Welcome back to this series on prayer. If you have missed any previous posts you can click here to catch up. But in this post, we are focusing on fasting and prayer.
 
When I first outlined this series on prayer, I thought that I would be using the OT experiences of Israel and the times that the singers led the army into battle. As it happens, that only happened once in 2 Chronicles 20 and there wasn’t going to be a battle because God had said He would fight for them and they were going to observe the victory. So Jehoshaphat sent out his army, not to fight, but to watch what God would do. And who did he place at the front line?
 His best singers!
 He placed the singers ahead of the soldiers and commanded them to shout out praises to God. They lifted their voices and sang, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever” (v. 21).
 
And God did rout the enemies, the three armies that had come against Judah, causing them to turn on each other and every one of them was killed.
 
God will fight for you
God will fight for you, when you place your full trust in him. When you stop worrying and trying to fix it all on your own, you allow the space for God to step in. Give the glory to God and praise his power and faithfulness. Trust that God is working for your good in all things.
 
“And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed,” (2 Chron. 20:22).
 
And don’t forget that the ultimate good for which God is working in you is to conform you to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29).
 
God will protect you
God is your shelter from the storm, your refuge in times of trouble. He will protect you from the battles in this life. So, rejoice in the God who loves you so much and give him your praise.
 
When your heart turns to God, trusting him and praising his great name, you’ll find his peace which passes all understanding.
 
“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may exult in you,” (Psalm 5:11).
 
“Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
    and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!” (Psalm 64:10).
 
God will renew your spirit
When the trials of this life leave you worn out and weary, singing God’s praises will fill your heart with joy. Lift up your heart to God and allow him to refresh and renew your spirit.
 
Praise can turn around even the worst day and make your heart feel light. It can boost your spirits and put a smile on your face.
​
 So, turn up a worship song and sing along.
 Pray along with your favourite Psalm of praise.
 Look around you and praise God for all the blessings you see.
 
“The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him,” (Psalm 28:7).

Praise is a gift and an offering to God
Praise is not only a command but a gift we give to God. It’s a sacrifice of our heart – giving him our best, even when we don’t feel up to it. The more we praise God and give him this gift, the more we’ll be filled with God’s love to share with others.
 
Praising God through the storms not only blesses God but will bless those around you who witness such faithfulness.
 
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God,” (Hebrews 13:15-16).
 
Praise gives trouble a proper perspective
When life is hard, it’s easy to focus on all the problems you’re facing. Those challenges begin to loom larger and all you can see are the difficulties you’re facing.
When you turn your heart to praising God, though, those problems begin to shrink. As your eyes focus on God, you’ll find a new perspective on your trials. As the song says, “the things of this earth will grow strangely dim”.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,” (Colossians 3:2).
 
Praise opens your eyes to blessing
When you’re embattled and under fire, it can be hard to notice the blessings. Your focus is on the issues in your life, not on the blessings.
 
Praising God will open your eyes to see all the ways God is at work in your life. You’ll see the blessings he’s given you outside of these trials and you’ll see how he’s at work in your battles. Set your eyes upon him, and you’ll see him more clearly.

“So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper,” (Deuteronomy 8:6-9).
 
Praise paves the way for miracles
Do you need a miracle? Do your problems seem bigger than any earthly solution? How are you praising God and praying for that miracle?
 
When troubles begin to surround you, look for ways to focus your thoughts and actions on praise and thanksgiving. Allow God to work his wonders through your testimony of praise through the storm.
 
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened,” (Acts 16:25-26).
 
What has been your experience with prayer and praise? Have you experienced a victory through your praising of God? What will you do to incorporate praising God into your habits of grace? We would love to talk with you about this.
 
Leave us a comment and let us know about your experience of praise and prayer. Is there something we can pray about with you? Send an email to [email protected].
 
Want to pray with us? We host two online prayer gatherings each week. Tuesday morning at 10:00 am Eastern time and on Thursday evening at 9:00 pm Eastern time. We are happy to have you join us and we will send you the Zoom link if you ask for it. Send an email to [email protected] or give us a call at 800-784-7077.

​Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the first couple of posts you really should click here to read them first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
Last time we talked about Satan’s strategy to erode the authority of God’s Word. From the Bible Engagement Study, we saw that the practice of reading God’s Word is in serious decline among Christians in Canada. So it seems that the enemy may be doing an effective job of sidetracking Christians from God’s Word.
 
Those who reject the authority of God’s Word quickly lose any impetus for evangelism and missions. Once the Bible is accepted as erroneous, it becomes subject to every whim of interpretation, and any portion or teaching becomes optional.
 
This week we will see that Satan also attempts to distort the call of God.
 
Jerry Rankin led the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptists for many years. Each year hundreds respond to a personal sense of God’s call to plant their lives in foreign countries while others take leave from their vocational commitment to serve for two or three years in short-term assignments. It is commendable that some are willing to lay down their personal aspirations, leave the comfort and security of their home country, face the challenge of cross-cultural adjustment and a potentially deprived lifestyle to make Jesus Christ known among the nations.
 
However, the perception of that special call of God has been twisted by Satan to convince most Christians that they have no responsibility toward fulfilling the mission, the Great Commission, of God. Rankin states that it is not unusual after a mission’s conference or convention in a church or on a seminary campus for someone to say to him, “Dr. Rankin, I would be willing to go as a missionary, but God has not called me.”
 
Rankin says that he has difficulty responding to that kind of statement in a tactful or gracious way. There is a lost world that God wants to save, and here is a dedicated Christian who is convinced that he would be willing to go and share the gospel with a lost world except for the fact that God has chosen not to call him. We forget that the task of missions, the task of making His name known and declaring His marvelous deeds among the nations, belongs to the church - the people of God.
A false dichotomy has been set up between those who are chosen to go and those who are permitted to stay. The real matter is finding one’s place in God’s mission. There certainly may be a specific and personal call and leading of God, but many believe that if they haven’t seen a burning bush or been blinded by a bright light on the Damascus Road, then they are exempt from declaring God’s salvation among the nations. They feel free to pursue their own plans, essentially blaming God for their not going to the mission field.

​But we cannot blame God for our personal neglect of His mission to reach the nations.
 
The Bible speaks of many heroes of faith being called of God to a specific task. Abraham was called by God to leave his home and follow, even though he did not know where God was leading. Moses was called to lead Israel out of bondage in Egypt and to the promised land. Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations,’” (Jeremiah 1:4-5).
 
Examine the call of Isaiah. He had acknowledged that God had a plan and purpose for his life even before he was born. In Isaiah 6:8 he recounts this encounter with God: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying; ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?’ I said: ‘Here I am. Send me.’” This wasn't a personal call. God did not tap Isaiah on the shoulder and say, “Okay, you're the one. I am calling you to go to a people in darkness.” No, it was a generic call. Isaiah heard the heart of God crying for someone to send, for someone who would be willing to go to a people who were lost and in darkness. Isaiah did not wait to be selected and excuse himself if that mystical experience of the specific call never occurred. He took the initiative and invited God to send him.
 
Why do people today not respond to the knowledge of a lost world as Isaiah did -- knowing people need to know Jesus Christ, knowing someone needs to go to tell them?
 
And we know that the world is lost. All we have to do is turn on the news or read a few of the posts in our social media to see the sinfulness, lostness, despair, and spiritual darkness throughout the world.
 
It grieves the heart of God that most of the world does not know of his love while most in our churches sit idly by. Do we comprehend how the heart of God yearns for the peoples of the world to know and worship him? Why do we not bow and surrender, saying like Isaiah, “Here I am. I am available Lord. Let me be the one to go and tell them the good news of salvation.” Could it be that Satan has twisted our thinking to believe that only a select few are called to go, and the rest of God's people are free to follow their own plans with no responsibility for reaching the lost world? We are deceived to believe that we have a right to our own life and what we want to do.
 
Jesus told his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into a harvest,” (Matthew 9:37-38). This is kind of an odd instruction from God. If God is the Lord of the harvest and the one who calls, then He is capable of calling of the labours to bring in the harvest. After all, he is sovereign over the nations and should be Lord over our lives.
 
In an effort to provide an explanation, Rankin has often said that we are instructed to pray for the labourers because God wants us to be those labourers. If a Believer is truly burdened for a lost world, intercedes for the nations, and pleads with God for missionaries to go into the field, it is not unlikely that God will move upon the heart of the one praying to sense that he should be the one to go.
 
However, there might be another perspective on why we are encouraged to beseech God to thrust out the labourers into the harvest. Perhaps it is because there truly is an enemy that is blocking the flow of labourers into the harvest, stifling the conviction of God's call, and causing potential missionaries to rationalize away the personal responsibility to go. These ones are not responding to the call because of a closed mind, a calloused heart, or a reluctant will.
 
Where do these kinds of barriers come from? Certainly not from God! We may rationalize that it is just a natural tendency to hold on to one's own plans out of concern for one's welfare, but isn’t that just the nature of the self-centered flesh rather than one dying to self and yielding to the Lordship of God's Spirit? God is not glorified when we call the shots and determine the context in which we are willing to serve him. Are we reluctant to trust God and follow His leadership because He might make us go to Pakistan or Libya? Are we afraid we will have to give up our beautiful home or be separated from family and loved ones? When these kinds of attitudes dominate our thinking, we can be assured there is an influence other than Holy Spirit speaking into our life. When we get so caught up in our comfortable lifestyle that we become indifferent to those who are lost, we have lost touch with the Lord of the harvest!
 
It is not uncommon for dedicated Christians to be conscientious about serving God and seeking his will. However, even the dedicated Christian’s prayers often reflect a selfish perspective as they pray, “Lord, what is your will for my life?” We should be praying, “Lord what is your will?” - period! And once we come to understand God's will, then we can begin to get an understanding of what His will for us personally will be. God's will for each of His children is always in the context of His mission, that universal plan and purpose to be known and worshipped among every people, tongue, tribe, and nation.
 
For some, it will mean to go. For others, it is to be senders, mobilizers, and supporters. For all, it is to witness to those from the nations that God is bringing into our cities and communities. But no one is exempt!
 
To say, “I will serve God where I live and ignore the need of the nations to know Jesus,” is a deceptive scheme of Satan two divert believers from God's mission. To reason that I have no responsibility for the salvation of remote tribes and peoples because God has not called me to go is to express a demonic lie born in hell for the very purpose of locking the nations of the world into the kingdom of darkness!
 
So let’s all be clear that God’s purpose is to be known and worshipped among every people, tongue, tribe, and nation. And it is my responsibility, your responsibility, to find ways to maximize our usefulness to that end.
 
We would love to hear from you. Where do you see yourself in this post? Are you one who doesn’t feel God has called you? Or are you looking for where to be involved in God’s plan? Have you already found your place? Let us know in the comments below.
 
And if you aren’t sure where you might be able to be used, give me a call at 289-812-0661 and I will walk the path of discovery with you.

Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the first couple of posts you really should click here to read them first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
Last time we talked about Satan’s strategy to convince Christians that missions is optional. When he is able to get us as individuals and as fellowships to focus on ourselves, our needs, our neighbours, then the almost three billion people outside of the reach of the gospel right now are ignored (or avoided) by us. If we have no concern for the nations who stumble in the darkness, then we become like Jonah, who fled from the command of God.
 
This week we will see that Satan also attempts to erode the authority of God’s Word.
 
Mr. Rankin begins this chapter by referencing the CS Lewis book “The Screwtape Letters”. The book is a series of fictitious letters, as Dr. Lewis imagined them, written by one demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, who had been assigned to a new Christian. The letters are advice concerning strategies and tactics by which this Christian could be rendered powerless and his life ineffective in the service of the enemy, in this case, Jesus Christ.
 
One of the letters told him to influence this Christian to neglect his devotional time each day. If he did not spend time in prayer and reading the Word of God, reasoned Screwtape, he would be powerless in spite of all resolve to live for God. Another letter advises Wormwood to use contemporary philosophies and influences to cause him to doubt the truth and authority of God’s Word. This would erode any foundation for building a dedicated life of service for the kingdom of God.
 
The Screwtape Letters gave Rankin some valuable insight into the reality of Satan’s subtle ways of using worldly thinking and influences to undercut the victory we have been given as Christians. Of course, the victory that overcomes the world is our faith, not only faith in Jesus Christ but faith to believe the truth of God’s Word. If faith is the victory, then all Satan needs to do is erode our faith through doubts, rationalizing away through vain interpretations of the reality of God’s truth.
 
