Over a dozen Christians, including children, were slaughtered by Fulani militants following an infant dedication service in the Nigerian state of Nasarawa.
Morning Star News reports that the attack took place on Palm Sunday as Christians in the predominantly Christian community gathered to eat after the child was dedicated that morning at Ruhaniya Baptist Church in the village.
Fulani militants, who have increasingly targeted Christians, stormed the party and opened fire indiscriminately, killing 17. The militants claimed the life of the baby’s mother, Safaratu John Kabiru Ali, along with several others, some of whom were children as young as 10. The baby’s father, John Kabiru Ali, is currently in critical condition after suffering gunshot wounds.
A local resident told Morning Star News that among those killed were “10 members of the Ruhaniya Baptist Church, five members of Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ, one member of the Evangelical Church Winning All, and a musician playing for guests.”
Samuel Meshi, chairman of the Akwanga Local Government Council, told the outlet the group of Christians did nothing to provoke the horrific attack.
“They just started shooting sporadically on a community that was just having a feast of the dedication of a child after a church service earlier in the day on Sunday (April 14) at a Baptist church in the area,” Meshi said.
“The killings occurred in the evening of that day. Unfortunately, these persons were killed in cold blood for just no reason,” he noted.
Pastor Samson Gamu Yare, community leader of the Mada ethnic group in Nasarawa state, described the killings as “barbaric” and called on the federal government to urgently take measures toward curtailing the menace of extremist herdsmen attacks on his people.
Nigerian outlet The Punch notes that the governor of Narasawa State, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, has demanded that the perpetrators be apprehended immediately.
“This is something we are going to take seriously. We are going to have a Security Council meeting and I have already directed security operatives to ensure that they fish out these people and bring them to book,” Al-Makura said, according to Channels TV.
Major General Adeyemi Yekini subsequently announced his strategy to track and arrest those involved in the attack.
“I have directed my troops to move to Akwanga and join other security forces to track down the perpetrators of this crisis; let us apprehend them so that justice can be done,” he said.
Nigeria ranks as the 12th worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List.
The Fulani herdsmen are an ethnic group of over 20 million in West and Central Africa. Herders have been known to travel hundreds of miles while carrying weapons to protect their livestock. While they have clashed with indigenous tribes and Christians for centuries, only a small subset are extremists and engage in attacks, according to the Global Terror Index.
However, Open Doors notes that the clashes have intensified in recent years and led to the destruction of houses and churches, as well as the seizure of land and properties belonging to Christian owners. Open Doors concluded that the Nigerian government has historically failed to protect Christians, particularly women and children, from Fulani extremist violence.
Last Easter, Fulani herdsmen carried out an attack on morning Mass at Saint Ignatius Catholic Church in Mbalom, central Nigeria, leaving two priests and at least 17 parishioners dead. About 30 attackers also ransacked a burial ceremony and burned dozens of homes in the community, according to reports.
On March 4, Fulani militants in the Benue state reportedly attacked three villages, killing 23 people with bullets and machetes, according to International Christian Concern.
Also in March, 52 people were killed, dozens injured and around 143 homes were destroyed in attacks on the villages of Inkirimi, Dogonnoma and Ungwan Gora in the Maro district of the Kajuru Local Government Area.
PRAY
Pray for the bereaved that they will know the comfort and presence of God in their grief.
Pray that the extremists will be brought to justice.
Pray for the Government of Nigeria to have greater success with resolving this longstanding issue.
The Situation in the North
In the weeks following the Hanoi Summit, the issue of North Korean denuclearization has been in the news a lot. As evidence mounts that the North is rebuilding a major missile launching site that it had been dismantling, Trump has been warning against just that. The commander of U.S. forces in South Korea states that North Korea's activities are "insconsistent" with denuclearization. While the U.S. also believes that North Korea wants to continue denuclearization talks, the North has threatened to discontinue them. In the meantime, the U.S. has been reaching out to China to help with the situation. To be honest, I don't thing anyone really knows what will happen; however, the website, 38 North, has a number of very thoughtful articles on the whole denuclearization process. I recommend taking a look. There are some hopeful developments in Trump cancelling additional sanctions and the UN lowering sanction barriers for humnitarian work, specifically by the Mennonite Central Committee. Pray for things to open up for other humanitarian organizations as well.
