Saturday, February 5, 2011

Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You?

(Personal note: I'm slated to train a group of tutors for our church's brand new literacy ministry this afternoon. I'd appreciate your prayers for me as I teach, and for them as they learn how to teach others to read.)

Violence breaks out in Mexico and in other Latin American countries. It is spreading through the Middle East. You may find it in Detroit (link courtesy of my barber) and other U.S. cities.

Is it coming soon to a neighborhood near you? What will you do when seconds count, and the police are only minutes away?


My pastor forwarded the following message from Samaritan's Purse. Read it and ask yourself what you'd do if the state of affairs became this bad right here at home.

Pre-prayer and Prepare.

The media is full of reports of turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa. Uprisings have rocked the governments of Egypt, Tunisia, and Jordan. Angry crowds are protesting in Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, and Yemen. South Sudan has voted to secede from Sudan, and demonstrations have broken out in the capital city of Khartoum.

This is a critical time of unrest and uncertainty, and Christians need to join together in prayer for this volatile region.

I've probably spent more time working in this part of the world than any other. Over the years, Samaritan's Purse has helped hundreds of thousands of suffering people with medical care, food, and other aid. We have helped train and equip hundreds of pastors, distributed thousands of Bibles, and even built over 400 churches in Sudan. More than 2.5 million children in the Middle East and North Africa have received shoe box gifts from Operation Christmas Child.

Please join with us in praying for the Christian minorities who could face increasing persecution in the days ahead. Pray that God will use these current crises to open doors and hearts to the Gospel and that many will find "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Ultimately, we know, true peace will come to this region only when Christ returns in power and glory.

One of our most faithful ministry partners sent a note saying, "Throughout the Middle East, there is a new generation of evangelists ready to continue the work of our Lord until that blessed day when He returns to us. I ask you to pray that they will be fearless in their work in any circumstance."

We are committed to lifting up Christ in the region in any way that we can. Thank you for your prayers and support.

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