racial reconciliation

When we first changed our focus for reaching the U people from living in a quaint, picturesque village to living in this large city, the cultural, intellectual, trend-setting place for these people, it came with a vision of seeing the Gospel demonstrated so boldly that different ethnic groups could be unified in Christ.  

We've all heard of different groups becoming unified over common interests, common goals...  but at a society level, when have different groups, who have previously loathed and hated each other, every become unified and peaceful with each other apart from a major work of the grace?  This government wants to see "Unity".... and they're going about it in ways seem far less than inspiring or attractive.  There's not unity.  There's major pain, anger, suspicion.  

Ask for the grace of Christ to be known so profoundly that it could bring true healing, change, reconciliation for the Chinese Han majority people and the Uyghur people in this province.

Mary

We call her Mary... this dear single mom who professed faith with joy and tears and awed worship just this past summer.  Our friend who is her local pastor told us he felt grateful to see her instant flame for Christ, that it challenged and spurred him on.  

But very soon after she came to Christ, she had an invitation to bold sin.  A life that the world tempts her to believe will solve all of her needs for protection and community.  It's a lie and she knows she's choosing a path that is not what God wants for her (it's dishonorable, even among the locals who do not know God, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians.)  She's being totally choked at her faith walk in Christ.  

Please ask for her to know the Holy Spirit pursuing her, awakening and convicting her on her need to walk in the light.  Pray that the love of God would overpower her weakness and lift her up to walk in obedience and love for her Savior.  

dark winter

When we were planning to move to this city, our dearest friend and mentor in this line of ministry told us "Don't move there in winter."  We'd heard before about the dark smoggy days, the biting cold (which has more opportunity to bite you when we walk, travel (bus stops) and visit outside with neighbors far more than in the states.)  And this winter, we're seeing it yet again...

Dear friends of ours are battling really hard depression.   They're facing major decisions, they feel need to be made immediately.  Please ask for wisdom, patience, perseverance and encouragement for them.    And it touches down and hangs over us too.... as I'm sure it does for many of you winter ones as well.  Would you ask the Father to graciously lift our eyes and hearts?

There is much opposition to our lives and work and most of all, to ministry here....  We are not welcome by the government (they barely tolerate us!).  We don't have understanding of commercial culture to be able to work well here.  We aren't used to lugging groceries home in the freezing cold.  And these are all minor, tiny bits of opposition compared to the spiritual battles against belief and clear proclamation, all the myriad misconceptions.

But the King has promised his victory!  We labor not in vain!  Ask for the Lord to encourage our souls to persevere according to His vision, His plans for us here.

battling severe discouragement

Friends,

I wrote here a little while ago (See Peace post below) about our need for peace in the camp....  a very difficult issue that we've been involved in for the past 15 months or so that climaxed with pain and sorrow this month.   I will be starting counseling very soon, very gratefully.  The burden of this is more intense than I could have ever foreseen.

And we are not alone.  Other friends serving in this field in three cities around here have told us their hardships from the past month or so....  one moldy bathroom so that a family of six has had major repair work and had to try to live out of their house for a week.  Shingles and lagging energy even weeks after recovery.  Cultural questions that feel like slaps in the face- "why would that woman not talk to me or even look at me?" The downstairs neighbors that get so fed up with kids playing upstairs that they've barged into their home, yelling... and how the complex security guards told that family they were wrong to be so loud (no fault to the violent neighbor.)  Anxiety that weighs in with clenched fists and dizzy spells.  The six floors and large sacks of flour and rice that need to be hauled up in the heat.... and water too, on the several days a month that the water is out.  The emergency surgery needed for a sudden, fast growing tumor found in her abdomen.  The lost passport for the boy who travelled alone, when the airline failed their responsibility to serve the unaccompanied minor ad now the flights across the country to get a new one.  And one precious family, shocked to give birth to a precious, dearly loved, perfectly formed baby, who never drew a breath.

We talked about how the month of Ramadan often feels like this to us.  Painful.  We are finding ourselves more and more angry at the deception of Islam....  so many people around us mindlessly believing the lies their culture tells them:  1) To be Uyghur is to be Muslim (it doesn't even have to be true, it just is, it's just what you need to be loyal to) 2) and Islam is good for me, and it's ok if some other religion is good for you (relativism is so prevalent, even among this Muslim people, where it does not sync with the Quran and Mohammad and Saudi Arabia... It doesn't make sense.... and when it doesn't make sense, go back to point #1.)  As we talked yesterday, I shared with a few friends, that I would put up with more difficulty, even much more, if only I could be sure that we are doing all we can do here.... couldn't we at least bear some fruit for the King, even as confirmation that we are doing the right thing?  (And how self-centered is that!?)  If only our struggles here were for some good being brought, being accomplished... but are they!?  We have to trust.... and move forward leaning on His promises.

There is a great thick cord of anxiety, discouragement and frustration among many of the workers that are here to bring the good news to these places and people.

