Displaying items by tag: Religion

Ukraine’s Christians are openly seeking God to calm and ease their pain, and Psalm 31 has a special meaning in their hearts. Countless Ukrainians are reciting it from their bunkers and other safe locations as they turn to the Lord in praise and adoration. They are finding strength, rest, comfort, and stronger faith in God’s Word. The British and Foreign Bible Society said, ‘Psalm 31 is becoming really significant for the entire nation.’ We also can read it and join in spirit those in shelters who are desperately praying for aggression to end. ‘In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn Your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me.’

The Kremlin is considering imposing martial law on its own citizens, the EU suggests. Russia's economy has descended into turmoil. The rouble is at a 10-year record low, anti-war protests continue in Moscow and St Petersburg, and the bloc was picking up speculation on social media about potential Russian plans, which it said would be ‘completely home-produced’. At a morning press conference, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western politicians of considering nuclear war, and said Moscow would press on with its military operation in Ukraine ‘until the end’. Ukraine Christians have matured over the years of fighting for freedom for their country and are depending on help from God more than support from America or Europe. In Russia, Christian revival is already growing despite much pressure from state authorities. Father God, we ask You to bring about Your outcome to this crisis. Replace error with truth and where there is darkness bring Your light.

In war, victory lies not in defeating an army but in securing the willing submission of a population. Stability is the outcome needed, not a passing triumph of arms. Putin has misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainians and world opinion. He has misjudged the capability of the military tool he employed to secure his political goal. It is likely that the very brutal success of his military will ensure he fails to achieve his political objective of a stable and pliant Ukraine. The irony is that, even if he wins the war, he will lose the peace – for there will be no peace to keep. We can ask God to empower and encourage the Ukrainians in the midst of unimaginable conflict and confusion. Pray for God's provision of a canopy of His presence and protection over all who are under attack, and for those fleeing to achieve their goals.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) reported some truly stunning numbers surrounding its international mission’s efforts, noting impressive increases in baptisms and sharing the Gospel throughout 2020. ‘We’ve seen the Holy Spirit working across the globe in mighty ways,’ said Wilson Geisler of its International Mission Board. There was a 62% increase in new believers between 2019 and 2020, rising from 89,000 to over 144,000. During the same period, baptisms swelled 81% - from 47,929 to 86,587. That is not all: 769,494 people heard the Gospel in 2020, up from 535,325 in 2019, with 18,380 churches planted across the globe in 2020. Most evangelism increases took place in South Asia, where 89% of the baptisms unfolded, and 97% of new churches were planted. These statistics are particularly fascinating amid the backdrop of a pandemic that left many domestic and global churches shuttered, restricted, or otherwise quieted.

You are a God of justice, 

the one who rules in righteousness. 

You sweep away oppression, 

by a high and mighty politician. 

Lord, remove abuse of power, 

let the cunning plan turn sour. 

May Your angel armies win the day

as your people faithfully watch and pray.

Every Generation Ministries bring the transformed life Jesus intends for children in Ukraine. Ukraine is home to over six million children and 5,000 evangelical churches. Russia and the West have battled over influence in Ukraine before. After the annexation of Crimea, thousands of children were displaced from their homes to live in fear and uncertainty. The country is in turmoil again and the world is praying for peace. Ask God to invigorate the church to reach out to searching people during this time of tumult. Pray for boys and girls who are experiencing tremendous fear and anxiety during the current unrest and those still recovering from 2014. Ask God to give church leaders wisdom as they navigate the tensions of civilians bearing arms, bombs, and millions fleeing. Christians in the town of Lviv are deploying a shield of prayer and worship. In an upper room African Christians are praying for their host country, ready to be Jesus’ hands and feet to those who must flee. On the other side of Lviv pastors meet, plan and pray the battle for freedom. In separatist areas Christians forbidden from meeting together meet secretly.  Ukraine’s vibrant Jewish community of 200,000 is one of the largest in the world. Many elderly Jews are comfortable with Russians as their neighbours. When their men served in the Soviet army during WWII they couldn’t imagine then that Russia would attack Ukraine. ‘I’m following the news,’ said Vera, a 68-year-old Jewish lady who practises Heseds (generously lovingly helping others). ‘I pray daily to God. I’m trying to cheer up my fellow-seniors.’

God gives some the vocation of serving Him by running a business. Kingdom businesses are businesses with God's perspectives. The world is hungry for thousands of new businesses to be created, and places where the gospel is least well-known often have the highest unemployment and the deepest poverty. Countries which close the door to missionaries often open it wide for business people. Kingdom businesses are an essential part of seeing God’s Kingdom impact every sphere of society. Pray that the Lord will call workers into the harvest field from among business entrepreneurs and professionals in the Church. Pray for essential business skills and resources to be released in greater number for global mission and to address the most pressing economic, social, environmental and spiritual needs: fighting poverty, freeing slaves, providing for communities, creating good jobs, and bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth. Pray for more resources to provide support for mentoring, training, startup, member care, prayer, and knowledge-sharing networks.

Christian MP Fiona Bruce has handed a petition to home secretary Priti Patel, to raise continued concerns about a Pakistani Christian girl, Maira Shahbaz. At just 14 she was kidnapped, forced into marriage and converted; she escaped, only to be forced into hiding after her abductor accused her of apostasy. More than 12,000 people signed an Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) petition calling on Boris Johnson to grant asylum to Maira. ACN’s press officer John Pontifex said, ‘We are extremely delighted that Fiona Bruce has once again taken the trouble to reach out to Priti Patel and make this fresh appeal on behalf of Maira. I have been in touch with Maira almost every day, sometimes talking about her situation. She says to me: “I feel like I am in a prison, I can’t go out, I’m stuck, I don’t have enough to eat. What can you do to help me?”’

Parents Sally and Nigel Rowe were warned that if their six-year-old child expressed confusion about another pupil wearing a dress and used incorrect pronouns it would be unacceptable behaviour. A letter from the headteacher and governors said that pupils risked being viewed as transphobic if they showed an inability to believe a transgender person is actually a ‘real’ female or male. The parents have withdrawn both their sons from the school and been granted permission for a judicial challenge to the Department for Education’s (DfE) decision to provide the guidelines to state schools. A hearing is expected within six months, and the DfE is defending the claim. The parents withdrew their eldest son in 2015 after he became confused about another boy wearing girl's clothes. Two years later, they are raising the issue again after their second son was confused about another pupil who identified as ‘gender fluid’, alternating their appearance on various days of the week.

A legacy of brokenness endures from the days of Ceausescu’s regime. Every kind of social evil came to fill the moral space left after Communism ended. People struggle with substance abuse, prostitution, human trafficking, and abuse of children. Deep corruption led to economic instability and widespread unemployment. Membership in the EU has helped push Romania further along the path of economic progress and stability. Pray for leadership that has wisdom to follow the right path, and integrity to establish right policies. Romania is one of the world’s most Christian nations by percentage, but it is difficult to see this in society. Communism’s atheistic worldview persists. Weak faith, hypocrisy, and slandering other denominations cause problems for all Christian groups. Christ is not glorified and the Church is not built up. Church members and clergy mix faith with folk religious practices or the occult. Churches neglect poor people.