New Open Doors podcast just posted! Stream it live from http://opendoorsusa.podbean.com

Listen to the Open Doors USA CEO/President, Carl Moeller, as he answers questions like these:

The spotlight has been on China for these past several months due to the earthquake and prior to that the on the Olympic torch relay. So, in your opinion, what is the fuss about China and the Olympics?

What hope do you think that this country has in the near future?

What is the difference between a government produced Bible and the Bible that we have in our homes?

What I’d like to know…is out of everything you’ve read and heard about China the past several months — do you think the state of the church and human rights will get better post Olympics?

We want to continually resource every believer to pray for China as we draw closer to the Beijing Olympics.  This China Prayer Countdown calendar is really helpful to me each month.  I print it out, post it in my cubicle and on my bathroom mirror.  It’s a calendar that tells me what to pray for everyday for China (children, country, Olympics, etc.).  You can download it free by clicking HERE.

You should also download our free China Get Set Pray! kit by clicking HERE.  Great way to get your church/small group/friends involved in praying for this country!

Enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who posted an answer to our latest poll, ‘Would you ever smuggle a Bible?’

Someone posted a comment about how they once smuggled a Bible — I LOVED reading the story!  If you want too — feel free to post a story about how you smuggled Bibles / Christian literature into another country.  When…where…how it went, etc.  But please change names/locations if it compromises the safety of anyone!!

Thanks!

Taylor

There have been many times when I think, “What was that one verse…where is it…?”  So, I started keeping a Word doc on my desktop just for Bible verses having to do with persecution.  Here is what I have so far:
“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.” Matthew 5:10 (MSG)

“It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Cor. 12:9 - 10

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.” John 15:18-20 NIV

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12 NIV

“Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.” 1 Thessalonians 3:7

If you have any to add please post a comment, I would love to build up this persecution verse library…

Every year Open Doors’ World Watch List ranks countries by the intensity of persecution that Christians face for actively pursuing their faith.  Here is a map showing where the most persecution happens…remember to keep these fellow believers in our prayers.  You can click on the image to have a bigger view…

You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. Matthew 5:10 (MSG)

Almost seven weeks after Cyclone Nargis left 133,000 dead or missing in Burma (Myanmar), the situation is still grave.

Still Suffering:
There are 2.4 million people still suffering. Among these there are thousands of Christians. Decaying bodies float in the river tributaries. Mud and water cover land where homes stood. Farm land and seeds for planting are wiped out, along with rice that could have fed families for five months. Despair and hopelessness are etched on the faces of survivors who have lost so much.

Farming:
Speed is essential since it’s now rainy season and this intensifies the situation of the homeless. Plus, with the government’s instruction for people to go back to their villages, the need for house rebuilding becomes more urgent. Those who cannot return to their homes run the risk of losing their land should the government find they’ve settled someplace else.
Speed is crucial so that farmers are able to catch up on planting season. They have a window of less than two weeks now to prepare the land and plant the seeds this month. The Irrawaddy Delta Region is the central and essential “rice bowl” of Burma. If farmers are not able to plant, the entire country will face bigger problems of food supply the following year.

Open Doors Response:
Open Doors is responding quickly to the cries for help from our suffering brothers and sisters in at least two hard-hit villages:
• Supplying rice seeds to plant as quickly as possible.
• Providing parts to repair tractors that were damaged by the cyclone.
• Helping re-establish livelihood projects for needy families.
• Assisting villagers in the re-construction of over 300 homes.
• Providing chain saws and kerosene to cut the fallen trees and clear the area.
• Providing motor boats for transportation and communication.

Pray!
Please pray these supplies will get to the people in need…as quickly as possible!

To read more check out our website: http://www.odusa.org

New Secret Believers podcast!  Listen to part 1 of a 3 part conversation series with Open Doors founder, Brother Andrew! 

Stream it directly from your computer: http://secretbelievers.podbean.com

Or listen and subscribe on iTunes: click HERE for the iTunes page.

Enjoy!

Taylor

I’m a big Oswald Chambers fan; I use it as part of my devotion everyday.  I’m continually and pleasantly surprised at how God can speak through this author even after 70 years.  Each devotion is broken down by date, and it’s so cool how God can meet you where you’re at and work in your heart.

Here’s a snippit of today’s reading, Will You Lay Down Your Life?:

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend…I have called you friends…” John 15:13, 15

Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. Peter said to the Lord, “I will lay down my life for Your sake,” and he meant it (John 13:37). He had a magnificent sense of the heroic. For us to be incapable of making this same statement Peter made would be a bad thing- our sense of duty is only fully realized through our sense of heroism. Has the Lord ever asked you, “Will you lay down your life for My sake?” (John 13:38). It is much easier to die than to lay down your life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling of God. We are not made for the bright-shining moments of life, but we have to walk in the light of them in our everyday ways.

If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult. God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, in effect, “Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful.” And Jesus says to us, “. . . I have called you friends. . . .” Remain faithful to your Friend, and remember that His honor is at stake in your bodily life.

This is a good reminder that millions of people around the world are laying down their lives for Jesus on a daily basis.  They are so faithful, and choose to honor God everyday by surrendering their lives…

Fantastic daily reading, I highly recommend it…you can pick one up at any Christian or secular bookstore, or you can order it from our online bookstore; click HERE to order Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers.

Taylor

So often we believers automatically put ourselves in a box in the way we should act, write, say, etc. We say things like, “I’ll pray for you,” and “God Bless,” and “God is in control.” Do we genuinely believe these cliché phrases? When I tell someone that I’m praying for them…will I really pray for them? When I tell someone not to worry and that God is in control; am I believing it or just using it as a comfort phrase? Our founder, Brother Andrew, has spent the past 50 years loving and praying for believers who are oppressed for their faith. When he meets someone who is persecuted for their beliefs, they don’t ask for money, food, relief, Bibles - they ask for prayer.

When we say we’ll pray for the persecuted Christians, are we really truly praying for them? If you’re like me, you may have trouble knowing what to pray for. God says that persecution will always exist - so we shouldn’t pray their suffering will end. Crazy! - why wouldn’t we want to stop people from suffering?!?  Well, in Matthew 5:10 it says, “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.” And in 2 Timothy 3:12 it says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Well, if you have trouble praying, print this out and use this prayer as a guide to pray for the persecuted. And don’t just say you’re going to pray…actually do it!

Dear God, thank you for opening my eyes to persecution and suffering around the world.
Thank you for calling us to share in the suffering of your people. I may not fully understand why you don’t stop persecution, but help me too. I know this affects every member of the Body of Christ; please give me a heart for those who persecute us, and for those who are persecuted. You love them, and you’ve called them to suffer for your name. You say “Blessed are those who are persecuted,” - please continually teach me what that means.

Help me to remember to pray for people who are being persecuted for you. Bless them for suffering, please help them find hope and trust in you. Bless the families of those who are suffering, help them endure the oppression and hardships that come their way. I pray they come closer to you as a result of their commitment to the cross.

Help me to courageously follow you, no matter what comes my way. Help me discover your truth in the midst of persecution.

Please show me what you want me to do, to help people who are suffering for you. I know it’s a privilege to pray out loud, have my own Bible, and freely go to church every week. Thank you so much for giving me the freedom to worship you anywhere, anytime. Remind me that we are one body in Christ, and we are united in our faith and our suffering to speak out for those with no voice. Amen.

If you have anything to add feel free…

Thanks,

Taylor