Somalia: Election next week
As the process for ending Somalia's political transition gathers momentum, some presidential candidates have been accused of interfering with the process of electing new parliamentarians and vote-buying ahead of the presidential election, which is due to take place on August 20. It is common to hear one of the dozens of presidential candidates say ‘I want to run for president.’ In response many Somali politicians and the public ask, ‘Does he have money to buy votes?’ Dr Abdirahman Mohamed, a presidential candidate, says questioning how deep is the pocket of a candidate is like saying only corrupt leaders who have stolen from state coffers are eligible to run. The transition process calls for clan elders to choose members of a new parliament. Those new lawmakers will then elect the new president.
Pray: that vote-buying and corruption will not influence the future for Somalia’s government. (Ps.45:3-5)
Uganda: Pastor forgives Muslim attackers
A Ugandan pastor, who was the victim of an acid attack by Muslims, told International Christian Concern (ICC) that he doesn’t hate his Muslim attackers and wants them to believe in Jesus Christ. ‘My message to my attackers is simple, I hold no grudge against them. They wished me death but I wish them life today and forever in Christ Jesus our Lord,’ said Pastor Umar Mulinde in his statement to ICC. Pastor Mulinde was a Muslim leader before he converted to Christianity and started a church. He successfully brought many Muslims to Christ and openly opposed the call for Sharia law in Uganda. He was attacked last Christmas and is currently receiving medical care in Israel. Pastor Umar’s message to Christians around the world warned of the danger of radical Islam, ‘The vision of Islam is all about world dominance and no country should think itself to be safe from radical Islam.’
Pray: for the persecuted Church in Africa and the Middle East to experience God's provision (Ps.17:8-9) and to be able to forgive those who hate them. (Lk.6:27-31)
More: http://blog.godreports.com/2012/08/pastor-hit-with-acid-attack-forgives-muslim-attackers/#more-2001
Egypt:Lawyer wants Coptc Christians removed from Egyptian Constitutional Committee
A lawyer from Alexandria has submitted a report to the public prosecutor requesting that Egypt's Coptic Christians be excluded from the committee forming the nation's new constitution. Sherif Gadallah claimed that Orthodox Coptics are not representative of Egypt's Christian population because they're not Nasara, the so-called ‘true’ Christians of Islam's Qur'an, a book in which the word ‘Christian’ never appears. Since Orthodox Copts are not Nasara, or even Christians, Gadallah said they can be counted as polytheists, which will make Coptics non-representative of Egypt's Christian population. Gadallah justified his report by the Qur'an, which claims the prophets of Allah - Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad - are all mere humans sent by God to pass his message on to creation. Since Christians believe Jesus to be the divine Son of God, they are polytheistic infidels and not the Nasara of the Qur'an; therefore, Copts who also profess the divinity of Christ as expressed in the Trinity must be barred from having any say in Egypt's new constitution
Pray: against any move to marginalise Coptic Christians which would restrict full representation of all people on the constitutional committee. (Pr.29:14)
More: http://www.worthynews.com/11682-lawyer-wants-copts-removed-from-egyptian-constitutional-committee
Azjerbaijan :Protestant groups face crackdown
A lawyer from Alexandria has submitted a report to the public prosecutor requesting that Egypt's Coptic Christians be excluded from the committee forming the nation's new constitution. Sherif Gadallah claimed that Orthodox Coptics are not representative of Egypt's Christian population because they're not Nasara, the so-called ‘true’ Christians of Islam's Qur'an, a book in which the word ‘Christian’ never appears. Since Orthodox Copts are not Nasara, or even Christians, Gadallah said they can be counted as polytheists, which will make Coptics non-representative of Egypt's Christian population. Gadallah justified his report by the Qur'an, which claims the prophets of Allah - Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad - are all mere humans sent by God to pass his message on to creation. Since Christians believe Jesus to be the divine Son of God, they are polytheistic infidels and not the Nasara of the Qur'an; therefore, Copts who also profess the divinity of Christ as expressed in the Trinity must be barred from having any say in Egypt's new constitution
Pray: against any move to marginalise Coptic Christians which would restrict full representation of all people on the constitutional committee. (Pr.29:14)
More: http://www.worthynews.com/11682-lawyer-wants-copts-removed-from-egyptian-constitutional-committee
Christian Olympians honoured
As the London Olympics came to a close, two Christian athletes were being honoured for acting out their faith in the world of sport. British rower Debbie Flood and decathlete Bryan Clay have been given the Eric Liddell Award. The award, which is named after the man made famous through the film Chariots of Fire, is to celebrate character and influence in the world of sports. The Team GB star was given the award after founding Creativity in Sport - an initiative aiming to give troubled youths a start in life. While the US former champion is recognised for his work starting up the Bryan Clay Foundation to help young people reach their potential. Bryan said ‘it's not easy to stay true to your faith in athletics.’ The awards were given out during the Legacy Breakfast which is an event put on by More than Gold, the group co-ordinating the Church's response to the Games.
