I just started reading Entrepreneurial Faith by Kirbyjon Caldwell and Walt Kallestad.  It’s one of those books that you sense the moment you see it that God wants you to read it.  So I bought it in the Discount bin for a few bucks.  I’m only through a few chapters and the verdict is still out but they did give some very telling stats on how effective the current church, and Christians are at reaching the lost and building the Kingdom of God:

-Two of the fastest growing religions in the U.S.:  Buddhism and Hinduism. The number of adherents in these two religious communities grew nearly 200% in just ten years - 1990 to 2000.

-During same period, the number of Americans who call themselves Christians increased a mere 5%.

-In contrast, during same period, the number of Americans that no longer consider themselves religious in any way increased by 110%.

-Christian church attendance remains approx. the same as it has for the past four decades.

-Not counting Christmas and Easter, approx. 42% attend church at least a few times a year as opposed to 46% in 1960.

Now the bad news:

-2003 Barna Group survey showed that approx. 8 million Americans between 18 and 29 years old have dropped out of church, have stopped giving money to churches and are no longer reading their Bibles.

The age group that is moving into adulthood and becoming the parents and leaders of our children and our nation are turning from God, and are no longer seeking His Will, His guidance, His direction and His wisdom.  If this doesn’t alarm you then maybe you are one of those 8 million that are making decisions that affect you, your family, your community and your nation with no moral or spiritual compass but are being blown waywardly by the swirling wind of self-fulfilling, new age enlightenment and self-appreciating psycho-social babbling that spews forth false teaching that gives the illusion of truth.  We then build our foundations on these illusions of truth without realizing that we have forsaken God and sold our souls to the great deceiver because we were seeking a truth that pointed to us instead of our Savior, Christ Jesus.  We then look around and wonder why America is becoming more and more faithless, why we are failing our families and our communities. 

This is our reality.  We can continue to go to church, holding hands and singing songs as if we’re worshipping a bubble-gum princess that showers us with sugary fairy dust or we can wake our spirits up and realize that we have been commissioned by Jesus Christ himself to reach lost souls and be lights on a dark and hurting world.  We have to take Christ and the church to the lost, the sick, the dying, the down-trodden, the demon-possessed, the drug addicts and the alcoholics.  They aren’t coming to us.  We have to go to them with Christ-like, servant hearts and souls.  Remember, Christ came to us!  

Let’s recommit ourselves to true servanthood and discipleship.  Let’s remember that we have access to the same power, through the Holy Spirit of Christ himself, that raised the dead, forced satan himself to cower before our Lord and healed the sickest of the sick.  Let’s humble ourselves in prayer seeking His Will, and His guidance in reaching the lost.  Remember, Christ was the most rebellious, most creative, most determined, most passionate, most Spirit-filled warrior and advocate for the lost that we have ever seen.  He didn’t concern himself with the status-quo, comfort seeking “truths” of the pious priests that taught God’s Law but ignored the Messiah himself.  He did whatever it took to reach the lost.  We have to do the same.

Now, let’s stop playing church and become The Church of Christ. 

Seven months ago in a hotel room in Macon, GA., the Holy Spirit spoke directly to my spirit and gave me this message.  After writing down this message, I called and counseled with a close friend of mine that I trust to give me honest spiritual feedback.  He suggested that I leave it unpublished for a short while and come back to it to see if there was any rewording needed or any changes needed.  He took the message very seriously and did not doubt that it wasn’t a direct message from the Holy Spirit.  He just suggested that I maybe rewrite it in a verse and style more “me” instead of “old testamenteze” (my term).  Needless to say, I have visited this draft numerous times over the past seven months and it is always the same message.  If I try to rewrite it, I have a complete “mental block.”  I now realize I have ’sit on this” for too long and have not been obedient in getting God’s message out.  God blessed my spirit with this message and I want….need to be obedient.  Here it is as the original post.

                                             ———————–

Please read and take serious the message that is written for it was spoken to my spirit from the Holy Spirit of God.  Those that do not heed this message will incur the wrath of God Himself, and this includes me for the judgement of man will come to pass in His time.  I am not exempt.

I am no priest, no pastor, no great spiritual leader ordained in the eyes of man but I do take this writing as serious as anything I’ve ever done in His name.  I physically felt sick  when I got this message and was writing it.

Here is His message:

How much longer do you think that I will withhold my wrath from an ungrateful and unrepentant world?  Have I not been a just and merciful God?  Have I not shown you Grace through the sacrifice of My Son, Jesus Christ?  Did He not face death with the burden of your sins on His shoulders when He was cruxified on Calvary?  Did He not conquer death and Satan himself when He was raised to live again and to return to My side? 

