Week of  Oct. 27- Nov. 2, 2014

In the News: Montenegro: Thieves remove 111 road signs in one night

PODGORICA -- Montenegro's road maintenance company Crnagoraput says its workers were shocked to discover that no fewer than 111 traffic signs were missing from major roads.

The signs were removed and stolen in just one night, between Sunday and Monday, the Podgorica-based daily Vijesti writes.

Is this merely a teenage prank or the snapshot of a dysfunctional society? In a country with only three fully functioning evangelical churches and about 200 born-again Christians, there is no moral compass.  Montenegro is in great need of missionaries.

Prayer Points:
1.    Let us pray for the Body of Christ worldwide to be awakened to the spiritual needs of Montenegro.
2.    Lord, send missionaries that can endure the struggles that come with starting a work in Montenegro. Those that will pray through daily to remain in Your joy.
3.    Spiritually Montenegro is dark. The country’s name is translated “black mountain”. Let us thank the Lord that there is a light that shines and with our intercession we will light candles across that land.
2 Samuel 22:29 “For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.”

4.    I want to acknowledge the Albanian Christians that have labored in Montenegro over the past years. May they see the fruits of their labor and be inspired to do even more.
5.    Lord, we stand in the gap for Montenegro and ask for a move of the Holy Spirit to empower the Christians to do the work of ministry. May they be bold, full of faith and always abounding in good works that glorify the Father.
6.    Let the day come when there will be rejoicing across Montenegro because the Light has come and the land is full of the goodness of the Lord.
7.    I am often reminded by the Holy Spirit of the beautiful Kotor Bay on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro. There are reports of a few scattered Christians but no church. Let us pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries for that area.

Isaiah 6: 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

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Week of Oct. 20-26, 2014

The Macedonian Parliament will soon vote on some questionable amendments to its constitution. Some of the amendment are good and some bad.  I will try and paraphrase some of the amendments:

·    I could not clearly discern from the report if the amendment governing marriage is good or bad but it will change the existing laws. (It could give more acceptance to homosexual unions)
·    An amendment on the international financial zone is not sufficiently precise and could contain a loop-hole for ungoverned laundering of money and black market businesses.
·    Another change removes the Justice Minister from the Court Council, the body that appoints judges, as a way of reducing political influence on the courts.
·    Another change aims to introduce a so-called "constitutional complaint" mechanism whereby people or institutions can file complaints against the authorities.
·    A further change limits the rate of public debt to 60 per cent of GDP and the budget deficit to 3 per cent of GDP.

Prayer Points:
1.    Let us pray for the Macedonian government.
2.    First we want to ask the Lord to extend mercy across Macedonia; the people, government and all institutions. May there be an open window for a time of visitation.
3.    Marriage is an institution ordained by God and nations can incur upon themselves severe judgments when not respecting its sanctity. So let us pray for holy wisdom to prevail as this comes before the Macedonian Parliament.
4.    Let us pray against corruption in Macedonia. We ask for tough laws that do not favor unethical businesses.
5.    It is good that an amendment is being proposed to curb the power of the justice minister to politically influence the courts. Let us pray for the Macedonian court system.
6.    Before Israel had a king they were ruled by judges. It is clear from the scriptures that judges are God’s preferred type of civil government. Let us pray for godly judges to be raised up in Macedonia.
7.    May the gates of Macedonia be attended by godly men and women. Lord, call out these men and women into their destiny to administer Your justice over Macedonia.
8.    Lord, bless Macedonia financially. May productivity blossom with many jobs being created.

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Pray for Kosovo

Week of Oct. 13-19, 2014

Now this is ironic, I am in Serbia asking the Lord how to pray for Kosovo.

Kosovo and Serbia are bitter enemies. (I think things are starting to cool down some) Over the past 60 years the Albanian Kosovars have over-populated the Serbians in Kosovo. In 1999 the Kosovars decided to declare independence in retaliation to heavy-handed controls from Serbia. The Serbs will tell you this was a designed plan of Albania, but in reality demographics had changed over the years and Serbia did not embrace the change. The biggest problem is that the Kosovo area is the birth land of the Serbs. There are historic churches and monasteries that are important to the Serbs. Another problem is that there is a strong Greater Albania nationalistic movement among the Albanians across the Balkans.

