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1. Pray for the Uyghur people of China . This unreached people group has a population of 10, 760, 000 and they practice Islam. Pray for God to reveal himself through supernatural ways. Pray that missionaries would respond to the call of Christ and go to these people and give them the love of Jesus.
2. Pray for the single mothers of this nation. I know this is random, but I just felt like this was one of the points. They have a tough job. Pray that the ones that don’t know Jesus would find their identity in him and peace in him. For those that love Jesus, pray that he would provide strength beyond measure to raise the children up in the ways of Christ.
3. Pray for the Christian men of this nation, that we would step up to our Biblical role as men. Pray that we wouldn’t let the ideologies of this world shape who we become or who we are. Pray that we would ground ourselves in the Bible.
“What makes humility so desirable is the marvelous thing it does to us; it creates in us a capacity for the closest possible intimacy with God” – Monica Baldwin
Humility, something so often desired, yet so rarely achieved. Humility, the act of being humble. I think Mr. Webster defined humility the best, “The quality or state of being humble.”
What is humility exactly? I know Mr. Webster has provided an apt definition for us, but yet, after reading that, I’m still at loss. What is being humble? How does one achieve this beautiful state? People so often say “I’m working on being humble.” But really, in a sense have they not failed at that if they feel the pressing need to tell people this? Is not humility, the quality of state of being humble, best expressed through actions unnoticed by others?
What brings me to this point of discussing humility is the fact that it is a life long quest. I think of people who are humble in my opinion. If I were to say to them “You are a very humble person,” they would most inevitably state that they still had room to grow. How could this be? As I think about it more, as I contemplate this ever continuing, most beautiful state, I realize that one can never be humble enough when faced with the vast greatness of God. These men and women in my life that I consider humble, consider themselves proud and arrogant before the Almighty God. I have to concede that this is true. God always has a way of bringing the humble in the sight of man, to a place of arrogance in the sight of God. When faced with the cross, we have no choice but to be humbled.
I have been thinking about this frequently. Mainly because God has been using my own self-inadequacies in the light of his glory to humble me. What do I mean by this? The past several months I have been straying from the promises of God. For those of you that don’t know, I plan on going to medical school. I am certain beyond a doubt that this is the path that God has called me to. Several years ago, I went on a missions trip to Mexico, and while there, we were asked to pray and seek God and what he would have us do with what we saw, what we learned while there. I really didn’t sense that God was saying anything to me except “Keep doing what you are doing. I want you to be a doctor for Me.” (note, that wasn’t verbatim, more of a general summary). So here it is, the promise of God to me. Now fast forward to this year. I am now in the most dreaded phase of applying to medical school and taking the MCAT. I have constantly been looking upon my own self, and seeing that I am inadequate for this adventure. Consequently, this thought process sends me into a spiral of despair. Then, one Sunday, Pastor Rob of Calvary Corvallis spoke on Romans 4. The passage that hit me so hard was thus :
(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”[d]) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”[e] 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. – Romans 4:17-21
I was so convicted so to speak, and humbled by this. I remembered that God is capable of doing things that do not yet exist, i.e. “Calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” I had been focusing on my own person so much, that I lost sight of the promise of God. Abraham did just the opposite as is seen in verse 19, and what happened?? He didn’t waver at the promise of God, and was strengthened in faith. I realized that I had begun to think that my abilities were better than God, and as I continued farther down the path, I realized that my abilities and accomplishments were not that great for medical school. Then I heard this. God was telling me, don’t focus on you, focus on me. So I shifted my focus, and WOW. The vastness and the greatness of God and his sovereign power just brought me to my knees so to speak. Nothing that I have done, or will do is anything compared to what God WILL do.
Then again, this week I was at Real Life (my college ministry I attend) and the discussion was about marriage. Now, at this point in my life, I’m getting to the point where I no longer want to be single. and Ian Nelson, the college pastor started teaching out Genesis 2 to begin the evening. Once, again, the first few minutes of the message, I just felt horribly stupid, cause I knew that those words were directed at me. Once again, I had discounted the timing, and the awesomeness of God, this time in my desire to meet that special someone. I was rushing God! How can I do that?? I can’t! God is not rushed. When we get ahead of his timing, we are hosed. Ian said something my parents had said to me a million times, but this time it sank in. He said “If you think you’ve found that special someone in your life, just sit back and relax and trust God. There is no hurry, right?” (Once again, not verbatim). Haha, that was somewhat directed at me. I was once again humbled. I find that this is happening over and over again.
So I look at these two examples, and then think about the quote I started this blog off with, and realize how true those words are!!! Through my lessons in humility with the Almighty God, I have grown so much closer to Him. Humility is an ever dynamic thing. It is different for each person, different for each situation, because obtaining humility requires the act of being humble. The act of being humbled requires us looking into the face of Christ and realizing that we are nothing.
1. Pray for the Tamil Muslim people of India. This people group has a population of 2,964,000, o.oo% of which are Evangelicals. Pray for a supernatural revival to sweep across the hearts of this unreached people group.
2. Pray for leaders of our nation. Pray that first, God would grab their hearts and capture their thoughts. Then pray that God would use them, and they would heed his will for their lives and listen to His direction.
3. Pray for the youth leaders of churches across America. They have a big challenge, trying to guide and steer the youth towards Jesus. Pray that God would give the leaders wisdom and compassion for this sensitive generation.
