,360, 65 besides their 7,337 menservants and maidservants; and they also had 200 men and women singers. 66 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.

68 When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 drachmas [b] of gold, 5,000 minas [c] of silver and 100 priestly garments.

70 The priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.
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1 Peter 1 (New International Version, ©2010)



1 Peter 1

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Be Holy

13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a]
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b] 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, "All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever."[c] And this is the word that was preached to you.
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Proverbs 7 (New International Version)



Proverbs 7

Warning Against the Adulteress

1 My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

3 Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call understanding your kinsman;

5 they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words.

6 At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice.

7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment.

8 He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house

9 at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.

10 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.

11 (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home;

12 now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)

13 She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:

14 "I have fellowship offerings [a] at home; today I fulfilled my vows.

15 So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you!

16 I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

18 Come, let's drink deep of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with love!

19 My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.

20 He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon."

21 With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.

22 All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer [b] stepping into a noose [c]

23 till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.

24 Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.

25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths.

26 Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng.

27 Her house is a highway to the grave, [d] leading down to the chambers of death.
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Psalm 96 (New International Version)



Psalm 96

1 Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.

9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his [a] holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

12 let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

13 they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.
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Saturday, April 6, 2013

AFWIS Joins with Operation World in Prayer for China, People’s Republic, Provinces of China, Anhui Province, Beijing Municipality, Chongqing Municipality



Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)

Home > Apr 06: China, People’s Republic, Provinces of China, Anhui Province, Beijing Municipality, Chongqing Municipality

Apr 06: China, People’s Republic, Provinces of China, Anhui Province, Beijing Municipality, Chongqing Municipality

China, People’s Republic, Provinces of China, Anhui Province, Beijing Municipality, Chongqing Municipality

China

People's Republic of China

Asia

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 9,573,000 sq km
The third-largest state in the world, also containing the highest mountains and plateaus in the world. The climate and geography are extremely diverse, ranging from tropical in the south to sub-arctic in the north, from a highly industrialized and modern eastern seaboard to sparsely populated western deserts and mountain ranges. Hong Kong and Macau are integral parts of China, though their statistics are not included here; Taiwan’s status is debated. These three are handled separately.
Population: 1,330,584,783    Annual Growth: 0.63%
Capital: Beijing
Urbanites: 44.9%
HDI Rank: 92 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 516 (83% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese); local languages in the five Autonomous Regions. 15 regional mega-languages. There are an estimated 600 different spoken Han dialects, but one written language common to all    Languages: 296 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Non-religious
Religion               Pop %Ann Gr
Christians105,382,3157.922.7
Evangelicals75,399,2705.72.9
Non-religious590,247,41044.36 
Prayercast

Answer to Prayer

The survival and growth of the Church in China are two of the decisive events of our generation. The staggering recent growth of the Chinese Church has no parallel in history – from 2.7 million evangelicals in 1975 to over 75 million in 2010. Much growth is among the majority Han Chinese, with some growth among minority groups. A few groups with no known believers among them in the late 1990s now have networks of growing house churches.
     For an additional 8 Answers to 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 China.

Provinces of China

China

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Challenge for Prayer

Religions. In a country often hostile to overt expressions of religion and not given to counting its population along religious lines, it is impossible to precisely measure where, in what manner and how much atheism, agnosticism, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism mix and overlap. Christianity, Islam and Lamaistic Buddhism are given estimated percentages.
     For an additional 2 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 Provinces of China.

Anhui Province

China

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Challenge for Prayer

Christian growth has been amazing and sustained over several decades. From 50,000 Protestants in 1949, there are now possibly over nine million TSPM and house church Christians – counting proves too difficult due to the speed of the growth! Two of China’s largest house-church networks started in the northwest of the province.
     For an additional 4 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 Anhui Province.

Beijing Municipality

China

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Challenge for Prayer

At the seat of China’s power, Party officials try to keep tight control of Christian activity by being particularly harsh toward unofficial ministries. TSPM churches are increasing and fall far short of having enough buildings to meet the spiritual interest. Ironically, this forces many of Beijing’s Christians and seekers into the very unregistered networks the state attempts to suppress, which in turn has forced officials to assume a more open stance. Youth, students and business people are especially responsive, and innovative ministry is particularly effective among them. Pray for further cooperation between TSPM churches and house churches and for a government stance that allows both to continue to prosper.
     For an additional 2 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 Beijing Municipality.