A few brief items. Here's a story on how Russian technicians keep the North Korean leaders' bodies looking fresh. North Koreans are managing to get outside media through new smartphone aps and as workers overseas. Pray that they learn about the things that are really important and don't spend all their time on dramas...
Remembering Our Brothers in Prison We continue to pray for six South Koreans held in the North as well as Daily NK journalist, Choi Song Min (alias). Here's information on the pastors and others who have been detained and released. Please remember them in your prayers.
MOSCOW - In Verkhnebakansky, a town just outside Novorossiisk on Russia's Black Sea Coast, Baptists gather in a small house with a set of windows in the shape of a Christian cross.
Their presence in the Krasnodar region goes back 110 years, the past 25 of which -- since the Soviet collapse and the opening up of religious expression -- have seen a faith long repressed by authorities flourish once again.
So it was a shock when, on April 7, as some 50 congregants celebrated Annunciation, law enforcement agents stormed in and interrupted the service.
According to presbyter Yevgeny Kokora, the choir temporarily halted its rendition of Jesus Is My Lighthouse while the pastor pleaded with the officers. They wrote up a report and left just as the service was drawing to a close.
The following day, Kokora went with 71-year-old pastor YuryKorniyenko to the prosecutor's office in Novorossiisk, seeking to file an official complaint. They were told the prosecutor wouldn't be taking visitors for the next three weeks. The local branch of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) heard the two Baptists out, Kokora told RFE/RL, but made no promises.
On April 9, Korniyenko received a court summons and was subsequently charged with engaging in illegal missionary work. His case will be heard this week, and he faces a hefty fine if convicted.
"This is the first time we've had such troubles," Kokora told RFE/RL in a telephone interview. "I don't understand who needs this, who's playing this card."
While freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed in Russia, the relevant legislation names Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as the country's four traditional, protected religions. Others with smaller presences in Russia, including denominations like Baptists, have been subjected to increased scrutiny in recent years.
In 2016, Russia introduced a package of laws outlawing missionary work outside officially designated places of worship, part a broader crackdown on minority faiths operating in the country.
The new laws have been cited as necessary measures in the state's fight against extremism and have led to charges against hundreds of religious activists across the country and, in 2017, to an outright ban on Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination with headquarters in the United States.
Roman Lunkin, a religious expert at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RFE/RL that the Baptists in the Krasnodar region are falling victim to "not so much an expansion" of the government's campaign against minority religions as "its logical continuation."
The implication, he said, is that the clampdown will spread.
So far, the Baptist church in Russia has kept comparatively under the radar, despite a flock that Lunkin estimates at more than 250,000 people. Its members stand out from those of other minority faiths through their strong "civic stance," Lunkin said -- many are community leaders or members of local government.
But in November, its adherents were shaken by news that a pastor in Tatarstan had been fined 20,000 rubles ($310) for organizing an unsanctioned public gathering: A group of Baptists had assembled that June to watch him baptize their newest member in the Kama River.
Kokora said he believes the campaign against his congregation is a largely local affair, a case of officials trying to curry favor with their superiors. He noted that Novorossiisk has seen several similar cases in recent weeks, but faith groups in other parts of Krasnodar have been largely left alone.
In March, the Pentecostal meeting house in Novorosiisk was torn down after officials declared it an unauthorized construction. Seventh-Day Adventists in the city have been banned from gathering for worship, Kokora said. They now travel to Gelendzhik, 50 kilometers away.
On March 1, law enforcement officers in Novorossiisk detained two Mormons -- Americans KoleBrodowski, 20, and David Gaag, 19 -- on suspicion of violating Russian immigration law. They were released two weeks later and deported to the United States.
The Baptist congregation in Verkhnebakansky has felt pressure from the authorities grow over the past year, according to Kokora. He said they've had weekly calls from officials demanding summaries of the latest sermon delivered, as well as reports on attendance.
On April 21, the deputy head of the Russian Baptist Union, Viktor Ignatenkov, visited Verkhnebakansky to discuss the April 7 incident and the possible legal repercussions for local church members. The meetings "gave everyone a sense of confidence in God's intercession," the church said in a statement on April 23.
Kokora, who spent four years working in the Novorossiisk administration and was a member of the city's civic council, said he is reluctant to try and leverage his official contacts and plans instead to take the legal route by appealing to the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights in Moscow.
