Monday, July 5, 2010

Look at What I Found!

Take Ten, Volume 5

admin | Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 | No Comments »

Ten requests are provided for those willing to go before the Father on behalf of the SEA Peoples Affinity Group.  These ten requests can be read through in about 10 minutes.  So little time but, oh what the Father can do through your interceding can have an amazing impact.  Won’t you join with us and PRAY?

Pray for three Thai men who have, happily, become Followers of Jesus.  Ask that their faith would be proved to be genuine and their temptation to be followers of men would be laid aside.  Ask that their interest in language learning from these men would not be the “main attraction” but instead the Son would be the focus of their affections and intentions.

“I am just so tired of working!  They make me haul 20 feed bags of corn before I can take a break! “Y”, a single mom with only a sixth grade education, has worked since she was 11 years old. Her worries used to consume her, but now things are different, she is beginning to depend on Jesus. She shares stories reflecting the care of the Lord. Pray for “Y” to trust in God’s perfect provision and to learn from Him in prayer and from His Word. Please pray “Y” and her daughter will find true rest in the Son and commit their lives to loving and serving Him.

At the end of this month, students from various locations will arrive, teaching and reaching out to students. Please pray that the labor of these groups will bear much fruit for the kingdom and that these students will come away from their experience with a great hunger to be more involved in God’s purposes for the world. Ask the Father to help with all the logistical details involved in these endeavors.

They have been building a relationship with KB, for the past few months. She now has become a follower of Jesus.  As she shares with her family, the persecution begins.  They said she was crazy. Her father said she must deny Jesus or be beaten.  KB said she wants to stay with Jesus. What would you do?  Ask that her relationship with the Son will flourish in the midst of difficulty.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Matthew 5:11-12

Many in the village don’t understand why she would move back to the village since they know she could make a lot more money living elsewhere.  She is the only follower in this Buddhist area.  It is said that no one comes to share the Story in this area because the people have a reputation for being stern and intimidating!  Her greatest desire is to see her family and fellow villagers come to know the Son. Pray that she have many opportunities to share the Story with boldness and clarity.  Pray that she has discernment as a younger family member has heard and believed though now seems to be struggling with many questions. Ask that she that she will be wise in discipling him as he charters new ground as the lone believing boy in his school and village.

“The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful.”  Join in asking for…

  • A rattan shop owner and his family to hear the voice of the Father calling them to salvation.
  • A dispirited leader to have his faith be fanned back to life.
  • The efforts of a hard working shepherd as he shares the Story of the Son to bear much fruit.
  • A lone believer to soon have others in her village to fellowship with her.
  • An older farmer to be empowered to shine as light in his village.

Continue to pray for young people who are living in M communities for several weeks making Him known.  The Word is being proclaimed and lives are being changed and as is to be expected, there has been great opposition. They have had great resistance in one area, having their bags searched and some of their things taken in an attempt to scare them away.  Pray for their faith to grow and with it their boldness to share.  Pray that they will have discernment and clearly hear from Him along the way.  Pray for His glory and for a harvest to be seen in this place.

Training with local believers in 2 areas is going well.  Learning to share their testimonies and the good news presentation and then doing it is a great achievement.  Pray that as goals are set to share, training on how to put this into practice, and boldness will result in the Kingdom being expanded in these areas.

A few weeks ago Mr. M and his crew were asked to make a wooden cross as an Easter decoration.  He had been forthright in sharing the Truth with co-workers on the maintenance crew.  Some co-workers ridiculed him, but he was mostly unaffected by the abuse he invited by sharing.  When they finished making the cross, they placed it against the wall and made Mr. M stand in front of it with his hands outstretched as if he were the one being crucified.  They even placed a crown of thorns they had made on his head – all the while giving him a hard time about being a believer.  Mr. Martin says it was then that he started to cry.  As the men saw his tears, they felt bad and said they were sorry they had pushed things too far.  They really hadn’t intended to offend him.  But Mr. Martin immediately said his tears were not because of their mockery.  It was because, by standing as if he were being crucified, he realized how much Jesus had done for him.  Once again, Mr. M had the opportunity to share.  Ask that the Seeds of the Story he has planted will bear the fruit of Salvation.

“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:19:20, NIV).

A new believer was persecuted today because of her faith. Earlier, when she was persecuted for her beliefs she gave strong testimony about her relationship to Isa. She has not only continued to study the Book, but she is sharing with other people in the community. Her faith is known to her family and to religious leaders. After this recent incident, her faith is likely known throughout her community. Ask that God’s presence will guard her heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Ask that God will use her bold witness and transformed life to bring many people in her village to faith. Ask that God will bring deep conviction of sin and righteousness to those who are persecuting her.

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