I was going to extend the prayer on ideology to the people groups who are the subject of missions, when it occurred to me, perhaps I should write a 9-1-1 memorial post.

Moments later, the light switch flipped.

9/11 was the competition of ideology. A message of hope, attacked by a mission to destroy, resulting in a greater resolve to share hope.

The message remains strong...as does the mission to destroy it. It's not ideologies upon which we must stand strong, but the Word of God. The truth wins in all situations. Lies, deceit and confusion lead to calloused and closed hearts. For those individuals, the miraculous, super-natural power of the message of hope, grace and forgiveness of the cross of Jesus Christ is the only message that needs to be broadcast; where its within earshot of the people on the other side of your property line or within earshot of those on the other of side of a nations' property line.

A greater resolve to share the message of God; that His Love Wins.

On this #missionsFriday, pray for the church and those on the mission field, for a greater resolve for the cause of Christ. May our trust be in Him as we pray that we won't grow weary in well-doing. Pray for strength and wisdom in navigating a society growing more concerned with"doing right in their own eyes". Pray for the miraculous softening of calloused and closed hearts; that healing and understanding and clarity will come to their life; that grace and forgiveness and restoration are still available and that the plan and purpose for their life, for the glory of God remains possible. May we all, turn from our wicked ways, acknowledge Him, receive forgiveness and experience hope. May the love of Christ win against that which was meant to destroy. We speak Life. Life to America. Life to a lost world, in need of One, True Savior. The person of Jesus Christ.


-PNC

I have posted over the past few weeks, the nation of America is itself, becoming a mission field. In our own backyard.

Anger has turned to rage, sadly against the authorities who have sworn to serve and protect the very fabric of the nation...the citizenry.

There are those who desire the thin blue line of law enforcement to be thinner still.

Glenn Beck, on his radio show Thursday morning stated the following:

“I’m out of political solutions. I’m out of financial solutions. I’m out of business solutions. We have passed all of the exits. What will save this country is us standing.”

There was a time, when in light of such tragedy; the lives of 9 cops lost over a 2 week period, that Presidents would call for a national day of prayer. In absence of that call, it has been realized that someone must make the appeal. Whatever your political and personality preferences may be, Mr. Beck has made the appeal. For the Deputy whose funeral is today @ 11am, this is the prayer Beck and his team has posted for this national call to prayer.

On this #missionsFriday, pray for the people and the nation of the United States of America.

For law enforcement, “pray for safety of all of the people there, pray for vision, pray for sight beyond their own eyes, and safety and protection for those protectors who protect us.” -Beck

-PNC

The call to national prayer:

Dear heavenly father, we come before you with humble hearts. We pray for your protection over all law enforcement as they faithfully serve our communities. We lift up to you the family of Deputy Darren Goforth and all the families of first responders in our military who have lost loved ones. Comfort them and provide them with your peace that surpasses understanding in the midst of unimaginable grief. God, we ask for your healing over our communities. Let us come together and unite in peace and prayer. In your name we pray. Amen.

How often have you heard stories of people going out into the world, on a mission in pursuit of (insert "whatever" here) and upon returning, they discover what they were looking for...practically in their backyard. Not literally, perhaps, but what they desired was dramatically closer than they expected.

Such is the case with missions. Yes, we are to go into all the world, but if every person left their home to reach the lost from afar, doesn't that imply that someone should be heading to your home to reach "your world'? I don't say this as justification to discourage those in or entering the mission field, but there are lost people on every land mass on this earth. Someone left to guard the home front should also be working on gaining some ground as well. 

We see this in the parable of the talents. The men "went out" and brought back a great return. The one who stayed behind and hid it in the backyard, could have at least gone into town and brought back some sort of increase. God will one day ask what we did. Its kind of scary to think one might answer, "Not only did I not go into all the world, I didn't bother to go into town and put my talent to work, that I may bring to you, a return on the investment you made in me."

On this #missionsFriday, pray for missionaries abroad...may their efforts bring about a great return on God's investment. Pray for those, who don't consider themselves missionaries on the home-front. May they have a change in perspective, that God has placed them where they are, that no matter what their hands may find to work, may their words and deeds speak to the souls around them. Pray they hear that God is real and relevant for today; with a plan and purpose for every individual; unwillingly that they leave this earth, not knowing what their life could be in Christ.

Listening to talk radio this morning while on the road, a conversation transpired about a young Christian woman, captured by terrorists and taken as a one's wife, as a sex slave.  She was thought to have been dead a while back, but she wasn't until recently and iconfirmed official. Refusing to renounce her faith, stories are coming out, how she sacrificed herself, in the place of teen girls, also being held captive. WOW!

