Israel: ‘third intifada’
01 Jun 2017
A recent wave of terror has brought fear to people in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. Many are fearful of exposing their families to danger. Tourism is in decline as many people cancel holidays, causing negative effects on the Israeli economy. This damages small businesses and the families they support. The attacks, which many have called the ‘third intifada,’ have worsened a major ongoing problem. Recent reports show that almost one third of Israeli families live below the poverty line. Thousands of babies frequently miss meals or have their feed portions diluted, causing an increased likelihood of experiencing significant problems in their physical and mental growth. If this continues, one-third of Israel’s population will enter adulthood under these circumstances. Pray for underprivileged families to receive enough support from government programmes and NGOs to enable them to manage their basic living expenses. May the children and babies receive the food, clothing and education they need.
Egypt: Christians on pilgrimage killed
01 Jun 2017
Just hours before the beginning of Ramadan, masked gunmen riding three SUVs killed 29 and wounded 22 Coptic Christians on pilgrimage to a monastery in Upper Egypt. Most were children. This was the fourth attack on Christians since December. The bus was travelling in the desert towards a remote monastery 140 miles south of Cairo, where Christians account for more than 35% of the population, the highest ratio in any province. Security and medical officials fear the death toll could rise. Following the attack, acknowledging the lapses of security, Major-General Faisal Dewidar was transferred from his post in charge of security, as part of a wider reshuffle that included thirteen other Interior Ministry officials being removed from their posts and appointed elsewhere. Egypt then launched a series of airstrikes that targeted what it said were militant bases in eastern Libya in which the assailants were trained (see the next article).
Libya: violence and persecution
01 Jun 2017
Recent fighting between rival militias in Tripoli shattered a period of calm. Egyptian planes are now striking east Libya in response to an attack against Egyptian Christians on 29 May (see the previous article). There are three rival governments vying for control. Ongoing Christian persecution is fuelled by the anarchy and violent conflicts by Islamic militias. Both Libyan converts to Christianity from Islam and expatriate Christians are experiencing extreme pressure and high levels of violence, due to the freedom that the perpetrators have. Libya has enormous problems, but we have an even more enormous God. We can pray for the development of a unified government that will end the rising threat of IS. We can pray for the ports to function again, so that exporting oil and importing goods can resume and economic stability return. And we can pray for religious freedom to be established, and for many to listen to religious broadcasting (see the next article).
Morocco: SAT-7, the cry of a generation
01 Jun 2017
With an average age of 29, Morocco has a young population. But, as in neighbouring North African countries, their horizons are limited. Some 22% of young men and 38% of young women are unemployed (as at June 2013). Most of those who do work are engaged in the informal sector without the security of a contract, guaranteed work or income. In an environment which can fuel frustration and depression, a new series of SAT-7 podcasts has a clear message that God accepts us, offers change and sets us free. ‘WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD’ targets Moroccan and North African youth with messages of hope and wisdom, using a mixture of proverbs, comedy, rhymes and biblical values. Its presenter-producer, Hamid, says the short five-minute episodes aim to ‘change young people’s view of themselves and uncover deceptive views and ideas absorbed from culture and folk religion in a humorous way’.
Escalating violence in the Philippines
01 Jun 2017
The Maute group, an Islamic extremist group linked to IS, captured nine Christians, tied their hands together and shot them dead in Marawi city, according to the Mail Online. Images circulated online show the Christians lying dead face-down in the grass. Reports say villagers are too afraid to move the bodies because terrorists are still in the area. News of the murders comes just days after the same group captured a Catholic priest, Father Teresito Suganob, the church’s secretary, two working students, and a number of parishioners. The militants are holding their hostages at an undisclosed location. They also set fire to the cathedral in Marawi. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines urged the government to make the safety of the hostages top priority.
