Posts Tagged ‘prayer’

Wise man from the East End: Jonathan Oloyede

Posted: January 6, 2014 in Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Ministry, Prayer
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Today in London and in most of the Western world it is easy for Christians to feel they are labouring under a cloud. Church attendance is falling, the media has an anti-Christian bias, our politicians are for the most part self confessed atheists, and our churches are dumbing down the Good News in search of worldly approval. But we need to be careful that we are not falling for lies from the pit of Hell. In the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien describes several great leaders falling for the deception that Sauron is unstoppable and therefore despair is the only reasonable counsel. This Epiphany I believe the Lord wants us to remember that, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light”. We have a King who is enthroned in Zion who laughs when he sees the enemies of his people. His victory is assured.
At the arrival of the Messiah, his people were caught on the hop. Only a couple of aged prophets at the temple were expecting God’s redemption. So God sent outsiders to make it clear that there was good news. At Epiphany we remember that God sent wise men from overseas to announce news of glad tidings to his people. Today it seems we are still in need of good news from overseas. Our churches in England may be struggling but there is revival going on in China and many parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America, even Iran has seen a resurgence.
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The London City Mission church census last year shows that church attendance in London isn’t actually falling. There has been such growth amongst the Nigerian and Ghanaian churches that over all attendance is rising. Praise the Lord!
So it is with great joy that I welcome Jonathan Oloyede to London City Mission today to encourage us from God’s Word. There is a wind blowing through London today and it isn’t only a winter storm. God has not given up on the battle in this land. His King is enthroned in Zion and he will accomplish his desires. He laughs at his enemies. If we are wise then we’ll hear the Good News and respond in humble obedience and declare his glory!

Quotes from Jonathan
“As a Muslim I sought the Lord but Allah did not speak to me. Instead I found Jesus Christ whilst studying at medical school”
“London as a city desperately needs the gospel”
“We need to raise up a cohesive army of men and women who submit to Christ’s Lordship and reach out to the lost with the gospel”
“Nobody is to far from Goods for him to touch”

New Year’s Resolution Struggle

Posted: January 2, 2014 in Godliness, Gospel, Prayer
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OK, so I don’t really go in for New Years resolutions. In the past I have found them more helpful for promoting a sense of guilt or false pride, rather than true godliness.
I know that putting my faith in Jesus and making him my Lord is a once off event, but the work of sanctification, overcoming my ingrained sinful habits is a long hard slog not well suited to an annual diet or fad.
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I saw something in the news though that I found helpful, and got me thinking about ways to take advantage of the cycle of days to keep me Godly.
Doctors suggest giving up smoking every Monday

Doctors in USA claim that research points to the benefits of giving up smoking every Monday. By mentally making every week a new start in the struggle against addiction we are more likely to eventually win by getting to the next Monday without falling off the wagon. Now I’ve never needed to give up smoking, but there are lots of bad habits I need to wage war on. Pride, anger, selfishness, all appear in my life in the forms of: using the internet after 10pm, getting irritable with my wife and kids, missing lunch, talking more than I listen, missing my quiet times. There are habits and traits where I need to keep on putting to death the sins of the flesh in a ruthless manner. Piper talks at length about “How to Kill Sin” and it is a daily war, not an annual battle. So here is my advice. If you’ve already failed in your annual efforts to better yourself, don’t give up. Take the doctor’s advice and restart your war on sin each week. Remember God’s goodness to you and take strength from delighting in his Word. We have been saved from the power of sin, and as we meditate on our Father’s grace to us we will be more likely respond in an obedience that flows from love rather than duty.
I’ve found a few apps that have helped me with my personal goals for this year.
Prayermate is a wonderful app that reminds me to pay for family, church, mission etc
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Logos is a comprehensive Bible app that gives me my Bible and theological library in my pocket at all times
Explore provides daily quiet time material, encouraging me to truly engage with the Word of God each morning.
I’m hoping that you already know the power of God in your life, and that he is at work in you already helping you to grow in Godliness so that you will have a more Christ-like witness this year.

Christmas in the Labour Camps

Posted: December 18, 2013 in Church, Compassion, Prayer
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What tho’ my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Saviour liveth;
What tho’ the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,
And hear their death-knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near,
How can I keep from singing?
In prison cell and dungeon vile,
Our thoughts to them go winging;
When friends by shame are undefiled,
How can I keep from singing?

Listening to Irish singer Enya sing this old hymn inspired me to pray again this week for brothers and sisters celebrating Christmas in far off prisons, labour campus, and gulags. They are not far from their Lord and saviour.
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Hebrews 13 says this:
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

Do we treat our brothers and sisters in prison as if we are in prison with them? Do we pray for them monthly? annually? ever? Do we care for our family who have been mistreated in Syria? Have we been praying for them and sending money for food? The good news is that despite our neglect our brothers and sisters won’t be neglected by the Lord, but let us continue to pray nevertheless for what we do to the least of our brothers reveals our attitude to Jesus our saviour.

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A bulldozed church in China

In addition to the Christians suffering persecution in prison, there are those being attacked in their own homes in the Middle East. Recently the Prince of Wales was joined by Prince Ghazi of Jordan on a visit to the Egyptian Coptic church in Stevenage and the Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in west London, where he heard from a number of Christian families who have had first-hand experience of the rising tide of persecution. “We cannot ignore the fact that Christians in the Middle East are, increasingly, being deliberately attacked by fundamentalist Islamist militants,” he said. “The Arab spring [is] rapidly turning into a Christian winter” was how the author William Dalrymple put it on the BBC.
Christians have increasingly become the target of violence, with churches assaulted, priests abducted, individuals targeted and homes looted. In Egypt alone, Amnesty International has reported that during this past year 207 churches have been attacked and 43 Orthodox churches totally destroyed. And the situation of Christians in Syria is deteriorating rapidly as the Free Syrian Army has become increasingly influenced by foreign jihadist militants. Many thousands of Syrian Christians are now fleeing over the border to Turkey. One man who made the journey from Syria claimed: “Where we live, 10 churches have been burned down. They started to threaten Christians in the town we live. When the local priest was executed, we decided to leave.”

I’ve added some links to provide some food for thought for Christian prisoners of conscience in the Far East

http://dynamic.csw.org.uk/article.asp?t=report&id=176

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/05/satellite-images-reveal-scale-north-korea-prison-camps-group-says/

http://news.sky.com/story/1182848/chinas-illegal-detention-of-christian-pastor

China releases five church leaders two years after “Linfen police riot”