"We have laws, and we have courts. Let's fix this through a legal framework," he said.
That council may be the last hope for groups who feel targeted for their faith.
On December 11, in a meeting with council members, President Vladimir Putin suggested that official policy toward some religions should be liberalized.
"We probably can, and even at some point should, be much more liberal toward representatives of various religious sects," he said.
Putin ordered Supreme Court Justice Vyacheslav Lebedev to oversee the drafting of a general legal framework for adjudicating cases brought against religious groups. The deadline is July 1.
Kokora is among thousands of believers vesting their hopes in the initiative as a chance to reverse what they see as a tightening of the screws on Russia’s minority faiths.
In the meantime, he awaits the court's judgment.
"If this case becomes a precedent, then all our congregations will fall like a house of cards," he said. "The administration's hands will be untied."
Pray for theseefforts of Kokorato succeed -as he challenges the government’soppressive treatment of people due to them practicing their faith.
Pray for the persecuted Christians and their families. May they be richly rewarded for being strong in adversity.
Sri Lankan Christians fear more attacks are coming as the nation is still in mourning over the horrific bombings on Easter Sunday.
At least 253 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded. Thursday the number was decreased from 350 to 253, officials explaining that they initially thought many people had been killed due to unidentifiable body parts.
In two major cities in Sri Lanka it's very quiet as residents and office workers are staying indoors and shops are closed. There's concern that more attacks are on the way with the US embassy warning that terrorists could target places of worship again this weekend.
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe issued a stark warning Thursday saying, "Well, they've rounded up a lot of suspects but there are still some of the active people on the run. They may be having explosives with them, or they may have hidden the explosives so we have to find the suspects as well as the explosives. So that's still on."
Meanwhile, the military is actively seeking some 140 people suspected of having links to the Islamic State.
Last Sunday's bombings were one of the world's worst terrorist attacks since 9/11, but there's still a sense that Americans don't grasp that Christians around the world are so targeted. In fact, the New York Times ran an opinion piece this week asking "Are Christians Privileged or Persecuted?"
Doug Bandow, an analyst at the CATO Institute answers that question writing, "Christianity's dominant role in American culture has obscured the fact that it is the most persecuted faith globally."
And Emma Green, an Atlantic writer, says that Easter has become an "anniversary of death, "noting Easter attacks on Christians in Egypt and Nigeria in the last several years.
Religious freedom advocate Dr. Daniel Mark tells CBN New the attacks show how believers in the West need to be more aware of global persecution of Christians.
"I think Christians should -- Christians who of course are extremely charitable and extremely caring to people worldwide -- could even so take a lesson in this and make sure that on the top of their mind at all times is the persecuted church around the world which makes us appreciate what we have here, too, and makes us more mindful of what we need to protect what we have here."
Please take time to intercede for Sri Lanka using these guidelines supplied by Leslie Keegel, one of our senior leaders, who lives in the country:
- The death toll as of now is at 253 persons and people on the injured list is at 359. Attacks and attempts of attack are still in the air.
- Please pray for the public, fear, anxiety and hopelessness is high.
- For the government and rulers to be united and intentionally decisive to overcome enemy factions.
- It is discovered that ISIS is behind these attacks. They are looking for more opportunities to strike churches and Christians.
- Shops, offices, schools are closed, people who are dependent on daily wages are not finding work. Therefore, starvation and frustration is creeping in.
- Public demonstrations against the government are threatened.
- It is learnt that our decision makers do not see eye to eye with each other, therefore important decisions are not being made.
- There is leadership failure therefore there is economic, social and political instability in our nation.
- The forces of darkness in high places are raging against the Church and her leadership.
- The Church must receive strength and comfort to battle against the powers of darkness.
- Please pray that the support lines would be cut and resources would stop flowing to the ISIS leadership here.
- Pray for the Church to be United in Tragedy: The Evangelical and Pentecostal Churches stand together in solidarity with the Catholic Church during this time of tragedy and share their pain and sorrow as the whole Body of Christ is suffering.
- Pray that this unity will be a witness to the nation.
- Pray that the funeral services will be a powerful witness of forgiveness and reconciliation and also of the living Hope to other religious communities.
- Pray for the opportunity for the Church to reach out to the Moslem community as well.