Satan’s first appearance in his designs against the truth of God’s Word was to confront Eve with doubt. “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). Yes, God had said they were not to eat the forbidden fruit, but Satan proceeded to malign God’s motives. He is a liar and deceiver, “No, you will not surely die. . . In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5). He made her believe that God wanted to deprive her of something desirable. In listening to Satan’s deception, we witness one of his primary tactics: twisting what God had said. Giving in, Eve forfeited the glory for which she had been created. And Satan has been trying to rob God of His glory among the people ever since.

There are numerous studies and surveys that have shown that Canadians identifying as Christians do not read the word of God. Take for example theCanadian Bible Engagement Study. This data was collected in 2013 and released in May 2014. A short video summary can be viewed on YouTube.
 
The study found that,
 
●     Just 14% of Canadians read the Bible at least once a month in 2013 (down from 28% in 1996).
 
●     64% of Canadians think the scriptures of all major world religions teach essentially the same things.
 
●     69% of Canadians think the Bible has irreconcilable contradictions
 
●     Only 18% of Canadians strongly agree that the Bible is the Word of God
 
●The Bible engagement of self-identified Christians as a whole is not much different from the Bible engagement of Canadians generally

So it seems that the enemy may be doing an effective job of sidetracking Christians from God’s Word.
 
Those who reject the authority of God’s Word quickly lose any impetus for evangelism and missions. Once the Bible is accepted as erroneous, it becomes subject to every whim of interpretation, and any portion or teaching becomes optional.

​And thus Jesus’ warning in Matthew 7.
 
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
 
John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Love God, do what He says. That’s the answer. Simple. Simple is in, right? Do you want to solve all the world’s problems? Do you want to solve all your problems? Love God and do what He says. When this happens you are reshaped.
 
What is success to you as a Christian? People on mission are focused on obedience. As people on mission begin to create and populate local churches, the churches as a whole will live by the same value of obedience. Love God, do what He says.
 
And that is really the definition of a disciple.
 
What do you think of the Bible? Does it make clear the mission of the church? Or is it unclear to you? Leave us a comment below. We would love to talk about this with you.
 

Welcome back to this series on prayer. If you have missed any previous posts you can click here to catch up. But in this post, we are focusing on fasting and prayer.

The Meaning of Fasting 
Fasting is a powerful spiritual discipline. Through fasting and prayer, the Holy Spirit can transform your life. And the practice of fasting has strong roots in the Bible. Jesus himself spent time in fasting and prayer during his life on earth, and he expected his followers to fast as well. Most commonly, fasting is when you abstain from food or a certain type of food for a period of time. However, there are multiple ways to fast, all with the potential to help you grow spiritually.

It’s important to ensure you’re listening to both the Holy Spirit and your own body in the way you fast. Instead of abstaining from food altogether, you may fast from a particular type of food or even something other than food, such as social media. You might decide to fast until a certain time in the day or skip a certain meal. There are many ways to ensure you’re getting the physical nourishment you need while still enjoying the spiritual nourishment fasting and prayer offer.
 
Fasting and prayer can also bring about more than just personal transformation. When God’s people practice biblical fasting and prayer, God hears from heaven and can heal our lives, our churches, our communities, our nations, and our world. Fasting and prayer can bring about revival—a change in direction and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Biblical Basis for Fasting 
Fasting was an expected spiritual discipline in both the Old and New Testament. In fact, we see examples of fasting in the Bible from several significant biblical figures. Moses, for example, fasted at least two recorded 40-days periods (Deuteronomy 9:18-19, Exodus 34:28). Jesus also fasted for 40 days and nights (Matthew 4:2).
 
If 40 days seems like an impossible amount of time to survive without sustenance, that’s because without divine intervention, it is. (Humans can only last about three days without water.) But biblical fasting didn’t usually mean going without food or drink 24/7. The Jewish custom was to fast during the day but eat and drink as soon as it was dark.
 
Jesus encouraged in his followers an intentional approach to fasting as a spiritual tool, not a biblical law. When a Pharisee questioned Jesus about why his disciples weren’t fasting like the Pharisees, he offered his own guidance on the role of fasting. Comparing his disciples to guests at a wedding, Jesus said, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matthew 9:14-16). This guidance can still apply to us today. When we feel far from God, fasting can help us mourn our distance from God and draw closer once again.
 
For those who may be unfamiliar with fasting, the most surprising part of this may be the discovery that Jesus expected that His followers would fast. Look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:16-18:
 
 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
 
So, by giving us instructions on what to do and what not to do when we fast, Jesus assumes that we will fast.
​
Why You Should Fast 
According to Dr. Bill Bright, who produced a guide to fasting for cru.org, there are a number of reasons why the practice of fasting can be spiritually beneficial.
 
●Fasting is biblical. We see examples of biblical fasting in the lives of figures like Moses, Jesus, and King David.

●Fasting and prayer can restore or strengthen your intimacy with God. Many long time Christians find that fasting helps them rediscover their “first love” for God again.

●Fasting is a way to humble yourself in the sight of God (Psalm 35:13; Ezra 8:21). King David said, “I humbled my soul with fasting” (Psalm 69:10). You may find yourself relying on God more fully for strength when you fast.

●  Fasting and prayer can help us hear God more clearly. To listen to God as you fast, consider combining a time of fasting with a practice of listening prayer. Together, fasting and prayer can transform your prayer life into a richer and more personal experience of God.

●Fasting enables the Holy Spirit to reveal your true spiritual condition. When you see your own brokenness more clearly, you’re able to move toward repentance.

●When you experience revival in your own life through fasting, the grace and love of God can shine through you into the lives of others.

Spiritual Preparation for Fasting  
In preparation for this special time with God, cru.org’s guide to fasting urges that you examine your heart. Ask God to help you see your brokenness clearly so that you can confess your sins and repent. In Scripture, God frequently calls upon people to repent of their sins before listening to their prayers.
 
You can look to King David’s example in Psalm 66:16-20:
 
“Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for me.
 I cried aloud to him,
    and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
    he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
 
Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me.”
 
In your prayers, confess not only obvious sins, but less obvious ones as well. Acknowledge the sins of omission (the right actions you haven’t taken) as well as the sins of commission (the wrong things you’ve done). What is standing in the way of your relationship with God? What is holding you back from living and loving like Jesus? It might be self-centeredness, spiritual indifference, an unwillingness to share your faith with others, putting time spent in prayer and study of God’s Word low on your priority list, or struggling to love your neighbors and treat them with kindness. Confess your shortcomings and ask God to work in your heart during this time of prayer and fasting.
 
Your motive in fasting should ultimately be to glorify God, not to have an emotional experience or attain personal happiness. God will honor your seeking spirit. As you spend time in fasting and prayer, God will shape your heart and draw you closer to Christ.
 
Physical Preparation for Fasting 
Fasting can be practiced safely. However, as you begin a time of fasting and prayer, friends and family may express concerns about how fasting could impact your health. And they are right to encourage you to safeguard your health. It is recommended that you consult with a healthcare professional before you begin a time of fasting. If you struggle with certain medical conditions, such as an eating disorder or being chronically underweight, you should not fast without the supervision of a health professional. In some cases, fasting from something other than food may be a better option.
 
What has been your past experience with fasting? Why do you think that there is so little said about fasting? What will you do to incorporate fasting into your habits of grace? We would love to talk with you about this.

Leave us a comment and let us know about your experience of fasting and prayer. Is there something we can pray about with you? Send an email to [email protected].

Want to pray with us? We host two online prayer gatherings each week. Tuesday morning at 10:00 am Eastern time and on Thursday evening at 9:00 pm Eastern time. We are happy to have you join us and we will send you the Zoom link if you ask for it. Send an email to [email protected] or give us a call at 800-784-7077.

​The word “follow” holds a lot of weight to it. To follow, means: to come after, to go after, to pursue, to chase, to imitate or copy, or to move behind in the same direction. When we decide to follow someone or something, we make a decision and we put in the effort to move forward in that decision.

When Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, He was going around preaching and telling others to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. One day when He was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers (Simon Peter and Andrew) fishing. Jesus looked at the fishermen and said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
The Bible says that the men immediately left their nets and followed Him. Jesus then sees two other brothers (James and John) who were in a boat with their father, Zebedee mending their nets. Jesus calls them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. (Matthew 4:21-22)

Following Jesus
When we decide to follow after someone or something, we often have to leave behind something. James and John left the boat and their father to follow Jesus. Let’s focus on this today and dig a bit deeper for what this can mean for us today.
I remember when I first came to know Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. I had many people and things that I decided to leave behind, to follow Jesus. Deciding to follow Jesus has been the best decision I have made in my life, and I am truly grateful to God for the opportunity to follow Jesus. Although sometimes we have to make difficult decisions, following Jesus is always worth it.
I think about those who even give up their lives to follow Jesus; that is amazing faith and determination to follow Jesus. We need to pray for these brothers and sisters who are going through the unimaginable even this very moment.
In our society today, following others is such a popular thing especially with twitter, Instagram, etc. People even compete with each other because of having more followers. Sadly, following Jesus is not the most popular thing in our world, but it’s honestly the best thing once you decide to do it and stick to it.

Jesus gave it all
When Jesus gave it all for us, He literally did that and so much more. He suffered in every possible way, but died for all because of the amazing love that Him and the Father have for us. Jesus is the perfect demonstration of God’s love for us.
When we decide to follow Jesus, we don’t give ourselves any of the credit. We do make the decision, however it was God who first loved us and chose us. God deserves all of the glory, honor, and praise for what He has done and for what He will do. He is an amazing God.

No Turning back
There are some lyrics to a beautiful song that goes, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. When we follow Jesus, let’s be encouraged to not turn back and to move forward.
Have you decided to follow Jesus? What does it mean for you to follow Jesus? Are there any things you had to leave or need to leave in order to truly follow Jesus? We would love to hear about your experiences, so please leave us a comment.
Be encouraged today. God sees you, He knows what you need. Just continue to follow Him and trust Him. He’s got good plans for your life and He loves you.
Feel free to pray with us on Tuesday mornings and/or Thursday evenings. Send us an email at [email protected] for the zoom links. We would love to have you pray with us.
 

​Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the first couple of posts you really should click here to read them first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
Last week we talked about Satan’s strategy to persecute believers and the church. The Bible makes it clear that persecution and suffering will accompany the proclamation of the gospel in a world hostile to a Christian witness and also that the suffering will be used by God to advance His kingdom.
 
This week we will see that Satan also uses the idea that missions is somehow optional to rob God of the glory that He is due.
 
Satan continues to work through godless world leaders and totalitarian governments to keep countries closed to missionaries and restrict a Christian witness, but in this era of modern communication and global commerce, he is unsuccessful in barricading countries against the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ.
 
His strategy to obscure remote people groups from our awareness is failing as sociologists and researchers have identified the ethnic language groups of the world. Their location and worldviews are known and are systematically being penetrated with gospel witness.
 
Even persecution and suffering is feeding the growth of the church and expanding access to the Christian message. Satan does not understand the power of love that motivates the sacrificial commitment and the power of the convictions of believers willing to suffer for their faith.
 
One of the authors says that he will say to one of his daughters something like Sweetheart, will you help me with the dishes? At face value, it seems as if there is an option built into my request. In reality, he is making a gracious dictate to his little girl. The asking is actually directing.
 
God works similarly with us. He invites us to participate in His mission. But we never find the Scriptures to list is as optional. Because He desires to operate relationally with us, God allows us to make a decision. Rest assured that Satan will seize upon this dynamic at every turn to convince us that missional activity is an option that can and should be denied.
 
God’s Word calls Satan the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4). He leverages a tremendous asset when he works outside the church in the world to hinder the gospel. In the world, he is on his home court. However he is much too cunning to depend solely on closed countries, undiscovered people groups, persecution of believers, and cultures hostile to the gospel. He uses other strategies inside the Christian community to deter the advancement of God’s kingdom and to hinder believers and churches from ever deploying to vast pockets of lostness around the world.
 
In trying to convince Christians that missions is optional, he diverts churches to focus on their own programs and to see their mission as reaching people for their own church. If he can persuade Christians that reaching the nations has little or no relevancy or urgency to their own life, he has raised a barrier that makes other barriers obsolete. Who, then, will be willing to leave their own comfort and security to take the gospel and declare God’s salvation to the peoples of the world?
 