Holy Spirit Come - Pentecost 2017
31 May 2017
These are important days for God’s plans and purposes for our nation. Pentecost 2017 will be a special celebration. Its roots are from the time the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples on the Jewish feast of Pentecost. In the Jewish calendar, it celebrates the word of God and the Ten Commandments so Pentecost is a celebration of the Word and Spirit. Seventy years on from Smith Wigglesworth’s prophecy about a great outpouring of the Word and Spirit we should approach this time with high expectation. God’s sovereign timing ensures this Pentecost comes at the end of ten days of prayer for Thy Kingdom Come and four days before we have a General Election.
We have said in previous issues of The Pulse that things are changing in the spiritual climate of our nation but there would be contention. We have been savagely attacked with children targeted by terrorists in Manchester and with an unprecedented cyber-attack. We are seeing a rise in broken families, child abuse, addictions and poverty. We are in a time of growing uncertainty. Brexit will cause more uncertainty, around jobs, governance, immigration and the complex impact on our health service, businesses, farming etc. Behind all this we have an economic system that is built on a fragile mound of debt with growing costs for pensions and care.
Terrorists create fear, grief and uncertainty. We live in a society with a fear of man; we frighten ourselves with a continuous diet of violent or distressing films, TV shows and books. We are frightened by other people’s unpredictability– have we upset someone as we drive, by email, by a mistake – and how will they react?
In this uncertainty, as Moses proclaimed, we stand on a rock – and His works are perfect (Deuteronomy: 32.4), David goes further and says God is His rock and His fortress (Psalm 31:2 -3). Psalm 25 adds another dimension “Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.
The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant.” Psalm 25 12 – 14. The fear of the Lord is mentioned in scripture 365 times – it is an important concept to grasp. It is a fear like that of a child who does not want to let go of Father’s hand, it is the fear of not being aligned with God’s will and purpose, of missing His blessing. It is a deep hunger for God. In these days of uncertainty we are not to have our eyes turned towards the mayhem in the world and the fear of men, we fear the Lord. He is all we need.
Pentecost reminds us of God’s abundance. It also celebrates Shavuot a day of rest when the Jewish people celebrated the bringing in of the grain harvest. Abundance comes from prayer. “God is able to bless you abundantly so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8.
This an historical time for the United Kingdom. God has stirred up a deep desire for more. Across the country we see town after town and city after city where people are being stirred to pray and bring blessing. In May, we met a young Iranian man with the fire of Jesus in his life who has led five hundred people to Christ; we met a pastor who has covenanted with God that he will not have his lunch until he has led two people to Christ .....and he has not gone hungry! We came across the story of a group training in Reading taking Jesus onto the streets who offered to pray with a Nepalese man who cried and cried and eventually gave his life to Jesus. He then showed the suicide note he had in his pocket because he had come into town to throw himself off a building. This is the mercy of God, the love of God bursting out where anyone will be a channel for Him.
We have been taking Alastair and Marie Petrie around England in May on a Healing the Land tour. They travel globally looking at places where revival has come. They believe we have entered a time of shift, Alastair says all the precursors for a move of God are in place. We heal the land by praying for it to be cleansed of previous sin – idolatry, shed blood, immorality, and disunity. We clear the ground. Then we invite Jesus in, we ask him to touch our hearts deeply and fill us with His spirit. We build our own humility, and strengthen unity, we are transparent and open. Finally, we put all our good ideas and capabilities to one side and ask God to intervene. We depend on Jesus. Indeed this is underpinned and sustained by deep hunger for Him.
So this Pentecost is a special Pentecost to pray “Come Holy Spirit” – fill us to overflowing. Four days later we select a Government that will be overseeing a great move of God in our nation. So we pray for this new government to be open to God and for MPs who will speak up for His Kingdom at a time when so many Kingdom principles are under attack.
These next few days we must all be God chasers. Pray for a Government open to God, and for MPs hungry for Jesus. Pray for a Pentecost of abundance and the fire of the spirit to fall on our churches and towns. Lord stir us up; shift us from prayer apathy to prayer passion. Even so come Lord Jesus.
It is Time!
31 May 2017
It is time! Thy Kingdom Come Birmingham
World Prayer Centre and Birmingham Cathedral are jointly hosting a Thy Kingdom Come prayer and praise event on Saturday 3 June. This replaces our Prayershift day for June. We have called the event – It is time!