- Pray for the Grieving Families: Sri Lanka had been through 30 year of war and seen immense suffering and bloodshed and also natural tragedies like the Tsunami. The Church has been both victims and instruments of God’s grace to bring relief and comfort to the suffering. We are working together to help with families with the funerals and provide ongoing emotional and other support.
- Pray for Christians to have courage and hope: This attack specifically targeting Christians and have resulted in the largest number of martyrs of the recent history. The Sri Lankan Church wants to honor their sacrifice and want the families to know that they have not died in vain.
- The Church must be strong in opposition and suffering because we believe that Sri Lanka is destined for Revival.
Thank you very much for your partnership in prayer.
The leader of Sudan's interim military council has vowed to "uproot the regime" two days after a military coup.
Speaking on TV, Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan announced the restructuring of state institutions, the end of a night curfew and the release of political prisoners.
Protests continue despite the ousting of long-time leader Omar al-Bashir.
Demonstrators have demanded an immediate move to civilian rule and vow to stay in the streets.
Gen Burhan, who replaced the coup leader after he resigned on Friday, also dissolved all provincial governments and pledged respect for human rights.
The army would maintain "peace, order and security" across Sudan during an already announced transition period that would last at most two years until elections could be and civilian rule introduced, he added.
Using a more conciliatory tone, Gen Burhan also called on the opposition to "help us restore normal life", promised to try those who killed demonstrators and vowed a war on corruption.
The speech followed the resignation of feared security chief Gen Salah Gosh hours after the coup leader himself, Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf, stepped aside. No official reason has been given for either departure.
Later on Saturday the army named Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as the deputy head of the Transitional Military Council.
Known by the nickname "Hemeti", the general commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), which grew out of the government-backed Janjaweed militia.
The Janjaweed are accused of carrying out atrocities in the western region of Darfur in the early 2000s.
What has the opposition said?
Opposition groups have met the military to discuss "transitional arrangements".
Protester spokesman Mohammad Youssef al-Mustafa told the BBC they insisted on the immediate creation of a civilian government, but said military figures would be allowed a role in it.
And according to the privately-owned Baj News website the leader of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, Omar el-Digeir, said representatives had demanded a civilian government with "full executive powers" and a role for civilians during the transition.
He also said they were waiting for the army to release jailed demonstrators, as promised.
The Sudan Professionals Association (SPA), which has been spearheading the demonstrations, said the council's response "did not achieve any of the demands of the people" and urged protests to continue.
Among its demands are the restructuring of state security, the arrest of "corrupt leaders" and the dissolution of militias that operated under former President Bashir.
How did we get here?
When Mr Bashir was removed, he was replaced by a military council led by Mr Ibn Auf.
But demonstrators camping out outside army headquarters in the capital Khartoum refused to disperse, rejecting Mr Ibn Auf as an ally of Mr Bashir.
Mr Ibn Auf was head of military intelligence during the Darfur conflict and the US imposed sanctions on him in 2007.
On Friday the new leader announced he was resigning and being replaced by Gen Burhan, who is seen as a less controversial figure.
Protestors have called for the abolition of "arbitrary decisions by leaders that do not represent the people" and the detention of "all symbols of the former regime who were involved in crimes against the people".
"Until these demands are fully met, we must continue with our sit-in at the General Command of the Armed Forces," the SPA said.
On Saturday, Sudanese TV reported the resignation of Gen Gosh, head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) which has powerful forces within the capital.
The general has been a key ally of Mr Bashir since the early 1990s and is among 17 Sudanese officials indicted for genocide, human right abuses and war crimes in the Darfur region by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2009.
The NISS has extensive powers and influence, supervising the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
More:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47918736
Pray for a peaceful transition back to democratic elections
Pray that those who have led unjustly or corruptly will be held accountable.
Pray that the interim leaders do not take unfair advantage of the situation.
By: Richard Pérez-Peña (New York Times, 4/9/2019)
Trying to reverse a stinging setback, Turkey’s ruling party on Tuesday demanded a redo of last week’s election for mayor of Istanbul, the country’s largest city and long a source of power and prestige for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The extraordinary stance came as it became increasingly clear that a days-long recounting of ballots would not change the result that Binali Yildirim, the candidate of Mr. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, known as the A.K.P., had lost to the opposition candidate, EkremImamoglu, in the March 31 election.
