Operation Christmas Child & Rwanda

This week join us in praying for Rwanda. It is a fertile, mountainous country similar to its southern neighbor, Burundi, in Africa. It has 13 people groups with 23% unreached. There are 5 languages in Rwanda. Challenges for Prayer include praying for the children and young people were deeply scarred by the events of the 1990s, but they are now the young adults and future leaders of Rwanda. They carry a painful legacy and difficult burdens no young people should have to bear. 

Pray for:

1. Pray God provides all of the resources needed during the coming year and continues to strengthen the Operation Christmas Child Teams’ commitment and trust in Him.
2. Pray God’s peace and presence will dwell over the teams. Pray He will bless everyone who works with this project and bring the children a deeper knowledge of Christ.
3. Pray for the ministry to university students. Most Bible study leaders lost their lives, but a new generation of workers is being raised up. Pray for more workers and resources for the task. 
4. Young people’s ministries, which work across denominations. Bible reading programs, prayer groups, youth camps, alternate education programs, AIDS awareness as well as assisting orphans, street kids and child heads-of-households are all aspects of current work.
5. Orphans from genocide, war and AIDS may number up to 900,000 – 30% of all Rwandan children. There are over 30,000 child-led households caring for 100,000. They are the most vulnerable to exploitation. 
6. Pray for counselling for those who witnessed or suffered traumatic experiences and for those who must live without parents. Their numbers are vast, their pain is deep and the church is still learning how to offer such ministry.
7. Social networks – such as the extended families of these children – to offer love, mercy and kindness to them, treating them as their own. Pray also for friends for these orphans; 74% say they have none, and 40% feel life is meaningless. 
8. The children of genocide perpetrators. Pray for the breaking of any ties that might carry on the legacy of guilt and violence; pray for freedom in Christ and a new identity. 
9. Models of family and community, which these children have not experienced. Pray for churches, ministries and relations to teach and show them how to live as part of a family, a community and a society in a manner that glorifies God. Missionary presence continues to increase! 
10. Pray God will help the team to fulfill their three year strategic plan to reach more children in Rwanda.
11. Pray God will provide volunteers who are committed to the mission of Operation Christmas Child.

Shoebox gifts collected in the United States in 2015 will be delivered to 145,584 children in Rwanda. Praise God that over 643,129 children have received a shoebox since 1994, when Operation Christmas Child began distributing gifts here.  Rwanda has 12.6 million people.  42% of the population is 14 years old or younger.  

A boy in Rwanda receives his shoebox gift!

ABC's of Godly Character - N

N is for New Creation! Are you a New Creation in Christ? After we get saved we are called to live differently than the rest of the unsaved world. Being a New Creation means we change our habits, our attitudes, our words, our actions, and our lifestyle to reflect that of Christ. Ephesians 4:22-24 says “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (ESV). Paul tells us in Colossians 3:5-10 to “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (ESV). Look at that list again. When we are a New Creation in Christ we should not have sex outside of marriage, not want what others have, have no evil thoughts, no idols, no anger, no bad or hurtful language, no lies…some of these can be hard to achieve. I truly struggle with anger issues; I have a temper, but I try to keep it in check and let God's Word transform me.  At a young age I memorized, "Be angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath" Ephesians 4:26. Without the help of the Holy Spirit we are looking at a hard list to live up to; however with His help and by hiding God's Word in our hearts we can complete the challenge and become a New Creation!

Prayer Starter: Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to become a New Creation that lives a life for You. Help me do away with my old sinful, earthly self and cling to the Fruit of the Spirit that You can help grow in me. Help me to be pleasing in Your sight. In Your Holy Name I ask, Amen.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to work on this list in your life today. Write it out these verses and place them where you will see and read them, then ask God to help you achieve it!