How much longer should I allow my people to dine with Satan, gluttens that have gorged themselves on the feast of lies that Satan has offered to you?  You sit with Satan himself at his table but do not see that this feast is not of Me. He has deceived you with his false doctrines and false religions. He has blinded your spirit, the spirit that I have given to you so that you may discern my voice above the serpent of Hell.  I have given you all truth that is needed to come to Me by.  My Son has given you my command to go forth and reach all lost souls of this earth.  Each day My judgement draws nearer but each day more souls die and are banished to live forever with satan and his dominions in hell.  Do you not understand that this fate is eternal?  Do you not see the blood of these lost ones flowing through Hell like a great river that runs the lengths and depths of darkness?  Hasn’t this river fed and nourished the evil one and his dominions long enough?

The time has come.  It is at hand.  There are no more excuses to be muttered to me. I am not pleased with this gospel of prosperity and blessings that your false prophets speak of. I never promised you wealth and great blessings in this life. The one true promise I have given to you is that of eternal life with Me through the belief of My Son Jesus Christ.  Do you not believe in his cruxification and resurrection?  Have you not asked and been forgiven for your sins?  Who are you to ask for forgiveness, only to turn your heart and soul to the lost ones that have yet to hear?  Have I not blessed this nation that you live within with great wealth and resources?  Did I not make a convenant with your founding fathers?  These blessings have not been granted to you so that you may wallow in it like a pig wallows in the mud of this earth. For as I have given, I can take away.  No, these blessings were given to you as a gift so that you may please Me and build up my Kingdom before the Harvest time.

The time is now my children!  Seek only my truth.  Seek Christ and know His ways, and share this with the world. Just as I sacrificed My Son for you, so must you sacrifice yourself for My kingdom.  But always know that I am truly with you.  I will protect you and guide you.  I will lead your feet down a righteous path.

“The more I search for my significance, seems the more I disappear, and I wonder…have I made a difference in anybody’s life since I’ve been here.”

                                                      Randy Travis, “Faith in You”

 

I turned 36 years old today!!!  It’s still kind of a surreal feeling to know that I am now officially closer to 40 than I am 30, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  In truth, it’s a good thing.  I would even call it a blessing because God has granted me 36 years on this earth and that’s 35 years and 364 days longer than some have experienced in this life.  I much prefer this “getting old” thing as compared to the alternative. 

So, today has been a great day. I’ve had the honor to spend it celebrating with my beautiful wife and a few close friends.  I missed seeing my family today but I’ve found there’s no “perfect days”, just the illusion of them.  Nonetheless, this day was all about me, and about what Patrick wanted.  I got to sleep late, pick where I wanted to eat, pick what kind of cake I wanted so it was good, right?  After all, we will spend the majority of our lives seeking to be ”somebody”, “important”, “powerful”, “liked”, “loved” and most of all “significant.”  We all want, and need to feel as if we matter, as if we have made a difference in some way in this world.  No body wants to be “insignificant”.  So, we spend our days searching for our place in this world and how we can become “significant” in the eyes of the world.  Honestly, I think that is why we have this notion of “MY birthdate, MY day.”  It’s a day that we can be important, we can be significant in the eyes of someone other than the person we greet every morning in the mirror.  Even if we know that there may be thousands of other people celebrating “their day” on “my day”, that doesn’t matter.  It’s still about me.

Tomorrow I will get up and go to work and face the craziness that has become life at DFCS, and it will no longer be “MY day.”  It will be just another day.  No one will go out of their way to talk to me, smile at me or “pat” me on the back, treat me as if I matter.  But that’s okay. That’s actually a good thing.  You see, life isn’t about Patrick or his significance.  It’s about God and His significance, and the more the world caters to my need to be significant, the less I seek Him.  The less I seek Him and seek to be a servant of His Son, Jesus Christ, the more the world sees me in all of my unworthiness, my brokenness and my inability to make a difference in anyone’s life without God.  The world is in need of God’s light, His love, His mercy, His grace and His forgiveness.  Not mine!  The more I try to be significant, the more I become insignificant to a lost and hurting world.  I actually begin to “lose myself”  because I have forgotten to allow Christ to work in me, to work through me for if I am walking in God’s will, then the world will only see Christ in me.  Once this happens and the world only sees Him in me, then I can begin to make a difference in this lost world.  This is when I will find my “significance.”  For my significance can only be found when Christ is fully within me, and I am fully within Him.