Prayer Points:

1)      Let us pray for peace between Kosovo and Serbia. Lord, only You can work out these deep wounds between the two. Let us pray the enemy would not engineer more conflicts.

2)      Many Islamic radicals are setting up shop in Kosovo in the hope of creating another Islamic state. Let us pray down confusion on their plans.

3)      Pray that God would extend mercy to Kosovo and many would hear the Gospel.

4)      Although Kosovo is strongly Muslim, there has been church growth. The Muslims are mainly nominal in there Islamic beliefs and should be reachable.

5)      The Baptist, Pentecostals, etc. are slowly progressing. Let us pray for the present churches. May they grow, mature and release evangelist into the culture.

6)      Once again I will ask you to pray for friendship evangelism in the Muslim areas of the Balkans. We must reach them while we still have the freedom to do so.

Please leave a Comment or Reaction so we will know you Prayed.

 

Pray for Greece

Week of Oct. 6-12, 2014

Prov. 6:1-5  My son, if you become surety for your friend,
   If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 You are snared by the words of your mouth;
   You are taken by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;
   For you have come into the hand of your friend:
   Go and humble yourself;
   Plead with your friend.
4 Give no sleep to your eyes,
   Nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
   And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

It seems like every time we pray for Greece, we pray for the economic situation. Many writers, in their commentaries of the Greek society, speak of the economic problem as a mirror of what ails Greece. The government has made promises it can’t keep. The promises of decent pensions for all can’t be paid now that the government is broke. To pay those pensions, taxes have to be raised and that takes money from families in the workforce. Greece finds itself in an endless cycle that seems to have no end. 

Prayer Points:
1.    We as people go through times of reverse progress. If we adjust our ways then we progress again. Let us pray that Greece would adjust and correct negative decisions of the past that led to these problems.
2.    In times of war great sacrifice is required. Greece needs to go to war against its economic dilemma. Let us pray that a sense of urgency and sacrifice would rise up in the Greek people.
3.    Usually it takes a man of wisdom and boldness to lead a nation out of this time of troubles. Pray that a statesman full of God’s wisdom will appear. (For inspiration read up on Cyrus the Great; he ruled the Babylon Empire and saved it from disaster. He also blessed the Jewish nation. We also must remember that a Greek/Macedonian warrior, Alexandra the Great, defeated and disassembled Cyrus’ kingdom of Persia.)
4.    Greece has borrowed money and pledged financial agreements with foreign banks. Greece as a nation is servant to the lender. (Prov. 22:7) This is an uncomfortable position to be in but it can work humility into the soul. Let us pray for Greece to swallow the bitter medicine with grace.
5.    Let us pray for Greek churches throughout the world to have their hearts fully turned toward the country of their roots. It is time to minister to the homeland. Although the leaves have blown across the world, it is time for those leaves to be made into fertilizing mulch and be mounded up around the tree. (I know this may be a strange picture, but I see mulch being gathered from the far corners of the earth and it being placed around a withered tree. I see the rain coming from heaven and the nutriments from the mulch soaking down in the ground to the roots.) 
6.    Lord, we pray that not only will Greek Christians seek to bring the Gospel back to Greece but Greek businessmen will sacrifice to mulch the tree.

Mulching is the most beneficial thing a home owner can do for the health of a young tree. Mulches are materials placed on the soil surface to improve soil structure, oxygen levels, temperature and moisture availability. Properly applied, mulch can give landscapes a handsome, well-groomed appearance.

Mulch must be applied properly. If a mulch is too deep or if the wrong material is used, it can actually cause harm to trees and other landscape plants. Mulch should usually be 2-4 inches deep.

Please leave a Comment or Reaction so we will know you Prayed.