Author: Anna Lee

The wise man looks ahead.

The fool attempts to fool himself

and won’t face facts.

~Proverbs 14:8 (TLB)~

Pray for Mr. Malcolm Hastings.  He was released from North Oaks and is back at home.  Pray for his family as they care for him.

TODAY’S PRAYER
IMB
OCTOBER 22, 2010

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 1:29-30)

WORLD LEADERS. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Please pray today for King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia (southeastern Asia, between Thailand and Vietnam).

HAITI EARTHQUAKE. God is answering your prayers for children in Haiti. The majority of school schedules have been disrupted due to damaged or collapsed buildings. The Woman’s Missionary Union, SBC, has given funds through their Foundation to purchase blackboards and desks and to provide scholarship tuition for students. Other assistance has been given through the combined contributions of the International Mission Board and Global Baptist Response. The Dominican Republic Baptist Convention purchased roofing materials for one church school. Give thanks to God for these contributors who are working in partnership to enable Haitian children to return to their classrooms and a more stable routine. Continue to pray for the emotional healing of Haitian children. Pray for them to receive sincere love and godly guidance from their teachers. praying4haiti@mail.com

JULA OF COTE D’IVOIRE, BURKINA FASO, AND MALI (JOO-luh). The Jula Team writes: “We are really just looking for one believer–the one who will be the key to reaching the Jula. Sister organizations are looking, partnering churches are looking, and we are looking, but nothing will happen until it is God’s time and place. So please pray that we will be in the right place to find what God has for us. Pray that we will have patience and perseverance to work until it is His time.” prayforjula@dtccom.net

INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS PRAYERLINE
IMB
Friday, October 22, 2010

“Let marriage be held in honor among all,” (Hebrews 13:4a, ESV).

Dear Intercessors, this is Eleanor Witcher of the Office of Global Prayer Strategy, asking you to pray for marriage relationships.

Imagine, if you will, that you are a married Hindu woman living in northern India. This coming Monday, October 25, you would get up around 4 a.m. to begin a strict day-long fast in observance of Karwa Chauth. This Hindu festival gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your devotion to your husband. During the day, you would pray for the long life, wellbeing, and prosperity of your husband. You would also mark the day by visiting friends and family, and exchanging gifts. On this day, you would wear the things that symbolize your status as a married woman: jewelry, bangles, henna (intricate designs dyed on your hands), bindi (a red dot on your forehead), your wedding clothes, etc. Your husband would give you beautiful gifts to show his love and care.

Among the Obie of East Asia, however, there is very little respect for marriage. Usually the husband and wife do not spend time together. Often one spouse will go out with other friends in the evenings to drink tea or to sing while the other stays at home. Also, they often joke about how many girlfriends or boyfriends they have outside of their marriage. They are very open and do not feel any shame in talking about these relationships. It seems that most of the people have accepted this lifestyle and have grown to believe that this is normal and healthy. Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict these men and women of their sin.

* For non-Christian couples, please pray that they discover the all-surpassing love of God and surrender their broken, unhealthy marriages to His restorative power.

* Ask God to strengthen Christian couples to be committed to purity and mutual respect in their marriages.

* Intercede for missionary couples as they strive to model devoted Christian marriages within their adopted culture.

SUCCESS AT ALL COSTS

The story is told of a man named Yussif, the Terrible Turk.  Yussif was a 350-pound wrestling champion in Europe a couple of generations ago.  After he won the European championship, he sailed to America to wrestle our champ, whose name was Strangler Lewis — a little guy by comparison who weighed just a shade over 200 pounds.

Although he wasn’t very big, Strangler had a simple plan for defeating his opponents and it had never failed to work.  He put his massive arm around the neck of his opponent and cut off the oxygen.  Many an opponent had passed out in the ring with Strangler Lewis.

The problem when he fought Yussif the Turk was that Yussif didn’t have a neck.  His body went from his head to his massive shoulders.  Lewis could never get his hold and it wasn’t long that the Turk flipped Lewis to the mat and pinned him.  After winning the championship, the Turk demanded all five thousand dollars in gold.  After he wrapped the championship belt around his vast waist, he stuffed the gold into the belt and boarded the next ship back to Europe.  He was a success!  He had captured America’s glory and her gold!

He set sail on the SS Bourgogne.  Halfway across the Atlantic, a storm struck and the ship began to sink.  Yussif went over the side with his gold still strapped around his body.  The added weight was too much for the Turk and he sank like an anvil before they could get him into a lifeboat.  He was never seen again.