Pray: for both athletes and their work outside sport; may it be an inspiration to others. (Matt.5:16)
More: http://www.premier.org.uk/news/current/Christian%20Olympians%20honoured.aspx
We are happy to respectfully inform you that on 5 July 2012, in a historic moment for the Protestant churches in Malaysia, nineteen (19) church and prayer leaders met at the office of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, Petaling Jaya. The came from all over the country, representing most of the major prayer networks in the country, including those of NECF and CCM, and also denominational and regional Pastors’/Ministers’ Fellowships. All came at short notice but with prepared hearts and minds, as each had been burdened with an urgent sense of the Lord’s call for united prayer for the church and nation.
During the dialogue, various participants shared their concerns. There was general agreement that the country is facing many critical issues, and the Malaysian Church needs to come together in prayer. And it was noted that, if the church is to play a significant role in national transformation, we must take seriously the call to live as a holy people, to strive for genuine unity, and to pour our hearts out in prayer for our nation!
The meeting was marked by a great sense of unity and hope, as well as much joy in every heart over the common desire for a united prayer initiative to bring the whole church together to seek God’s blessing for our country. We believe that through such an expression of unity and love for one another (Ephesians 4:1-6) Christ would be truly glorified. We praise and thank God for giving us this unity of the Spirit in the first place! We therefore would like humbly to invite all the churches and Christians in this country to join with us in a common prayer platform for the nation. We do this in response to God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NIV):
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” This united platform will be called PRAYER UNITED, and its terms of reference are:
THE VISION
• All Christians, churches, and prayer networks in Malaysia coming together to pray for the church and our nation.
THE PURPOSE
• The first purpose is to set up a united prayer movement for the whole church to coordinate prayer and to enhance unity among Christians.
• The second purpose is to challenge the whole church to pray together for the transformation of society and nation. In particular, the focus will be on the two upcoming key national events, namely, the National Jubilee Celebration, beginning on 16 September, 2012, and the upcoming General Elections, GE13.
THE OBJECTIVES
The following are the objectives of PRAYER UNITED:
• To identify key strategic issues for prayer and to communicate these clearly and quickly to all prayer networks and churches.
• To serve as a link for all those involved in prayer in our churches, including both those in NECF and CCM, and to coordinate our efforts to ensure that our prayers are united in purpose and focus.
• To challenge the church to pray for God’s special blessings upon our nation in the Jubilee Year (Level. 25:10-12), the 50th Year of the formation of our nation, so that it will usher in a new season of peace, prosperity, freedom, and justice for our land.
• To call on the church to pray that the upcoming General Election, GE13, will be carried out peacefully and with integrity and that those elected will be honest and able men and women who sincerely have the country’s true and long-term interest in their hearts.
THE WAY FORWARD
1. The work of Prayer United will be coordinated for the moment by an Interim Committee with representations from all major prayer networks present at the meeting on 5 July, 2012. This committee will function until after the Jubilee Celebrations and GE13, when the present set-up will then be reviewed.
2. All communications from PRAYER UNITED will be coordinated by the two Joint Secretaries, Ms. Chrisanne Chin and Rev. Andy Chi, who are respectively in charge of the prayer ministries of CCM and NECF.
