A Holiday Prayer for the Church

Dear God and father,

You know that this is the season where we in the body of Christ are debating on how to celebrate this time of this year, on what to call this time of the year, and even whether we will celebrate it or not;

This time of the year shows hoe we, Your sons and daughters in the West, have let the culture turn us upside down instead of transcending our culture;

Forgive us;

You see how so many of Your sons and daughters in the West, while we talk about "keeping Christ in Christmas," are joining non-Christians in stringing up lights, putting up Christmas trees, buying presents and running up credit card debt, preparing rich foods, going to parties, and getting all stressed out;

You want so much more for us and for us to remember and share Your Gift that lasts all year and forever;

At this time of the year we talk about "wish lists" but You have a "wish list" for us to grant;

You want us to know Your Son. Let us give You the gift of growing in knowing You and making You known;

You want us to love You and tell us that love is translated "obedience'; let us grow in love for You and in obedience to You;

You want us to love those Whom You love so let us love people for You;

You want peace in this world through people meeting the Prince of Peace so send us to people who need to make peace with You;

You want us to be united as the Church in all essentials of the Gospel while being diverse in non-essentials so let is be united in essentials and diverse in non-essentials;

You want Your worldwide Church, those of us in the West and those in impoverished, restricted and hostile areas of the world, to stand together and recognize that we are all one body of Christ;

You want to heal, comfort, love, strengthen, and give hope to all those who are having a tough time during this time of the year so let us reach out to others in need;

You want to encourage and cheer on all the faithful who are following Jesus and taking You seriously, so let us make sure we are among them and look to Jesus Who is our Source;

Thank You for Your Gift, the reason so many people celebrate this time of the year;

Brothers and sisters in Christ, consider being an answer to this prayer. Will you give a child a gift that will last all year, and sponsor that child? Visit here. Thank you!

Always,

Lisa DeSherlia

The photo at the top of this post is provided courtesy of Compassion International.

The Insanity of God, by Nik Ripkin

This book is in two parts. It was written by a man who is a Pastor by training and served as a Pastor for several years. For security reasons, this author goes by the name of Nik Ripkin, which is not his real name. He uses the first half of his book to spend time sharing his own story and to tell his story of his years in Somalia, which he calls "Somaliland," and he vividly describes the evil, heartbreak and brokenness he witnessed often, as well as some of the more positive episodes. He shares his emotions through it all as he struggled to reconcile his concept of a loving, all-powerful God with the brokenness that he saw on a mass scale, and was unable to fix. The second half of his book reveals his visits to other countries of persecution, particularly the former Soviet Union and China, as well as undisclosed Muslim nations. Dr. Nik Ripkin shares about his emotional ups and downs as he talked with severely persecuted believers, and listened to many of them share his stories with him. He shares his lessons, particularly the need to embrace the cost of following Jesus, as embodied in the lives of so many brave believers who were willing, even glad, to follow Jesus regardless of where it took them and how much it cost them. He concludes by declaring that we in the West, by seeking to end severe global persecution, have been guilty of focusing on the wrong issue.

This has to be the most uncomfortable and unsettling book that I have ever read. I have read other books and materials on suffering and on severe global persecution, as well as on the cost of discipleship. None has unsettled and convicted me as this book has. As evangelism, especially in face-to-face contexts, is my greatest known weakness, this author's declarations about the Western Church's lack of obedience to the Great Commission (as a rule), is the cause of our lack of persecution as the bold witness of so many around the world, is the reason for so much global religious persecution. Having heard Dr. Nik speak on a webcast on The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, I was not surprised at his conclusion. As an introvert who doesn't like to interact with people in face-to-face contexts and who is loathe even to make small talk, I felt undone by his strong statements on witnessing, obedience and persecution. Where does this leave me? I would wonder with dismay. I felt a wide variety of emotions, including sadness at the comparative lack of spiritual depth in our Western churches in yes, in my own life, that I read about in the lives of this author, his wife and family, and in the lives of those he listened to and worked with. I felt that I was reading the Book of Acts all over again and felt a keen longing to see God's hand work in this way in America. But I would wonder: Was I willing to pay the price? Were many of my fellow American Christians also willing to pay the price? Dr. Nik's book is easy to read in a literary sense, though it is hard on the emotions. I found the first half of the book a bit slow but I found that the pace picked up in the second half of the book.