I read, hear or see things on a daily basis that makes me wonder how we got so stupid, confused, out-of-touch, hopeless, faithless and spiritually void of Christ.  Ever wonder if we’re living in the End Times?  You decide.

1.  Wesley Snipes gets THREE years in prison for conviction on three misdemeanor tax evasion charges while a 73-year old male gets ONLY seven years for molesting numerous children.  There were ELEVEN counts of child molestation that he was convicted on.  He only got seven years because of his age (This is from one of the victims mothers I recently spoke with)  Okay, what if he gets a second wind or third wind and lives to be 85 or 90 years old?!?  What message is being sent here…hey, fail to give the government “their” money and you’ll get put under the jail, but molest several children and get sympathy and the proverbial “slap-on-the-wrist.”

2.  Some guy (not worth mentioning his name) is writing a book stating that Jesus was the illegitimate child of Mary and a Roman soldier that RAPED her.  Uhhh, I think he missed something there. Personally, I think Christ himself should come down to earth at his first book signing and personally escort him to hell.  Granted he can still receive Christ’s forgiveness if he truly seeks it but I’m not optimistic that’s gonna happen.

3.  The Episcopal Church has a homosexual rabbi, priest or whatever the title is (old news I know but still relevant.)  Kinda like having an actively using crack head leading the NA meetings while lighting up. 

4.  A guy (again not worth mentioning the name) writes a book, “The God Delusion” about the non-existence of God and it is a New York Times bestselling book that has sold million+ copies.  The author even has a page on his website called “The Converts Corner” where people can give “testimonies” of their conversion to being hell-bound non-believers again.  Ever heard of “Evangelical Atheisism”?  Think we aren’t on the frontlines of a spiritual war?! 

5.  A 14-year old boy that was well-liked, active and did well in school kills himself this week because of a girl.  Apparently, from talking with a relative, this was a shock that they didn’t see coming. Cops have refused to give parents the suicide note but the mortician told the parents that’s the reason.  Apparently, he saw the note. Tell me, are we failing our children or what?

6.  Annual Budget items from a local church:

-Financial Support for Short-Term missions carried out by its members:  $0

-Intramural Sports (uniforms, refs, etc.):  $10,000

Want to reach lost souls in another country?  Fine, here’s….well….hey we’d really like to pray for you though.  Want to play softball with the church, great….here’s a fifty.  No…make that a hundred.

I could go on and on but I’ll save more for later.  I think I’ll do this occasionally to remind us how ineffective we, as Christians, have been at reaching lost souls and truly impacting our society.  Think this is the worst it’s going to get?  Well, this is only the beginning. 

 

Disclaimer:  This post is not Anti-Catholic or Anti-Pope but Pro-Jesus. 

While eating minced pork (I know, I’m going to hell for eating that blasted dirty pig) and fried chicken at the church yesterday (yep, Southern Baptist), I got to talking with a fellow church member that I’m close with.  I had heard A LOT of Pope talk over the past week, and I wanted to see if I was missing some pertinent biblical and/or spiritual information regarding the real identity of the Pope or if I was just confused and didn’t realize that we were all in the presence of the second incarnation of Jesus Christ.  I must have missed all those scriptural references to the deity of the Pope.

Now, I have to admit that I have much to learn about Jesus, His teachings and His commands but before this week I was fairly confident I understood that Christ was the one and only God, our one true Savior, and that there was only one Holiness, and He was the only one that could forgive us or bless us. 

That was until I was force-fed all the Pope media hype.  They were referring to him as ”His Holiness” and talking about all the blessings the Pope was bestowing on everyone.  Heck, he even went to Yankee stadium to bless all those Yankee fans (they need it. LOL.)  I guess Boston is in deep dooky this year.  Anyway, it got me to thinking…all these Catholics must know something I don’t about this person.  I guess I missed that memo explaining his deity, not being catholic and all.

So we talked and it seems I wasn’t confused.  Everyone else is!!!  Now, I respect the Pope for his tremendous knowledge of Christ and God, and the many years of dedicated servanthood to God but news flash…the Pope is just a priest that is no less human or no more Christ or God than I am.  He is not worthy to ever be referred to as “Holy or His Holiness”, he cannot bless me nor forgive me for shooting my dog in the eye when I was five any more or less than my pastor can.  He is not to be worshipped (quite frankly this obsession over him is bordering on Idolatry) or looked at as an intermidiary between God and man (that would be Christ Jesus). In the end, he is just an imperfect guy that was called into priesthood by God to serve Him, and was voted on to wear this overkill costume by a “secret” council, and to wave his arms over people while praying.  Oh, and it seems, to issue new sins or commandments.  Wait, maybe this guy is the second coming of Jesus himself.  No, No…sorry, just heard another media report proclaiming the Holiness of the Pope, and it almost convinced me again.