ABC's of Godly Character - M

M is for Maturity! Are you a mature or immature person? Christian Maturity is something that develops with time. It is a process that begins when a person accepts Jesus as their Savior. The Apostle Paul said that spiritual growth is an ongoing process in Philippians 3:12-14 "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own…But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." In order for Christian maturity to develop in our life, we must make a choice to learn God's Word, allow God to renew our mind, and then be obedient to what we learn. Romans 12:1-2 says, "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” As we mature, we should learn to walk obediently with God. It is making a choice to live by God’s ways instead of the world’s ways. Step by step, day by day we must deliberately make a choice to choose the right path. It won’t be easy. We will have growing pains, but reaching maturity is worth the battle. We mature by choosing to apply God's Word in everyday circumstances. As we walk step by step, applying God's Word to our life, we will grow spiritually. Are we at the same place in our relationship with God as what we were when we first got saved? Can we look at our life, or can others and see that we are more in love with Jesus today? I can look back on my life and see growth. When I was a child my “Bible reading” was when I was in Sunday School or when my parents done devotions with us. As a teen, I started reading my Bible more on my own. My Mom and I would read the Bible aloud across the hallway to each other and say our prayers before we fell asleep in our beds each night. Then I decided to read the whole Bible for myself. It took me almost 2 years but I done it—2 years meant that I only read it about 10 minutes a day. Was that my best? Was 10 minutes a day all I could give to my God, my Savior? Mature…I think not! Now I am so in love with God’s Word that I want to read it again and again. I learn something new each time I read it. Just reading it to say I have done it isn’t growth, though, we must want to apply and learn from what we read. Reading it to check it off a list or to say we have read through it "x" number of times may not mean we are absorbing it and learning to apply it.  A couple of years ago I read through the Bible twice in one year, does that mean I am mature now? No, we never totally mature in our Christian faith. We always have room to improve. I can tell you, the more time you spend studying God’s Word, the more you will want to do it. So let me ask you some Spiritual Growth questions. Is reading your Bible a “want to” or a “have to” decision? How often do you pray? Do you ever read your Bible besides when studying for Sunday School or church? Do you study your Sunday School lesson? Do you pay attention in church and try to learn or are you busy on your phone, clipping your fingernails, or sleeping? Have you ever read a whole chapter of the Bible? What about a whole book of the Bible? What about all 4 Gospels? Have you ever read all of God’s Word? Take time to honestly evaluate your Christian Maturity. Do you enjoy God's Word? Are you still milk fed like a baby or are your growing? Spiritual maturity should be a priority for us. "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" (Hebrews 5:13-14). As a believer, we are not to always be milk-fed. Instead, we are called to chew on the "meat" of God's Word. Discover God's truth by in-depth Bible study and feed ourselves spiritually.

Prayer starter: Dear Lord, please help me to grow in my Spiritual Maturity. Help me to put away childish behavior in my life and mature in my relationship with You. Help me to fall more in love with Your Word. Help me develop more of a desire to learn about You and to talk to You. Help me press on and continue growing more like You every day of my life.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to set a goal of how much time you are going to spend reading God’s Word and in prayer. Work on your growth process today! You are responsible to make a choice! Will you choose to use and apply God's Word to your life?

ABC's of Godly Character - L

L is for Love! Love is NOT a feeling or something we fall in and out of. Love is reserved for ONLY God and people – not for stuff.

How many times do we abuse the word love?!?..."Oh, I love your outfit!" I love that car", "That movie was great, our family loved it!" We are to love God and people not objects! Once I felt convicted about my misuse of the word "love" my sons even picked up on it and now we all try not to use it unless referring to people or God, and maybe our dog...he is family too! We cannot ever truly love someone until we have the love of Christ in us. The Bible commands us to love God above all else and then to love others. Matthew 22:36-39 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love has nothing to do with how you feel. Love is a command given to us by God. Love is a decision that requires unconditional commitment. The Bible is full of scriptures about love but 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 gives the perfect definition of love. "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." Wow, what a definition! LOVE IS A VERB...IT IS AN ACTION!  

We must be doing something to demonstrate love. Do you have patience with others? While you're thinking about that also ask yourself if you are envious of others? What about pride? Pride is something all of us struggle with on some level. Pride will cause us not to admit we are wrong. Pride will even make us believe we are always right. Pride will keep us from apologizing when we have offended. Pride will even make us say, "I'm not prideful." Love is not inconsiderate or always thinking "but if I do that, what am I going to get in return?" Love is not agitated easily and it has a short memory when it comes to the sins of those who wrong us. That means we are not constantly reminding them of their past offenses. Love means we don't do a victory dance when wrong is done to others, even if we think they had it coming. Real love does not rejoice in wrong doing, it rejoices in what's right. Love puts up with everything, and still trusts, is hopeful, and enduring. Everything will someday come to an end, buy love will never end.

