Anger

During the past year I have been dealing with anger a lot more than I have in the past. The Lord seems to making it clear to me how dangerous and destructive anger can be. Several times I have completely broken down from my anger, thrown things on the floor or yelled. When this happens, I scare even myself. Anger seems to take over and I need the power of the spirit to gain control over my flesh. I have spent a lot of time meditating on the following verses from James,

19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Praise & Prayer Update May 25th

Hey everyone,

Please keep us in your prayers this week as D is leaving for the states in just a few days. We haven't been apart from each other for more than one day since we got married, so two and a half months seems like a long time!

Praises:

• We were able to spend time this week in prayer and thought about our vision and how we can serve here
• We both were sick during the week and have recovered
• H has been asking the Lord to send her sick people to pray for, and this week a woman with breast cancer showed up oustide our door begging. H was able to pray for her in the name of Jesus. Pray that God would reveal His Son to this woman.
  
• We were both able to connect more with parents of the kids we teach this week. It was really encouraging to get feedback from a few parents about how much their sons or daughters look up to us.
  

Prayers:

• That our time together before D leaves would be blessing
  
• One of our friends and some national partners have been busy meeting women and sharing the gospel in villages this week. H is helping edit the materials and do background research for this outreach. Pray that the Lord would lead us to bridges to share the good news and reveal Jesus to these women and their families.
  
• That the Lord would send us to 'people of peace' who will be receptive to the gospel
  
• That we would finish well at school and be a light to our students and colleagues
  
• That we would grow in our marriage even when we are ten time zones away from each other!

Thanks so much for your prayers during this time of transitioning from school year to summer. We are excited for all the Lord has for us during the coming season. May we be faithful with all that He has given us.

Cry out for Justice

I wrote the following prayer in November after reading a novel, based on a true story, about the wife of a 'holy man/saint' in this country. It was heart wrenching. It led me straight to my knees. The basic storyline was about a young girl who was married off to this 'saint' about the age of puberty. The 'saint' had such a hunger for sex that he used not only her, but prostitutes and several poor orphan girls, even very young ones. The 'saint' tried to molest his own daughter and the only way the mother could save her was to give her husband other young girls instead. She became an unwilling accomplice to his crimes. Not only that, but because the 'saint' kept his wife in seclusion and since no one had seen her face, he felt that he could masquerade her as a prostitute for all his friends.

This story may seem extreme, but I have heard many stories from women that could each be their own novels. The spirits of lust and death seem to have a strong hold on the entire region.

Prayer for Women, in response to the novel Blasphemy.
November 14, 2007

Let me cherish my time with you. Oh Lord, I feel far from you, draw me after you. Draw me into your chambers that I may entreat of you. That I may share in your heart.

Lord, what do you feel when young girls are being sold into their slavery under the guise of marriage? When lust-filled husbands satiate their hunger savagely on virgin girls, not yet reached womanhood.

How do you feel when the girls are bleeding and broken, crying out to a God who is not near? Does your heart break?

When women are made to play the whore, and all they want in purity.

When a man’s flesh rules, ruining lives. Entering forcefully to change their bodies, minds and hearts forever.

Scarred.

When a man’s every action is ruled by his lust. Breaking young girls and mother’s hearts. Caring only to satisfy his flesh.

The greater the pride,
the greater the lust.

Does you heart break for these women, or are they cursed forever? There is no justice here. They cry out and cry out. Only to say that God is far away. God is only here to weep. God must take delight in the suffering of women, for hell is full of us. And even in heaven men’s lust is rewarded by virgins.

What is the depth of the evil of man’s heart? Lord, how can I bring your hope to these women?

LUST

PRIDE

GREED

This land is riddled with curses for the sins committed in her. The bloodguilt is great. Oh Lord, cleanse the land. There is so much evil here. Let us be messengers of your coming. Shine through us. SHOW YOURSELF with signs and wonders. Dreams and visions.

Let me cry out for justice day and night. Continue to give me glimpses of your heart. Show me steps I can take to reach out to women around me and in this broken society.

Reveal your Son.

Open prison doors and set these captives free.

Bind up the brokenhearted oh Lord!

Come and bring your perfect justice.

*New* Prayer Journal Posts

I've recently felt that I should share some more entries from my prayer journal here on the blog. I I wasn't quite sure why, as many of my prayers are me crying out to God in repentance or intercession, but then I remembered that although many of the Pslams of the Bible were personal songs of worship, repentance, prayer, or intercession they are inspiring, encouraging and challenging for us even thousands of years later. 

I hope that the Lord will bless you through these prayers. Recently the Spirit has been challenging me to 'bare my heart' more, and I think this is one way I can start to do that. 

The Promise of the Father: Bible Study

In our house fellowship we have been studying the book of Joel. This week we were on Joel 2:28-32, so I decided to compare this passage with what happened on Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. Here's the study questions as well as some further discussion questions. Inspiration from Peter Wagner's Acts of the Holy Spirit. Email me if you'd like the two page worksheet or the answers.


1) Joel 2:28-32 – What does God promise?


2) Acts 1 – The Lead up to Pentecost

a.) After Jesus ascended, what were the disciples to do?
b.) What did Jesus promise them?
c.) Why did they need it?
d.) Were they “better off without Jesus?” (John 16:7)
e.) How long would this waiting period be?