(insert chills going down my back, just the thought, as I typed that)

Moments later, they talked about Christianity in America regarding politics and the point was made, how certain political views think we should be more like Europe. One first replies, was Finland...where church attendance nationally is 4%. A whopping 4% of the nation of Finland attends church. And this is where people in America think we should direct ourselves...since Europe is doing so much "right". American church attendance still hovering around 40%, by comparison, the radio show stated. America might soon be needing it missionaries to stay, rather than going into all the world, but as long as church attendance in other nations is in the single digits and fractions of a percent in many more nations; we'll continue to pray! And send. And finance.

Pray for missionaries...particularly in nations, where the number of people who have knowledge of God and belief in God is statistically ground zero. Pray for open doors into communities and governments, that their spiritual hunger would be filled with the gospel of Christ. Pray for the miraculous to occur, as eyes are opened and hardened hearts turn towards the things of God. May lives be changed for the good of the nations. Pray encouragement over missionaries...that small beginnings are celebrated, not despised. As God multiplied the loaves and fish, may He too, multiply the hearts and lives of those who come to Him, whether they be 1,2, or 5 at a time. May they be "won by one" until 3000 be added daily.

-PNC

Moments before getting ready for bed last night, I reflected briefly on Thursday's post...about the pastor ready to resign and walk. It didn't take but a few seconds to think...

...If he is struggling, in the land of the free, the home of the brave, in a society founded on freedom...struggling to the point of not only leaving the pulpit, but walking on the calling to the ministry, then what missionary isn't far behind him?

Granted, America's climate is rapidly changing its perspective on church and Christianity, morality and the concept of an absolute truth. However, life around the globe hasn't been kind to Christians either. So what gives? Perhaps other countries are more hungry for spiritual nurturing? Or other government entities are having a change of heart as to the impact missionaries can have on their people? Either way...Christianity in America is becoming increasingly challenging and Christianity around the globe, still full of tons of obstacles.

Sadly, whether a pastor or a missionary, there will be a "next" to walk away, for any number of reasons. So the question is who in the ministry will REFUSE to let the struggle and exhaustion and frustration of ministry destroy their willingness to press in and move forward with God?

Pray for missionaries on this Friday...strength to press on towards the prize of the high calling placed on them by God. Pray that frustration weaken them not. Pray that exhaustion will not overtake their bodies. Pray that results or lack thereof will not dampen their spirits. Pray for a focus on the task; like Nehemiah, unable to come off the wall, for he was doing a great work. Pray any attack against them falters and fades in light of their intensity to the task at hand. Pray vision and clarity to the great work they have been called. Strengthened. Quickened. Empowered. Focused. Victorious by the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.

-PNC

...missionaries and a mission field.

We are called to be a witness to the grace and glory of God and the power of the cross. Yet, as we go through life, we need those who continue to invest in us, that we may grow in that grace and the knowledge of Christ.

This is why we need the body of Christ. We all have experiences that are to be shared with each other to strengthen the faith of those around us as well as to be strengthened by others. So who is investing and strengthening the lives of those in ministry? Our Pastors? Our missionaries?

Pray for our missionaries, that they would be surrounded by those who would invest in their lives. Pray that their faith would be strengthened, their minds renewed and their spirits refreshed. Pray that life would not discourage their purpose; particularly to the point that it would undermine their ministry. May their lives be fortified, that when they have done all they can to stand, pray they remain standing.

-PNC

My missionary friend shared the devotional during our Wednesday night prayer service this week. He spoke about the covenant God made with Abraham and how it was passed on through the generations and is now carried out through the church, in conjunction with the Great Commission, to go into all the world.

As he shared the efforts and the results of the work he and his recently departed wife had accomplished in Africa, you could hear in his voice, the passion for the lost. The mission field certainly demands ones' whole-hearted commitment and conviction.

That said, as he closed the devotional, he named a few specific areas that we can pray for missionaries. They are simple and straightforward, so I'm listing them on their own merit and I thank you in advance for joining me in presenting these specific needs to the Lord on behalf of missionaries around the globe:

...finances
...safety
...schooling options/completion for children of missionaries
...favor with government entities
...open hearts amongst the unreached peoples, that they would respond positively to the ministry and the message of the Gospel

May God show up and provide miraculously in each of these areas as He equips, empowers and enables His Word to go forth, through the missionaries who have sacrificed their lives for His work.

-PNC