Month: September 2012

Please pray for believers in Bangladesh

September 7 | Bangladesh – Female Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) in Bangladesh come to Christ through the conversion of their husbands. They need teaching opportunities to know more about their salvation in Jesus Christ.

Open Doors will open discipleship classes which have been especially designed for them, starting in August.

Please pray for God’s blessing for the organizers, teachers and participants.

BANGLADESH is one of the most densely populated countries in the world – with a total of 161 million crowded in at 2600 people / square mile. Most of the country is less than 40 ft above sea level and, because of it’s extensive water delta system, is prone to flooding and natural disaster.  In September 1998, Bangladesh saw the most severe flooding in modern world
history – Wikipedia.

Islam is the largest religion of Bangladesh; Muslims constitute 89.5 % of the population followed by Hindus who constitute  9.6 %. The remainder of Bangladeshis practice other religions such as Buddhism and Christianity.[1] 

The plight of Bangladesh’s approximately 1.4 million believers is described by Open Doors – click here.

In June 2011  the government decided to retain Islam as the state religion. Amendments to the  constitution are being proposed which seek to restore certain aspects of  secularism, but for the Christian minority, little change is expected. In  general, believers have freedom to worship. However, conversion from Islam is  considered shameful and evangelising Muslims is risky. Local authorities and  the Muslim majority may disturb church meetings or put believers under  pressure. There were reports of Christians being physically harmed, and homes  or meeting places attacked.

“May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.” (Gen. 28:3)

Morning Reading: John 6.18-20 NLT

Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!”
John 6.18-20 NLT

Denialist Democrats – Matt Welch | Reason.com

Peanut Gallery: The elephant in the Arena – the US National Debt Clock – click here.

Last night’s speeches were notable less for what they contained and more for what they did not: any engagement with the issue of having a debt load (of $16 trillion) that is now larger than GDP, of having a long-forecasted entitlement time bomb marching northward toward 100 percent of federal spending, of having underfunded obligations in the trillions of dollars promised by politicians addicted to handing out “free” benefits.

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DENIALIST DEMOCRATS – Matt Welch|Sep. 5, 2012 8:30 am

CHARLOTTE — What was your favorite unintentionally revealing moment of Tuesday night’s kickoff of the Democratic National Convention? Was it the welcome-to-Charlotte video whose narrator let slip that “government is the only thing that we all belong to”? Perhaps Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s exhortation to “make the will of the people the law of the land”? Or former Ohio gov. Ted Strickland’s thunderous, populist twaddle about “economic patriotism”?

All of these were fun, but for me the biggest direct reveal of how current Democratic rhetoric leads to bad public policy was one of the evening’s honorary former Republicans, Cincinnati firefighter Doug Stern. “The Republican Party left people like me,” Stern complained. “Somewhere along the way, being a public employee—someone who works for my community—made me a scapegoat for the GOP. Thank goodness we have leaders like President Obama and Vice President Biden who still believe that public service is an honorable calling.”

It was classic major-party Manicheasm: Eastasians do bad things for the simple reason that their hearts are bad; Eurasians’ hearts are good, so they don’t do bad things. Continue reading “Denialist Democrats – Matt Welch | Reason.com” →

Please pray for believers in Lebanon

September 6 | Lebanon – The potential of Christian TV is exciting. Some of the live programs have been made in parts of the Arab World where death is looming, and the response from the local population has been tremendous.

Pray that the Lord will speak to the hearts of people when they see these programs, and for people who are ready to sacrifice their own lives to bring the message of hope to them.

Christianity has a long history in Lebanon – see Wikipedia. Various Christian sects make up approximately 39% of Lebanon’s population – Wikipedia – however, politics and religion are fused and sectarian violence is a reality of life. Added to the tension is the civil war in Syria which threatens to spill over into Lebanon.

Please pray for protection and direction… a willingness to follow Jesus day-to-day.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Phil. 1:21)