Workers inside Libya started a prayer initiative to pray and fast for Libya during the first 90 days of 2013. YOU are invited to join them!
They write:
"Something incredible is happening in the nation of Libya. God is working in an unprecedented way. We are trusting in faith for Disciple Making Movements to start in 2013. We are in an unprecedented time of history in this nation. There are many new workers inside Libya who are committed to pray & fast for the people of Libya for the first 90 days in 2013. Starting on January 1st, and finishing March 31st, would you be willing to join in with us to see this breakthrough happen? You can respond by picking a day in the week or the month that you want to join in this prayer effort and also pass this on to as many people you know to love and pray for Libya!"
Go to: https://www.google.com/calendar
Prayer:
1. Pray that the Lord would protect the local believers from extremists.
2. Pray for stability and a government that would bring law and order without bringing yet another totalitarian regime.
3. Pray for workers to get residence permits more easily.
4. Pray that Arab Christians would be willing and able to get jobs and share their faith.
5. Pray that expatriates who go would be committed to stay after they run into the difficulties of life in the country.
You can read more information to help inspire your prayers by visiting this website: http://pray4libya.net
Each year the poor suffer, children unnecessarily die, and the majority of the world population suffer hunger and unnecessary illness because of improper stewards of our Global financial resources (1 Trillion US$ goes missing each year due to corruption activities! If you want to see what 1 Trillion dollars looks like please take a look at the attached presentation). In Africa $148 Billion US Dollars goes missing that is 25% of our total GDP!
God cares about this, and so should Christians and the Church!
Please pray for:
• Ongoing passion and commitment among our team and our partners to mobilize Christians and the Church around the issues of poverty and corruption.
• We urgently need to get some additional funding in order to continue to pay our staff, meet our financial commitments and continue to develop our toolkits for the Church, Business and Government engagement.
• Please pray for our Press and Partner event in Cape Town on the 11th of March. This will be a significant marker for EXPOSED.
Unashamedly Ethical
The role that God is calling Unashamedly Ethical to play in South Africa and across the globe is critical. More than ever we need Christians to take their place in Business, Government and the Church to establish Godly values and ethics.
South Africa is at a kairos intersection. The governing party and the government are failing the people. It is our privilege to pray for the nation and its servants, and also to support them and where appropriate hold them accountable for the responsibility they bear in governing for justice, peace and provision for all in the nation.
Please pray for:
• Our team of full time and part time workers and their families. Pray for safety, health and provision for their spiritual and physical needs.
• Please pray for the campaign in Southern Africa where we plan to add another 1 million signatories to UE in 2013. This strong base will allow us to engage with Church, business and government in a meaningful and significant manner to see the values of God’s Kingdom transforming and renewing society.
• Please pray for our need of human and financial resources in this campaign. In order to do this work we need approximately R2 million per year.
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Rise in post-traumatic stress disorder rates among British troops
New diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in British service personnel have increased, official figures show. A total of 94 members of the armed forces were newly registered as suffering the disorder between July and September last year, nearly four times the 25 diagnoses recorded in the same period in 2008. There were 305 new cases of PTSD among UK troops in the 12 months to September last year, double the 153 logged in 2007 to 2008, according to statistics released by the Defence Analytical Services and Advice. Rates of mental disorders were found to be significantly higher in personnel who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Women, soldiers, RAF personnel and non-officer ranks were also more likely to suffer mental health problems. A spokesman for Combat Stress, a mental health charity for military veterans, said "The nation is facing huge numbers of soldiers who will need help overcoming things they've experienced serving their country."
Pray: for all those members of our armed forces affected by PTSD and for a commitment to high quality treatment for them. (Ps.34:4)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9849097/Rise-in-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-rates-among-British-troops.html
Justin Welby confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury
The Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Justin Welby, has officially become the Archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony, known as the ‘Confirmation of Election’, which took place in the context of an act of worship in St Paul's Cathedral today. The ceremony forms part of the legal process by which the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury is put into effect. It was presided over by the Archbishop of York with the assistance of the Bishops of London, Winchester, Salisbury, Worcester, Rochester, Lincoln, Leicester and Norwich. All were commissioned for this purpose by Her Majesty The Queen – who is the ‘Supreme Governor’ of the Church of England. Bishop Justin’s name was put forward to The Queen some months ago by the Church’s ‘Crown Nominations Commission’ in accordance with constitutional arrangements that have been in place for many years.