Maybe you think, “What a fool!  He should have had a lot more sense than that!”  But, the truth of the matter is, we all tend to grasp the things of this world and hold onto them even while we’re sinking.

Solomon made this observation:  “Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun:  There is one alone, without companion:  He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches.  But he never asks, ‘For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?’  This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.” (Ecclesiastes 4:8)

Solomon describes a man, like so many today, who doesn’t know how to quit.  He can’t slow down.  He’s driven to succeed,  to achieve, to accumulate.  He works harder and harder to become that successful person he so wants to be.  And never once does he pause long enough to ask the question, “Who am I doing this for?  Why do I feel compelled to run faster and faster in the rat race?”

Success promises a view from the top.  But, without God in the picture, success will drag you down just as it did for Yussif, the Terrible Turk.

“Better is a handful of quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:6)

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Thanks for praying.  You make a difference in many lives.

Anna Lee

“Come to Me,

all you who labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.”

~Matthew 11:28~

Pray for Brenda Daniel Bryant as she has an angiogram today and then whatever is necessary after that.  She is in Lafayette.

Jadon’s Story

My seizures are staying about the same now. I’m only having about 20 during the night and then about 40 during the day. So the medicine is definitely working. We are very thankful that my seizures are down. We still aren’t satisfied with 60-80 a day though. Mommy talked to my neurologist in New Orleans today and we are going to start the ketogenic diet. Mommy and daddy have been researching between Vagabatrin and the keto diet since we left Boston. They both think that it is less risky to do the keto diet. We know that it is going to be hard, but we would rather start this diet while I’m still young. The diet has a very high success rate. We went and got my vision checked and talked to the eye doctor about the medicine and we just don’t want to risk vision loss right now. My strengths are my vision and my personality. I already have so many issues and we think its too risky. So we are waiting for the neurologist to call us back with a date to start the diet. I will have to start it in the hospital and stay for 4 days. We are not looking forward to the hospital stay but we believe that this is the next step that we should take. In Boston we had decided to go with Vagabatrin, at the last minute the doctor came in and said try Banzel first. We believe this happened for a reason and that the diet is the right way to go. Hopefully the combination of the diet and the meds that I’m on will give us seizure control. If the diet works, I will be on it for two years. Two years is also when Boston wants to see us back to repeat the test that they did recently. Please continue to pray for me. I’ve really come a long way in the last week.

Thought for the Day: Lessons from Legos

The following essay on “All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned From LEGOs” was written by Steve Klusmeyer:

“Life might be less complicated for all of us if we each received our own LEGO kit at birth. Yes, I realize there is a choking hazard for children under three. But when you are old enough, you can learn a lot from LEGOs. I have learned that:

~ Size doesn’t matter. When stepped on in the dark, a 2X2 LEGO brick causes the same amount of pain as a 2X8 brick.

~ All LEGO men are created equal (1.5625 inches tall). What they become is limited only by imagination.

~ There is strength in numbers. When the bricks stick together, great things can be accomplished.

~ Playtime is important. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you are building, as long as you’re having fun.

~ Disaster happens. But the pieces can be put back together again.

~ Every brick has a purpose. Some are made for a specific spot – most can adapt almost anywhere – but every one will fit somewhere.

~ Color doesn’t matter. A blue brick will fit in the same space as a red brick.

~ No one is indispensable. If one brick is unavailable, another can take its place.

~ It doesn’t always turn out as planned. Sometimes it turns out better. If it doesn’t, you can always try again.

I thought about each of these statements as it relates to the church. Some of the statements apply more than others. For example, unity is a biblical concept. When Christians stick together, great things can be accomplished.

And it is an important biblical truth that every Christian has a purpose. As Paul describes it in I Corinthians 12 using the analogy of a human body, some of us are eyes, some are hands, still others are feet, but we all have a purpose and a role.

But while it is technically true that “no one is indispensable”, the teaching of scripture is that each one of us is needed and the body suffers greatly if we don’t do our part (I Cor. 12:20-22)

The greatest comparison between Legos and Christianity, though, is that we are indeed a building shaped by God’s own hand. And every Christian is a part of that building — not a plastic building block, but a “living stone”:

“As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 2:4-5)

–Alan

Have a terrific Thursday!  I hope to see some of you at the cabin tonight at 6:30 for the Third Thursday meeting for food, fellowship, Bible study, and prayer.

Anna Lee