This isn’t simply semantics. The church needs to hear a different descriptor than “missions volunteer.” The volunteer is given high regard in our culture. Why? Because volunteers do something that is not required of them. They work although they are not obligated. Volunteers contribute selflessly to a cause greater than themselves. What heroes!
 
If the devil can convince us that engaging friends, communities, and nations with the gospel is something we really do not have to do, he wins. If he makes the smallest step of Christian service seem heroic, he creates barriers to moving outside our comfort zones. We will serve the Lord and the church on an intuitive, feel-good level only.
 
Paul would never have considered himself a volunteer. His burden for men, women, and children drove him far beyond volunteering for Christ. Missions was not a voluntary act for Paul. It was compulsory. He describes it this way: “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Romans 1:14-15).
 
The language of volunteerism would be unfamiliar with the deeply burdened missionary apostle. Paul felt obligated to do something about the lostness around him. He owed them an opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus. Also, you see that the obligation and debt that he felt produced urgency and courage. In the same passage he said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
 
In every organization, there are a myriad of forces at work, but two stand out. They can be illustrated by a yo-yo. If you swing a yo-yo around in a circle, two forces are at work (in a non-technical sense). The first is the centrifugal force that pulls the yo-yo away from your hand and pushes it outward. This force represents the missionary nature of our work. The second force is centripetal, the force that draws things inward, the force exerted by the string. This force is necessary to care for the core, and the temptation is to make that the focus. One force spreads, the other centralizes.
 
For churches today, the choice is to keep pushing toward missionary work as it radiates in a larger circle or to meet the needs of the tether by pulling it inward. The moment a church decides that missions is an optional activity, the tether becomes the focus and the radius of the work begins a rapid decline.

​People on mission have made an important discovery. People on mission do not go to church. People on mission are the church. Being on mission for Jesus is a way of life that frees us from the busyness of doing “Christian” activities. It is a choice to be mission-shaped and Jesus-centred disciples living for the gospel in their communities and the world. Mission-shaped means God is bending me to have His heart for the world. Jesus-centred means Hs is the focal point of my life. “For in him we live and move and have our being” is how Paul describes it in a sermon preached in Athens (Acts 17:28). Like the original twelve disciples, we do life with Jesus daily.
 
Mission-shaped and Jesus-centred people change the world. What does that look like? John gives us a clue. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). The question is: Will we conquer the world? Or will the world conquer us?
 
So let’s become more mission-shaped and Jesus-centred and take the gospel to our neighbours and the world.

Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the first couple of posts you really should click here to read them first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
Last week we talked about Satan’s strategy to keep people groups hidden. When we focus on geopolitical nations (Canada, Cameroon, Colombia, Cambodia) we miss the fact that there are many distinct ethnolinguistic people groups that probably won’t be reached by an evangelistic crusade. Keeping these people groups hidden is a strategy used by Satan to prevent God from receiving the glory He is due.
 
This week we will see that Satan also uses persecution of believers and the church to diminish the glory God receives.
 
The chapter begins with the telling of a movement among South Asian Muslims. Reports indicated that some five hundred thousand Muslim background believers had been baptized. A research project was begun to try to verify the numbers. They found that entire villages and extended clans had become Christ-followers. They met with house church leaders and found these multiplying groups were functioning as authentic New Testament churches in gathering for worship, practising the ordinances, and witnessing and ministering in their communities. They traced the reproduction of these simple gatherings of believers and the process of discipling new converts. As the research was compiled, the data reflected about four hundred thousand Muslims who had actually expressed their commitment to follow Christ through baptism. But the numbers were continuing to grow as their witness was spreading through three people groups.
 
A distinguishing mark of this movement, though, was the persecution against these believers and their steadfast refusal to recant. Many of the leaders of this movement have been martyred, yet the movement continues to grow. When someone’s religious worldview is empty ritual and following the cultural traditions of society, the hope of salvation provided by the God of love is irresistible. A life transformed by Jesus is a powerful testimony that cannot be restrained. But when people see that the Christian faith is not just a religious choice worth living for, but a conviction worth dying for, suffering and death become a powerful witness of the truth.
 
It is apparent that Satan doesn’t understand the power of suffering as a testimony that powerfully authenticates a Christian witness. It goes back to his being deluded by the cross. Conspiring to influence Judas to betray Christ and working through the envious hearts of Jewish religious leaders to have Him crucified, Satan thought he had won. Instead, the suffering and death of Jesus empowered the kingdom and assured Satan’s ultimate defeat. The Bible makes it clear that persecution will accompany proclamation of the gospel in a world hostile to a Christian witness and will be used by God to advance His kingdom.

​“Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life,” (Mark 10:29-30). Jesus prepared His disciples and followers for this certain response to their witness because their witness stood in stark contrast to the sinful ways of the world. “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name because they do not know him who sent me,” (John 15:19-21).
 
Just as the suffering of Jesus resulted in God being glorified through redemption being provided for a lost world, God is glorified through the faithfulness of those who suffer persecution for their faith. But also His divine providence uses it as a powerful testimony to advance His kingdom. Paul saw the reality of this paradox in his ministry in Ephesus. Receptivity to the gospel and an open harvest will inevitably be accompanied by adversaries and opposition (1 Corinthians 16:9).
 
Jesus told us that we should not be surprised by opposition and the fact that they would be rejected, reviled, hated, and persecuted for standing up in identification with Him. Peter reminds us that we cannot hope to stand firm in our faith as a follower of Christ without it involving suffering. “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. . .so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God,” (1 Peter 4:1-2). Peter had just put this in perspective earlier. “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps,” (1 Peter 2:21).
 
Believers who are persecuted have a choice - to live for their own safety, comfort, and protection in denying the faith, which would be sin, or to deny themselves for the sake of Christ with the consequence of suffering.
 
We need to debunk the prominent myth that the safest place to be is in the centre of God’s will. Certainly, obedience to God’s will is the only place for a Christian, but that does not assure us of physical comfort, safety, and security. God has not guaranteed the believer exemption from suffering and opposition. He does promise to bless us, empower us, and protect us, but His primary concern is not our safety and avoidance of suffering and inconvenience but His glory in and through our lives. The Bible clearly teaches us that God is glorified through our faithfulness and obedience even in times of suffering for our faith.
 
Christian history is full of examples of Christian martyrs, those who died violently and prematurely because of their faithful witness. Many of these are notably recorded by John Foxe in his book Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Some include in their identification of martyrs the massive numbers of Christians who have been killed in communal or ethnic violence. They died because they were Christians, but far fewer have been killed because of persistence in an open witness for the faith that could have been avoided. The Bible identifies them as having been worthy of participating in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.
 
Susan Bergman, in her book Martyrs, makes the distinction: “Martyrdom occurs when a person is required to deny Christ and live, or confess Him and die. Under such duress, the martyr freely chooses death over life - a death that seals a life’s belief - in order to act as a witness to the truth of Christ’s claims and to his or her own faith.”
 
So Satan approaches it in two ways. Not only does he perpetrate persecution on believers but he convinces Christians that their highest priority is to avoid suffering and danger. Our safety and security is more important than the world knowing Jesus, so we avoid going to dangerous places where we might get arrested or even killed, and God is again deprived of His praise and glory among people who do not have the opportunity to know Him.
 
Remember, God’s primary purpose is to be glorified in our lives and exalted among the nations. Risking danger and suffering is sometimes necessary for that to happen. Certainly, it will not happen without a willingness to suffer for the sake of God’s glory among the nations.
 
We forfeit God’s blessing as well as an opportunity to glorify Him when we try to avoid opposition or offending anyone by our witness in a way that would bring repercussions. In the Beatitudes, Jesus reminded us, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 5:10).
 
That persecution and martyrdom are predicted and necessary evils that are allowed in God’s plan to establish His church and inaugurate His kingdom on earth is certain. God is using the persecution perpetrated by Satan and his minions to serve His sovereign purpose to expand, purify, strengthen, and multiply His kingdom.
 
“For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore, let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured,” Hebrews 13:11-13.
 
So let’s go!

Welcome back to this series on prayer. If you have missed any previous posts you can click here to catch up. But in this post, we are focusing on intercessory prayer.

The Meaning of Intercession
The Hebrew “paga” means “to fell,” or “attack,” but also “meet” or “make supplication.” The Greek was translated as “petition” and “intercession.” Our English word “intercession” is derived from the Latin for “to come between,” which means both “obstruct” and “to interpose on behalf of” someone. Christ stands between us and the Father. That’s why we pray “in Jesus’ name” because it’s by His sacrifice that we are made righteous and can approach the throne of God.
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A modern understanding of “intercession” can include “mediation” or “standing up to” someone. This understanding makes God sound like the playground bully. Christ would be the hero, defiant towards an unloving Father, not part of the Trinity fulfilling the Father’s plans for his people. But God is love, and Christ did not defy him. Christ is one with God (John 10:30).

Furthermore, mediation suggests compromise or middle ground. However, God is right, and we are sinful. He is Sovereign, we are his creation. We owe him everything and we deserve condemnation, but by his grace we are free. Believers are able, by this gift alone, to bring the needs of other people before God through Christ.

Intercession in Scripture 
​Paul exhorted the church to pray that he would boldly declare the gospel (Ephesians 6:19). He told the church to pray for one another with “supplications […] and thanksgivings,” (1 Timothy 2:1), and he prayed for them too. “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfast hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:2). We all need intercession, even believers. Paul was moved and encouraged by prayer on his behalf.

Paul demonstrated that the most pressing needs and desires among God’s people start with God’s glory. Paul gives “thanks to God,” and finds hope “in our Lord Jesus Christ.” He asks for prayer to do God’s will, not for an easy life.
Paul was following the standard set by Christ, who petitioned God for the sake of others even as he hung on the cross. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He spoke up for everyone: Believers who followed and then abandoned him; Pharisees, Roman soldiers, and spectators.

Intercessory Model
The model of intercessory prayer is Christ’s ministry as a whole. He physically threw himself across the chasm that would have separated man and God forever, at the cross but also during his ministry. He stood between the Pharisees’ stones and the woman caught in adultery. Christ came between man and creation by calming the storm.

He restored unclean people to their communities and forgave sinners so they could be reconciled with God. Jesus invited the lost into communion with the Father, such as the tax collector and the Samaritan woman. Intercession is active and risky, and by Christ’s life, we know how intercessory prayer should look.

Christ “bore the sin of man and makes intercessions for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). Christ was frequently rejected. We can pray, but not everyone wants to be prayed for. And when we pray for the abused, we might be abused along with them.

A need for intercession implies that someone is weak, but not Christ. We are strong in him; not impervious to harm physically and emotionally, but able to direct the gaze of sufferers to Christ by keeping our eyes fixed on him ourselves.

Even if those we stand up for reject our help, there is the chance their oppressors will see God at work in our lives and be changed. Matthew 8:5-13 describes the heart of a Centurion who, on another day, might have been among those to beat Christ and nail him to the cross. In Matthew’s account, he was drawn by Jesus’ willingness to help the weak by meeting their physical needs before offering what they really needed — forgiveness of sins.

Is Intercessory Prayer Necessary?
​Intercessory prayer is not only a privilege but a command. “Continue steadfastly in prayer” (Colossians 4:2) is an “imperative.” “Persistence in prayer is not an option for the Christian” but “an order from the Lord Himself.”

Jesus “means for us to understand and take seriously the fact that our prayer is a major factor in advancing God’s kingdom in this world”. We aren’t necessary to God’s work but living life in the Spirit can and will inspire others to seek God.

Leave us a comment and let us know about your experience of prayer and its problem. Is there something we can pray about with you? Send an email to [email protected].

Want to pray with us? We host two online prayer gatherings each week. Tuesday morning at 10:00 am Eastern time and on Thursday evening at 9:00 pm Eastern time. We are happy to have you join us and we will send you the Zoom link if you ask for it. Send an email to [email protected] or give us a call at 800-784-7077.

I remember growing up, we lived in the city of Toronto ON, and we had neighbours. Lots of them, and all within a very close proximity. It was something that I was always used to and to this day, we still have neighbours. To some people, this may also be a normal thing but to others they may not have neighbours or they may be quite far from them. Today, we are going to focus on a verse in the Bible where Jesus mentions neighbours.
 “The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31
 
Who is my Neighbour?
Just before this, one of the scribes had asked Jesus which commandment of all of them was most important (Mark 12:28). The answer that Jesus gives allows us to have a great understanding of how we should treat others. One thing to also note is that when Jesus is talking about a neighbour, it does not mean it’s only a neighbour that lives next door to you. It also does not mean that if you don’t have any neighbours, you are excluded. A neighbour can be anyone that we come into contact with, someone across the globe, someone we have never met before. We have to love our neighbours as ourselves.