Mr. Erdogan’s party had already demanded a recount of spoiled ballots in all of Istanbul and a full recount in some of the city’s districts. When that did not change the result, it called for a recount of the entire Istanbul vote, which the High Election Council refused.
The latest demand now puts the High Election Council squarely on the spot and threatens to precipitate a crisis for both Istanbul and the entire country, becoming the latest test of democratic institutions already groaning under the authoritarian strains of Mr. Erdogan’s 16 years in power.
“I find the chances extremely high that the election board will accept A.K.P.’s request to repeat the elections,’’ said SonerCagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
‘‘Far from being independent, the election board, like other institutions, has fallen under Erdogan’s power, and I would say the board has thus far taken steps to facilitate Erdogan’s each and every next move,’’ he added.
He noted that the council had already allowed a recount of invalid ballots, even though the A.K.P. presented no credible evidence, other than a narrow margin, that there had been irregularities.
That has not stopped the party or the president from alleging that the irregularities were systemic in Istanbul, where the candidates are separated by less than 0.3 percent of almost nine million votes cast.
“We will use the extraordinary appeal grounds and say we want to renew the elections in Istanbul,” Ali Ihsan Yavuz, the deputy head of the party, said at a televised news conference in Ankara, the capital. “Everywhere in Istanbul, organized acts were done. That is why we called it organized irregularity.”
Mr. Erdogan himself has cast doubt on the election and pressed the case for a do-over by citing examples of American elections where the margin was so narrow that the balloting was redone.
“Irregularities are not just a few, almost entirely it is irregular,” he said on Monday of the election in Istanbul, speaking at Ataturk Airport before leaving for a visit to Moscow.
Murat Yetkin, formerly the editor in chief of Hurriyet Daily News, wrote on his blog this week that even those in the president’s circle were divided about how far to push the challenge, with a small, determined group urging the president to “put his weight for renewing Istanbul elections.”
A second, larger group of more experienced politicians have argued to accept the results, because the challenge is actually benefiting Mr. Imamoglu by elevating his stature.
Judging by Mr. Erdogan’s statement this week, the hard-liners may be carrying the day, though it may also be a way for the president ‘‘to manage the trauma,’’ said OzgurUnluhisarcikli, the Ankara director of German Marshall Fund.
‘‘This looks like more to redefine the defeat in Istanbul as if it was actually won but stolen by illegitimate means,’’ said Mr. Unluhisarcikli, who noted that a new election would actually be quite risky for the president as the economy continues to deteriorate.
“I do not believe that Erdogan actually wants to renew the elections,’’ Mr. Unluhisarcikli said. ‘‘The economic realities do not allow this. It would be a huge gamble.’’
The result in Istanbul carries enormous weight, however, and there are clear incentives for the president and his party to fight a loss.
With 15 million people, most of them on the European side of the Bosporus, Istanbul is the most populous city on the Continent and Turkey’s economic capital. It is also Mr. Erdogan’s hometown and has long been a base of support for him.
Just as important, the opposition and some analysts say, the city has become a vital source of wealth in a network of cronyism and nepotism that has benefited from the awarding of municipal contracts and the distribution of city funds to charitable foundations with links to the president’s family.
Even before he has been officially declared the winner, Mr. Imamoglu, who ran for the opposition Republican People’s Party, has vowed to open the books of the city, which Mr. Erdogan and his party have controlled since 2002, to expose long-simmering accusations of corruption.
“The result of this election is clear,’’ Mr. Imamoglu said at a televised news conference on Tuesday, when he repeated his desire to take office and start working immediately. ‘‘The streets accepted the result. You can work hard and win five years later. We have won, admit it.”
Last week, Mr. Imamoglu said that with its continuing challenges to the result of the election, Mr. Erdogan’s party was stalling for time so that it could erase City Hall records from computers before independent auditors could carry out the review he promises.
Such allegations have taken on more weight with voters as the Turkish economy falters, undercutting the president’s long record of nearly unbroken economic growth. Turkey entered recession this year, and the currency, the lira, has continued to slide amid increasing worry by investors and markets.
The opposition party also won a close mayoral election in Ankara, a result that the election council has finalized. The potential loss of Istanbul would place both the country’s political and financial capitals in opposition hands.