Again, this is not anti-catholic nor anti-Pope but Pro-Jesus.  But this obsession and borderline idolatrous view of the Pope has to end.  He should be showed great respect but our relationship and our minds, hearts, souls and spirits need to be focused exclusively on Christ as the only one Holy, the only one worthy to be worshipped, and the only one that can grant anyone His Mercy and Grace, and issue new sins or commandments. The Pope plays an important role in teaching God’s Word but once we become “Little Christs”, we become children of the Risen Lord and we now have direct access to God and a relationship with Him through His Only Son, Jesus Christ.  I don’t need to go once a week to hide in a curtained closet to seek forgiveness from a worldly priest or to say 14 Hail Marys, while criss-crossing my hands in the air 14 more times.  I need forgiveness?  Simple…seek Christ in repentant prayer.  He will gladly listen and then offer your repentance to His Holy Father.  A major reason for our weak Christianity is because we have taken our eyes off of Christ and His Divinity and have taken His power from him and placed it into an imperfect, flawed human being’s hands or onto someone that deserves no worship (this would be Mary.)  Mary showed great obedience to her Lord in carrying, and caring for, the human Jesus but she played her role to the best of human capability.  She should be remembered for this obedience but that’s where it ends.  The only place she belongs is at the feet of Christ in bowed awe just like everyone else (sorry, another side bar.) 

As for me and my family, we worship only one true God, one true Savior and we seek only Him.  His name is Jesus Christ, not Pope Benedictine, or John, or Paul or a guy named Patrick, Garry, Larry or Curly. 

Christ is my Lord and Savior….period.  I put my faith in only His Divinity.  This is the basis of our salvation.  He is our only way to God.  If we misunderstand this, we are in danger of being doomed to hell just as any atheist or non-believer.

 

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

Fulfilling the Great Commission is Christ’s ultimate command for His Army of ”Little Christ’s”.  He wants us to learn His word, His truths, His principles so that we can apply our faith on a daily basis, and be a light unto this dark world.  Our faith has to become an act that is practiced, and our desire to reach lost souls must become our driving force.  We have to become participants in the war that is being waged between good and evil. 

People who have never heard the word “Jesus”, and have never been told the truth about Christ will not miraculously wake up one morning with a strong “urge” to seek out Patrick or Christy, or any other of my fellow christian family members.  We, that know the truth, must take it to them, whether they live on our street or in Brazil.  I have met many, many well-intentioned, and willing christians on Sunday mornings but I don’t often met, or see, many that are on the battlefield on the other days of the week.

Let’s all make a new committment to apply our knowledge of Christ and His Truth.  Let’s stop talking and thinking and wishing and let’s get busy doing.  It is a daily struggle to do the “Christian thing”, and I often fail, and I often get to the end of the day and realize I could have done better…I should be doing better.  But that’s okay.  God knows He’s dealing with emotional, irrational, fickle, tempermental, stubborn, prideful and imperfect human beings.  He designed us this way because He wants us to focus on Him and rely on the power that He has.  We are children of the Risen Lord and we have access to the same power that raised Christ from the dead.  All we have to do is ask, and He’ll equip us. 

Time for me to stop writing and get busy doing because too many souls are dying and going to hell on a daily basis.

” James says God wants walkers, not just talkers.  In I John 3: 16-18, the Bible says, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  My little children, let us now love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”  (emphasis mine [K.P. Yohannan]). 

Caring is sharing.  Loving is sharing.  Missions is sharing.  The whole purpose of the church in this world can be summed up in that one word:  sharing.  That is what the agape love of the New Testament is really all about.  It is what the Great Commission itself is all about.