In the book of Luke, a lawyer tested Jesus and asked Him about inheriting eternal life and Jesus replied with the questions: “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it? The man replied with, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” Do these words sound familiar?

The man goes on to ask Jesus who his neighbour is (Luke 10:29) and Jesus replies with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In this story, there is a man who gets very badly beaten up by some thieves and this unfortunately leaves him almost dead. A priest and a Levite both avoided the man and kept going their way, despite knowing that this man really needed some help. A Samaritan man who had compassion on the man not only helped the man, but also took care of him and provided a place for him to stay and be well taken care of. The next day, the Samaritan man goes back to the place where the man was staying to pay and offer to pay any additional costs that may be incurred.
 
What does this mean for Me?
Jesus is teaching us and reminding us that we need to treat others as we would want to be treated and to love others. You may not be able to help every person in the world, but if you can help those that Jesus places in your life, and use opportunities that He gives you, that makes all the difference. Jesus sees our hearts and our intentions and that is what is most important.
Our world so desperately needs Jesus today. If you go online or turn on the news, after a few minutes you will hear about so many tragedies that are happening as we speak. While we cannot help everyone, let us instead ask ourselves what we can do. It will make a difference.
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At OMS Canada, every Tuesday morning and Thursday evening we pray together. Would you consider helping in this way? We would love to have you pray with us. Contact us for the zoom links and we would be happy to provide them to you.

OMS is also affiliated with the 4VEH radio station in Haiti where they have recently been affected again by an earthquake. This is a great opportunity to help in whatever way you can. Please pray for Haiti and for everyone that has been affected in one way or another. If you would like to give financially to help bring relief and Gospel hope to these people, you can do that here.
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Be encouraged today because whatever you do to help is making a difference. Let us remember others as we go about our days and may God continue to bless and equip us and we use opportunities to love our neighbours as ourselves.

Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the first couple of posts you really should click here to read them first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
Last week we talked about how Satan is trying to keep nations closed to the gospel and how God is bypassing those geo-political barriers to the good news and redeeming people. God is also using the situations caused by these barriers to create a hunger in lost people for the kind of peace that only the Prince of Peace can provide.
 
This week we are going to look at how Satan tries to keep the unreached people groups from our view. The old saying, “out of sight, out of mind” is true and the enemy is working hard to keep these people groups out of sight.
 
Some background...
 
Missiologist Donald McGavran, with the School of World Missions at Fuller Theological Seminary in California, began to draw attention to the nature of the Great Commission in the context of sociological groups of ethnic peoples. In his landmark book, Bridges of God (1955), he highlighted the fact that evangelistic movements in India followed ethnicity. The gospel spread, often to the fringes of people of similar language and caste but did not bridge into other peoples, even though they might be intertwined geographically in the same area.
 
Ethnicity is what makes a distinction between “us” and “them”. If you are part of a homogeneous people who have the same language, culture, and ethnic origin, you would relate as “we” in contrast to others who have a different language and culture. Ethnicity often determines unspoken norms of marriage and communal relationship; it is also a factor in discrimination and strained relationships with other races and cultures. People groups tend to reside in common geographic areas, but even if they are widespread, their ethnicity represents stronger ties than relationships with other near neighbours. Even in large cities, which become a mashup of multiple people groups, those with similar backgrounds and kinship tend to live in ghettos and communities with their own kind of people.
 
Not surprisingly, the gospel tends to follow the lines of these relationships as well. In fact, the gospel may find a receptivity and permeate an entire people group and not even touch another ethnic or linguistic group living and interacting in the same vicinity. Though tens of thousands of people in India were coming to Christ, McGavran pointed out that it was exclusively among the Telugu. This is what has happened in other historic mission fields like Nigeria as the gospel spread among the Yoruba and in Indonesia as it spread among the Javanese. Missions strategists have simplified the definition in reference to our task of global evangelism by saying, “People groups are those of common ethnic identity and relationships through which the gospel can spread without encountering a barrier.” If a Christian witness must bridge to another language or cross from “us” to “them”, it normally distinguishes separate people groups.
 
The instruction of Jesus to His followers in Matthew 28:19 was to make disciples - to win to faith, bring into the kingdom, and teach to become obedient followers of Jesus - the panta ta ethne -  of all the “ethnos” or peoples of distinct ethnic languages and cultures in the entire world. It is the same terminology used by Jesus in Matthew 24:14 when he spoke of the future reality of the gospel being proclaimed to all nations, literally “panta ta ethne” (all peoples). And it is the same terminology used to portray the ultimate fulfillment when “a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number” (Revelation 7:9) would be represented around the throne worshipping the Lamb of God.
 
Given this ‘people group’ thinking, it helps to think of the world as a waffle, and not a pancake. When you pour syrup onto a pancake it is reasonable to expect the syrup to flow all over the smooth round surface. Not so with the waffle. A waffle has a multitude of small squares separated by ridges. If you want your syrup to cover the whole waffle, you must be deliberate in the pouring of syrup into each square. The world is not made up of homogenous people who are alike and all speak the same language. The world is a vast matrix of more than eleven thousand distinct languages and cultures, separated by ethnic identity. If each one is to hear the gospel, mission efforts must be deliberate to pour the syrup of the gospel into each one in a culturally appropriate way and in a language people can understand.
 
Rankin reports it once was thought that sending a missionary to Yugoslavia was evangelizing the country of Yugoslavia. But with the fall of Communist control of eastern Europe and the splintering of the Soviet Union, it was discovered that there really wasn’t a Yugoslavia. That country, like so many others, was an artificial alignment of political borders.  It had been made up of Serbs, Bosnians, Slovenian, Macedonian, Croats, and Kosovars, and it was evident all those peoples - some Catholic, some Orthodox, and others Muslim - did not like one another. There was ancestral enmity between them that went back for centuries. Evangelizing one of them did not facilitate the gospel spreading to other peoples with a different language and culture and antagonistic attitudes toward each other. Bosnians had no respect for Serbs and would not listen to them. Kosovars would have been unresponsive to efforts of Croats to influence them to consider the Gospel.
 
It is this blindness to people groups and the Biblical definition of nations that resulted in Ralph Winter characterizing the malady as people-blindness, blindness to the existence of separate peoples within countries. This prevents us from noticing the sub-groups within a country which are significant to the development of an effective evangelistic Strategy. Until we recover from this kind of blindness we may confuse the legitimate desire for church or national unity with the illegitimate goal of uniformity.
 
Did this just happen, or did the deceiver of the nations distort the thinking and perception of well-intended mission strategists? Could it be possible that the one who has the capacity to blind the hearts of the unbelieving lest they be saved could also blind our eyes to the nature of the task?

​The authors state that a major aspect of Satan’s strategy is to convince us that the task of missions is to win as many souls to Christ as possible. Certainly God is not willing that any should perish but desires that all men come to repentance and the knowledge of the truth.

​God has called us to the task of evangelism - proclaiming the gospel through any and every means; we are to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. And He is pleased and rejoices over every soul that repents and receives the salvation He provided on the cross. But populating heaven with as many believers as possible and snatching them from an eternity of torment in hell is not fulfilling God’s mission to reach the nations.
 
So, evangelism and missions are not the same tasks. Stetzer states that he fears what often drives churches to a singular focus on evangelism is an unawareness of God’s greater mission that reaches beyond our local community.
 
The knowledge of people group thinking and unreached people groups is available. Don’t let the enemy keep you blind. Let me encourage you to adopt an unreached people group, intercede on their behalf, and pray that the Lord of the harvest would send labourers to engage them with the gospel. For a listing of people groups and the levels of reachedness, go to www.joshuaproject.com and discover the truth.

Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the first couple of posts you really should click here to read them first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
In this chapter, the authors reference those nations which are ‘closed’ to the gospel as a strategy of Satan to rob God of His glory. They state, “It doesn’t matter who presumes to be in charge of nations and states or how restrictive government structures are; God is the ultimate authority, and His purpose will be fulfilled in His timing.”
 
This is very hard for us to grasp from a human perspective, especially when we know of all the people groups being held captive and without access to the gospel. So many places officially prohibit expressions of Christian witness. At the time this book was written (2010), researchers stated that in the first ten years of the twenty-first century, an average of three countries per year close their doors to missionary presence.
 
Satan is using the adversarial inclination of communist and totalitarian governments or those dominated by Islamic or Hindu worldviews to prohibit an open Christian witness. Paul’s accusation of the sorcerer, Elymas, on Cyprus, is descriptive of these nations historically. He described him as, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?”  But in the next chapter, Paul puts the opposition and resistance of nations in the perspective of God’s providence: “we bring you good news...a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave Himself without a witness” (Acts 14:15-17).
 
We need to be settled in our confidence in the providence of God. This word comes from two latin words, video meaning “to see,” and pro meaning “beforehand.” God is able to see beforehand all that happens in our lives and in the world, and He is able to establish a plan of how it can be used for his purpose and His glory. We are assured, “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name,”(Psalm 86:9). We are also told, “I will shake all nations...I am about to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations,” (Haggai 2:7,22). God is fulfilling that word of prophecy as He is shaking the nations and overthrowing powers of governments that have long stood in the way of His kingdom.
 
Can you picture Satan’s reaction to Jesus’ confident affirmation of victory for His coming kingdom and the fact that the gospel would be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all nations? He is absolutely resolved to do everything in his power to inhibit such a worldwide witness from becoming a reality. That confident declaration in Matthew 24:14 continues to incite Satan to do all he can to keep nations closed to a Christian witness, to delay the inevitable final judgement and the potential of people from every nation and people being represented around the throne of God.

​Globalization and technology are making it increasingly difficult for Satan to keep people groups hidden. Although there are massive population segments that have yet to be touched with the gospel and significant numbers of unreached people groups, there is no country that has not been penetrated with a Christian witness. The artificial boundaries of geographic, political entities cannot be fortified against emerging technology producing diverse and accessible tools of communication.
 
The Jesus Film is an example that was developed by Bill Bright, founder and past president of Campus Crusade for Christ. With a script based on the actual text of the Gospel of Luke, the film portrays the life of Christ in a dramatic and universally cultural presentation. Using technology, the film has been translated into more than 1,600 languages and is being spread throughout the world using each new technological advancement that is developed.
 
Satan can poison the minds of men and influence power-hungry, self-serving rulers, but his strategies to keep nations closed to the good news of the kingdom seems to be vulnerable to modern technology.
 
Globalization has also opened previously isolated peoples in closed nations to new ideas and concepts beyond their protected local worldviews. Travel and immigration have exposed the world to Western cultures and with it a Christian message. It would be difficult to find any people group not represented by a diaspora community in Canadian cities or on Canadian university campuses. Those who hear and respond to the gospel - and whose lives are changed by discovering a personal redemptive relationship with Christ - invariably carry the good news back to the network of family and friends in their place of cultural origin. In spite of government restrictions, legal barriers, and the lack of a missionary presence, God’s Word is reaching the nations in this globalized world.
 
Suffering and human need also open the door to the gospel witness. In so many of the nations where missionary work is not permitted, the people live under such oppression and social suppression. And when people, impoverished economically without anything to hope for in this life, hear about the hope and assurance that can be found in Jesus Christ, it readily overcomes religious and cultural barriers in which Satan has held the people in bondage for generations.
 
Satan’s strategy to use totalitarian governments and ideologies to keep countries closed to the gospel is not working. Government restrictions and persecution cannot prevent the advance of the gospel when, in God’s providence and timing, He determines to advance His kingdom among the nations.
 
Even natural disasters are being used to plant the gospel in countries and areas traditionally closed and hostile to the gospel. Many will remember in December 2005, one of the most destructive natural disasters in modern times occurred. An earthquake-spawned tsunami devastated the coastlines of eight Asian nations. The tidal wave was generated off the Indonesian island of Sumatra and killed up to 230 thousand people. Many of these were in the province of Aceh, a fanatical Islamic region of the country, relatively autonomous and restricted to foreigners. Historical efforts to penetrate this area with the gospel had proven futile.
 
