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Friday, May 23, 2008

New Term - New Beginnings

haha, the title sounds very corny =) but i like it :)

I think, God has really blessed me this term and He has given me the gift of community again this term... that gift has been taken back for quite a few terms now... almost 2 years, but now, it's almost as if, God was asking me to trust Him in the times where spiritual community was lacking... and in the end, God is always faithful.. He always listens, always hears, always follows through on His promises to us...

this term, i've kinda been given this new burst of hope and passion for being athletic =) and God is showing me so many lessons through the life example of keeping fit.

Discipline... when we are disciplined with our readings, our prayers, and our love for the world (including the nations, our nation, our community, our friends, our family, and yes, even ourselves), God blesses us with passion and He rewards us with an even closer relationship with Him.. the difference between a Spirit-led life and one which is self-led is so apparent.

I pray and hope that my life is Spirit-led and focused solely on God. This is how we overcome the problems that arise in our lives... this is why we have hope despite such a pain-stricken world filled with natural disasters as of late...

I want to have more of God in me and I'm praying continually that God will continue to convict me over and over again, each and every day to love this world and everyone in it. It starts with the hardest things... things like reading the news, and not just reading it for the sake of reading it, or cuz i'm bored, or simply out of practice.. but reading it to learn of what my community's needs are, what my nation's needs are, what my world's needs are... with disasters occuring in Sichuan, China, and Myanmar (Burma), it is so easy to just keep in touch with the news just to know what's going on and to forget to pray for our neighbours. Furthermore, it's supremely easy to forget the needs of our own nation in the midst of such travesties abroad.

i must confess that i am horrible at praying for my nation and the world in which I live in... it comes in spurts, here and there... and a huge apathetic perspective written all over me. I forget that God not only loves me and those i know personally, but my God is the same God who cares for those people across the globe. How can my own needs (i.e. getting thru Masters, passing the UFE, working, etc.) surpass in importance things like... not having a home to live in anymore, possible health epidemics at the cause of unclean shelters and living conditions, child-rape, child prostitutes, little boys of 10 holding guns and shooting people with them...

God tells us not to be discouraged at all these saddening things that go on daily in our world... right now, i'm not sure what makes me sadder... the fact that these things happen on a daily basis unnoticed, or the fact that many of my fellow Christian brothers and sisters don't care and don't pray.... i think that this area is a deadly spiritual battleground that Christians in North America tend to forget... with us being so focused on our immediate community needs... do not give up the fight.

in other news,

super thankful that I have people here to keep me on track and accountable =) weekly jog and prayer meetings :)

posted by ~*~VaNeSsA~*~  -- 4:23 p.m. (1) comments

Sunday, May 04, 2008

7 GLOBAL PRAYER PROMISES

Sunday Sermon Notes =)

Matthew 9:37-38
"Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

John 4:34
"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."

Introduction: What happens when we pray for the world?

1. God is glorified as we obey His command to pray for leaders and governments and nations.

See 1 Thimothy 2:1-2 --> "1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior."

this is definitely smthg that I haven't been doing very often at all..today was such a good reminder... i really feel convicted to be praying for my leaders and government in Canada..

2. We follow the example of the early Christians who made this a practice in their group worship and personal devotional life.

See Acts 13 --> where the early church in Antioch sent away Barnabas and Paul to do the work of God through evangelism...

the pastor today spoke about how so often, we don't think of global needs as having high priority since we have our own needs (in Toronto, or wherever we live).. and that fills up so much of our time anyways... then the pastor contrasted how even tho the early church in Antioch was a huge spiritual battleground for early believers, it was still very important to send off ministry workers elsewhere to spread the Gospel... very good point!

3. An actual difference is made in the life and welfare of the nations.

The pastor had 2 really really amazing God events =)
a) he was talking about how in a little town in North Carolina, a group of Christian businessmen and politicians gathered together on a regular basis to pray that God would use one person from their city to impact the world for His Kingdom... and a few years later, Billy Graham accepted Christ in this town and we know that Billy Graham is the person who has evangelized to the most people in history. His legacy even lives on through his son Franklin Graham and their ministries combined have been very fruitful for God =) Amazing! because of the faithful prayers of a few businessmen and politicians =)
b) he was also talking about the country of Uganda... how there used to be tonz of war, violence, corruption, etc. but through much prayer, Uganda is now a country founded on Christian principles where even government officials gather together on a regular basis to pray and seek guidance from God. amazing!!!!!!!! Uganda's population is 80% Christian now =)

4. We are led beyond politics and geography to focus on the people and nations.

5. We engage in effective spiritual warfare.

in other words, praying for the world pushes back darkness!
The pastor was sharing this testimony where in the Netherlands, a local Christian youth organization built a church in between a satanic church and a prostitute house. that is how powerful our God is!!!!

6. Our hearts and minds are broadened.

it's interesting, cuz the pastor Dr. John Hull used to be the senior pastor of People's Church in Toronto for a number of years, and how he speaks globally and lives permanently in Atlanta... and he was saying that living in Toronto gave his children such a firm foundation to reach out to foreign countries because Toronto is so multi-cultural.. that was a very interesting point.. i began to think that perhaps i am keeping myself locked up in this chinese circle of friends i have now... and that i really need to push myself to take advantage of the opportunity I have in living in Toronto... and learning more about other cultures, ethnicities, etc.

7. We are drawn toward Christian activism.

The pastor had this GREAT analogy... he equated Christians to a football field. So, there are 22 players on the football field who need and rely on each other and then there are 70,000 people in the stands/stadium needing exercise. wow. what a thought-provoking analogy.. how in north america, there are soo many so called "christians" by name... and such a few small percentage are actually active in their faith in God and the rest of us desperately need to undergo spiritual exercise to live out the faith...

Conclusion: When we engage in prayer for the nations, we become "difference makers" in the lives of people we will never see.

----

so that's the end of the sermon notes and my side-notes on them... yeah, needless to say, God really convicted my heart today as I sat through the sermon... I'm really thankful that God gave me this opportunity to hear the message today at rhccc... it's exactly what I was praying to God about during the communion before the sermon started, that God would empower me to pray more fervently and faithfully... as i have been slacking on prayer for the last while... in just a few minutes, God has really re-fueled this passion within me... =)

in other news, i'm so excited for a new opportunity to consistently pray with one of my classmates this term :) I hope that we'll be a good source of support for each other during the next few months leading up to the ufe... it'll be a brutal time... but yeah, God works in so many amazing ways =)

posted by ~*~VaNeSsA~*~  -- 9:48 p.m. (0) comments