But millions of Christians are still in spiritual kindergarten because we have been taught only to acquire and receive rather than practice true love by sharing.  K.P. Yohannan, The Road to Reality

As I read this passage in K.P.’s book, I was reminded of a conversation I had recently with a good friend of mine that I go to church with.  I was lamenting my growing frustration at the rampant apathy I’ve witnessed concerning fulfilling the Great Commission, when my friend basically “scolded” me, proceeding to give a short lecture about how we’re not all “called” to go to other nations/places, and we’re not all “called” to do the same things for God’s Kingdom.  They informed me that I didn’t know the “hearts” of other Christians, and shouldn’t come across as if I did (basic translation.)  I agreed that I didn’t know what was in the hearts of other Christians but based on the statements that I had been given by many and based on their actions, I had a good idea.  I may not know the heart of a duck, but I have a good idea that a duck is, in fact, a duck by how it walks, looks and talks.  You know the saying…. 

In essence, I have witnessed a lot of talking lately about reaching lost souls but I’ve seen very little in the way of walking.  Although our spiritual gifts may differ, and our specific areas of ministry may differ, fulfilling the Great Commission is the calling AND responsibility of ALL Christians.  The sole purpose for God equipping us with our Holy Spirit-given gifts, and for us being taught how to become disciples is to fulfill the Great Commission.  While an area of ministry may need to focus on supporting the church, and catering to the humanistic needs of all, the majority of our ministries need to focus on reaching the lost of this world.  That is where the brunt of our time and resources need to be centered. 

God provided us with the ultimate demonstration of sharing many years ago when He sent us His only Son to die on the cross so that we may find redemption through His death and resurrection.  Without His love by sharing we would have no chance of ever being forgiven for our many sins, and one day walking in His awesome presence in His eternal kingdom. 

The time has come for Christians to start walking instead of talking.  While we are talking, satan is walking more and more lost souls straight into hell and eternal damnation.

Ever watched Extreme Home Makeover?  It’s one of the few shows on TV these days that a family can actually sit down together and watch.  Each week a family is chosen to receive the gift of a new house that will be built in seven days.  It’s a simple, straight-forward show with powerful and dramatic results that not only affects the family involved but often, the entire community that surrounds that family. 

While watching this past Sunday, I could sense my spirit filling with the comforting thought that I have already received a gift far, far greater than any of these familes had ever gotten.  No, I have not been gifted with a free house, free car or abundant financial wealth but I have been gifted with the Gift of Salvation that my Lord and Savior Christ gave to all that day he died on Calvary’s cross.  On that cross, he didn’t offer to give us free houses or unlimited blessings in the form of worldly things.  He could have…but he didn’t.  All He gave was all He had:  his life, his blood and his sacrifice.  He became the wrecking ball that forever broke down that wall of sin that had separated us for ions from our God. 

You see, when we come before our Lord in faith, belief and repentant hearts, He takes our hand and says, “Here my child is all the blessings that I have to give.  Here is a home that is reserved just for you in the Kingdom of God for you to live in for all eternity. Here is my forgiveness, my mercy and my grace.  Take it.  You owe me nothing for I did this because I simply love you.” 

What an awesome gift I have been given, and what an ”Extreme Life Makeover” my Father has made in me.  I asked Him to change me, and change my life and He did, and He does each and every day.  So, where are you today?  Are you being “made over” by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?  Are you in need of forgiveness and an “Extreme Life Makeover?”  Just ask!!!!  The Gift is in His hands and He stands before you wanting so much to give you this gift. 

Think you are not worthy?  Think that Jesus will not forgive you and that Jesus cannot make you into His image?  Think you cannot be healed of that drug addiction, sexual addiction or from the grip of alcoholism?  Then read just a few examples of Christ’s Extreme Life Makeover’s and then allow Him to work.  Allow Him to use you as a great testimony to His awesome Mercy and Grace.

-A man travels down the road to Demascus, hunting for Christians to slaughter.  Suddenly, Christ appears before him and his life is never the same.  Not only did Christ instantly transform him, He used him to change this world.  His name was Paul and he became Christ’s greatest missionary.

-A young teenage, evangelical atheist is transformed by God, and he is now living for Christ, traveling the world to reach all the lost, to save them from the eternal hell that he was facing.  Just last summer, he was running Bibles into China for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   

-A old, 80-something grandmother living in the northeastern desert of Brazil  spent over 50 years as the Mother Saint of the local Macumba (Spiritist) temple in Ubauna leading souls to satan, not Christ.  Christ touched her and forgave her of her sins.  She asked and He answered.  He didn’t hold her past against her.  He simply forgave her.  Now, she is living in Heaven with our Savior. 