And there's good reason for it here... and we know, good reason for soul-bare, humbling before the Lord for the troubles stateside as well.  SCOTUS.... and much more.  We have much to pray for and we have all the promises of God that he will hear our prayers when we humble ourselves and seek Him.    May we be found clinging to these promises and pursuing His face, His heart with all that we are....

He is working too... and we do have much to give thanks for.   That single mom mentioned below?  She has heard the good news clearer than ever now and she's coming, coming, closer to Christ.  Please do pray for her.  

May the mercy and care and protection of God be on His people, as we all seek to continue to hold up the cross and the Word and proclaim the good news of Christ.

Thank you for your prayers for us.   We are with you too, dear friends in America.

For Christ, and His Kingdom,
prayerfuel

Thirty Days of Ramadan Prayer... for Uyghur centers

There are some excellent prayer guides out there to help you pray through Ramadan (and you'll probably grow to love Muslims more and more if you do!)  Here's the standard.  And here's an excellent video to fuel your prayers as well...  (this video specifies a different region and minority area than this but is still insightful for Uyghur ministry and crucial for kingdom-focused prayers!)

This is a very simple guide to pray for Uyghur population centers in the province of Xin Jiang.    There are 15... perhaps you can pray for them one a day, twice through during the month of Ramadan?

1.   Urumqi

2.  Kashgar

3.  Turpan

4.  Illi/  Hulja

 5.  Kumul

6.  Bortala

7.  Aksu

8.  Korla

9.  Hotan

10.  Karamay

11.  Artush

12.  Taxkogan

13.  Altai

14.  Changji

15.  Chucheq

* Rejoice for the believers of every ethnic background in that city!

* Lift up their family life, their walk in Him, boldness, obedience to Father, protection from the enemy in flesh and in mind, for unity amongst them, for the spread of the His kingdom.

* For those who are searching, for those who are blinded, for those who already have heard, for those who are reading... For Father to open their eyes to see, for the believers to be ready to disciple and train.

* For expat workers and their families, for wisdom and strength, boldness and understanding of culture, language etc...

* Pray for the Father to graciously send revival (see the next post about revival too)

* for people to see the darkness of Islam and come to the Light 

*  for the translation of the Good book for U's and Tajiks and accessibility, welcome receptivity to the Word for many.

a single mom

She's raising her daughter just like my mom raised me.  Alone.  It was in her desperation for truth and soul-satisfying that my mom investigated the claims of Christ and finally yielded to Christ's claim on her.  And now I have this friend.  Our family loves the daughter and the mom is a precious friend to me.  She's got the Word on her phone now and she said she's going to listen in.  Would you pray that she would be courageous to humbly consider Christ?  To look to Him and cling to Him for life and hope and love?  Oh that she would see Jesus!

peace

Peace is a big theme for Muslims....  So many times we hear how Islam is a religion of peace and when talking about their prophet, Muslims always say his name with the quick prayer after it "peace be upon him."  

Apart from Christ though, we believe there is no peace- no lasting peace within our communities, marriages, families, world, no peace for us with God ...  But in Christ, in the church, we should see it.   Right?  We long for it.  We need it.  This is the very thing we are proclaiming.  

Yet there are still times and issues of great difficulty and we're in one of those spots right now.

Friends, would you pray for us for peace and pray that God would be magnified in this entire situation?  Even, please ask for healing and comfort in the midst of this difficulty.  

We're grateful for your standing with us.... that Christ may be glorified!

Revival

Selections from page 179-186, A God-sized Vision, Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir.  by Colin Hansen and John Woodbridge

Whatever else you might say about Jonathan Edwards, he certainly heads the list with an especially "God-sized vision" of spiritual awakenings.  As he studied Scripture, Edwards saw how God acts with sovereign grace and awesome power.  But Edwards's vision was also shaped and strengthened by experience.  His Narrative of the Surprising Work of the Spirit of God, published in 1737, described an amazing event.   Northhampton, Massachusetts, and neighboring towns in Connecticut River Valley had been blessed by "a special dispensation of God's providence."  Townspeople recognized the very "presence of the Lord" in their midst.  According to Edwards, God's presence transformed the spiritual life of the town.

Edwards rejoiced as the work of the Holy Spirit sept beyond the Northhampton town limits.  But Edwards did not attribute the spread of the awakening to any planning by the New England clergy.  Rather, he regarded the revival as surprising, even though he and other ministers had seen revival before and prayed for it expectantly....  The stories (in previous chapters of the book) may stretch our vision of God's powerful and gracious work in the past [and] may also stir us to pray that God will pour out his Holy Spirit once again in great power in our own day.

Yet maybe you remain unconvinced.  We don't see revivals like this in the West today.  Most of us have ever participated in a major spiritual awakening.  So we may conclude that they simply do not happen, at least not where we live.  Our experience (or lack thereof) trumps biblical teaching and historical example.  What is more, few evangelical leaders call on us to remember the reviving work of the Spirit of God in our land.  Where are the voices crying out in the wilderness, imploring the children of Israel to remember God's prior acts of faithfulness and power?....