However, in the aftermath of the tsunami, it was not Muslim communities from abroad that responded to provide relief and development but Christian organizations and churches. They did not sweep into the area in a desire to capitalize on this tragedy, take advantage of traumatized people, and proselytize them to the Christian faith.
 
No, compelled by the love of Christ, they reached out to comfort and minister to those in need. But, those selfless acts of sacrifice stirred the hearts of people. They wanted to know why they would come, freely disperse millions of dollars in relief supplies, and help them rebuild their homes and their lives. It opened the door to explain the love of God and the way to have a relationship with Him.
 
Sure, Satan tries to keep people groups hidden by closing borders to the gospel. But he also tries to do so by distracting churches from their Great Commission responsibilities for the nations. Many churches are so caught up in their neighbourhoods that they fail to see the nations, whether abroad or in their own cities. This is what we’ll look at next time.
 
Let’s not fall into the trap of the enemy and fail to see the nations, the unreached people groups that still have no access to the gospel. Jesus said in Matthew 24:14 that the gospel would be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. What is your part in fulfilling this promise?
 
Can you think of other creative ways to get the gospel to the nations that are closed to the message of Christ? Do you know of anyone who is working in such a place? How can you support the work they are doing?
 
Leave your comments below. We love to hear from you.
 
 

​Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the first couple of posts you really should click here to read them first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
The authors begin this chapter of their book by stating that Satan is described in Scripture as a thief, ruler of the world, god of this world, beast, prince of the power of the air, spirit of disobedience, and evil one, but he exists as an adversary of God and His purposes. The word devil comes from the Greek diabolos, which means to oppose. Devil is one of the twenty-two different names used to describe Satan in the Bible and is used thirty-five times in the New Testament. The devil is opposed to the extension of God’s kingdom on the earth and is actively seeking to deprive God of being glorified among the nations through the proclamation of the gospel as well as in one’s life personally. No doubt his mission is clear: to keep lost people lost.
 
Among the sequence of events that characterize the end-times and the return of Christ is the fact that Satan will be thrown into the abyss, “so that he would no longer deceive the nations” (Revelation 20:3). Meanwhile, he appears to have free reign in the world today, continuing to deceive the nations.
 
1 John 5:19 says, “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” God has claimed for Himself a people to serve Him. We are His possession and called to proclaim “the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). But where Christ is not known - where the gospel has not yet penetrated and transformed society to acknowledge the lordship of God - the nations, cultures, and peoples of the world are still in darkness under the dominion of Satan.
 
Rankin describes his experience going to Indonesia as a new missionary after years of preparation and anticipation. He was convinced that the gospel was the power of God for salvation to draw people to Christ. He was confident that he would arrive in Indonesia to join other missionaries and, as in the book of Acts, multitudes would come to faith and be saved each day.
 
However, instead of the massive response, he encountered indifference and antagonism, despite open opportunities to witness. He realized that to expect a Muslim to respond to the gospel was not unlike expecting a blind man to read a newspaper, and the Bible explains: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). There is nothing deficient about the power of the gospel message. The Holy Spirit still actively convicts of sin, truth, and righteousness. But we need to recognize that we have an enemy, the god of this age, who can blind the eyes of the unbelieving to the truth of the gospel. He works his deception with apparent impunity to lead the nations astray from knowing God.

​Even when the gospel can be freely shared, the enemy is actively distorting the message and filtering it through contrary traditions and worldviews to keep the seed from taking root in the human heart.

​The parable of the sower in Luke 8 tells us the reality of the world we are responsible for evangelizing. The analogy of the various kinds of soil represents various responses to the gospel. Some will welcome the good news but it will not profit them because they continue to be consumed by the cares of the world. The message does not take root in the lives of others because of barriers to understanding and belief represented by the rocky soil. Occasionally one’s witness will encounter fertile soil in which it is received, grows, and multiplies. But some of the seed falls on the hardened pathway as reflected in many cultures. Jesus explained that, rather than taking root, the seed remains exposed on the surface where birds come, take it away and devour it.
 
In explaining the parable, Jesus says that the birds are the devil - “...then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved (Luke 8:12). Remember, Satan is identified as a deceiver and a liar. When Paul expressed concern that the believers in Corinth were being led astray from purity of doctrine and the simplicity of faith in Christ, he concluded, “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Cor. 11:14-15).
 
Let’s not forget that Satan’s purpose is to deprive God of the praise and glory that are due to Him. When Satan tempts a Christian to sin, it is to deprive God of His praise and glory in that person’s life. When he leads us to embrace the carnal and self-serving values of the world, he is merely thumbing his nose at God. When we indulge in lustful gratification rather than walking in holiness and obedience to God, it gives Satan the glory instead of God.
 
Throughout Scripture, we are told that faith is the victory. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9). “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16).
 
Because believing God and accepting the truth of what He has said as reality is the victory, one of Satan’s favourite tools is doubt. Just as he implanted doubt in the mind of Eve when he said, “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1), he continues to plant doubts in our minds to reject the truth of God’s Word and the victory over sin that we have been given in Christ.
 
The result is living for self instead of a cross-centred, Spirit-filled life. Abandoning His promises of peace, joy, power, holiness, and blessing, we strike out on our own and forfeit the power available for our witness that would bring glory to God. Satan robs us of peace and leaves us with anxiety and worry; he destroys our joy, leaving us struggling with despair and depression. We often attribute personal discomfort or pain to satanic intent. But our downfall and failure is not all about us! Satan has a much greater purpose in orchestrating our defeat. He deprives God of the glory He desires and has provided in our life in order that the world will not see a living example of the gospel. Satan’s strategy is to replace glory to God with what brings glory to us.
 
We have been given victory over all the schemes and strategies of Satan. With the death of Christ on the cross, the power of sin was conquered not just theoretically but as a daily practical reality for those who choose to walk in the Spirit that indwells every believer. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Paul explains what happened in the atoning sacrifice of Christ in which He took on His sinless body the sins of the world: “He cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:14-15).
 
Satan and his minions are defeated. A Christian is a partaker in the divine nature of Christ. When we are in Christ, a continual carnal lifestyle is antithetical to our true nature. But it is Satan’s only hope of stemming the tide of God’s work on the earth. The enemy’s deception and lies rob God of His glory in our life. But because of the victory secured in Christ, the ultimate triumph belongs to God, and He will be exalted among the nations and to the ends of the earth.
 
So what about you? What worldviews are dominant in your community? What are the unique ways that Satan is keeping lost people lost?
 
What issues in your life are depriving God of His glory? How might you address them now?
 
What issues in your local church might be depriving God of His glory? How can you join with church leaders to address them now?
 
Let us know what you think in the comments below and share this post with your friends.

​Welcome back to this series on prayer. If you have missed any previous posts you can click here to catch up. But in this post, we are focusing on the problem of prayer.
Have you ever felt discouraged in your prayer life? Does it feel as though God is not answering your prayers? Maybe it feels like you can’t connect with God like you used to, or like your prayers stop at your ceiling and do not reach God. Maybe you lack a desire to pray and wonder what the big deal is?
The truth is, if you have felt this way, you need to examine your life and see what may be killing your ability or desire to pray. Use this post as a tool to diagnose what may hinder the effective prayer life that God desires.

1. Unconfessed Sin
Unconfessed sin is probably the most common prayer killer. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” When the Scripture talks about wickedness, it’s referring to unconfessed sin. God is perfect and can’t abide sin in us. If we knowingly tolerate sin in our lives, it pushes God away from us. As a result, it makes our prayers powerless.
The good news is that when we confess sin, God forgives it, and it’s gone. The slate is clean and we are no longer held accountable. Jeremiah 31:34 says, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Not only are we forgiven, but God chooses to truly forget our sins of the past. At that point, our relationship is restored, and our prayers regain their power. Our past actions may still have consequences, but the sin itself is forgiven.

2. Lack of Faith
Lack of faith has an incredibly negative impact on a Christian’s life. Without faith, prayer has no power. Even Jesus was powerless to perform miracles in Nazareth because of the people’s lack of faith (Mark 6:1-6)… James calls one who doubts “like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:6-8)
The word double-minded speaks of a condition where a person is emotionally divided, almost as if he had two souls. That condition makes a person unstable and incapable of hearing from God or receiving His gifts.

3. Disobedience
If we are to grow in our relationship with God and become strong people of prayer, we must learn to obey. Keeping free from sin is not enough. Neither is faith. If our mouths say that we believe, but our actions don’t back up that belief with a strong display of obedience, it shows the weakness of our belief. Obedience should be a natural outgrowth of faith in God. He that obeys God, trusts Him; he that trusts Him, obeys Him. John 9:31 says “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will (is obedient), God listens to him.” (italics mine)   

4. Lack of transparency with God and with others
James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.” James is sharing a true thing about God: When we confess our sins to one another, which requires us to be transparent, God can heal and cleanse us. We experience spiritual, physical, and emotional restoration. In addition, our transparency helps others, because it shows them that they are not alone in their difficulties.

5. Unforgiveness
...Why is forgiveness so important? The answer is found in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Forgiving and being forgiven are inseparable twins. When a person refuses to forgive another, he is hurting himself, because his lack of forgiveness can take hold of him and make him bitter. And a person cannot enter prayer with bitterness and come out with blessings. Forgiveness allows your heart to be made not only right but light.

6. Wrong motives
When our motives are not right in prayer, our prayers have no power. James 4:3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.”
Sometimes even just knowing our motives can be difficult. In my experience, I’ve observed two things that quickly expose wrong motives: (1) a project greater than ourselves and (2) prayer.

7. Idols in our lives
Ezekiel 14:3 clearly shows the negative effect of anything that comes between a person and God. It says, “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?” God does not even want an idol worshiper to talk to Him. On the other hand, when we remove idols from our lives, we become ripe for a personal revival.
One way to know that something in your life is an idol is to ask yourself, “Would I be willing to give this thing up if God asked me to?” Look honestly at your career, possessions, and family. If there are things you wouldn’t release to God, then they’re blocking access to Him.
 
8. Disregard for others
Scripture is full of verses supporting God’s desire for unity among all believers–between Christian brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, laypeople and pastors. For example, in John 13:34, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”…
The Apostle Peter made special mention of the relationship of a husband to his wife and the importance of living with her in an understanding way lest his prayers be hindered. “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honour to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).

9. Disregard for God’s Sovereignty
When Jesus showed the disciples how to pray, the first thing He did was teach them to honour God for who He is, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). That is a clear acknowledgement that God is in charge, that He is sovereign. And it establishes our relationship to Him: that of a child under the authority of his Father. Anytime we disregard the divine order of things, we’re out of bounds, and we hinder our relationship with our heavenly Father.

10. Unsurrendered will
…A person whose will is surrendered to God has a relationship with Him similar to the one described in the parable of the vine and the branches. It says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7). The branch depends on the vine and lives in one accord with it. In return, the vine provides it with everything it needs, and the result is great fruitfulness.
There are great benefits of surrendering your will to God. One is that God promises to answer your prayers and grant your requests. Another is that we get to receive the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit. Just as with the vine and the branches, He flows through us, gives us power, and produces fruit.
What about you? Is there one of these hinderances to which you are especially prone? Do you have another hindrance not listed? What do you to correct the situation when you become aware that there is a hindrance?

We would love to pray with you. Leave us a comment below or give our office a call at 800-784-7077.
 

One of the things I most adore about children, is the God-given joy that they have. The simplest thing can brighten their face, put a twinkle in their eyes, and make them shout in excitement. We were all created in God’s image and filled with the joy of the Lord.

The joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
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It’s important that we recognize and take hold of this joy as adults, so that we do not lose it and allow the cares of this world to dominate our lives.

My most favourite time of the year is Christmas. It always has been and I believe it always will be. The family get-togethers, the delicious meals, the Christmas movies on tv, drinking hot chocolate while looking at the fireplace, taking a walk when the snow has just fallen on the ground, going skating and skiing. The list goes on. It’s a very special time of year that I personally treasure and the best part is celebrating Jesus’ birthday.

Even before the birth of Jesus, Mary had received joy which was described in her song (Luke 1:47) Even John, who was still in his mother’s womb leaped for joy when hearing Mary’s voice (Luke 1:44) Joy is a beautiful thing that comes from God.

