Friday's Fave Five #37

It's time for another Friday's Fave Five (hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story).

My Fave Five this week:-
1. Mission ConneXion Northwest 2011 (last Saturday). It was awesome! We attended many wonderful workshops. We are very passionate about the Great Commission and get so excited about all the different mission organizations that are reaching out to the lost (esp. the unreached) with the Gospel.

2. Operation World is a great resource to help you in praying for the world including the unreached! "Since its beginnings in Africa in the 1960s, the vision of Operation World has been to gather information to mobilize millions of believers to pray for the nations. We are one of only two Christian centres that compile comprehensive statistics on the religions, denominations and mission agencies across the globe." (from their Facebook page)

3. New Tribes Mission offers a free book: Tribal Beat, a compilation of exciting stories of God working among tribal people.

4. Almond Delight Bristo Cake. Delicious. Thanks to our lovely neighbors for giving us the cake!

5. Definition of a trader. Are you pursuing Christ or the American Dream?
Note: Please turn off my music playlist at the bottom of this page before starting the video.

P.S. I would really appreciate it if you could stop by this post to rate my review of Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic. Thanks so much!

Eternal Perspective

As this year comes to a close and you may be making plans for the new year, please keep an eternal perspective with you.  Don't waste your life/your time/your resources.  "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16

Note: Please turn off my playlist at the bottom of this page before starting the video.

Tears of the Saints from HistoryMaker on Vimeo.

IN THE PAST HOUR:
1625 children were forced to live on the streets
1667 children died from malnutrition or disease
115 children became prostitutes
257 children were orphaned because of HIV/Aids.
It gets worse...
2 billion people in the world today have never ever heard of Jesus. 1% of missions financial support, goes to reaching those unreached people. 30000 people starve to death every day.
  ~ Info. taken from historymakers.info/

While you are enjoying your new gifts, feasts with your family, and the comfort of your home, billions of people are suffering and many of them are on their way to hell. 

Lord, please move our hearts to have Your compassion and love and move us into action to save the lost, to reach the unreached, to feed the hungry, and to help the needy.

If you "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," you will want to obey Him/His Word, including the Great Commission.

If you "love your neighbor as yourself," you will want to share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ with the lost and not want to see any of them spend eternity in hell.

Let's put aside our denominations and our differences on the secondary issues. Instead, let's unite together in prayer and in our resources to move toward fulfilling the Great Commission...to reach those who have never heard of the Gospel...to give them hope in Christ. One Body of Christ under one God working toward one common goal!

"There is enough evangelism taking place today to reach the world dozens of times. Unfortunately, most of it is happening among people who have already heard the Gospel." (~K.P. Yohannan)  Please take a look at this table (taken from Come, Let's Reach the World by K.P. Yohannan) below and let me know what you think.

     To Those Who Have Already Heard  To The Unreached
Tract Distribution 5 billion (99.8%) 10 million (0.2%)
Scripture Distribution 4.6 billion (99.6%) 20 million (0.4%)
Full-time Workers 5.5 million (99.6%) 20,500 (0.4%)
Christian Books 3.5 billion (99.9%) 4 million (0.1%)
Christian Broadcasting $5.8 billion (99.9%) $6 million (0.1%)

"It is unjust to share the Gospel of Jesus repeatedly to people who have already heard when there are those who have not heard the Gospel of Jesus even once." ~Eric (my husband) I agree.  Please check out http://www.gfa.org/ , a wonderful ministry that focuses on sharing the Gospel with the unreached. I recommend you read Revolution in World Missions and Come, Let's Reach the World. You can request a free copy of Revolution in World Missions here .

Let's live in the light of eternity!

~Please visit here for the links to other Spiritual Sundays posts. Thanks so much to Charlotte and Ginger for hosting Spiritual Sundays every week.  Have a blessed New Year, everyone!

Thankful Thursday #3

 

This week...

1. I am thankful that my husband is diligent, hard-working, and handy.  He not only works hard outside the home (as a civil engineer), but also works hard at home (maintenance, caulking, painting, etc.) & around our property (taking care of the goats, the lawn, the fence, etc.).

2. I am thankful for my family's good health.  We rarely have to visit a doctor.

3. I am thankful for food...the variety of foods that we can eat.  The more I hear about other people's food allergies, the more I am thankful that our family members have not had severe food allergies yet.  I am allergic to hazelnuts and dairy products but that's no big deal :).  My husband is mildly allergic to eggs and dairy products.