Chongqing Municipality

China

See Prayer Information

Challenge for Prayer

The massive Three Gorges Dam project displaced up to 1.4 million people. Compensation for this enforced relocation was usually inadequate and/or stolen by corrupt officials. Many have chosen to move to Chongqing or Fuling. Pray for hearts opened to the gospel because of this traumatic change.
     For an additional 2 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 Chongqing Municipality.
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James 5 (New International Version, ©2010)



James 5

Warning to Rich Oppressors

1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Patience in Suffering

7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9 Don't grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple "Yes" or "No." Otherwise you will be condemned.

The Prayer of Faith

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
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Ezra 1 (New International Version)



Ezra 1

Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
2 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: " 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Anyone of his people among you—may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.' "

5 Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings. 7 Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. [a] 8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

9 This was the inventory: gold dishes 30 silver dishes 1,000 silver pans [b] 29

10 gold bowls 30 matching silver bowls 410 other articles 1,000

11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
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Proverbs 6 (New International Version)


Proverbs 6

Warnings Against Folly

1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
2 if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth,

3 then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!

4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.

5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!

7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,

8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-

11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. [a]

12 A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,

13 who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,

14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart— he always stirs up dissension.

15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:

17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Warning Against Adultery

20 My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
21 Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck.

22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

23 For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,

24 keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes,

26 for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?

28 Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?

29 So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

32 But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.

33 Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away;

34 for jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

35 He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse the bribe, however great it is.
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Psalm 95 (New International Version)




Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,

8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, [a] as you did that day at Massah [b] in the desert,

9 where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did.

10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways."

11 So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest."
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    Friday, April 5, 2013

    AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for China, People’s Republic, The Church in China, The Less Evangelized, Supportive Ministries



    Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)

    Home > Apr 05: China, People’s Republic, The Church in China, The Less Evangelized, Supportive Ministries

    Apr 05: China, People’s Republic, The Church in China, The Less Evangelized, Supportive Ministries

    China, People’s Republic, The Church in China, The Less Evangelized,Supportive Ministries

    China

    People's Republic of China

    Asia

    See Prayer Information

    Geography

    Area: 9,573,000 sq km
    The third-largest state in the world, also containing the highest mountains and plateaus in the world. The climate and geography are extremely diverse, ranging from tropical in the south to sub-arctic in the north, from a highly industrialized and modern eastern seaboard to sparsely populated western deserts and mountain ranges. Hong Kong and Macau are integral parts of China, though their statistics are not included here; Taiwan’s status is debated. These three are handled separately.
    Population: 1,330,584,783    Annual Growth: 0.63%
    Capital: Beijing
    Urbanites: 44.9%
    HDI Rank: 92 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

    Peoples

    Peoples: 516 (83% unreached) All peoples
    Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

    Official language: Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese); local languages in the five Autonomous Regions. 15 regional mega-languages. There are an estimated 600 different spoken Han dialects, but one written language common to all    Languages: 296 All languages

    Religion

    Largest Religion: Non-religious
    Religion               Pop %Ann Gr
    Christians105,382,3157.922.7
    Evangelicals75,399,2705.72.9
    Non-religious590,247,41044.36 
    Prayercast

    Challenge for Prayer

    China faces environmental disasters on many fronts; possibly her heaviest burdens directly resulting from great economic achievements. Pollution of China’s water sources has surpassed crisis level, and the combined effects of land, air and water pollution result in hundreds of thousands of deaths per year – to say nothing of the numbers born with defects or suffering environmentally-related illness. Chemical pollutants from agricultural and industrial waste continue to render Chinese cities and rural areas, as well as neighbouring countries, rife with dangers. Desertification of the northern provinces, combined with population growth, will affect millions in coming years. China has recently taken unprecedented steps toward addressing environmental concerns, though falling short of substantial progress. Pray for a government courageous and trusted enough to make the difficult decisions required for the long-term well-being of the nation.
         For an additional 6 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 China.