Let’s look at a few verses in the Bible today, that talk about joy:

1. True Joy comes from God

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
It is very important to remember that joy comes from God and we are able to experience joy through the Holy Spirit. Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit in order to experience true joy, it is not anything that we could get on our own.

           2.    Joy is much more than a feeling
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4

This verse not only challenges us to “count it all joy” but it also explains why we should count it all joy. God is most concerned about us becoming more like Jesus, being renewed and transformed daily through the Holy Spirit, so that we can be with Him one day for eternity. It is certainly not easy to count difficult situations as joy, but joy is more than a feeling. We can be feeling sad about something and yet still have God’s joy. That’s pretty amazing!

         3.    The Joy of the Lord is our strength
Ezra was reading the words of God’s law to the people, and as they listened they realized that they had wandered from their God and had fallen into sin. They began to weep and then Nehemiah reminded them and encouraged them with these words:

“Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

When we find ourselves in situations where we feel sorrow, whether because of sin in our lives or because of circumstances we cannot control, we need to remember where our joy and strength comes from.

Whatever you are facing today, be encouraged and remember that the joy of the Lord is your strength. You can still have joy, no matter where you’re at. Cry out to your God, He knows exactly what you are going through and He cares for you.

We also need each other and at OMS Canada, we believe that prayer is essential and we are always in need of more prayer warriors to pray for our OMS missionaries, projects, and ministry. Prayer is the battlefield for fruitfulness and we depend on it for a successful ministry.
​
We pray together on Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings. Email us at [email protected] for the links. We would love to have you pray with us. 

Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the first couple of posts you really should click here to read them first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
In this chapter, Rankin and Stetzer begin by making the point that at the end of all that God does is His purpose to be glorified. Everything that He does is for this purpose. They point to Isaiah 45:22-23, which was quoted by Paul in Philippians 2:10-11.
 
“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: To me, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”
 
And this is accomplished through the work of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Followers of Jesus are commissioned to make disciples in every people, tongue, tribe, and nation. These disciples see and savour the glory of God. They are captivated by it and are committed to making that glory known in their neighbourhoods and to the ends of the earth.
 
But the enemy of God has deceived and led multitudes astray with false religions and pagan worldviews. These are tribal religions, Hindus, the unreligious, Muslims, and Buddhists (read this post about the THUMB people). Rankin states that his experience of working with Muslims in Indonesia, Buddhists in Thailand, and Hindus in India leaves no doubt that an adversary of the kingdom of God is leading the world astray as they put their hope in futile traditions. He has seen the empty ritual of cultural Catholics in the Philippines and Latin America and the multitudes in Africa still in bondage to the superstitions of their ancestors. Without question, God is not the source of any form of worship that does not exalt and lift up the name of Jesus. At His name, every knee will bow in submission and every tongue will proclaim His Lordship, all to the worship and glory of God the Father.

​Satan has free reign in the hearts and cultures that have rejected or never heard of the hope that can be found only in Jesus Christ. He uses godless rulers, government authorities, legal restrictions, and social pressures to maintain his dominion and deprive God of being glorified among the peoples of the world. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).
 
If his strategies prove to be vulnerable, his backup plan is to work among God’s people to create indifference and laziness. Instead of pressing the battle with conscientious urgency, Satan has readily convinced Christians that missions is optional or that it is the responsibility of only an elite few who have a special mystical call to serve as missionaries. Regardless, it appears the strategies of our enemy have been successful as we see the realities of a lost world and the daunting barriers to proclaiming the gospel today.
 
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance” (John 10:10). We know this applies to those who have come to faith in acknowledging Him as Saviour and Lord. But we must not subtly be led to embrace an egocentric faith that is just for us. God’s purpose is that the whole world would find and experience that abundant life in Christ which would be to the praise of His glory. Jesus preceded that statement by alerting us to the thief who comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy (John 10:10). Not only does Satan try to keep the individual from coming to faith in Christ, but he also tempts the Christian to forfeit the abundant life. He works to rob our understanding of the peace and joy we have been given, destroy our assurance of blessings, and cause us to doubt Christ’s power in us through inflicting carnal behaviour and filling our minds with doubts and worry. Satan does all of this for one purpose - to deny God of the praise and glory from our lives. Likewise, the thief is intent on robbing God of His glory among the nations by destroying our witness and barricading the cultures against the light of the world.
 
The reality is that there is an enemy of the kingdom of God who is intent on depriving God of His praise and glory among the nations. He works subtly in darkness and anonymity to defeat the individual Christian, distort the mission of the church, and divert God’s people from their calling to proclaim His salvation and declare His glory among the nations. God’s Word alerts us to this enemy and admonishes us to be alert to his devious schemes; we are told to stand firm against his deception, resist temptation, and claim the victory that has already been assured. It is a victory rooted in God’s character, won for us by Christ’s resurrection, and manifested by the Spirit’s indwelling presence in the church. God’s praise and glory is our supreme priority and proclaiming and displaying it is our greatest privilege.
 
Paul was convinced that God wanted him to go to Thessalonica to minister and share the gospel, but he said, “So we wanted to come to you - even I, Paul, time and again - but Satan hindered us” (1 Thess. 2:18). There are sins of commission - what we do that is wrong and should not do - but there are also sins of omission. These are the things we should do but fail to carry out. Satan often opposes the will of God being done by simply dissuading us from doing what we ought to do. We are going to see that this tactic may be his most effective strategy to delay God’s kingdom reaching the nations and His being glorified to the ends of the earth - simply hindering us from being obedient to what God has called us to do as His people.
 
Reflect on what is receiving worship in your life other than Jesus. What receives the greatest intentional focus of your time, energy, and resources? What are you willing to make time for when time is very tight?
 
What is Satan’s greatest tactic in your life? Pride? Fear? Busyness? Indifference? Ask God to reveal Satan’s strongholds in your life and ask Him to break them so you will be more active in His mission.
 
How might God want to adjust your perspective about worship? How could a renewed sense of worship change your activity in the mission of God?

Hello, and welcome back to our series on Spiritual Warfare and Missions (SWAM). If you missed the introductory blog post you really should click here to read it first. And be reminded that this series is based on the book by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer called Spiritual Warfare and Missions.
 
In this post, we will see what is God’s ultimate purpose in all He does. We have seen this in God’s Heart for the Nations blog posts but it will be helpful to see it again, especially as a foundation for the reality and presence of spiritual warfare.
 
In this first chapter of the book, Jerry Rankin recounts a trip he took in response to an invitation to speak at a Baptist leaders conference in the Khond Hills of the State of Orissa in India. It was a monumental trip that left Mr. Rankin thinking he had reached beyond the fringes of the Great Commission and was at the ends of the earth.
 
Topping a ridge, they suddenly caught sight of a massive crowd milling around an intersection ahead. This was their destination and the crowd was there to welcome them. More than three thousand people had gathered from every village in the Khond Hills. When everyone was seated, the man who seemed to be in charge shouted something, and all the people responded with a shout. Mr. Rankin didn’t understand the words but presumed that this was simply a customary way of beginning a public gathering or perhaps a way of greeting us as the honoured guests.
 
His interpreter asked him if he knew what they were saying. He said, “The leader is shouting, ‘Who is Lord?’ And all the people are responding, ‘Jesus is Lord!’ As this was repeated several times, goosebumps appeared on Rankin’s arms and a chill went up his spine. Here were a people that were not a people, a people who had lived in darkness but had now become the people of God. This is what Paul referred to as he quoted Hosea in Romans 9:6.
 
As he heard these people declaring that Jesus is Lord, Rankin immediately thought of Philippians 2:9-11 and the implications of what he was seeing. “Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
 
Just as these people of the Khond Hills, geographically isolated and separated from God, living in spiritual darkness, had now become the people of God, one day all people will recognize Jesus as Lord. God will be glorified by the confession of praise being declared from every tongue, “Jesus is Lord” to the glory of God the Father.
 
God’s ultimate purpose and desire is clear: to be glorified through the redemption of the nations. He alone is worthy of all praise and honour. His purpose is to be known and worshipped and exalted by the nations and peoples of the earth. The culmination of His divine activity in the world is expressed in the book of Revelation. “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” (Rev 4:11). 

​​Everything created in the world should be seen in the context of existing for God’s glory. Every activity and endeavour should be to glorify Him, not only in our lives and community but among all peoples, even to the ends of the earth.
 
Then the authors pick up on what is called the ‘linguistic thread’ of Scripture. The movement and mission from God can be traced through a linguistic thread woven throughout Scripture. The thread began under the rebellious circumstances in Babel and became the platform for God’s mission through Pentecost and His glory in Revelation. Following this linguistic thread allows us to better understand our mission with God and for God. The thread throughout the Bible also traces God’s relentless pursuit of a people for His glory.
 
As people gather at the end of the age, we read in Revelation 7:9-10, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” What will that sound like? Will everybody praise in a different language? We don’t know, but we do know that it will be one voice. In unity brought about by God’s presence and kingdom, from distinct people groups, His people will worship in the many languages they spoke during their earthly lives, giving praise to the Lord and glory to the Father.
 
When the Holy Spirit arrived to indwell believers in Acts we see a picture of the “beginning of the end” in God’s plan. In God’s plan, the church was given the supernatural ability to speak in languages (tongues) and they were understood by the crowds in Jerusalem as the gospel was proclaimed at Pentecost. Through the person of the Holy Spirit, God’s purposes were accomplished like no other time in history. When God’s power is manifested, no arguments of man or principality can stand against it.
 
The linguistic thread began in Genesis 11. The scene is the Tower of Babel and the birth of heathenism (self-glory) as the result of one tongue among men. Satan is alive and well and his desire for fame and glory is passed on to man.
 
Remember God’s instructions to Noah after the flood? His family members were to scatter and populate the earth (Genesis 9:1). Yet the nature of man was seen in his desire to create another plan. ‘Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth”’ (Genesis 11:4). In only two chapters after the flood, mankind began not only to sin alone but to sin in groups. God, as before the Flood and in the garden, found Himself set aside by mankind. God was distant from the minds and hearts of self-absorbed men. But He remained relentless in His pursuit of them.
 
What was the issue? “Let us make a name for ourselves.” The very thing rightfully belonging to God, man immediately claimed for himself - a famous name. Man wanted the glory that belonged to God alone. Since the garden, man has gone east, away from God, setting his own course. But God’s fame is seen as every tongue, tribe, and nation returns to His name, His glory, and His worship. It was lost at Babel but returns via Pentecost and is completed at the end of the age in the book of Revelation.
 
God scattered people at Babel, changing one language to many languages. Man’s desire to make a name for himself had terrible consequences. Was God intimidated by the potential of man to accomplish things with one tongue? God is omnipotent, which means never intimidated. God knew Babel would become a civilization of frustrated, godless people if He didn’t intervene. Never for a moment did He fear their potential to overthrow and actually supplant His glory.
 
Language is God’s gift to man. Different languages are a demonstration of God’s relentless love of man. Every time you hear a conversation in another language that you do not understand, thank God for His love. God saw that man would destroy himself and attempt to live life apart from Him. He lovingly gifted us with diverse tongues to slow us down. He gave us tongues to go deeper into relationships with fewer people. Tongues reveal our limitations and helplessness. What a creative and loving way to discipline a self-absorbed, self-promoting, sinful man.
 
And so, as we look ahead again to Revelation 7:9-10, we see the conclusion of God’s purposes in the earth, to be surrounded by every tongue, tribe and nation, receiving the praise and the glory that are His alone.
 
Have you gotten any new insight from this overview of God’s glory and His heart for the nations?
 
What kind of people and things do you regularly pray for from day-to-day? Does your prayer life reflect God’s ultimate desire and purpose to be worshipped among the nations?
 
Is there anything that you could adjust your time and/or friends so that you can go on mission trips to help reach the nations or give more so that others can reach the nations with the gospel?

I will never forget the day when I came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, it was so precious. It was also a process for me because I had some things I needed God to really help me with and deliver me from. But regardless, I came as I was, and God has been working on me ever since. It is still very much a process, but I am so grateful that I was able to come as I was.

Although the specific phrase “come as you are” is not found in the Bible, there are many verses in the Bible that encourage us to “come to God” or “draw near to Him.” We all have different stories, and it is important to remember our stories. They help us to be grateful that we have God in our lives and they also help us to remain obedient to God.

Coming as you are

While it is certainly not an excuse to remain in sin, it is about allowing God to transform us daily as we come to Him through our struggles, challenges, questions, insecurities, etc.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus was saying for us to come with all of our burdens, and He will give us rest. Jesus is encouraging us to come to Him with whatever we are going through, and we will find rest in Him.