Taken together with rest of the results from the March 31 elections, the balloting reflected increasing discontent among voters with Mr. Erdogan, who has concentrated executive powers, carried out a sweeping purge of opponents after a failed 2016 coup, and brought a once-vibrant news media to heel.
The High Election Council must consider the request by Mr. Erdogan’s party for a new election, but the opposition party insisted that the result was legitimate and clear.
“Both legally and conscientiously, there is no obstacle to giving EkremImamoglu his mayoral certificate,” FaikOztrak, the opposition spokesman, said in televised remarks. “Mr. Imamoglu is right now the elected mayor of Istanbul, as he was on the morning of April 1.”
He pointed out that Mr. Erdogan’s A.K.P. party had won many districts in Istanbul as well as other towns across the country, results that were not being challenged.
“So when A.K.P. mayors are elected it is the national will, but when the votes go to Imamoglu, it is dubious,’’ Mr. Oztrak said. ‘‘Even crows laugh at that. They should leave the nation alone.”
Pray for Turkey government
- We continue to pray that current Turkey government would heed to the final result of March 31 election in Istanbul as well, not calling for new vote.
- Pray that Turkish people would have the final and decisive voice regarding all political matters and ruling their own country as a democracy.
- Pray that all peoples in Turkey would find the True and Eternal Hope in Jesus Christ and His Kingdom rather than any earthly government.
More:http://silkwavemission.com/board.php?board=english&command=body&no=1037
30 April – 2 May 2019
For the seventh consecutive year, Australia is calling the nations of the world to join with them in 3 days of prayer and fasting for the United States of America, from 30 April – 2 May 2019.
May 2 is America’s National Day of Prayer.
The theme is “Pray for America –LOVE ONE ANOTHER” John 13:34.
http://www.nationaldayofprayer.org
April 30 is America’s National Day of Repentance. http://www.dayofrepentance1.org
Promo YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J85mThITKyQ
Facebook Video: https://www.facebook.com/nationaldayofprayerandfasting/videos/681908912226702
President Reagan renewed the call for a National Day of Prayer in 1982 and said, “The first National Day of Prayer was proclaimed in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. As thousands gathered in prayer in places of worship and encampments throughout the new land, the dispersed colonists found a new spirit of unity and resolve in this remarkable expression of public faith.”
Commissioner James Condon, Chairman of the National Day of Prayer & Fasting team, said,“ God has done amazing things in America since we began to pray and fast each year for the USA, but God can do greater things yet! We in Australia believe it is our turn to stand in the gap for the nation of America and pray for revival and transformation for the USA through prayer and fasting according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. The theme “LOVE ONE ANOTHER” is something that inspires us here in Australia too!
Melissa Haigh, a member of the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team, talking about the history of prayer in the USA said, “President Abraham Lincoln, on 30 April 1863 called for a Day of ‘Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting’ at a time of great national crisis. Lincoln’s prayer and faith is a great encouragement to us today. Both America and Australia need to come back to God in repentance and humility.”
Ps Warwick Marsh, also from the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team, said, “America and Australia need revival and reformation. We need more of JESUS. We invite you and the nations of the world to join with us in three days of prayer and fasting for the USA, that JESUS would be magnified.”
James Condon | Melissa Haigh |Warwick Marsh
National Day of Prayer & Fasting. http://www.nationaldayofprayer.org.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nationaldayofprayerandfasting
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge" (Psalm 19:1-2).
I am always amazed when I read and study the vastness of creation! My son and I just finished studying a book called Indescribable, by Louie Giglio and Matt Redman.
We learned that astronomers now estimate there to be around 70 million millionmillion stars in the visible universe alone.
According to the best estimates of astronomers there are at least one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe. And our solar system is tiny compared to our Milky Way galaxy. By way of comparison, scientists say the size of our solar system relative to the Milky Way would be roughly the size of a quarter in an area as big as North America! One of the largest stars in our known universe is the IRS 65. If our sun stood only 18 inches high, then in comparison IRS 65 would stand as tall as Mount Everest.
Next up we learned about Neutron stars. Talk about the wow factor. Some astronomers estimate that neutron stars may actually be ten trillion ties denser than steel. Some neutron stars spin at rates of up to six hundred times per second. Wow! Astronomers estimate that the sun is around 27 million degrees Fahrenheit at its core. It burns up around 4 million tons of its own mass every second. And it's so huge that even at that rate it would last another 5 to 6 billion years! And the sun is just an average star in the universe among billions of others!
