Tag: christianity

Morning Reading: Luke 18:1-8 NLT – persistent prayer

Reading: Luke 18:1-8 NLT

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

image

“There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!”

“But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Make me as persistent in my love for you… as you are in your love for me. Holy Spirit – Help me to express my love for you in prayer. Heavenly Father – Hear the cries of my heart… and grant me your peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Spiritual Song: “One Thing Remains” – Jesus Culture

Please pray for Nigerian Christians – World Watch List #13

Persecuted Church: Nigeria North – World Watch List #13 (Open Doors UK)

map_nigeriaPopulation: 166.6 million (88 million Christians)
Main Religion: Islam
Source of Persecution: Islamic extremism

The Islamist agenda to bring Nigeria under the ‘House of Islam’ versus the election of a southern Christian as President has caused much unrest. The Islamist group, Boko Haram, has claimed the lives of at least 800 Christians. The decisions of local government, especially in the twelve northern Sharia states, mean that Christians experience restrictions in schooling, threats of abduction, forced marriage, as well as denial of employment, clean water and healthcare. It is dangerous to convert and for churches to integrate new converts.

Nigeria 1Please Pray:

  • Give thanks that believers are responding to recent pressure with increased prayer, evangelism and care for Muslim Background Believers
  • That Christian youths will resist the temptation to respond with violence to Muslim attacks
  • For Open Doors workers providing emergency support and trauma counseling to victims of attacks.

Religious_and_Ethnic_map_of_NigeriaPersecution dynamics

The pattern of persecution in Nigeria is complex, especially for the twelve northern Sharia states, where local government and social groups leave hardly any space for Christians to live their own lives.

Conversion is dangerous and Muslim-background believers and Christians in many northern states suffer restrictions in schooling, threats of abduction and forced marriage. They have also been denied employment and facilities such as clean water, clinics and roads. It is very difficult for churches to openly integrate new converts from Islam.

Persecution levels vary across the country and are underlined by terrorist action and an unpredictable environment, which leaves Christians living in fear. Continue reading “Please pray for Nigerian Christians – World Watch List #13” →

Morning Reading: Luke 17.20-37 (NLT) – Kingdom come

Reading: Luke 17.20-37 (NLT)

One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

awesome-lightning_1683593iThen he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

“And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business — eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building — until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”

“Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.

Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – prepare my heart, my life, for your return. May I hold all things lightly. And come quickly. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Never Saw You Coming” – Bebo Norman

2nd Sunday of Easter: John 20:24-29 NLT – believing without seeing

Reading: John 20:24-29 NLT

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

image
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
(Caravaggio, 1601-1602)

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Prayer/Video: “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord” – by Michael W Smith

Morning Reading: Luke 17:11-19 NLT – gratitude

Reading: Luke 17:11-19 NLT

As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Ten LepersJames Christensen
Ten Lepers
James Christensen

He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

Prayer: Psalm 103