Regarding other people

How do we react when we are dealing with other people? Do we allow them to come to us as they are or do we judge easily?

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14

We need to show compassion, kindness, love, and patience towards others. It is important to reflect on this because how we treat others is a great reflection of who we are and Who we are representing on earth.

Being set free

To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

As children of God, we need to be honest. Not because of what others will think, but because we desire to please the Lord. It’s not about being perfect, but it’s about progress. We all have things we need to work on and develop, so be encouraged in your progress today. Allow God to continue working and trust Him in the process.

Let’s come as we are. Let’s not focus on past mistakes, but instead learn from them so that we can move forward in all that God has planned for us. Doing this comes with such a freedom that is truly wonderful.

Go

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
​all creation. Mark 16:15
​
We come to God as we are, and we GO to do what He has called us to do. Not in our strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us not let any hindrances prevent us from being obedient to God. Being able to GO for Jesus is the greatest privilege because of Who we are representing. He is awesome, He is loving, He is powerful, and He is King.

Please continue to pray for our missionaries as they trust God in this season. Prayer makes a difference and we are thankful for our faithful prayer partners. May God continue to bless you and equip you for every good work that He has called you to.

There is a topic about which there is generally little spoken of in Canadian evangelical circles. It is something that I remember hearing much more about when I was a youngster, about a hundred years ago. And, my role in the world of cross-cultural missions assures me that this topic remains a reality for evangelical Christianity in the Global South. I am not sure why this topic has largely fallen off the teaching and practical agenda for the western church but it has. Can you guess what it is?
 
I am talking about spiritual warfare. 

He has an army that he employs to accomplish this mission.
 
I bought a book at a mission’s conference a few years ago called ‘Spiritual Warfare and Missions; The battle for God’s glory among the nations’. It is co-written by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer. Rankin was a missionary to Indonesia for many years and then served in various leadership positions in Asia and eventually as the President of the International Mission Board for the Southern Baptists. Stetzer is an author, speaker, researcher, pastor, church planter, and Christian missiologist. Stetzer is Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and Executive Director of the Billy Graham Centre at Wheaton College. He is the North American Regional Director for Lausanne International and serves as interim Teaching Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in New York City. He is a contributor to the North American discussion on missional church, church planting, church revitalization, and Christian cultural engagement.
 
Rankin and Stetzer have come from different backgrounds and experiences but all that they have done reflects the shared focus on the great commission. They believe God is moving in providence and power toward that coming day when representatives from every people, tongue, tribe, and nation will be gathered around the throne of God. Praise for the Lamb that was slain and the ushering in of the kingdom of God will result in the worship and praise of the One to whom all glory is due.
 
Their conviction is always that the task of discipling the nations is
not the responsibility of an elite group of missionaries sent out on
behalf of the church but this is a mandate given to all the people of
God. No one is exempt from the task of bearing witness to the ends
of the earth of the salvation that can be found in Jesus Christ alone.
They have each sought to mobilize and channel the potential of local churches toward fulfillment of the Great Commission. In recent years their roles have merged at times as opportunities for coordinated collaboration in meeting this challenge have surfaced.
 
They make the point that God is moving in unprecedented ways to penetrate nations and peoples long deprived of the message of the gospel and as we move further into the 21st century this sovereign God is using global events to open doors of opportunity in response to the pervasive spiritual hunger of a sinful and fallen world. Yet, an enemy exists who is jealous of God's glory and is doing everything he possibly can using his devious and evil schemes to barricade the spread of the gospel and hinder the proclamation of God's glory.
 
Satan is identified as the deceiver of the nations. His subtle tactics as an angel of light are powerful as he tries to weaken and distort the witness of God's people. The powers of darkness create distorted religious worldviews, cause totalitarian governments to restrict Christian witness, and seek to squelch the advance of the kingdom through the persecution of believers. However, proving to be even more successful is Satan's ability to use our own self-centred, fleshly nature and inclination to compromise with worldly carnal influences that continue to divert God's people from the priority of God's mission.
 
The message of this book has grown out of seeing many churches begin to catch the vision and be shaped by a passion for involvement in global missions. What could happen if every church and every Christian became obedient to what our God has called us to do? The potential of the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdom of our Lord is evident. But Satan doesn't want that to happen. They pray this book will expose the enemy's tactics and challenge the people of God to become focused on declaring His glory among the nations.
 
So, what we intend to do in this blog series is to give a brief summary of each chapter in this book and hopefully learn how the enemy is trying to deter us from our Great Commission work and spark some discussion about how we can overcome the enemy’s efforts and see the truth in God’s word.
 
I know that there are many of you who have liked our blog posts and we are grateful for this. But I would like to ask you to take this engagement to the next level. Would you also share these posts on your social media platforms? When you like a post, we are the only ones that know and see your engagement. But if you share these posts, your friends see the link to the blog posts and the message spreads far beyond OMS Canada’s network. So let’s make this go as far as we can and engage as many of God’s people as possible.

Welcome back to this series on prayer. If you have missed any previous posts, you can click here to catch up. But in this post, we are focusing on the problem of prayer.
 
For many, perhaps even most, there appears to be a problem with prayer. “It’s a one-way conversation.” “It doesn’t seem to work.” “God takes too long to answer.” “God does what He wants anyway.”
Crushed in the mortar and pestle of life, it’s easy to think there’s a serious problem with prayer: God. When God doesn’t answer according to our will, we can get frustrated. We can feel like our prayers are just floating around the ether, too insignificant to catch the Creator’s attention. And, in the midst of this disappointment, we’re often too slow to accept that the problem with prayer is not God, but us, and always us.

The Problem of Misunderstanding Prayer
It’s pretty normal to think that life would be a lot easier if God answered a few more strategic prayers—just a couple key petitions to remind us that He’s listening. We can be convinced that a profound healing here and there would add spice to the life of the church.

Then God healed Karen.

The Sunday school class gathered for desperate prayer the night before the surgery to remove a tumor from Karen’s brain. The surgery would probably render her unable to speak for a long time. We asked God to comfort her husband, daughter, and family at this time of crisis, to help the surgeons, to speed her recovery, and—if He willed—to miraculously heal her.

Of course, that last part was just for show. Although we believed God could heal Karen, we were certain He would use less glorious means.

The next morning the tumour had disappeared.

We assumed Karen’s response would be just as profound as God’s answer to prayer. After all, when a person experiences the awesome intervention of the Almighty God, we should expect an explosive revival, right?

Less than a year later, Karen left the church and divorced her husband.

We had always thought answers to prayer would strengthen faith and ignite thanksgiving. Disappointed in Karen’s response, we were reminded that even the Israelites grumbled and rebelled in the midst of powerful answers to their requests (Numbers 11:1-4).

You see, the problem with prayer is not God, but us.

The Problem of Abusing Prayer
When I was a young person, my family came under the “prosperity gospel in the ‘70’s,” the “name it-claim it” theology that overwhelmed Christian television and bookstores—and continues to overwhelm today. “Don’t make negative confessions,” I was told. “If you’re sick, confess that you’re healed!”

On one occasion, I mentioned to a self-proclaimed “prophetess” that I was going bald. Instantly, she placed her hand on my head and shouted, “No you’re not—in the name of Jesus!” That “prophetess” treated prayer like a credit card she could whip out at any time to make major purchases.

We may not be as extreme as that woman, but we can all fall into the trap of abusing prayer. While we may tack on a half hearted “Thy will be done,” deep down we think, “No! My will be done!” Yes, Christ said, “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7), but His brother James reminds us, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives” (James 4:3).

Once again, the problem with prayer is not God, but us.

Correcting the Problem with Prayer
After 51 years of following Jesus, I’d hoped to have a better handle on prayer. I don’t. In fact, the more I pray, the less I understand its profound mysteries. However, I’ve come to several conclusions that might help correct our perceived problems with prayer.

​If a father constantly gives in to a little child’s whiny demands, we’d take him for a lousy parent. Why, then, do some think God’s a stubborn God when He doesn’t give us everything we want? 

1 John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” That is, God won’t jump at every loose-lipped confession. Prayer offered up in true faith submits to His will—our sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3). God’s will is to change us, not please us.

Second, we need to accept that the power of prayer is perceived in even the smallest response, really, any response at all. I am convinced that humans don’t fully comprehend how little we deserve God’s love and grace. Consider that what we regard as “crumbs” of answered prayer may really be bountiful feasts once we realize that God owes us nothing (Genesis 32:9-10; Luke 7:6-9). When we adjust our attitude about our own unworthiness to receive God’s favor, we’ll never regard “small” answers to prayer as insignificant.

Finally, we need to acknowledge that the process of prayer is not as
important as the attitude of prayer. When God chose in His sovereignty
to heal Karen, He did so even though none of us expected it. Our feeble
prayer was a simple act of faith—turning our worries over to God’s
care (Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:6-7). Christians can be hung up on
method, worried that they have not said the right words, have not prayed
hard or often enough, or have not believed deeply enough. That is hocus-pocus, not prayer (Matthew 6:5-8). If you are concerned about not praying with the right words or for the right things, memorize Romans 8:26—God’s Spirit even helped Paul pray!

Of course, these reminders are easy to read, but they are not easy to live. In our finite human minds, we will always perceive “problems” with prayer. Are you struggling with your prayer life, not seeing results, wondering if God is listening? It might be time for an attitude change. It might be finally time to accept that the problem with prayer is never God, but always us.

Leave us a comment and let us know about your experience of prayer and its problem. Is there something we can pray about with you? Send an email to [email protected].

Want to pray with us? We host two online prayer gatherings each week. Tuesday morning at 10:00 am Eastern time and on Thursday evening at 8:30 pm Eastern time. We are happy to have you join us and we will send you the Zoom link if you ask for it. Send an email to [email protected] or give us a call at 800-784-7077.

​I remember growing up, I was very active and enjoyed playing various sports. Even if it wasn’t a sport that I particularly enjoyed or was good at, I would often still try out. And what a feeling it was, when I would be chosen to be a part of the team. The experiences built my confidence, allowed me to try something different, and kept me active. Just a few years later, while I do hope to have that same energy, I embrace the fact that I am still chosen today in a much more wonderful way.
​
You are chosen. What do those words mean to you? Who has chosen you? And why have you been chosen? Let’s look at this important topic today and discover what the Bible says about us being chosen.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10

What a beautiful verse that reminds us that we were once not the people of God, but by His mercy we are the people of God. It is good to be reminded of this as we go about our journey of faith.

Let’s look at couple of reasons why we are chosen today:

1- We are chosen for good works

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

God has prepared us for good works and some of these works are: to be more like Him through the Holy Spirit, to share the Good news of salvation, to share the love of God with others, and to have a personal relationship with God. These things are not done on our own strength, and we must depend on God as we live day to day.

2- We are chosen for God’s purposes

“God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:2

We all have plans but we must remember that we are chosen for God’s purposes, and not our own. When we care about what God cares about, our plans start to align with God’s purposes in our lives and we begin to see fruit that we would not be able to see if we did not surrender our plans to God.

3- We are chosen because God loves us

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” 1 John 3:1

There are so many verses in the Bible that talk about this great love that God has for us. As a parent, we do not always agree with our children, but we have a special love for them. And how much more does God love us? A lot more! The love God has for us is unconditional. There is nothing more we could do to make God love us more and nothing less we can do to make God love us less. He loves us. He loves you. You are His chosen child.

4- We are chosen to share the Good News with others

“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all
creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever
does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany
those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will
speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and
when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will
​place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:15-18

After Jesus spoke these words, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19). We are chosen to share the wonderful news of Jesus with other people. Are you called to be a missionary? If you have not read this blog series, be sure to check it out.

While not everyone can be a missionary, everyone can have a part in the bigger task—by going, sending, supporting, or mobilizing others. Jesus is allowing us to take part in some way.

You are chosen and you are loved. Who can you share this with today? We are all in need of some encouragement these days, so let’s be a source of encouragement to someone else today. God bless you as you continue to love Jesus and live for Him.
 

It’s now been a little over a year where we have been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. We have had to adjust the way we do things, the way we communicate with others, the way we spend time with others, and even the way in which we gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are now living in times where there are certain things that are defined as essential and others that are not. So, let’s start by defining essential; what does this mean?
 