    The Church in China

    China

    See Prayer Information

    Challenge for Prayer

    Relationships among the various expressions of the Chinese Church are at last strengthening, after decades of strain ranging from passively avoidant to intentionally acrimonious. As they are able, government-recognized churches in recent years assist the unregistered churches by providing them support and resources. Even more significantly, TSPM/CCC churches and house churches came together in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, ministering jointly to communities and families in need. Pray for continued collaboration, understanding and unity as new generations of leaders forge relationships across historic dividing lines. Pray for genuine reconciliation at the foot of the Cross.
         For an additional 4 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 The Church in China.

    The Less Evangelized

    China

    See Prayer Information

    Challenge for Prayer

    The Chinese military is considered the largest in the world, including the armed forces (PLA) and the armed police (PAP). Combined, there are over four million in uniform, but very few Christians among them.
         For an additional 7 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 The Less Evangelized.

    Supportive Ministries

    World

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    Challenge for Prayer

    Provision of Chinese Bibles remains inadequate, despite a praiseworthy increase in the number of copies now available. The famine of the Scriptures is most acute for house churches, particularly in rural areas where the Church has grown with tremendous rapidity. The situation surrounding Bible printing, distribution and sales is complex, with a variety of factors contributing to the shortfall. Pray for:
    a) Equitable Bible distribution across all arms of the Chinese Church.Amity Printing Company – a joint venture with UBS – printed its 50 millionth Bible in late 2007; it now has capacity to print upward of 10 million Bibles annually! However, the portion of these that remains in China (approximately 80%) goes to official points of distribution for sale through TSPM and CPA congregations; Bibles are not generally available for sale in bookstores. While some unofficial churches are increasingly able to buy affordable Bibles from the official churches, this monopoly on distribution and sales contributes to a shortage of Scripture availability across the Chinese Church. Pray for creativity in providing Bibles to a rapidly growing and diversifying Church.
    b) Ready availability of God’s Word to all who seek it. Affordable Bibles have largely met the demand among urban Christians. Yet astoundingly, millions of Christians in China remain without access to a Bible, sometimes sharing one copy among 10 or even 100 church members, particularly in rural areas. House churches have commenced their own Bible printing presses and offer free or low cost Bibles to those outside major cities, having provided over six million since 2000. Millions of additional Bibles and NTs are estimated to have been brought in by visitors. Importation of Bibles is legal, but it is prevented for largely economic reasons. Pray that this flow might increase and that all Christians might have access to a copy of the Scriptures. Pray that Bibles might be distributed throughout the country to all who seek God’s Word.
         For an additional 4 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 Supportive Ministries.
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    Live a Life of No Regrets Jesus Does.


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    James 4 (New International Version, ©2010)



    James 4

    Submit Yourselves to God

    1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
    4 You adulterous people,[a] don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."[c]

    7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

    11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[d] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

    Boasting About Tomorrow

    13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.
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    2 Chronicles 36 (New International Version)



    2 Chronicles 36

    1 And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.

    Jehoahaz King of Judah

    2 Jehoahaz [a] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. 3 The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents [b] of silver and a talent [c] of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim's brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.
    Jehoiakim King of Judah

    5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the LORD and put them in his temple [d] there.
    8 The other events of Jehoiakim's reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.

    Jehoiachin King of Judah

    9 Jehoiachin was eighteen [e] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. 10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, together with articles of value from the temple of the LORD, and he made Jehoiachin's uncle, [f] Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
    Zedekiah King of Judah

    11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the LORD. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God's name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
    The Fall of Jerusalem

    15 The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, [g] who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. 18 He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD's temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.
    20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.

    22 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:

    23 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: " 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.' "
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    Proverbs 5 (New International Version)



    Proverbs 5

    Warning Against Adultery

    1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight,
    2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

    3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;

    4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.

    5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. [a]

    6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.

    7 Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.

    8 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,

    9 lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel,

    10 lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man's house.

    11 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.

    12 You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!

    13 I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.

    14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly."

    15 Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.

    16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?

    17 Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.

    18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.

    19 A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.

    20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?

    21 For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.

    22 The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.

    23 He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
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    Psalm 94 (New International Version)

    Psalm 94 (New International Version)

    Psalm 94

    1 O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth.

    2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.

    3 How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant?

    4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.

    5 They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance.

    6 They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless.

    7 They say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed."

    8 Take heed, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?

    9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?

    10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?

    11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.

    12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;

    13 you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.

    14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.

    15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

    16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?

    17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

    18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.

    19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

    20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you— one that brings on misery by its decrees?

    21 They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

    22 But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

    23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them.
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