New believers in Laos shunned by community

https://www.opendoorsusa.org/prayerapp

In 2019 just before Christmas, Loe* gave his life to Christ through a pastor he met in the city where he studies. Excited about his new faith, he went home to his village in Laos and shared the gospel with his family, friends and neighbors. About 10 of them gave their lives to Christ!

However, only a month later the village chief summoned the new believers to a meeting where, unbeknownst to them, the whole village had gathered to tell them to leave. “You now belong to your Jesus,” they shouted, “you are no longer allowed to live in this community!”

A few of the 10 denied Christ out of fear of losing their homes, but others stood strong, declaring their commitment to Jesus. Because they follow Jesus, the community has shunned them and continues to threaten them to deny Christ or leave the village.

Loe asks you to encourage these believers through your prayers.

Please pray that God will continue to protect them from any harm and that despite the opposition they face, they will stand firm as they express God’s love and become pillars of light in their village.

Pray their new faith will be strengthened.

Pray that as people see the agape love in the words and actions of these believers, more people in the village will ask questions and realize their need for Jesus.

Pray their oppressors will personally encounter God and be changed.

Please click on the “Submit prayer” button to share your prayers using the new feature in our app and we will share them with Loe.

*Representative names and photos are sometimes used to protect identity.

Scripture of the Day

Luke 14


2. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
3. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
4. And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;
5. And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
6. And they could not answer him again to these things.

Scripture of the Day

Luke 1


30. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Scripture of the Day

Mark 14


3. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
4. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
5. For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
6. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
7. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
8. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
9. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

Scripture of the Day

Mark 4 (The Sower)

13. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
14. The sower soweth the word.
15. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17. And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
18. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19. And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
20. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Scripture of the Day

Romans 3

9. What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Scripture of the Day

Proverbs 5
15. Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
18. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

An Open Letter to God

–> Full transcript–> The Challenge of our Day

In an open letter to God fearing Christians and Jews in the west, Head of American Alliance of Jews and Christians, Rabbi Daniel Lappin warns of a war on the Judeo-Christian culture in the west. the letter in its entirety states the following:

….

Tyranny comes when citizens are seduced into trading freedom for the promise of safety and security.

Considerably more intellectual energy is being pumped into the propaganda campaign against Christianity than was ever delivered to the anti-smoking or anti-drunk-driving campaigns. Fervent zealots of secularism are flinging themselves into this anti-Christian war with enormous fanaticism

….

For a full transcript please read the link at the top.

Scripture of the Day

Titus 2

11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

From a Christian Perspective

((Started as a draft in 2014))

There are several issues today within the proverbial Evangelical community, not only in America but around the world, that I see as nothing more than the collapse of the Biblical Christian faith and a move toward the acceptance of a more globalist view of religion in particular.

I believe we are looking at the fulfillment of a dramatic paradigm shift in the role of the Christian Community in the Western World. Here at this site http://www.letusreason.org/Curren38.htm there is a very good explanation of what it titled as a New Way of Thinking. In this article, one of many, it states, “… For new ideas to replace the old ones one, we must disregard the old and only embrace the new. We have come to identify this by what they call it, “the paradigm shift.”…”

Also we read this statement, “To change the system one must change people’s values and their thinking. Something must be introduced that would bring a new paradigm. Something that would affect not a few, but many at the same time.”

In the Christian communities across the world there seems to have been a change in our way of perceiving the world in which we live. I mean this from the perspective of viewing the world through the eyes of Scripture. As stated in the above article we read this, No truer words can be applied to this paradigm than- “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:6-9). The reason we are warned is because the Bible gives us standards that are based on absolutes from our creator, it is didactic; these are instructions that are based on moral absolutes.

These words dear reader point to the heart of the problem I think personally, we are being deceived through the empty deceit that is coming from our leadership, both national and religious, from our government schools, from our financial institutions. This empty deceit is rearing its head in our acceptance of sin and wickedness, our growing cold and indifference to the welfare of others let alone our lack of spreading the Gospel and witnessing for our Savior. In Matthew 24:12 we read this, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

((Oct.2019 updated))

Today I found this at the bottom of my drafts as I was cleaning house, I thought I would go ahead and finish it.

Five years later:

We have a new President in America, there is more divisiveness shown in various groups, manifesting in an outright hatred being shown by those on both the left and right of the political spectrum.

It seems people, whether political or religious desire to be lied to by their leaders.

  1. Unemployment is the lowest its ever been, lie. It is slowly going down but we are told the U3 numbers, the U6 is what has been traditionally used.
  2. People extol MAGA or KAGA as if its a new religious mantra, citing the POTUS as the greatest President ever, yet he is like the previous ones, ignoring Constitutional limitations on power, growing the policestate, debt increasing, etc

The left in this country doesn’t need a partial list as their lies and deceit is constantly thrown into our faces. From abortion to same sex marriage to sexual perverts dancing in libraries in front of children, and the list goes on.

As I wrote above, ….To change the system one must change people’s values and their thinking… this is what’s happening. Our morals and values are and have been changed, both politically and religiously.

As a Christian the only comfort I can find is found with Christ, because in the end, all things work together for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. We as mere humans are limited to seeing what’s placed before us, but GOD sees all, knowing the desires and intent of the heart. Only HE knows the complete truths surrounding us.

As it is written in Psalms 118:8. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes

In the Lord we should trust, not in what we are told by mankind.

With the spectre of an international conflict rising as storm clouds across the Middle East, with the societal breakdown of families, communities, and Biblical norms that have prevailed in western culture for two thousand years being tossed aside, we need to look up, strengthen our faith, pray without ceasing, & put on the whole armor of God because the battles are only going to get harder.

Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

God Bless.

Scripture of the Day

2nd Timothy 3

1. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

A few months off

Welp, took a few months off social networks to get some stuff started & kinda’ almost done. 🤔 still trying to figure out a few more things 😉.

Thanking the Lord for everything going on. Got rid of one old sailboat I had for a couple years, looking at finalizing the purchase of a Westsail 32 that needs a little work but its solid and strong. Waiting for the final yea and hopefully be back on the water, Lord willing.

Guess lots are going on politically, I’m thinking I refrain from political commenarties for a while, people seem to be letting their darkside show forth a little to much for my taste.

I do pray the Lord will bless ya’all in whatever ministry He is leading you into.

God Bless & good night.

Scripture of the Day

John 6

2. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
3. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
4. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
5. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6. And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,
9. There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10. And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
13. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

Scripture of the Day

John 1

6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Scripture of the Day

Psalms 11
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1. In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
2. For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
3. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
4. The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5. The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
6. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
7. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

The Lord look’s down, it’s written that He tries the righteous; He puts us in trials and testing all the days of our lives. Why? To help those of faith to grow.

He never allows us to be tried, tested, or tempted more than He knows we can bare. Some may thump their toe, some may encounter sexual trials or temptation, another financial ruin, others torture &/or death. In all things there is an avenue or direction back to GOD. Its just that we need to allow His Spirit to direct us toward that direction.

So whatever your day brings, look up, Christ is the answer.