This book is aimed at the Christian community. Non-Christians who stumble upon it will likely, at least at first, find all the theology of persecution and the emphasis on suffering as sheer foolishness. But if they are interested in Islam or are themselves Muslims, this book may be powerfully enlightening and may introduce them to the God Who loves everyone, including Muslims. For obvious reasons, this book is too graphic and disturbing to be read by anyone under 18. I recommend all Pastors and many in church leadership, to read this book to educate themselves on persecuted Christians and deepen their own faith and discipleship. I recommend that they read it to emphasize issues in preaching and teaching that usually are neglected in pulpits and in Bible studies in America and other parts of the Western church. In this day of terrorist attacks, as needed, making the news and causing much "Islamophobia," this book's focus on God's love for Muslims will serve as a corrective and remind readers that no one is beyond God's grace, including Muslims including the radicalized element in Islam. So all adult Christians ought to read this book even though it is uncomfortable reading. Read, learn and pass on your lessons.

What God Wants for the Holiday

My bothers and Sisters in Jesus, This time of the year finds most of us frenetically busy. Christmas parties. Christmas shopping galore. Maxing out credit cards. Fixing special holiday food. Eating this holiday food. Stringing up holiday lights. Putting up special trees. Observing other traditions.

All man-made traditions.

This is the time of year when we do more giving than usual, celebrating our families and if we are blessed with them, close friends. No, Jesus was not born on December 25 and He may not have even been born during the winter. But this time is officially used to celebrate His birth. We often talk about "wish lists" and may ask loved ones to make "wish lists" of what they want as Christmas presents. But has it ever occurred to us that God has a wish list?

He does.

His wish list is simple. He wants us to know, trust and follow His Son, Jesus. He wants us to love each other. He wants us to love this world of lost people who need Him. He wants us to give. And we can. Visit here, to find out more.

Always in Christ,

Lisa DeSherlia

Tiny | a Simple URL Shortener

Tiny | a Simple URL Shortener



My petition has a new link now as the old link no longer works. Please find it <a href="http://tiny.cc/8me9px"> here.</a>

Missions Today

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is safe to say that when the word "missionary" comes to mind, we picture certain things.

We picture we Christians from the West receiving a call from God to go to a Third-World country.

We picture people who have to learn the language, lifestyle and customs of the people they have come to serve.

We picture Christian workers bring the Gospel to people who have never heard it.

We picture people who must pay a fortune to maintain their overseas mission work.
Would it surprise you to know that many of the most restricted Countries and hostile areas of that world, that are off-limits to Western missionaries, native Christian workers are willing to devote costly and sacrificial time to reach their own people or those in related tribes? Would it surprise you that these workers are willing to serve at risk to their freedoms and even their lives?

It is a time called Giving Tuesday. I'm sharing with you about a ministry based on the continent of Asia. They meet the material, social and emotional needs of people. Above all, they live to bring the Gospel of Jesus to people in their own languages. They partner with many native Christian workers, enabling these workers to bring the Gospel to their own people or to those in related nearby tribes. They partner with Christian workers who serve children, offering child sponsorship opportunities. Their website can be found here.

What are the advantages of sponsoring such native missionaries over seeking to go ourselves?

We do not have to uproot our families and leave everything behind.

We do not have to learn a new language or culture.

We can save much money by not having to spend a fortune in training and trying to "keep up a lifestyle."

We allow the Gospel to be much more effectively spread by those who already know the language and culture of those whom they serve.

We free ourselves to focus on serving those in our own backyards, including internationals among us.

Please learn much more! Order a free book about it here.