4. I am thankful that the Lord has blessed our children with discernment.  They have shown us in words and actions Godly wisdom and discernment; they have stood firm in their faith and convictions.

5. I am thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ who take the Great Commission seriously.  Our family has a passion especially for reaching the unreached with the Gospel.  Alyssa, our 16 year old daughter, just made a video featuring one of our favorite Christian organizations.  Please take a look below and see how you can help make an eternal impact.  She also wrote a relevant article, Plentiful Harvest, for Growing In Grace (online) Magazine this month.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

"He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Mark 16:15

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"" Romans 10:14-15

Who Will Join Me and the Millions of Christians Around the World?

Each year, millions of Christians around the world unite together to pray for the Muslim world for 30 days during Ramadan (the holy month for Muslims). This year, Ramadan will take place from August 22nd to September 20th. These Muslims desparately need Jesus, the Savior of the world. They live without hope. They are our neighbors, too. If you truly love your neighbors as yourselves, wouldn't you want them to be saved from spending eternity in hell? Would you and your family please spare some time during each of the 30 days to pray for them? For more details, please visit http://www.30-days.net/ (tons of facts, figures, resources (including free downloadable materials), testimonies, and much more).

Printed booklets (prayer guides focusing on different people groups each day) are available in over 30 languages.
To receive free daily email prayer guides, please sign up at http://www.30-days.net/resources/email/
Español: 30 días de oración por el Mundo Musulmán: http://30-days.net/muslims/the-booklet/30-dias/

I hope you will join me and other brothers and sisters in Christ around the world in praying for the lost and the unreached in the Muslim world. Please help spread the word, too. Thanks!

The figures below are taken from this article.

Muslim Populations
■Africa – 400 million
■Middle East – 250 million
■Asia – 800 million
■Europe – 25+ million
■Americas – 5+ million
■TOTAL = 1.48 billion

Unreached
Here are some Muslim peoples of over 100,000 without any known Gospel witness. Call out in prayer for them.

Saho of Eritrea – 211,000
Maraikayar of India – 127,000
Mawalud of India – 1,161,000
Nikari of India – 151,000
Pashtun of India – 13,282,000
Thulukkan of India – 269,000
Asahan of Indonesia – 541,000
Bangka of Indonesia – 340,000
Belitung of Indonesia – 100,000
Gayo of Indonesia – 300,000
Kangean of Indonesia – 1,100,000
Takistani of Iran – 330,000
Afshari of Iran – 1,230,000
Khorasani Turk of Iran – 832,000
Seraiki of Pakistan – 17,854,000
W.Baluch of Pakistan – 1,261,000
Burig of Pakistan – 474,000
Kho of Pakistan – 314,000
Kolai of Pakistan – 410,000
Awan of India – 618,000
Chhimba of India – 1,047,000
Kamboh of India – 1,525,000
Kunjra of India – 1,601,000
Makhmi of India – 499,000
Mappila of India – 9,635,000
Kerinci of Indonesia – 260,000
Lembak of Indonesia – 120,000

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Tips on how to pray for your Muslim neighbor!

We can pray with the knowledge that:

- Every Muslim is unique and wonderful in God's eyes.

- Every Muslim is someone God loves. We can pray with a heart of love and compassion. (John 14: 12-14)

- According to Islam, Allah holds himself apart from mankind. When praying for Muslims, pray that they will have a full revelation of the true God and His loving character. (Hebrews 8:8-9)

- The Muslim worldview is strongly influenced by an awareness of the supernatural and the presence of good and evil spirits known as jinn. Superstitions control many aspects of a Muslim's everyday life and often result in them living in constant fear. (1 John 4:18)

- Islam teaches that a person must do enough good deeds to outweigh the bad deeds in order to make it to paradise. Even then, there is no guarantee for a Muslim of salvation. As a result of this belief, it is difficult for many Muslims to understand forgiveness of sins, repentance and assurance of salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9.) (1 Peter 5:6) (Matthew 6:14-15)

- Vast numbers of Muslims have come to Christ as a result of supernatural encounters. Many have dreams and visions of Jesus.

- The Christian church globally is united to pray for the Muslim World each Ramadan. Let us join that prayer movement. Let us pray and fast during Ramadan. All the details are on the Internet. And as we start to pray during Ramadan together, let us remember the very real battle for the lost. Let us pray that blind eyes will be opened and that many will experience a true and lasting salvation. (Romans 8:26) (John 16:8)

(Taken with permission from http://www.30-days.net/resources/download/ )
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