3) Acts 2 – Pentecost

a.) What is Pentecost?
b.) What had the disciples been doing between Passover and Pentecost?
c.) Do you think there is any significance or strategy to God choosing this day to send the power of the Spirit?
d.) What were the visible signs of the invisible spirit?
e.) What does God use fire for in the Old Testament? Can you think of any examples?
f.) Who was present when the disciples started speaking?
g.) Can you break these people into different categories? In which category did the disciples fit?
h.) In your culture, who could you compare the disciples to?
i.) Is it significant that people hear God’s message in their own languages?
j.) How does this compare to other religions?
k.) How did the people present react?
l.) In Peter’s speech, what are his main points?
m.) What are the characteristics of the “last days”?
n.) What is the two-part action plan Peter gives to those who are “cut to the heart”?
o.) How many people came to faith that day?

4) Discussion Points
a)What parts, if any, of Joel’s prophecy were fulfilled or partially fulfilled on Pentecost?

b) What do you think the “last days” refers to?

c) Do the characteristics of the last days seem common in your church experience?

d) Did they seem common in the experience of the early church?

e) How do prophecy, dreams and visions, signs and wonders relate to salvation?

f) Do you think some cultures are more apt to expect and look for “signs” from God?

Praise & Prayer Update May 18th

Hey everyone, The last week has definitely gone by too fast! Praises: - D's flights have been confirmed and we have purchased his tickets - The Lord seems to be giving us more clarity and direction as we seek His strategy for reaching this nation Prayers: -That we would be more intentional about sharing the gospel, meeting new people, and sowing the Word of God -That we would be consistent in praying together as a couple on a daily basis -That the Lord would give us both a hunger for His Word and to be fruitful for the kingdom of God May the Lord would open people's eyes to see and open their ears to hear. May the Word of the Lord run swiftly and be glorified in this barren land. May God show Himself in power and stretch out His hand to heal and deliver through the name of His holy servant Jesus. May the powers of darkness reigning over this land be usurped by the rightful king who sits as the right hand of the Father: Jesus.

Global Day of Prayer - Tomorrow!

I hope all of you reading can join in with this year's Global Day of Prayer in some way. Millions the world over will be uniting in prayer on Pentecost Sunday.

You can watch live coverage of prayer gatherings around the globe on God TV, which will also be broadcasting live from Jerusalem.

Praise & Prayer Update May 10th

It's been an exciting week here leading up to the Global Day of Prayer. We encourage you to tune in to God TV any time on Sunday May 11th to see prayer events from all over the world. Let us unite together as one Bride to cry out for Jesus and all that's on His heart!

Praises:

• Our prayer times as a couple are becoming less tedious and more enjoyable! May the Lord continue to allow our hearts and minds to unite in worship, praise and intercession.

• $500 more of language school support has been deposited. Praise the Lord for His provision! May we be faithful with all that He gives us and treat all of our finances as if they belong to Him. It looks like H will be able to spend from June 5 to June 29th without having any work commitments. She plans to spend time time focusing on prayer, language, and strategic outreach. H's friend and accountability partner is currently at language school about 6 hours away, and H is thinking about spending a week with her working on strategies to reach women in our region.

• Although school and upcoming exams are currently taking up a lot of our time, the Lord is giving us ways to share with and serve our students and co-workers

Prayers:

• D needs to change his flight schedule so that he can stay here until all his students complete their exams. Pray that he will be able to find affordable and available flights back to the US.

• Students are getting restless and ready for summer break, although school doesn't finish til May 30th! May the Lord give us strength and perseverance as it is difficult to deal with whining students, lack of water, frequent power outages and the overwhelmed administration. May we have the attitude of Christ Jesus throughout all the trials!

• May the Lord have favor on H's visa which is "processing." She has to wait four weeks, which is after her current visa expires, to get her next update. May the Lord give us faith that HE will oversee this situation.

• May the Lord guide us in HIS strategy to reach the millions of lost people in this region

• H was reading this week about how many women have come to Christ through dreams, visions, prophetic words, and witnessing miraculous healing. May the Lord help us to always be willing and available to pray and minister to people that we meet. May He grant many dreams and visions of Him that would lead them to a personal relationship through Jesus Christ. May the Lord give us faith to pray for healing in the name of Jesus.

Praise & Prayer Update

Things seem to be coming together for our summer plans, and we are getting anxious to finish up with the school year and get on to the summer break.

Praises:

• $650 of support for language school has been deposited into our bank account. Since H now plans to stay in the city and take language classes, this should cover the costs of 2-3 months of part-time tutoring. Praise the Lord! Any other support received will go towards more hours of language classes, study materials, and helping to pay the bills since H has committed to work less than 20 hrs/week in order to focus on language, prayer and outreach.

• H was able to schedule workshops for the summer at a local institute. The Lord gave her favor in meeting with the director of the institute and she was able to get all of her visa renewal materials ready and mailed out.

• Two more young women have arrived in our city to focus on reaching women for Christ. Praise the the Lord that he is sending laborers for the harvest.

Prayer:

• That D's flights would be confirmed and tickets purchased within the next few days

• That we would have quality time together in prayer and building on our marriage before D heads back to the states for 2 months+

• That the Lord would give both of us favor as we process our visas

• That the Lord would provide for this country, as half the population currently can not afford enough to eat

• That the Lord would help us not to be wasteful and to spend all of our money as if it is His

• That the Lord would give us opportunities to bless people around us with physical provision in a way that clearly glorifies His name

• That H would find the right language tutor for the summer months

• That the Lord would help us to finish the school year well and be a light to both students and staff

• That God would open up the door for His word and spur many to pray on the upcoming Global Day of Prayer (May 11th - next Sunday)

In Christ,

H & D

P.S. - We would love to hear from all of you more often! Please let us know how you are doing, what the Lord is teaching you, and how we can be praying for you.