Pray: for the Right reverend Justin Welby that he will be blessed by God in his new role at a time when the challenges to the church are so significant.. (Ac.20:28)
More: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5014/justin-welby-confirmed-as-archbishop-of-canterbury-at-st-pauls-cathedral
Church of England raises fears over future of RE in schools
The Bishop of Oxford, the Church’s lead spokesman on education issues, said ministers viewed the subject as a “scary nuisance”, despite retaining a legal requirement for schools to teach it. The Rt Rev John Pritchard’s warning came in a letter to bishops following a meeting with David Laws, the Liberal Democrat schools minister. Highlighting RE’s exclusion from the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), the new school leaving certificate, the bishop wrote: “The state and future of RE is still a major concern. Not only is it not in the EBacc, but teacher training places have nearly halved and a spiral of decline seems inevitable. The latest survey shows secondary schools not filling vacancies and reducing time for RE, and some primary schools giving the responsibility to teaching assistants.” He added: “We’ll keep up the pressure as I’m sure you will too, but it’s clear that Government has no real interest in RE.”
Pray: for an appreciation of the importance of RE in providing a foundation for our cultural history and our nation's moral a spiritual welfare (Dt.6:4-7)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9844144/Church-of-England-raises-fears-over-future-of-RE-in-schools.html
NHS campaign asks Christians to give blood
A new NHS campaign is being launched today asking the church to increase the number of blood and organ donors in the UK. The Fleshandblood campaign is sponsored by Give.net and has the support of the Church of England, The Salvation Army, Methodist Church, United Reformed Church, Baptist Union, Hope and the Evangelical Alliance. Christians will be encouraged to donate blood regularly as part of their personal giving within churches. Lorna Williamson, Medical Director of NHS Blood and Transplant says, “All major faith groups support donation in the spirit of giving and we’re excited to explore this in more detail by working with the Christian church. "By raising awareness amongst its members and community about the daily need for blood transfusions and organ transplants across the NHS, we hope to banish myths, educate people and encourage blood and organ donation.
Pray: that this new campaign will encourage those who are willing, to respond positively to the call to donate. (Ac.20:35)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/nhs.campaign.asks.christians.to.give.blood/31532.htm
Christians subject to stricter controls, religious freedom violations.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/sudan-threatens-to-arrest-church-leaders-67479/
By Compass Direct News
January 18, 2012
Khartoum, Sudan – Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments has threatened to arrest church leaders if they carry out evangelistic activities and do not comply with an order for churches to provide their names and contact information, Christian sources said.
The pressures on Christians come as war in Sudan’s South Kordofan state has led leaders there and in North Kordofan to incite hatred against Christians, with officials in both states calling for holy war against the predominantly Christian Nuba people.
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We know that the unity of all followers of Christ, be they Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant, is on the heart of the Lord. It was the last prayer He prayed for His disciples and for us who have come to faith centuries later. The Apostle Paul also strongly urged that we maintain the unity of the Spirit and not allow divisions to destroy it. Unfortunately, Christians in general have allowed themselves to be split into tens of thousands of denominations (over 30,000 when I last checked). Evangelicals are some of the worst offenders, often attributing their divisions to doctrinal or biblical reasons when it is usually about personalities and control. We have so many little “popes that have a quest for religious power!
God is greatly blessing such united prayer efforts as we experienced at the World Prayer Assembly, where Christian leaders and intercessors from 86 countries and all three Christian traditions prayed together. Now in Indonesia, where this unity continues to grow, the Muslims are scared that they will lose the nation and its young people to Jesus Christ. They claim that 2 million of these youth are leaving Islam for Jesus every year. (See the YouTube video “Save Maryam” made by concerned Muslims). There may be some other factors at work, but I would especially attribute this to the atmospheric change in the nation caused by Christians across the denominations uniting in prayer. Jesus in His prayer of John 17 said this would be the result—the world believing if we are one.
I have just been in the Middle East meeting with senior Evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox leaders about a possible Middle East prayer assembly. All of them were warm, welcoming and gracious men and women of God with whom we prayed and felt a kinship of spirit. In Egypt, the prayer movement leaders come from all three traditions and they pray together every Monday, affirming what they have in common- faith in Jesus Christ amidst a sea of threatening Islamism.
In Egypt, I also met with the new Coptic Pope, a humble, gracious man who is known for his commitment to three things—Jesus, the Bible and prayer. His predecessor, Pope Shenouda, with whom I also met some years ago, knew the whole New Testament by heart. The Coptic Orthodox date from the time the Apostle Mark brought the Gospel to them in the first century and have stood the test of 20 centuries as well as hundreds of years of oppression and persecution at the hands of Muslims. An impressive renewal movement is also happening there at this time led by black-robed priests who evangelize, cast out demons, and heal the sick. They are very impressive servants of Christ!