1. Pray for the Punjabi people of Canada. This people group has a population of 846,000. The main religions are Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. Pray that God would raise up prayer warriors for this people group. Pray that local churches would raise up among this people group. Pray that the few Punjabi Christians would be bold in the faith!
2. Pick a college campus of your choice and pray for revival to spread like wildfire amongst the generations there.
3. Pray for the pastors of the churches in America. Pray that God would grant them wisdom and grace as they lead His flock.
1. Pray for the Hmong Bua people of China. This unreached people group has a population of 62,000, of which only 1.6 % are evangelical Christians. They practice ethnic religions.
2. Pray that the body of Christ would truly understand the role of worship in our relationship with Christ.
3. Pray for the missionaries spread across the globe. Pray that God would give them strength to persevere on the mission to which he has called them. Pray for people to step up and provide support for these laborers.
1. Pray for the Bengali people of the United States. This unreached people group has a population of 159,000 and their main religion is Islam. Pray that God would use the few Bengali Christians to minister to their lost brothers. Pray that the Holy Spirit softens their hearts towards the Gospel. Pray for the Bible to be made available to them.
2. Pray for the church, that it will begin earnestly praying. That prayer meetings would be common place amongst the church, and that the members of the church would desire to attend these prayer meetings, waiting for the Holy Spirit to move.
3. Pray for the Christian College students in America. Pray that they would step up to the calling God has place on their lives, that they wouldn’t be ashamed of the Gospel, and that they would desire to see God move in the campuses across the nation.
So I just finished reading Connected Christianity by Dr. Art Azurdia. I must say I wish I had read this book in a day or two instead of the weeks I took to finish it, so I could do this review justice. That aside, this book is phenomenal! It was given to me by the youth pastor at Calvary Chapel Crook County . I don’t know why it was given to me (I do help out with the youth), maybe he was planning on going through it as leadership, I don’t know. Aside from that, this book struck a chord within my being that had never been struck. That chord harmonized being a Christian and being in the world, the very contents of this book.
Dr. Azurdia beautifully unpacks John 17:14-19, the central passage of scripture for this book (More of an emphasis on verses 17-19):
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” – John 17:14-19
In the first chapter, “A Worldly Christianity”, Art clearly shows that, as Christians we are to be in the world, not disengaged from it. His ideology is that far to often, Christians try to remove the influence of the world from them, thus living a sheltered life and not engaging the lost with the Gospel. He focuses on verse 18 of John 17 for this chapter. Essentially, we have been commissioned to be sent into the world by Jesus himself. A calling we cannot refuse.
Dr.Azurdia uses an amazing example from his own life. He talks about how he and his wife were convicted by the fact that many of the young believers in his congregation had no friends outside of their sphere of Christian influence. They pulled their children out of the private Christian school and enrolled them in a public school. Eventually they started having a Friday night dinner once a month that had three rules for their children 1) Invite as many friends as you like, 2) We will provide food and drink and 3) No Christians. You can read the book to hear the rest of the story. I think the tag-line for this chapter is “We cannot hope to be authentically Christian without being meaningfully worldly.” Read the book to see how he unpacks that sentence.
In the second chapter, “A Holy People,” he focuses on the importance of our sanctification in our mission to be worldly. Art uses vs 17 to build this chapter on, the idea that in order to be authentically Christian while being meaningfully worldly, we have to let the truth of Christ (his Word) sanctify our lives. God wants a holy people.
In the third chapter, “An Effective Redemption,” Art shows that this mission should not be founded on anything else but the work of the cross. He then ties this chapter to chapter 3, dealing with our sanctification. It truly is beautiful.
The last chapter, “Our Sympathetic Resonance,” Dr. Azurdia deviates from the passage in John and focuses on Hebrews 4:14-16. This chapter is my favorite as it beautifully illustrates the humanity of Christ and the deity of Christ, and how these two entities, when combined make for a “great High Priest,” or the perfect mediator between humans and God. Chapter 4 illustrates how Jesus is uniquely qualified for this, as he was tempted in every way we were, yet remained sinless, thus he can sympathize in our weakness. The final call of this chapter is powerful. Art compares the old testament covenant with the new covenant we have as believers, and because of this we have constant access to the throne of grace, and how we need to be constantly coming before that throne on our knees, obtaining mercy for our failures, and grace to persevere.
I suggest you read this book. If you are in Corvallis, I can loan my copy to you, but be prepared to be rocked.
It has been awhile hasn’t it? Well, I apologize for that. I forget this thing exists most of the time. Anywho, today at church, the congregation was called to corporate prayer, and prayer in general. It was a really challenging message. I suggest you check it out over at Calvary Corvallis’ website. With that call to prayer, I figured I would start up the Daily Prayer Points thing on my blog again. I will TRY to faithfully update this thing everyday with at least the prayer points.
1. Pray for the Burmese people of Myanmar. This unreached people group has a population of 27,875,000. The primary religion found there is Buddhism. Pray that God would raise up people with a desire and a passion to see these people fall in love with Jesus. Pray that churches will be raised up. Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will being faithfully interceding for these precious people. You can find more info on this group of people here, Burmese of Myanmar.
2. Pray for revival. Pray that the body of Christ would come together and pray for God to move in the nations.
3. Pray for a return to the Gospel. I think so many churches have deviated from the central message of the Gospel. Pray that there would be a return to this central message amongst the church.
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