Dear Father, We invite you back in to our Schools to walk the school property to walk the halls and to provide YOUR PEACE, PROTECTION, PROVISION, PURITY and your very PRESENCE in Every School -- over every administrator, teacher, student and the families associated with this school, in Jesus Name, Amen.
The unprecedented harvest of new believerscontinues across Africa, Asia and Latin America, in contrast to the relative stagnation or decline in the rest of the world. The tables below reveal a remarkable story of a growing, spreading and diversifying Church. The table of statistics shows the relative change of the world’s population for each of the MegaBlocs. Christianity has slightly declined as a percentage of the world’s population since 1900 – only the Protestant, Independent and Marginal MegaBlocs have defied this trend to gain a proportion of the world’s population. a)Christianity re-affirmed as a global religion.The concept of Christianity as a European "white-man's religion" is demonstrably a myth. Though sometimes small in number, all but concealed, or mostly members of a minority people group, there are now Christians living and fellowshipping in every country on earth. World mission, globalization and high migration rates have dispersed the Church into every corner of the world, both to previously unevangelized areas and back to traditionally Christian regions where the Church is in sharp decline. b)The astonishing shift of Christianity’s centre of gravity to the Majority World.The tables reveal that, though Christianity’s percentage in the world population has changed little, the proportions between the Majority World and the West/North have changed dramatically. This is praiseworthy, as hundreds of millions heard the good news for the first time in the past century. It is also an indication that the missionary efforts of the past 200 years have borne incredible fruit, though at times it was slow in coming. Years and generations of prayer and faithful service to the unevangelized world by both missionaries and indigenous Christians have not been in vain. c)The strength and growth of the Church in lands that now have, or have had in the past, severe persecution.Some examples of places where both persecution and Church growth are prominent include China, India, Sudan, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Iran and Myanmar, to name but a few. For an additional 7 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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Leadership developmentis the crucial bottleneck to Church growth. There is a worldwide lack of men and women truly called of God and deeply taught in the Scriptures to lead the churches, people willing to suffer the burdens and responsibilities of leadership for the sake of the Saviour who redeemed them; in many contexts this means deprivation, scorn and even risk of death. Those who accurately and effectively expound the Scriptures are few, especially in areas where the churches are growing rapidly. New methods and means of multiplying well-trained, godly, effective leaders must be developed; traditional methods alone will not suffice to produce the number and quality required to meet the need. Ministers who are seminary graduates are often the least likely to have a biblical worldview. Pastors, ministers and elders all need constant upholding in prayer. For an additional 9 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 2 Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. [a]
3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion."
4 "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots;
6 his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
7 Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what more have I [b] to do with idols? I will answer him and care for him. I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me."
9 Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.
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.
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. [a]
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. [b]
7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah
9 Look upon our shield, [c] O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
1 When Ephraim spoke, men trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died. 2 Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, "They offer human sacrifice and kiss [a] the calf-idols."
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window.
4 "But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of [b] Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.
5 I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.
7 So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart.
9 "You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.
10 Where is your king, that he may save you? Where are your rulers in all your towns, of whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes'?
11 So in my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath I took him away.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up, his sins are kept on record.
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him, but he is a child without wisdom; when the time arrives, he does not come to the opening of the womb.
14 "I will ransom them from the power of the grave [c] ; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, [d] is your destruction? "I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives among his brothers. An east wind from the LORD will come, blowing in from the desert; his spring will fail and his well dry up. His storehouse will be plundered of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open."
Aid, development and charity work across the globeescalated through the 1980s and 1990s and continue in this decade. The civil sector (NGOs) is now the eighth-largest economy in the world, worth over $1 trillion per year globally. Praise God that, more than before, the needs of the most vulnerable and needy are being addressed. Also give thanks for: a)A more holistic understanding of evangelical missionwithin the Church. Ministry that cares for orphans and widows, uplifts the poor, brings liberty to the oppressed and sets captives free reflects the heart of God, the values of the Scriptures and the role of the Church. Caring for the downtrodden and vulnerable and demonstrating practically Christ’s love are increasingly — and rightly — the focused activities of evangelical ministry. At many times, evangelicals in particular have lacked a healthy balance of spiritual ministry and practical ministry (as if the purposes of God could be so easily compartmentalized!). Give thanks for the Church’s increasing understanding that Christ’s Kingdom can and must transform every aspect of life and community. b)Doors to many places and peoples previously closed are opento aid workers, educators, technical tradesmen and virtually any other occupation. Believers have opportunities to enter countries and serve with NGOs, to see redemptive changes occur in communities, to collaborate with other altruistic-minded people and organizations. Just as significant are the opportunities to present an excellent witness for God’s transforming love through practical assistance to those in need. Pray that this global trend might continue to pave roads for the spread of the gospel to those among whom Christians wish to serve, to non-Christians labouring alongside Jesus’ followers and to community and government leaders who are themselves potentially great change-makers for the Kingdom of God. For an additional 7 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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International migrations.There are now 200-250 million people living outside the land of their birth. Greater levels of migration are fuelled by: increasing gaps, internationally, in quality of life; population growth (and decline); climate change and ecological ruin; financial, educational and social opportunities; and upheaval, conflict and persecution. Large-scale migrations into Western Europe, North America, South Africa, Siberia, Australia and other places will continue to increase regardless of what barriers are raised or laws passed – such epic scales of the global movement of humanity cannot be stopped by legislation. But violent xenophobia has been an increasingly common reaction. The “threat” of immigration could also be a great opportunity for Christian ministry – many migrants come from less-evangelized lands, and many others come as vibrant, witnessing Christians. For an additional 4 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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1 Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
2 The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob [a] according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother's heel; as a man he struggled with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there-
5 the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name of renown!