-Another evangelical atheist calls his sister and brother-in-law out of the blue one day, and tells them to pick him up from the airport because he has come to visit.  He has no idea why he was led to get on an airplane and visit but he did nonetheless.  They pick him up from the airport and as they are headed to his sister’s house in a car filled with awkward silence, his brother-in-law asks as they pass the church that he is on staff at, “That’s my church, would you like to see the renovations we’ve done? (paraphrase)”  The atheist confusingly says yes.  The brother-in-law opens the door and as the atheist family member enters the door, he is suddenly slammed to the ground and starts screaming out to God, asking for His forgiveness.  The family prayed with him right there and he was instantly redeemed and a child of the Risen Lord.  Later the sister’s husband asks the brother-in-law what happened.  He shakes his head and just states, “I’m not sure.  All I know is before I walked through that door, I believed there was no God and as soon as I put foot in that church, I suddenly met God and knew that I was a terrible sinner and needed forgiveness (paraphrase).” 

-A drug addict for over 20 years, who had lost everyone and everything in his life asks forgiveness of his sins and Christ comes into his life and he is instantly cured of his addictions, never to touch them again.  Now he reaches other addicts for Christ.

Now that you know that Christ loves you and wants desperately to give you an “Extreme Life Makeover”, what are you waiting for? 

Recently I was planning for a Tupperware Bingo party being held at a local nursing home.  I had called, emailed and given out invitations to as many people as I could, hoping to have a lot of guests, orders and of course, a big profit.  Things were looking promising and I was getting a lot of interest from the people I was inviting.  I prayed that God would  send the people that He wanted and willed to be there and reminded myself that He is in control.

Feeling good about my preparations and reminder calls, I was disappointed when I started getting the emails that some of the people I had thought would be able to come, were going to be unable to attend.  A few more had promised to call the day of the bingo to let me know how many would be coming with them, but they didn’t call.  I called to check on them, and one by one, they all said that they wouldn’t be able make it.

Now feeling disappointed and as if my efforts had been a waste of time, I rushed from one side of town to the other to make it to the once promising event. There were so many other things that I could be spending my time doing, other than going to an event that was not going to be profitable.  But again, I prayed that God would send the people that He wanted to attend.  Maybe someone that I hadn’t expected to attend would show up!  I remembered that God is in control and I am responsible for the efforts and He will take care of the results.

While none of my guests came, I was excited to see that many of the nursing home residents came to play Bingo. I hadn’t really thought about the people who lived at the nursing home attending the Bingo!  What a blessing!  The residents were so much fun and they all cheered when one of their friends won Bingo (at Tupperware Bingo, you yell, “Tupperware!” and get a Tupperware product as a prize).

We had refreshments afterwards and I had a chance to talk to some of the residents.  They were amazing! And the Activities Director who helped to plan the event was so loving and caring towards the residents.  She is in the right ministry and God is really using her to better the lives of those wonderful residents.  

Yes, God is always in control and I realized that God wanted me to be there… I was the one to receive the blessing. It was not a financial blessing, but something much better.  It was a gift of love and hope. 

I know that the residents at the nursing home enjoyed playing Bingo and won some great Tupperware prizes, but I was the big winner.  So often we try to plan our lives down to the most minute detail to make our will come to pass instead of keeping our eyes on God and His will.  That’s when we are open to His blessings and all of the wonderful things that He has in store for us.  -C.

Areas of the world where Christians face persecution include:

Afghanistan	Egypt	Libya	Somalia
Algeria	Eritrea	Malaysia	Sri Lanka
Azerbaijan	Ethiopia	Maldives	Sudan
Bangladesh	Gaza and the West Bank	Mindanao, Philippines	Syria
Belarus	India	Mauritania	Tajikistan
Bhutan	Indonesia	Morocco	Tibet (China)
Brunei	Iran	Nepal	Tunisia
Burma (Myanmar)	Iraq	Nigeria	Turkey
Chiapas, Mexico	Jordan	North Korea	Turkmenistan
China	Kuwait	Oman	United Arab Emirates
Colombia	Kyrgyzstan	Pakistan	Uzbekistan
Comoros	Laos	Qatar	Vietnam
Cuba	Lebanon	Saudi Arabia	Yemen

It is not coincidence or “happen-stance” that America has been blessed with tremendous resources and religious freedom.  It is God-given, and with it comes a monumental responsibility to lead this world in fulfilling the Great Commission and being a voice for those that are being persecuted daily so that Christ can be honored and followed.  Please join Christ’s army in praying for the Christians that are being persecuted for boldly reaching the lost for Christ. 

With great freedom comes great responsibility.  Let’s take a moment to thank God for the freedom He has given us, and then let’s join the fight (www.persecution.com).