3. All communication released would be made available in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese, and Tamil for dissemination to the churches.
We look to you to join us in this spiritual venture of prayer so that all of us will see the Lord’s blessings poured out upon our nation, bringing about a powerful transformation for the good and well-being of all citizens in our land. May our prayers and our lives serve to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, even as we pray: ‘Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!’ Les us humbly seek God together to ask Him to reveal His glory in Malaysia in our day. Let us also ask Him for grace that we may fulfill His purpose for His church and nation in our generation. May His name be praised and glorified exceedingly in every way!
The Interim Committee, PRAYER UNITED
Athletes in action - Olympians of faith
The following is an excerpt from Athletes in Action report on the prayer effort during the Olympic Games: 'Now that the Olympic Games are under way, we hope all of you are enjoying being able to pray for the 10,500 competing athletes BY NAME on a regular basis. We have heard so many great comments from many of you about how you are using this as a learning experience for your children, praying as a family or using the names with Sunday school classes. We're so blessed not only to have you help us cover these athletes with prayer but also that you are so EXCITED about doing it! It makes all the work worth it! You might want to check out some of our stories on Olympians of Faith and pass these along to friends. Gives you someone to cheer for who loves God and is competing for His glory alone! You'll find those stories on this list with live links'.
Pray: that the testimonies of Olympians of faith will bless all those that they come into contact with. (1Cor.2:1)
Churches help out after failure of Weymouth Olympic initiative
Weymouth’s Bayside Festival for the Olympics has gone into liquidation. But churches from the area are helping shocked stallholders and security staff. Festival organisers closed their gates on Friday, blaming poor attendance. The Rev Anni Douglas, co-ordinator of Weymouth and Portland churches Refresh 2012 said, ‘We sent our volunteers round the site to see how people were feeling, listening to them and providing refreshments. They really appreciated it and we had a good response,’ she added. Refresh 2012, set up by the local churches to provide activities, youth events and exhibitions at the Olympic sailing site, were also hit by the closure. Refresh 2012 had offered to meet with the festival organisers Mainsail Ltd and the borough council on Friday to try to rescue the event. But their offer to mobilise an army of 300 local church volunteers to run the site and keep it going fell on deaf ears.
Pray: that the Christians in Weymouth will still be able to serve the community with offers of God’s love. (1Pet.4:10)
Salvation Army get on their bikes for Olympics
Many Olympic venues are already achieving iconic status - but one about to enter the public’s consciousness already has an illustrious history. Next Saturday and Sunday the Salvation Army-owned Hadleigh Farm in Essex will play host to the Games’ mountain biking event. It will be the first time an Olympics event has been hosted on land owned by the Salvation Army. The commercial farm is more than 120 years old and is continuing the work started by William Booth in helping unemployed or marginalized members of society to retrain and find employment. Comprising 600 acres of crop and 300 acres of organic grassland with a highly-regarded tea room and farm shop, it also houses a training centre to help people with special educational needs learn subjects such as IT and carpentry.
Pray: that this event will raise awareness of the work of the Salvation Army at Hadleigh Farm amongst those with special needs. (Ps.135:13-14)
Police and churches partner to tackle crime
Speaking at a conference organised by Faith in Britain and the Metropolitan Police Service, Commissioner Bernard Hogan Howe said, ‘There's no way that we can police this city alone - we have to do this with the people not to them.’ The conference came just ahead of the first anniversary of the riots that brought scenes of violence, arson and looting to the streets of London, Manchester and other parts of the UK. The Commissioner concluded by saying, ‘It can't be just about enforcement - it has to be about diversion, encouraging people to live a better life.’ Les Isaac, whose Ascension Trust has pioneered Street Pastors across the UK, challenged the Church to act. ‘If my gospel is just for Sunday morning it is absolutely useless, if it is just for heaven then it is not to be talked about. It starts here on earth in a very practical way.’
Pray: that this conversation will produce more ways in which the Church can help the Police's work tackling the many forms of disorder in society. (Ps.33:12-14)
More: http://w ww.eauk.org/current-affairs/politics/police-and-churches-partner-to-tackle-crime.cfm