6 But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales; he loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin."
9 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of [b] Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed feasts.
10 I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them."
11 Is Gilead wicked? Its people are worthless! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Their altars will be like piles of stones on a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram [c] ; Israel served to get a wife, and to pay for her he tended sheep.
13 The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet he cared for him.
14 But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger; his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed and will repay him for his contempt.
1 God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods": 2 "How long will you [a] defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.'
7 But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler."
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
Prayer movements and networks multiplied and grewas God’s people joined together to pray on an unprecedented scale and with greater focus and breadth. Movements on local, national and international levels are praying for communities, nations, peoples and thematic issues as well. Sustained, informed, impassioned intercession is occurring as never before and throughout the globe. There are simply too many grassroots movements to list and more than anyone can keep track of, but International Prayer Connect (IPC) links hundreds of prayer networks and ministries to focus prayer on common global concerns. a)The Global Day of Prayer(GDOP) is celebrated every Pentecost Sunday. It originated over 10 years ago from a city-wide prayer event in Cape Town. It is an African-initiated, annual call to repentance and prayer that now brings together believers in every country in the world to focus locally and globally on pleading with the Lord for our communities and nations. Tens, if not hundreds, of millions of Christians have participated in these meetings over the years. b)Grassroots prayer networks,such as 24/7 Prayer and IHOP (International House of Prayer), draw thousands of young people into a worldwide, unbroken stream of prayer and worship to God. c)Days of prayer for countries and nations.Dozens of countries dedicate one day each year to pray for their nation. These days are observed nationally, but concerned believers from around the globe often participate from their own locales as well. Some are specifically held to mobilize prayer from abroad for less reached nations. d)Days or networks of prayer for specific peoples, vulnerable groups or special issues.Believers in any country can join in prayer for the persecuted Church (International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church), for Muslims (the 30-Days Prayer Network), for unreached peoples or regions (Global Prayer Digest, Praying Through the Arabian Peninsula, others), for groups and areas of great need (Call to Prayer for Victims of Sex Trade Trafficking, Viva Network World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk) and many more. For an additional 7 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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The insidious power of international crime empires.Globalization probably benefits the wicked and corrupt as much as, if not more than, those with good intentions. Some of these are the US mafia, the Colombian drug cartels, Chinese Triads, Japanese yakuza, Jamaican yardies, Russian Bratva, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Neapolitan Camorra and many others. a)Drug networkslink the largest growers (Andean republics, Central Asia, the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia) with the largest users (the West, China, India). b)Smuggling of contrabandranges from cigarettes and alcohol, to antiques and art, to live animals and weapons and firearms. c)Money launderingon a massive scale. d)Control and extortion of politicians and business and industry leadersas well as their influence over entire economies. For an additional 5 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more I [a] called Israel, the further they went from me. [b] They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.
5 "Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?
6 Swords will flash in their cities, will destroy the bars of their gates and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them.
8 "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man— the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. [c]
10 They will follow the LORD; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes," declares the LORD.
Israel's Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit. And Judah is unruly against God, even against the faithful Holy One.
1 Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones.
2 Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones.
3 Then they will say, "We have no king because we did not revere the LORD. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?"
4 They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. [a] Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile.
6 It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. [b]
7 Samaria and its king will float away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places of wickedness [c] will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!"
9 "Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. [d] Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish them; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors,
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated— as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15 Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel, because your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
For the director of music. To the tune of "The Lilies of the Covenant." Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
4 O LORD God Almighty, how long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, O God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its boughs to the Sea, [a] its shoots as far as the River. [b]
12 Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage it and the creatures of the field feed on it.
14 Return to us, O God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted, the son [c] you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
