Prayers for India Trip

[oneshot-onekill]

Our pastor and one of our church's leaders are leaving for a 2 week trip to India tomorrow. Several years ago our church started a church plant in Punjab India. This is in an area where christians are not welcome and no outsiders can come in and start a church. Thru a miracle God provided a couple from the area to start this church. To say God has truly blessed this would be an understatement. It has grown to 8 church's now and thousands of christians! But it has come at a high cost for those believers. They endure beatings, their families disown them and there homes and possessions are taken away. But the church continues to flurish. Now the goverment is threatening to take away the main church compound. That is the purpose of this trip...to try and stop this from happening.

Please lift up my brothers Rick and Matt that God would prepare their way, for their safety and that God's will be done.

Sorry for the long post...just wanted to tell alittle of the great works God is doing in other countries around the world. It breaks my heart that we live in a country with freedom of religion and we sometime take it for granted.

[Rookie@51]

I have made friends with a couple of fellows from India working here in the Gulf. They are Christians and have talked about how much they are hated in their own familys. The are considered outcast as you say. They continue to preach Jesus and His salvation to anyone who will hear. What a wittness they have of how God has opened the doors and sheilded them from the dangers they face. We won't even talk to someone sitting next to us about what the Lord has done for us. I mean if we would just look at the things that God does for us each and every day and share that with someone we would see people respond to Christ thru what we share. When is the last time we have stopped and thanked Him for the breath in our bodys? Or the beat of our hearts, or the brain that keeps both of these things in time. We are more blessed then any nation in the world and yet we still won't share the word with someone........God please help us to wake up......

[Doc Nock]

Terry,

Prayers for sure.

Terry/Dusty,

Isn't it amazing what others will endure, like the prophets of old, to witness to and speak Christ into the world?

I fall so amazingly short, in all respects, in comparison. What little I do is a penny in the fountain of life. What I leave undone is the national debt!  :(

Lord, forgive me my shortcomings, whinning and complaints and make me more like these brothers and sisters who can and do risk it all to "go forth and spread the Good News!"

Bring this nation back under your Rule and allegiance to your ways so we might prosper under your Love and Grace.  Be with those who will travel to distant lands to fullfill your Great Commission. Protect them as you have others so that their message and courage might be a witness to Your Glory.

Lord in your Mercy...

[Smallwood]

prayers sent

[BenBow]

Amen and well said

[oneshot-onekill]

It's funny...when Depek first came to the US he couldn't drive....so when he needed to go somewhere he would just call up and catch a ride...well one day we are in Walmart standing in line to check out...I look up and he's not there. I go looking thinking he has forgot something and went to get it....nope I find him witnessing to a lady he had seen and felt she needed someone to talk to (Godly discernment) ....come to find out she had just lost her mother. Well Depek invites her to church and she shows up sunday morning...couple months later she is baptized! This happened all the time...you always had to figure any trip could last a couple hours. He shared with me how blessed this county was and we take it for granted and don't take the time to share what God has done in our lives. Really convicted me! Since then I try and share if given the opportunity.

[Rookie@51]

God's word tell us we might be entertaing angles without even knowing it. Have you ever wondered how many people we walk by knowing that something looks wrong and don't even ask if we can help? We just don't want to be bothered. We don't want to step out of our little comfort zone to help. I'm that way most of the time. I will help you if and when I want to. Good thing God isn't like that. I remember that some of the best blessing I have ever had was when I steped out of that zone and helped some one else even when doing so was not my idea. We are blessed beyond measure and yet won't take the time to share with others that "Blessed Hope" we have inside our hearts if we have excepted Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Some day we will have to give an accounting of all the times we had a chance to wittness to someone and didn't. We can fool lots of people with our outward apperance of service, but when we look into the mirrior that fellow looking back knows the truth no matter what. God also looks at the heart and He don't grade on a curve. I must when I measure myself against someone like your friend I find myself lacking. Compassion is what we need. I will pray for them as well as myself. Lets look for one to talk to the Lord about today. 29 April 2010 or the day you read this post. What do you say?

[Doc Nock]

Dusty,

Complacency is one of the problems. Another is that so often, from my and many I've asked, you try to reach out to some people and they use the concern as a way to "put the touch on you" for money. It CAN be a tightrope knowing how to field those situations and I think in fairness, some folks resist because they've gotten "had."  I know I have so I understand when folks share that reticency.

The other story I've heard, listening to people's heart stories, is that so many believers today are conflicted and WANT to have the "joy", but while they believe with all their might, the world has managed to keep them at arm's length from God's peace and joy of a true believer.

I empathize with those folks as well because there are days I feel that same distance.

Rather than be facicious, those I talk to often say they know what they SHOULD say, but if they're not living that 100% themselves, it's hard to put it out there when you fear it will be seen as a sham.

Christ's call is sometimes fraught with challenges.  In those situations, I'm never quite sure what to say to folks. I've felt those struggles and often succumb myself. I admire their honesty and desire to be genuine and not espouse that which they do not practice in their own heart.

Yet, how does the joy get shared? The good news?

Regardless of the reason, there is never a good reason in God's eyes to avoid a situation and I do far too often, for many reasons, some learned and some just fearful selfishness.

[Rookie@51]

Doc / Terry I will pray for the two that you have ask us to pray about. Doc, I have sent you an e-mail with some of my thoughts. I didn't post them here as not to take away from the reason for this post. Terry you tell you friends that I am honored to lift up such great men of faith and service that they would be willing to go into such an unfriendly enviroment to support our brothers. Terry thanks for asking us to share in this service to our Father. God bless you and yours........Dusty

[Doc Nock]

Good point, Dusty. Let's keep it focused on the request: prayers for those who will endanger themselves to speak the truth into darkness.

Lord in your mercy...

[oneshot-onekill]

Well they made it to India...22 hrs on a plane counting delays....then a 4 hour drive to the Punjab compound. No rest and meetings all day with the church leaders. Rick and Matt are running on fumes!

Thanks for your prayers!

[Rookie@51]

Thanks for the report. God will keep them running and protect them at the same time. I will continue to lift them up for strength and safty...........

[Garkane]

My prayers are out for the guy's !!!! Im sure they know my aunt and uncle who have been to India on several occasions and know everyone.They go to a church filled with the most amazing people.Indian,Indonesian,Phillapino,African American.A real melting pot of God's people it's awesome to see and a real taste of heaven!!!

I went to Benin east Africa a number of years ago to help a church planter we have come to adopt.Glory to God as we overcame every obstical that could have stoped us.A bad car crash and few in our church group that came down with malaria but all in all an amazing trip that God had taken us thru safely.....

Ed

[oneshot-onekill]

Just to update.....they had a great time and started 2 new churchs! One of them is in the Tibeten(sp) area....God was definatly directing them. They are now on a loooooooong flight back home. The outcome for the mission compound is not certain but, they recieved very positive feedback from the goverment. They are building buisnesses and will need schools for the incoming families....well God put on their hearts last year to start a school....and that may be the thing that lets them stay. Isnt it funny how God knows the needs and path His people need to take. Thanks for all the prayers!

[Doc Nock]

Great news and Praise to Him who makes it all possible!

[Rookie@51]

Still praqying for ya'll.