George Verwer call for full-time mission workers
05 Jan 2012George Verwer’s heartfelt appeal to young Christians from the four corners of Europe was ‘go’. The founder of Operation Mobilisation was addressing thousands of European Christians on the final night of the Mission-Net Congress in Erfurt, Germany. ‘If people like you don’t go, who will?’ he said, dressed in his trademark ‘world map’ jacket. In an impassioned plea with the participants, Verwer said he was praying to God every day for workers to go out to the world’s ‘forgotten places’. ‘The word of God is clear,’ he said. ‘Don’t be hearers of the word, be doers.’ Verwer spoke openly about his own personal struggles with lust and sexual sin, as he reassured the audience that God loved them and wanted to use them in spite of any moral failings or mistakes. ‘We need Christians in every area of society but if we are serious about global missions, we need to include mission work as a legitimate career for this generation,’ he said.
Pray: for all those who listened to the message that they would not only be hearers of the word but doers. (Ro.10:14-15)
G20 seeks stronger IMF to fight debt crisis
10 Nov 2011Leaders of the world's most powerful economies have agreed to increase the resources of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to help alleviate the debt crisis that threatens to spread across Europe. Despite the consensus, leaders struggled to reach concrete plans on how to do so, as the G20 summit, which has largely been overshadowed by euro-zone efforts to tackle the Greek debt crisis, concluded in the French resort of Cannes last Friday. ‘It's important that the IMF sees its resources reinforced,’ European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters. Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Cannes, said the summit's final communiqué stressed ‘desirable trends and tendencies rather than measurable objective’. She continued: ‘There was a lot of talk about slogans such as strong, sustainable growth, but it was rather thin on actual detail about how this would be achieved.’
Pray: for the world as it tackles the economic problems and that the rich will learn generosity and not be governed by greed. (Pro.28:25)
More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/11/201111464940325870.html
Even as the nation’s Social Security budget is being ground down, the French National Assembly has voted to offer full taxpayer-funding for abortion and contraception, reports LifeSiteNews.com. As of 2013, public coverage of abortion expenses will be pushed up from 70 per-cent for chemical abortions or 80 per-cent for surgical abortions to a full 100 percent, within the limit fixed annually by the public health insurance system. In the same session, the Assembly voted to make contraception 100 per-cent free to all girls aged between 15 and 18. This includes all forms of contraception that are eligible for Social Security coverage: most hormonal pills, patches, implants, intra-uterine devices, and vaginal rings.
Pray: for the National Assembly to look very carefully at its decisions over abortion and consider how it can lead to promiscuity. (Ps.130:1-4)
A patriotic march for French values and culture, and against radical Islam, was virtually blacked out by France's politically correct media. Over the weekend, protestors chanted against Islamic fascism and about the French victory over Arab invaders in 732 AD It was the first march of its kind in France. A broad coalition of groups from across France banded together because they feel they're losing their country to radical Islam, Sharia law, and a politically correct establishment that encourages the spread of Islam. ‘Sharia law is slowly being enforced in our country and we want to march here to protest that because our government is doing nothing,’ one French demonstrator said. France has more Muslims than any other European nation. Some believe there could be as many as 15 million Muslims in France, although the official figure is much lower.
Pray: tha,t despite the lack of response by the French media, the message will get to the people.(1Cor.1:18)
French government ready to redefine marriage
18 Oct 2012On 31st October, Francois Hollande’s cabinet will assess a draft copy of legislation which, if approved, would redefine marriage in France despite growing opposition. The French president has promised that same-sex ‘marriage’ will be introduced by mid-2013. The draft legislation will propose a redefinition of marriage so that it is ‘contracted between two persons of different sex or of the same sex’, according to French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. The document will also set out provisions for same-sex couples to adopt children. These provisions will not be extended to unmarried same-sex couples. Ayrault said: ‘After a very broad consultation process that, of course, involved religious leaders, I've made up my mind. This is about ensuring fairness and equality that reflects the evolution of our society’. However, many mayors and deputy mayors across France have warned that they will not preside over same-sex ceremonies if the law is changed. Over 1,200 of them have signed a petition against redefining marriage.
Pray: against this legislation and further moves to redefine marriage. Pray that the mayors speaking out against such moves will hold fast to their beliefs. (Heb.13:4)
On Tuesday officers with France's DCRI domestic intelligence agency arrested a 21 year old Paris woman at her apartment in the working-class Belleville district of Paris who is suspected of possible links to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. She was arrested as part of an investigation by anti-terror officers into a case of ‘criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise.’ Based in Yemen, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is considered one of the deadliest franchises of the international militant network. We are asked to pray against recruitment tactics by terrorist organisations at the time of Hajj. See item 3 World Article
Pray: against all attempts to radicalize young Western Muslims in Islamic communities across the world, may the seekers of God and His Ways be touched by the Holy Trinity. (Jn.14:6)
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/french-woman-arrested-al-qaeda_n_4022054.html
France: US ambassador summoned over 'spying'
26 Oct 2013France called in the US ambassador to protest against allegations in Le Monde newspaper about large-scale spying on French citizens by the US National Security Agency. France and Mexico have demanded prompt explanations from Washington following allegations leaked by former US security contractor Edward Snowden of 70.3 million taped phone calls in France over a 30-day period between 10 December 2012 and 8 January this year. It was reported that NSA automatically picked up communications from certain phone numbers in France and recorded text messages under a programme code-named ‘US-985D’.
Pray: for constructive, honest and open international relationships that will prevent and apprehend computer-generated terrorist activities. (Pr.16:7-8 & Is.29:5)
The chief suspect in Saturday’s stabbing of a French soldier was a recent convert to Islam who was acting in accordance with his religious beliefs, French prosecution officials revealed Wednesday. The 21-year-old suspect, who was arrested early Wednesday in a Parisian suburb, had confessed to stabbing the French soldier, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins. According to Molins, video surveillance footage showed the suspect ‘saying a Muslim prayer’ shortly before attacking a French soldier patrolling a business neighbourhood west of Paris on Saturday. The pre-attack prayer combined with the fact that the stabbing occurred three days after the May 22 murder of a British soldier in London has led prosecutors to believe the suspect ‘was acting on the basis of religious beliefs,’ said Molins. ‘It seems clear the intent was to kill.’
Pray: against any further escalation of terrorist attacks by those acting in accordance with their religious belief. (Ps.109:28)
More: http://www.france24.com/en/20130529-france-stabbing-suspect-convert-islam-religiously-motivated-prosecutor