Through decades of conferring with church leaders of every strand, I have discovered that when we sit down together, and especially when we pray together, walls and stereotypes tend to fall down, and we begin to perceive one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, which is our eternal identity. After all, we are all on a journey both in and towards His Kingdom; we are at different points like different tributaries entering a large river, yes, and all of us now “see in a glass darkly” before we see Him face to face. Therefore, given our flawed understandings and incomplete experience, it does not help Christ’s cause to build or maintain walls of historic division when the Spirit of God wants to dismantle them and do something new in our day!
A plea and prayer request—can we as people of prayer increasingly try to look past denominational labels and differences (they will all be forgotten anyway when we stand before the Lord at the end) and perceive His cosmic purpose in uniting all those who call on His name through the prayer movement? Can’t we reach out to those who come from different understandings and experience of the faith and at least agree to pray together for those things we are all concerned about? Who knows what mighty works of the Spirit would result that would change the atmosphere of nations, regions and our whole world!
May the Lord help us to do what is pleasing in His sight and what makes for both the upbuilding of His Body and the transformation of our world through the united prayer movement.
Thanks to those of you who were able to pray with us for our recent Middle East trip. Colleagues and I met with senior church leaders in four countries of that region about developing a regional strategic prayer focus that will connect people of prayer across the region and Christian traditions. The Lord surely answered and we had great favor with open doors and hearts in every place. Along with the evangelical leaders in each country, we met with the office of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul and the Coptic Orthodox Pope, a major bishop and several priests in Egypt. In Jordan, the Director of the Middle East Council of Churches and others strongly urged us to move ahead with the prayer initiative. In Lebanon, the Armenian Orthodox Catholics, the Catholic Cardinal and Archbishops from Catholic and Syrian Orthodox churches all were positive and encouraging, saying that they would support this prayer effort. Two radio interviews and a TV appearance enabled us to get the word out more widely to many thousands of others.
The overwhelming consensus was that the both the church and prayer leaders we consulted are not only extremely grateful to have the international prayer movement focus special prayer on their region, they would also like to come together themselves for a Middle East prayer assembly, probably later this year. Please pray for this possibility. Here are some other key prayer concerns that we ask you to take on with us:
We will focus on different countries and prayer concerns for this region throughout the year, but to kick things off this month here are some key general concerns we hope you will focus your prayers on:
1. That Christian leaders will value prayer and the unity of His Body and be able to come together for a Middle East prayer assembly.
2. For many more Muslims to continue to encounter Jesus in their visions and dreams and for Christ’s people to boldly and lovingly share Him with them.
3. Peace in the conflicts that are raging in various nations of the region, especially in Syria where tens of thousands have lost their lives and 4 million of the 20 million population have become refugees within their country, in Lebanon, Jordan and other places. They need the international community to care and provide badly needed supplies since they are suffering acutely during the winter cold. Pray for them and these humanitarian efforts to be abundant and effective.
4. That Christians will not choose to emigrate as many have done, but will stay to serve and be His witnesses.
5. That the younger generation will arise and carry out the mission the Lord has for them.
6. For the peoples of the region to accept one another as brothers and for forgiveness and justice to prevail, especially in the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has caused violence by fundamentalists and radicals to surge.
Thanks for your prayers for a change of atmosphere in what is probably the most challenging of all regions on earth.
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR MARRIAGE – SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY
Please will you pray earnestly as we enter a crucial period in the campaign to defend the true meaning of marriage? And can you encourage your church to join our National Day of Prayer for Marriage on Sunday 3 February? Any day now, we expect the Government to introduce its Bill which seeks to redefine marriage. The Government may very well go on a charm offensive, telling the media that people who believe in traditional marriage have nothing to worry about. But we know that’s not the case. European judges have recently shown that people who believe in traditional marriage can be forced out of their jobs. On Tuesday 5 Feb, we expect MPs to have the first opportunity to debate and vote on the Bill. We don’t need an outright win at this stage – so don’t worry if the Bill passes this first hurdle – but it is important that as many MPs as possible vote ‘no’.
Pray: that marriage will not be redefined, and that real marriage will be promoted in society for the good of all. (Mt.18:19-20)
More: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2013/01/27/please-pray-for-marriage-on-3-feb-as-campaign-reaches-crucialperiod-2/