Prayer starter: Dear Lord, You are the perfect example of love. Help me to have Your kind of love and not the world's definition of love. Create in me a pure and loving heart that shines Your Love in this dark and sinful world. Amen.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to show Christ-like love to others. Love the unlovable today!

ABC's of Godly Character - K

K is for Kindness! Kindness is a friendly, good-natured, harmonious attitude toward others. The Bible tells us to be kind to both our friends and our enemies. Jesus taught us by His example to be kind to others. Kindness can be difficult. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit living in us. Galatians 5:22-23 says "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (ESV). When we are tempted to pay someone back for their unkindness to us, we need to remember that it is not our job to repay someone for his or her actions--it's God's. We need to focus on instructions.  We read in Proverbs 20:22: “Do not say, 'I'll pay you back for this wrong!' Wait for the Lord, and He will deliver you.” Colossians 3:12 says “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”  

Albert Schweitzer is quoted as saying “Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” 

If you are having trouble in relationships with friends, parents, teachers, co-workers, or others evaluate yourself to see if you are showing kindness in your actions and words. Ephesians 4:32 says "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." What if Christ treated you with the same kindness and forgiveness as you treated others?

Prayer starter: Dear Lord, please help me to show more kindness to others. I know I don’t always act in a way that is pleasing to you. Help me to learn to be and act more like You. I love You. I am thankful for the kindness and forgiveness you so often give me. Amen. 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to work on your kindness today. Treat others the way Christ would want you to.  

Kenya & Operation Christmas Child

This week please join Operation Christmas Child in praying for Kenya. Most people live in the fertile plateaus of the south and west. Much of the north and east is desert. Only 8.9% of the land is cultivable. Kenya has 115 people groups that speak a total of 74 languages. 48% of the population is Evangelical Christian.

Specifically,

1. Pray for the country of Kenya, especially with the teacher strikes in the schools. 
2. Pray for the commitment of the team members and for the new members as they train for their positions. 
3. Pray for the teacher and Ministry Partner trainings.
4. Praise God for opening doors for the team to share the Gospel.
5. Pray the seed of the Word of God planted in the children will bear fruit.  

Shoebox gifts collected in the United States in 2015 will be delivered to 137,496 children in Kenya. Praise God that over 661,958 children have received a shoebox since 1995, when Operation Christmas Child began distributing gifts here.

• Kenya has 45.9 million people and is located in East Africa
• 42% of the population is 14 years old or younger

 Kenya & OCC http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child-countries/kenya/

ABC's of Godly Character - J

J is for Joy! Joy is great delight caused by God who is exceptionally good or satisfying; pleasure, delight, something or someone greatly valued or appreciated; a constant state of happiness, regardless of the situation.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart! Down in my heart to stay! Joy and happiness are different. Happiness is based on our emotions and feelings; it is affected by what is happening in our life. Joy is only available from God and should always be present in our lives. It is from the Holy Spirit living in us. 1 Peter 1:8 says “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (ESV). 

Jerry Bridges said “True joy comes only from God and He shares this joy with those who walk in fellowship with Him.” 

Psalm 35:9 says “my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; it shall rejoice in His salvation.” The jailer who watched over Paul & Silas in prison found/received joy. Acts 16:34 says the jailer was “filled with joy” because he and his whole family had come to believe in God! We should have joy, even if we are going through terrible times in our life. No matter how bad a situation is, we can have joy because Jesus has overcome the world and this is only our temporary home. Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Psalm 30:5b says “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Claim these verses for your life and realize that joy does come in the morning. One day all our heartaches and grief will be over and we will experience perfect joy in our Eternal Home in Heaven.

Prayer starter: Dear Lord, please fill me with your Fruit of the Spirit and give me true Joy that is only available ONLY through You. Help me to have joy in all situations in my life and lean on You. Thank You, Lord, for Your Word. Amen. 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to have joy today, no matter how bad of a day you may be experiencing. 

Josh Wilson sings it best: “My friend, you know how this all ends and you know where you're going, you just don't know how you get there so just say a prayer and hold on, cause there's good who love God, life is not a snapshot, it might take a little time, but you'll see the bigger picture. Would dare you, would you dare, to believe, that you still have a reason to sing, 'cause the pain you've been feeling, can't compare to the joy that's coming. So hold on, you got to wait for the light, press on, just fight the good fight because the pain you've been feeling, it's just the dark before the morning.