Job says, "Stop and consider God's wonders..." (Job 37:14).
"He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names." (Psalm 147:4).
"I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretches out the heavens" (Isa 44:24).
Genesis says that Godspoke these galaxies into existence with mere sentences. He upholds all things by the word of his power! Wow! And yet Job declares that these are the mere fringes of his works,
"how faint the whisper we hear of him? Who then can understand the thunder of his power?" (Job 26:14).
I believe the thunder of God's power speaks of God's person, not just what he does but who He is! He is the All-Consuming One, the All-Sufficient One, the All-Satisfying One, and the All-Deserving One!
As David Bryant writes,
"He defies all human categories; there is no language that can adequately describe Him. He is the incomparable One! He remains in a class by himself...no duplicates, no clones. His importance eclipses all others. He outranks every other being in Heaven, earth, or hell. He is the exalted One; for all eternity he holds the primary focus of our praises. He holds a position of unrivaled distinction, prestige, and majesty.
He will be the joy of all peoples, the desire of all nations. He is the Victorious One. None of his enemies will prevail, he will defeat all of his foes unconditionally-both human and demonic and will emerge forever unthreatened, unhindered, and victorious over all opposition, permanently and forever.
He is the Preeminent and Supreme One...in time and space and history he lays claim to the universe, it all belongs to Him. He is the all sufficient One. Nothing can exhaust his power or resources. He will forever prove totally adequate for all of our longings, fears, needs or heart cries. He is faithful and true!"(David Bryant, Christ is All, pg. 41-42)
He is indescribable in his beauty, unfathomable in his wisdom! He is outstanding! He is the well-spring of eternity, the fountainhead of all glory; glory that flows from him and through him and back to him! He is the dazzling one, the radiant one, the chandelier of heaven, and the Light of the World! Jesus' countenance is said to be brighter than the sun. The worth of Jesus is so stunning that the angelic host of the heavens collapse under the weight of his Glory! Literally 100 million angels catch a glimpse of Glory and fall down saying, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth, and wisdom and mighty and honor and glory and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).
One of the most astounding verses in Scripture is found in Revelation 20:11,
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them."
The entire universe flees away and is no more when God turns his face towards creation at the end of the age! Wow! There are simply no words to adequately describe the awesome power, presence and glory of the uncreated God. The more we understand the Scriptures, the more majestic and magnificent and awesome Jesus Christ is. May our worship, prayer and service to Him be a direct reflection of that wonder and awe!
And to think that this God is the God who pursues us, who takes delight in us, who enjoys us even in our weakness! As Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV) declares, "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he rejoices over you with gladness; he quiets you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."
I believe it is God's aim to ravish the affections of the human race with irresistible displays of his GLORY!
We were made to know and experience the Glory of God! To enjoy and treasure the Glory of God! His glory becomes our JOY! He is our great Treasure. He is our exceeding Joy! (Psalm 34).
Amen and Amen!
Dr Jason Hubbard- Executive Coordinator
IPC Connect
“Year of the Frontier” is a time to pray in agreement for the largest gaps in work among the unreached! Frontier Peoples are those unreached groups which have fewer than 1 in 1,000 believers and little work among them.
These groups represent huge gaps for the gospel. In particular, Year of the Frontier will focus on the approx. 400 Frontier people groups over 500,000 in size each for daily specific prayer May 2019-June 2020.
This steps up from The Thirty-One booklet (which covered the 31 largest Frontier Peoples).
The 400 Frontier People Groups (over 500,000 in population):
- 1 in 5 of all people live in the 400 largest FPGs.
- 1 in 3 of all who don't identify with Jesus live in the 400 largest FPGs.
- 9 of every 10 who live in Frontier People Groups live in the 400 largest FPGs.
Until Jesus-followers unite in obeying His commission, these masses have no hope of hearing about and being introduced to Jesus before they die.
The Great Injustice:
- 1 in 9,000 living in the 400 largest FPGs identifies with Jesus in any way.
- 1 in 15,000 living in the 400 largest FPGs is estimated to follow Jesus.
- 1 in 100 cross-cultural laborers is estimated to work among these 400 FPGs.