​According to dictionary.com essential means: absolutely necessary, indispensable.
Other words for essential are: crucial, fundamental, and necessary.
 
Whatever we refer to as essential is important and has value. While this may mean something different for each person, today let’s look from a Biblical perspective for a few reasons why missions is essential.

1. God is glorified through the work of missions    

“Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.” 1 Chronicles 16:24
 
By sharing the Good News with others, God is glorified. We only have a small part that we play but we should always remember that missions is all about God and bringing glory to Him. When we have this focus, we are not concerned about worldly things or any inadequacies we may have in the process. We  are simply vessels and we have a great God who gives us the wonderful opportunity to share the love of Jesus with others.

2. Missions is important to God  
​
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
 
The Great Commission includes some of the most beautiful and powerful words that Jesus spoke, and these words are still for us today. Jesus came so that we could be reconciled to God, so that we could one day be with Him and God forever, and this is great news that we are commanded to share with others. Jesus lived out and accomplished the greatest mission and we have the honor of taking part in continuing to share that mission with the world. Missions is important to God.

3. People’s lives are forever touched through missions  

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
​
When we share the Good News with others, their lives are forever touched because God’s word is living and powerful. I have heard several missionaries say that going on a missions trip is one of the most beautiful and life-changing experiences. People are changed, but we who are sharing are also changed. Something truly beautiful happens in these moments that God allows us to experience.
 
“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
 
“How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Romans 10:10-14
 
Missions is essential because God is glorified through the work of missions, missions is important to God, and people’s lives are forever touched through missions.

​Have you ever been on a mission’s trip or do you hope to go on one in the future? Please let us know in the comments. We would love to hear from you.
 
I encourage you to continue to pray for our missionaries. They are continuing to wait to be able to go back and serve in other countries. May God continue to touch our hearts with the things that are important to Him, in all that we do.  

​I remember growing up, Easter was mostly a day for getting together with family and having a good meal. Going to church may have also been something we did, but I vaguely remember that.  And I do not ever recall saying a prayer together before we had our meal. This was my typical Easter, among other special celebrations growing up.
 
A few years later now (ok, maybe more than a few), Easter has a completely new meaning and significance for me and my family. It’s all about Jesus. He came to please the Father and to do His will. This is life-changing for us as Christians, if we truly grasp it.
 
Before we truly appreciate this wonderful Resurrection Day that we call Easter, let us remember what happened before the resurrection. This is where it starts.

It always amazes and humbles me that Jesus went through everything that He did, to ultimately bring glory and to please the Father. He suffered like no other, in every possible way. This is something that we cannot really understand as human beings. Such a selfless sacrifice.
 
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
 
Today, we can have a relationship with God through Christ, because of
the perfect sacrifice that was made. This is something we should remember
daily. As I recall growing up, today this is one of the things I most
appreciate about having a relationship with God. It’s real, it’s a daily thing,
​that challenges and encourages me.
 
So, let’s talk now a little bit about Easter. What a moment that must have been as they found the stone rolled away and the body of Jesus not there (Luke 24:2-3). Jesus had said that He would rise again, but they were still perplexed (Luke 24:4).
 
As we read on in Luke, Jesus appears to many and shares these beautiful and impactful words:
 
“He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what My Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:46-49
 
We are all witnesses for Christ. Not because of us or what we have to offer. Because there is an awesome God who loves unconditionally and desires that all would come to know Him (2 Peter 3:9). Did you know that there are people out there who have never heard about Jesus? We are so blessed and honored to know this amazing life-changing news. Let us not take this for granted. God has a heart for the nations and we should also.
 
 As we celebrate Easter, may we remember the sacrifice Jesus made and may we remember the words that He spoke.
 
If you are reading this at any other time of the year, be encouraged to celebrate and remember these things daily. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We can celebrate Him everyday (Hebrews 13:8).
 
How was Easter for you growing up? Is it any different now? Please share below in the comments. We would love to hear from you!

Have you ever really thought about what it means to be a witness for Christ? Today, we will look at a few verses to learn more about witnessing for Christ and we will also outline 4 practical points on how we can witness for Christ.

First, let’s answer the question of what it means to be a witness for Christ. Being a witness sounds like something simple, but it actually carries a lot of responsibility. When we witness for Christ, we are essentially representing Him and what is important to Him.

As children of God, we experience Him and then bear witness and represent Him to the world. Witnessing can be sharing scripture or sharing our personal testimony/story that testify to God’s love, grace, and forgiveness in our own lives. We are all called to be witnesses, regardless of gender, age, etc.

You may say, “I am not gifted in speaking or I really don’t know what to say,” so why should I be a witness? The simple answer is that we are all called to be witnesses.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
 
I just want to note 3 points from this text before we move ahead.
 
1. You SHALL receive power WHEN the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 

This power that we receive, does not come from us. This is the first thing that we must realize before we witness, because it is not by our own strength. This power that we receive is the empowerment through the Holy Spirit.
 
2. And you SHALL be witnesses. 

There are those words. Once we know that it is through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we then witness for Christ as we are led.
 
3. In Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

We can be a witness for Christ to our own family members, our neighbours, friends, co-workers, and to all people in the world. God is for all people, and He sent Jesus to die for the world, not just those who are geographically close to us.
 
Let’s look at 4 practical points on how we can witness for Christ.
 
1. Start with Prayer 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”
Philippians 4:6

If we are unsure of how we can witness for Christ or who we can witness to, we can pray about it. This is very important and something we must always do. Often times, God will put someone in our heart to speak with and we may not exactly know why, but He does. God knows the heart and the words that we all need to hear.

2. Be sensitive and loving

“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8
 
Whatever we are sharing should be done in love. Sometimes you may be witnessing to someone you don’t know very well or at all, so being sensitive and loving is especially important.
 
3. Read the Bible everyday 

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
1 Peter 3:15
 
The more we read, study, and memorize the Bible, the more we will grow and the more we will be able to share with others. We can be reminded of something we read and use it when we are witnessing to others. Even if we are unsure of some questions that we are asked, we can be honest and say that we can get back to them. As we read, study, and memorize the Bible more, we grow in our knowledge and understanding. It is a continuous learning process for all of us as witnesses for Christ.
 
4. Trust God for the results 

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”
1 Corinthians 3:6

Both Paul and Apollos did their part, but it is God who caused the seed to grow. We can be witnesses of Christ, but not see any results right away or at all but this shouldn’t stop us from witnessing. We must continue to be obedient and trust God for the results. It is Him who draws men unto Himself.
 
Let’s be encouraged as we witness for Christ. God is with us, He has empowered us, and His purposes will be accomplished according to His perfect plan.
 
Feel free to take a look at our website to learn more about us, our missionaries and projects, and our blog. You can share these with others as you witness for Christ.

Do you remember a time when you travelled somewhere to go and visit family or friends?

I remember as a child, we would often go to Hartford in the United States to go and stay with family. It was a bit of a drive, but it was always special especially when we arrived at our family’s home. We were all so excited to see each other and they would often make special arrangements and preparations for us. The rooms where we would sleep would be ready and the fridge would be stocked with delicious food to share with us. When we are expecting company, it is special and there is a lot of effort, time, and love that goes into it.

In John 20:21-22 Jesus said, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

As Jesus speaks to the disciples, He is preparing them to receive the Holy Spirit whom they would receive shortly after on the day of Pentecost.

Before Jesus came to be born of the virgin Mary, God made of all of the necessary preparations beforehand. Everything came to pass just as it was promised.

I briefly shared about travelling to a familiar place but alternatively, when a person is travelling somewhere for the first time it may not be so exciting at first. It may be a new and unfamiliar place, and you may not know anyone. That can be a bit intimidating and maybe even scary.

Are you called to be a missionary? If you have not read this blog series, be sure to check it out.

Not everyone can be a missionary. However, everyone can have a part in the bigger task—by going, sending, supporting, or mobilizing others. Jesus is allowing us to take part in some way.

As we play our part in the process, it’s important to remember that there is a connection between being sent and receiving the Holy Spirit. Wherever God sends us to share the good news of Jesus Christ, He makes preparations for us. He prepares hearts, opportunities, relationships, and even divine appointments. Through prayer, we can make it a priority to seek God and trust that He will prepare the way for us.

When we remember that God makes preparations for us, we are more at peace. When we remember that we have the Holy Spirit, we are more confident. Not because of our abilities, but because of what the Holy Spirit can do through us. Lives can be transformed, people set free, and we can also be renewed and changed. It is a wonderful blessing to experience God and to be able to share that with others.

As some of our missionaries face the reality of travel restrictions, let us continue to pray for them. Jesus has sent them to various places around the world and many of them are still waiting. Let’s pray that God would continue to give them opportunities right where they are and that He would be glorified even through the waiting process.

Where is Jesus sending you? Have you ever been on a missions trip? Please share in the comments. We would love to hear from you. 

​Welcome back to the Commands of Christ blog series where we are examining together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus and which are essential for new disciples to understand and obey. If you missed the first eight posts in this series you can find them by clicking  Repent and Believe, Be Baptized, Pray, Make Disciples, Love, Worship, Observe the Lord’s Supper, and Give.
 
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20).
 
In this post, we will look at the ninth of nine foundational commands that Christ gave for disciples to obey. This command is to gather and is found in Hebrews 10:24-25.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

If there is one thing about the church that is being questioned as a result of COVID and the lockdowns which have been imposed, it is the command to gather. After all, many believers have turned to various forms of technology to encourage one another during this unusual season. We can pray for one another over the phone. We can host virtual Bible studies on Zoom. Pastors can email filmed teaching sessions to their members.

And we are grateful that we can minister to one another in these ways while scattered. I’m not writing to contribute to the conversation about whether churches should livestream “services” or send out pre-recorded material or such things during this strange time. I simply want to remind us that a church is never less than a gathering. Even though many congregations cannot now meet, assembling is of the essence of a church.

Gathering isn’t merely a nice thing to do; it’s part of what a church is.

There is a popular Christian social media catch-phrase that says, "You don't go to church, you are the church." While I understand the truth of this statement, this is an unhealthy view, pitting "being the church" and "going to church" against each other. If we truly are "the Church," then we will surely get together with other believers regularly. We cannot "be" the church if we don't go to the assembly. Not fully anyway.

The "Church" never implies a single, individual, lone-ranger Christian just going about his Christian duties, and never gathering together to worship with other believers. The "Church" by its very nature means multiple believers, who believe that, "where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them" (Matthew 18:20).

The Biblical pattern for church is this:

●Every Christian should gather together to hear the Scriptures and worship Jesus together with other believers weekly (see Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Romans 16:5; Acts 20:20; James 2:2; Psalm 84:4; Psalm 37:17; Psalm 92:13)
●It is also good to meet for smaller groups of Christian community in each other's homes regularly (see Acts 2:46)
●It's good to have leaders overseeing the work and needs of each local church - this is the Biblical pattern - not all of us are called to church leadership, and so we should submit to, and serve whoever God has called to lead at the place we find ourselves (see Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Timothy 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Philippians 1:1b; Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Peter 5:1-2; Acts 20:17;)
●If there are believers who are unable for physical reasons to attend a church weekly, they should find a church or believers who will gather together with them regularly for worship in their own home. (see James 5:14; James 1:27)

So, here are ten powerful and biblical reasons why you should attend worship weekly, and why church attendance can change your life:

1. To be obedient to God’s command (Heb. 10:23-25).
2. To be equipped for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-14).
3. To have our minds renewed through the preaching of the Word (Rom. 12:1-2).
4. To employ our spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church (1 Cor. 12).
5. To evangelize the watching world through our love for one another (John 13:35).
6. To be held accountable by other mature brothers and sisters in the Lord (Acts 18:24-26).
7. To be discipled by older, godly men and women (Titus 2:2-6).
8. To ease the mind of your shepherd, so he is not worrying about your soul (Heb. 13:17).
9. To grow in our faith of the Lord Jesus Christ as we are taught His Word (1 Pet. 2:2).
10. To be encouraged to persevere in the faith by other believers (Heb. 3:12-14).

Don't let excuses stand in the way of what you know God is calling you to do. God will strengthen you, and empower you to do what He has called you to do. I am praying for you -- if you have encountered past wounds from leaders or from church members -- that God will bring healing and grace to you, as you seek to follow Him, and love His Church.

If you are looking for a church that preaches the gospel, leave a comment and we will try to help you find a good one.