Friday

“The righteous cry out,

and the Lord hears,

and delivers them out of all their troubles.”

Psalm 34:17

 

 

Have you ever had one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong around you and nothing was your fault? That happened to me yesterday. I know a couple other people who also had unusually hard days. The best thing I can say about that is we are not promised to have perfection in our little world. We just have someone who goes with us through those difficult days! He’s always there and loves us through whatever is happening. That’s an assurance I cling to on days such as yesterday.

BIBLE SCHOOLS OF TANZANIA. Pray for the sense of calling of each student and teacher at the Bible Schools to remain clear and strong so that the difficulties they will encounter will not discourage them. Life in a developing country has a full range of challenges at best; but as in all Christian endeavors, when a person makes a commitment to serve in God’s kingdom work, spiritual battles begin. Pray for these called servants to have perseverance and to be at peace with God. Pray for the wellbeing of their families, for their health, for needs to be met, and for relationships to be strong and positive.

HAUSA OF WEST AFRICA (HOW-suh). As the missionary finished sharing a parable with a group of men, one of the men said, “You should start a church in Hausa.” Ask the Lord to give wisdom and direction to this missionary couple as they seek His will concerning where, when, and with whom to start a church among this people group that has traditionally been resistant to the gospel. Please intercede for Hausa seekers who are longing to hear the truth.

BULGARIA. In Eastern Europe, most churches follow the Orthodox calendar for holidays. This means that Easter for Bulgarians is April 27 this year. Please pray for the many people who will go to the churches to carry out rituals without any real understanding of what they are doing or why they are supposed to do it. Pray for the true meaning of this celebration to become clear to them and for the Spirit to soften their hearts and draw them to the cross in repentance. Pray for all believers in Bulgaria to be bold and caring in sharing the truth of the resurrection with all those around them. pray4bg@yahoo.com; http://www.teambulgaria.org/

There are a number of people who are very sick. Many have been listed in the last few days. Please reread those names and pray for each one individually. Also, add other names that may not have been listed.

KOMpray

Kids on Mission Pray

April 25, 2008

“Let the little children come to Me, and don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,” Luke 18:16b

IS IT SWIMMING OR DRIVING? It’s rainy season in Southern Sudan, and it’s really hard to drive down many of the roads. A large SUV is going down the road towards a big puddle of water-it’s as big as a pond! In Sudan, the SUVs have snorkels. That’s usually a tube that helps someone breathe underwater. Have you heard of them? When people go to Hawaii to see the pretty fish and coral, they swim using a snorkel. Can you imagine how funny it would be to have a snorkel on the front of your car? It would help you and your family get fresh air to breathe.

Back to the SUV in Sudan….the SUV gets to the pond in the middle of the dirt road and starts into the water. The muddy water comes up over the hood and covers the windshield. The seatbelts lock to keep passengers in their seats, and the once-white machine bumps and jerks through the water. It’s like an obstacle course with all the potholes. The windshield wipers work frantically while the SUV goes down, down, down into the water. It’s as if the driver is blind. You just can’t see and the snorkel keeps fresh air coming in. Finally, the SUV comes out on the other side and the wipers clear enough of the mud away from the windshield for the driver to see! THAT’s travel in Southern Sudan during the rainy season. Imagine the excitement when people learned that the road is going to be paved!

Please pray for a special family that has been working in this area. They were in the US for awhile and are back. They used to be the only family there, but now there are new workers and they are getting ready for volunteer teams. The family has a lot of work to do to find places for the workers to live; and then they will teach the newcomers how to find good food, how to make friends in this culture, and how to find the best roads. Please pray that they will trust God completely.

MORE PRAYER REQUESTS FROM MISSIONARY KIDS

Pray for my friend NY, he is going through a really hard time now. MARY, age 16 (West Africa)

Pray that Christians be free to tell others about Jesus and that more people will come to Christ. ROBBIE, age 10 (East Asia)

Please pray for me to be a good boy. And pray for my tribal friends to be safe. ZACH, age 5 (Pacific Rim)

I need help speaking the language. Pray for me. PRESTON, age 8 (Central and Eastern Europe)

Thank you for my teachers and all my friends and boys too! HP, age 9 (East Asia)

Please pray for my friend who is confused about the way to heaven. He thinks all religions lead to heaven. Please pray he will learn about Jesus. JOEL, age 13 (South Asia)

My prayer requests are that I will not do bad things, and will be closer to God. JK, age 12 (East Asia)

What you would write if your personal prayer request was next?

Nursery Volunteers for Sunday

• Scott and Kristi Womack
• Tammy Borrelli
• Nancy Stokes

Baptist Press

April 24, 2008

WASHINGTON–Abstinence hearing a one-sided ‘circus.’ http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27898

TENNESSEE–TobyMac, Casting Crowns win multiple Doves. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27899

TEXAS–Brandon Heath: missions-minded musician. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27907

TENNESSEE–Dakota’s Jim Hamilton to be 2nd VP nominee. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27901

TENNESSEE–Christian students counter Day of Silence. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27900

MISSOURI–MBC factions hopeful about ‘peace committee.’ http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27902

NORTH CAROLINA–Crisis protocol will speed disaster response. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27903

FLORIDA–Evolution academic freedom bill passes in Fla. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27904

LOUISIANA–FIRST-PERSON (Craig Franklin): Will the Jena revival continue? http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27905

VIRGINIA–WORLDVIEW (Erich Bridges): Truth with a capital ‘T.’ http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27906

KneEmail
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” (Philippians 2:10).
Mike Benson, Editor

IT’S AMAZING HOW the things people say do not always match up with reality…

Consider the person who begins a statement with the words, “I may be wrong, but…”

Usually he really means, “There’s no way that I could be wrong!”

Consider the person who says, “I hate to say I told you so.”

Of course he’s enjoying it immensely!

And what about the one who says, “I’m sorry if I have done anything to upset you.”

What he really means is, “You’re so hypersensitive. This shouldn’t have upset you!”

There are two things which young people find hard to do in sports; winning and losing. It’s hard to lose gracefully, and it’s hard to win graciously. It is also hard in a family – whether it be a church family or a physical one – to win and lose. It’s just so hard to hide that gleam of triumph when you were right after all, the satisfied smirk when your dire prediction of “disaster” came true.

As if you’re glad to see God’s people hurt. That is sad!

Carl Mitchell used to repeat a line that makes a lot of sense: “If you’re wrong, admit it,” he would declare, “and if you’re right, shut up!”

Paul said it this way: “Let your gentleness be evident to all” (Philippians 4:5); and elsewhere, he said, “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

Being “right” does not justify acting unkindly towards others. You can differ with another without attempting to destroy him. The question I always ask myself when speaking to another is this: Have I equipped him, enabled him, to serve God and God’s people better?

To quote the apostle again, “Everything should be done for edification” (I Corinthians 14:26).

Why should this be? Simply put, because we always view others as being more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:1-4).

Don’t we? (Stan Mitchell)

“Let your gentleness be evident to all” (Philippians 4:5).

That’s one most of us will have to work on!

Anna Lee