Try out these Resource Options in support of this initiative:
More information: https://www.go31.org/
Printable prayer guides & Abbreviated Calendars: https://prayerstrategists.net/about/prayer-guides/
Or https://joshuaproject.net/prayer/calendars
To get daily prayer materials via email:
https://joshuaproject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday/email
or http://www.globalprayerdigest.org Then submit your email in the top right-hand box.
For the podcast:
Go to iTunes and search for “Global Prayer Digest” or try this link: Globalprayerdigest.libsyn.com
To download the App:
For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=umot.tw.gdp
For iPhones: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/global-prayer-digest/id1181417800?l=es&mt=8
UPG of the Day Widget to customize for your website: https://joshuaproject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday/widget
Draw close to God by embracing His urgent passion to bless these frontier People Groups.
Your prayers are vital to ending this Great Injustice.
For the joy set before us...
Liz Adleta
Global Prayer Strategist
Fellowship of Prayer Strategists, the Ethne Movement, & the 24:14 Coalition
Web: www.ethne.net/www.prayerstrategists.net&https://www.2414now.net/
As this incense of worship and prayer has begun to rise across the Middle East, an unprecedented harvest is taking place among Muslim peoples. We have heard the same testimony in multiple nations across the region,
“As soon as we started the House of Prayer, we started seeing more salvations, healings and deliverance than ever before.”
Up until last year we had been doing these 50/100 hour Prayer and Worship gatherings together in Turkey and N. Iraq. Last year, the Lord gathered multiple nations across the Middle East to join in a symphony of prayer and worship together for 50 hours.
The dates for this year are April 11-13.
LOCATIONS:
As of now, there are multiple locations that are planning on hosting a 50 hours this April.
Turkey- ISTHOP
Jordan- JHOP
- N. Iraq- MHOP
U.A.E- TASK
Egypt- The Upper Room - Alexandria (for 12 hours)
PRAYER POINTS:
We want there to be as much agreement as possible between the locations as we gather together. We will be contending together for five promises that the Lord has been speaking to us over the past few years.
We encourage you to take focused time over the 50 hours to pray through these promises as well as the numerous prophetic promises that are over your House of Prayer specifically.
- Children/youth revival across the region.
This is becoming a major focus for this 50 hours. In the vision Rick Ridings had before the first 50 hours in 2014, he saw that a youth/children's revival arising out of the ME as the altar of worship and prayer was established. We are praying for Young Leaders (Timothys) to be raised up in the region and for spiritual fathers and mothers to mentor and come alongside them. - The nation of Syria.
Once again, we are surrounding this nation in prayer and worship. We believe there is a significant transition coming to Syria, possibly even during the 50 hours. We are praying for the rebuilding of the devastates cities (Isaiah 61) and for Mercy the people suffering in the nation..This 50 hours we will be praying for power in the evangelism happening in Syria and praying all the Syrians fleeing Syria to experience salvation wherever they go. - Establishment and strengthening of the Houses of Prayer across the Isaiah 19 highway.
For a prophetic worship movement to begun to be sung and altars of prayer and worship to be established. An indigenous prophetic worship movement among every people group and tribe across the highway. We are also praying for the Church to grow in the culture of adoration and prayer. - The Church in the Middle East.
For a release of Joy, strength for Pastors and leaders, and an indigenous missions and church planting movement. We are also continuing to carry a word for stadiums filled with believers boldly worshiping and praying. - For a great harvest among unreached peoples.
We believe that today is the day of salvation, now is the time for true repentance and true conversions across the Middle East! We are praying for eyes to be opened and the spiritual blindness to be lifted off in Jesus name! We are also contending for the growing number of atheist youth in the Middle East experience the power of God, witness miracles, and encounter Jesus.
We are so grateful for your leadership in this 50-hour prayer event. There is a strong sense from the Lord that each of these locations will be like an “upper room” environment where God want to release a spirit of prayer, unto baptisms of fire, unto gospel assignments!
I would encourage you to sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing in the room and flow with Him. This is about hosting the presence and glory of God for two days together across the entire region!
Go for His presence above all else!
Please pray with these five points in mind that there will be breakthrough after breakthrough across the needy and challenging region.
Let's trust God together to do something truly extraordinary, chaining the atmosphere in Syria, Iraq and the region as a whole.
www.FreedomToCaptives.com