Missions Monday

Ok, lookout ‘cause I’m going to preach, and not in a good way. I’m all worked up in my spirit about something that I want to share with you. (By the way, before reading this, go down to the bottom of the page and click on the number 6 song on the MP3 player for a better reading experience.) Now back to the post.

My prayer life sucks. OK? There I said it. Oh yea, I pray, but my prayers suck. Please pardon my indelicacy but it’s really the best word to use. I’ve read books about prayer; I’ve listened to sermons on prayer; but it sucks none the less. Why do you ask? Well I intend to tell you.

I listened to a missionary speak today. He’s from Iran. He talked about how people all over Iran are getting saved. Hundreds of thousands of people! He said that Iran is the most open muslim country to the gospel on the face of the earth. Think about that for a minute. I would have never thought. To be honest if you had asked me I would have told you that I thought it was probably one of the most closed societies to the gospel on the face of the earth. He also said that the church is on fire for God and they are dedicated to him no matter what.

The man began to talk about some of the people he knew about who had become Christians. One woman was brought before the Islamic court and was told that if she didn’t renounce Christ they would take her three year old daughter away. Her response…I can’t renounce my Lord. She hasn’t seen her daughter in six years. The girl would be nine now.

For those of you with kids, just stop and think about that for a few minutes. Can you imagine the horror of being in her shoes? Could you respond as she did? I didn’t know about her. My wife and I were planning our anniversary getaway today.

He’s got the little bitty babies, in His hands….. Do you believe it?

Then there are the two college girls who were sent to prison for being Christians. Seven months now they have been in prison. In August last year they were brought to court and told that they had to write and say that they denied Jesus is the Christ. They told the judge that they would not do so because God had spoken to them. The judge said, that is impossible, God does not speak to humans. The girls’ response…”are you questioning whether God is almighty?” The judge said “You are not worthy for God to speak to you.” The girls said “It is God, not you, who determines our worth”. The judge said, I am sending you back to prison, after you have had some time to think you can request to come back when you are ready to renounce your faith. The girls said, “We don’t need to think, our mind is already made up.” They are still in prison right now. I didn’t know about them. Did you watch the Grammy’s Sunday night?

He’s got the whole world in his hands…….. Do you believe it?

Don’t answer too quickly, because if you believe it, it has far reaching ramifications; deadly serious ones. See, the bible stories aren’t just stories. Daniel from the lions den…he was the prime minister of Iran. Esther, she was in Iran too. They both faced very difficult decisions because of their faith, in Iran. People are still facing these decisions RIGHT NOW, in Iran and many other places. What are you doing tonight?

Please don’t minimize what I am saying by justifying your lifestyle to me. I know that God intends for me to enjoy my life and my blessings. But we live in a very dangerous time in human history and we are at a serious disadvantage as Amercans. We are blind and deaf to the plight of most of the world because our comforts are all consuming. They take our time, our attention, and our money and they waste them all on what is passing away.

Acts 12:3-7 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.

Peter was put in jail for his faith, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. This is why my prayer life sucks. No, I realize that I can’t know about every injustice in the world. But I know about many. I rarely pray about them. My prayers are so self-centered, so shallow. In fact, often I feel like I don’t even have anything to pray about. It’s very sad really. There is so much to pray about and so little time.

I’ve decided that I’m going to make Monday, missions Monday here among the Theophiles. I want to pray for a different group of people each week. I’ll post something about them for everyone so we can all be praying for the same things. I feel like it’s the very least I can do considering how God has blessed me.

Please pray for the persecuted Christians of Iran.