What a great prayer Jesus gave us when He encouraged us to pray – “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” It is a prayer for Jesus to intervene. It is a prayer for the wonderful things of heaven – freedom, worship, unity, intimacy with God, the supernatural to be seen wherever we are.
Don’t miss this powerful evening at Birmingham’s St Phillip’s Cathedral starting at 7.00pm and finishing at 9.30pm. More details on our website. It will be an evening of great praise, worship, and unity as churches and Christians stand together. It will be a time of inspiration as we build a deeper understanding of God’s heart for our city and nation. Together on the eve of Pentecost we are declaring and praying “Come Holy Spirit”. May the breath of God revive our relationship with Jesus, strengthen our confidence in Him and unite us to bring God’s kingdom here.
This is a special time for our nation. Support events near you and use our prayer materials if you want to follow the key themes of Thy Kingdom Come on your own or with friends.
Let us keep this simple prayer on our lips as we walk, or travel by bus, car, train, bike etc. Let us say it for our family, friends, neighbourhood and workplace – Your Kingdom Come, loving Lord Jesus.
During the Herrnhut Consultation, we had a strong focus on praying for revival in Germany and Europe. Here is an encouraging word. Eric Metaxas notes some trends that point to an increased spiritual hunger among Europeans and asks: “Has the demise of Christianity in Europe been greatly exaggerated? There are some encouraging signs of life.”
“It’s become customary to refer to Europe as “post-Christian.” But this is an overstatement—and it obscures large differences in religious practices across the continent: For instance, Poles are far more likely to attend church on a weekly basis than Scandinavians—and even more likely than Americans. Still, it’s difficult to dispute the idea that Christianity’s influence in Europe, on both a personal and societal level, is in decline.
But a pair of recent stories suggests that this may be changing.
The first story was a column in the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper. The headline read “Our politicians are more devout than ever—so it’s time we started taking their faith seriously.”
In it, Nick Spencer, whose just-released book is entitled “The Mighty and the Almighty: How political leaders do God,” notes that rather than European politics becoming a “God-free zone,” one of the “most striking trends of the last generation or so is how many Christian politicians have risen to the top of the political tree.”
Whereas in the thirty-five years following the end of World War II, only one Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, could be described as “devout,” since then, at least three of his successors—Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and now Theresa May—could be described that way.
And it’s not only Britain. As Christianity Today recently told readers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christianity is “deep,” “genuine,” and “important” to her life.
Even in France, the country that invented and institutionalized modern secularism, what the French call “laïcité,” Catholicism has become a kind of “X Factor” in the upcoming presidential elections.
And that brings me to the second story. In the most recent issue of the Jesuit magazine, America, Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry told readers that a few years back, he noticed that “Whenever I was less than five minutes early for Mass, I had to go to the overflow room.” His church “was filled to the gills every Sunday, with young families and children most of the time.”
He decided to see how widespread this phenomenon was, so he visited parishes all over Paris and found the same thing: Sunday high Mass is packed in most parishes in Paris. The same is true in France’s second largest city, Lyon. It’s even true, albeit to a somewhat lesser extent, in his family’s home village.
What was once a revival that “you could fleetingly smell in the air,” has become more tangible, nowhere more so than in the movement called La Manif Pour Tous, “protest for all.” La Manif got 200,000 people in Paris alone to march in protest against legalizing same-sex marriage.
This in turn spawned other Christian movements in a country that supposedly had moved beyond that sort of thing. What these movements share is an opposition to liberalism, which in the French context means “a drive for ever-greater individual liberty.” As Gobry writes, “Liberalism, in this view, is responsible for sexual depravity and the culture of death,” and “leads both to abortions and to quasi-slaves in third world factories making disposable consumer items of questionable worth.”
While French Christianity still has a ways to go, what Gobry describes brings to mind the “cloud as small as a man’s hand . . . rising from the sea” Elijah’s servant saw in 1 Kings 18. Secularism has left Europeans “in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Let us pray that God sends much-needed rain to both sides of the Atlantic.”
Eric Metaxas, Breakpoint Daily, May 2, 2017