Friday

You are better off to have a friend

than to be all alone . . . .

If you fall, your friend can help you up.

But if you fall without having a friend nearby,

you are really in trouble.

~Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (CEV)~

Pray for the people of the Gulf Coast region as they make preparations for Hurricane Gustav.

Pray for Kyle Brabham as he returns to the doctor today to possible get some stitches removed.

There have been many names listed on The Prayer Link in the last few weeks. Many of the needs still exist. Please continue to pray for the needs of these people.

Pray for those who will receive a blessing from volunteers who participate in On Mission in Kentwood. Pray for those who will receive a blessing as they participate in On Mission in Kentwood.

KOMpray

Kids on Mission Pray

“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

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Have you ever heard that phrase: beauty is in the eye of the beholder? What does that mean? I can think something is beautiful when I look at it. Then you look at the same thing…and you don’t think it’s beautiful at all.

In Africa there is a country called Sudan. The Dinka people of Sudan have a different idea about beauty than I do. The idea isn’t wrong, but it’s definitely different. Listen to what happens when some missionaries visit their Dinka friends.

The missionaries are single women, and their friends in the US say they are beautiful. Not the Dinka women. They feel sorry for these single missionaries. They think no one will ever want to marry these young women. Why? Because they have a big problem. What is it? The young women still have their four front teeth on the bottom! The Dinka women say they will help the missionaries pull these four teeth!

Different groups of people have different ideas, don’t they? These Dinka women also have different ideas about how Jesus loves us. They think they have to pray to their dead relatives. They try to do everything they can to keep their dead relatives happy. Ask God to help these young missionaries show the Dinka people what it means to love Jesus.

MORE PRAYER REQUESTS FROM MISSIONARY KIDS

I love living on my island. It is sunny and beautiful all year round. We (my family and I) share the love of Jesus with all the people of our island. Many of my friends are Hindu or Muslims and don’t know Jesus. Please pray for my friends to know Jesus died for them and love them. Also please pray for my allergies and eczema problems. Thank you. Love you. We will pray for you also. Love, DREW, age 4, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Will you pray for my family? Pray for us to have a good time of service here and for us to have a good time back in America (on stateside assignment). BETHANY, age 10, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Please pray for my big sister who goes to college now. Pray that both of us will do good in school. BONNIE, age 8 (Pacific Rim)

My mom had a miscarriage and my brother has a rash. Please pray they will get better. CAITLYN, age 9 (South Asia)

Please pray that my mother does not get stuck in the mud again! Please pray that the people will understand the Bible. MYA, age 8 (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Pray for my friends down the street that they will start going to church with us. SADIE, age 11 (Pacific Rim)

Please pray for my family-Mom, Dad, brother, sister and me. Could you also please pray for all the people in the U.S.A.?-just so I know that they are all still safe and protected. Thank you. Yours sincerely: ZEB, age 10, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

My uncle was riding his bicycle in America and fell off. A car passed by and hurt him. We prayed for him and now he is ok. Thank God for that. RICK, age 9 (South Asia)

Please pray for me with my school. I’m having a hard time. AUSTIN, age 12, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

MUSIC AND MISSIONS

LifeWay has partnered with the International Mission Board to create the 2008-2009 Passport to Adventure. Music and missions are paired as you travel around the globe, learning how missionaries share Jesus with the world. And how you can, too! Visit http://www.Lifeway.com/cms

Passing On the Blessing

A girl who received an Operation Christmas Child shoe box while an orphan in Russia has the opportunity to deliver gifts to children in Ecuador. She tells her story on CNN.

Tanya knew nothing of love when she was growing up in Russia. Her parents abused her and then abandoned her when she was 8. She was separated from her brother and sister, and taken to a bleak orphanage.

“The orphanage provided a house and food, but the teachers were discouraging to me,” she said. “They basically told me that nobody loved me and nobody cared for me.”

Then one day, when Tanya was 10, her despair turned to joy. Operation Christmas Child came to the orphanage with gift-filled shoe boxes for all of the children. Tanya eagerly opened her box, and discovered a teddy bear, school supplies, and many other wonderful things.

“It was very special to me,” she said. “It was the first gift I ever received. My parents never bought me a gift. Money was always spent on alcohol.”

The most important thing in the box was a letter from the family that had packed it. This was proof that her teachers were wrong.

“People who didn’t know me and had never met me were telling me how much they cared for me,” she said. “The shoe box gave me hope.”

Tanya, along with her brother and sister, was later adopted by a family in America. They now live in St. Louis.

Nearly nine years later, Tanya still vividly remembers the moment she felt God’s love through the gift-filled shoe boxes.

“It’s amazing what Operation Christmas Child can do,” she said.

She wants other children to experience the same joy, so she and her family pack shoe boxes each year.

Tanya recently had an opportunity to pass on the blessing personally when she traveled to Ecuador with a Samaritan’s Purse Youth team. The 20 teenagers delivered Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes and participated in other Samaritan’s Purse ministry projects.

“It was special,” she said. “It was amazing how happy they looked to get these simple things. I was glad to be a part of it.”

REVENGE OR KINDNESS?

Year ago, on the mighty Mississippi River, two tugboat captains who had been friends for years, would always cry “Aye!” and blow their whistles whenever they passed each other.

A new crewman asked his boat’s mate, “What do they do that for?”

The mate looked surprised and replied, “You mean that you’ve never heard of… an aye for an aye and a toot for a toot?”

I suspect that few of us would admit to living by the motto, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Matthew 5:38), but let’s be honest — there is something instead us that enjoys the idea of getting revenge. Some of the more popular movies throughout the past years have been those that opened with someone being mistreated. We spend the rest of the movie anxiously waiting for the hero to get the opportunity to exact his revenge — and then we cheer!

It’s not much different on a personal level. I suspect that whenever somebody does you wrong, the temptation is there to immediately start thinking of what you can do to get them back. But, if you find yourself tempted to take revenge, may I suggest two things:

(1) Resist the temptation to exchange evil for evil. That temptation will always be strong and we need realize that it will be there. But we also need to remember the emptiness and hollowness of revenge and resentment.

(2) Show your enemy kindness. Abraham Lincoln was once accused of being too nice to his enemy. He was told to be firmer; he must destroy his enemies. He replied, “I do destroy them when they become my friends.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matt. 5:43-44)

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

May you realize God’s blessings on your life today.

Anna Lee