Someone who lives with a God-sized vision affirms that gaining knowledge of God precedes gaining knowledge of man.  To acquire this knowledge of God, we turn to Scripture.  There we see Christ, and in reflecting on Christ, we gain more knowledge of God the Father.  As Martin Luther observes, Christ is a mirror of our heavenly Father's loving heart.

Yet this Father will also judge according to his own standards of righteousness, not ours.  This God holds the nations in his hands.  He alone empowers our ministry.  We must not depend on methods, cultural exegesis, strategies, and techniques (helpful though some of them can be) as our end-all approach to doing ministry.  We desperately need to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit in our day-to-day lives.  A God-sized vision helps us to understand that the Lord really does love us and care for us.  He provides for us.  The doctrine of God's providence gives us both courage and comfort....  

According to Edwards, a true revival exalts Jesus Christ, provokes Satan, prioritizes the Bible and inspires love.   But there are other traits that revival stories share in common.  If we will see revival again in this day of diminished expectations, we would expect to hear about these shared traits that can be traced throughout the history of spiritual awakenings.

Persisting in Prayer

Often, at least a handful of faith-filled believers engaged in heartfelt prayer for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in order to experience revival.  Sometimes they prayed for years before they saw revival.  Others were driven to pray almost as a last resort.  They had tried and failed to do ministry in their own power.  They realized the task before them was too huge or that their efforts using various means and methods had failed.  They finally acknowledged they could not continue to serve without the Lord's blessing and power.  

Repenting of Sin

When God's presence becomes evident in a revival, repentance from sin swiftly follows. Awareness of God's holiness impels believers under conviction of the Holy Spirit to seek Christ's forgiveness   Sins's horror becomes unbearably evident.  The sin could be as simple and insidious as pride and trust in our own efforts.  But God could be waiting for us to confess before he reveals his plans.  There is a danger, however.  Sometimes public confession becomes a twisted sort of spiritual one-upmanship to see who can reveal the worst sin.  Confession must be followed by humble pursuit of God's sustaining grace and ongoing accountability.    But make no mistake, true revival will expose sin you never noticed.  The process will be bitter, but God's grace will soon taste sweeter than ever before.  

Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ

During the transatlantic awakening of the eighteenth century, John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to whoever would listen, whether in churches, open fields, or town squares.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, their preaching breached man-made defenses.  They emphasized the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which they believed had been lost in much Anglican preaching of their day.   They understood that hte gospel is "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom 1:16).  

Acknowledging God's Authority in Humility

Christians throughout history have emphasized the importance of walking humbly before God and neighbors.  Edwards noted that humility not only helps to keep the Devil at bay, but also clears one's vision.  He knew that the Lord often used humble believers to lead spiritual awakenings.  Gripped by the Gospel, the exalted Christ and not themselves.  

By contrast, Edwards identified pride as the primary error that clogged the advance of awakenings.  Pride, a stubborn enemy of God, was the first sin that came into this world and will be the last one to leave.   Those who are eager to see the Gospel advance are particularly prone to pride.  A humble person whom God chose to use in ministry could become proud about success and popularity, succumb to a criticial spirit, and in turn lose the Lord's full blessing.  Edwards's insights on spiritual pride in particular deserve serious consideration.  

Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others; whereas a humble saint is most jealous of himself, he is so suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart.  The spiritually proud person is apt to find a fault with other saints, that they are low in grace, and to be much in observing how cold and dead they be, and crying out of them for it, and to be quick to discern and take notice of their deficiencies:  but the eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home, and sees so much evil in his own heart, and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with others' hearts; he complains most of himself, and cries out of his own coldness and lowness in grace, and is apt to esteem others better than himself... and can't bear to think that others should bring forth no more fruit to God's honor than he.  

A humble Christian is more apt to seek reconciliation with estranged brothers and sisters in Christ and to say in a heartfelt manner, "I am sorry."  Reconciliation between antagonistic Christians often seems to open the door to revival.  We recall that after Jonathan Goforth sought reconciliation with another missionary, even though Goforth felt he was in the right, revival broke out among the Chinese with whom he was ministering.  Nursing personal grudges can diminish our fruitfulness in ministry.  

Serving God with Boldness

With a firm belief in God's care, many revival leaders fearlessly entered perilous circumstances.  They were not content to serve as chaplains to the status quo.  This holy boldness, granted by the Spirt, gains strength when we remember what God's strong arm has done in the past.  The Lord is not intimidated by Chicago or Cairo or any other city or country.  He really does hold the nations in his hands.  History tells the story.  Nations rise and fall, but the Lord endures forever.  Christ is building his church.  

Revival, in fact looks a lot like the church's normal activities as explained in Scripture.  The revived church worships, prays, preaches, and evangelizes.  Only they do so with a heightened sense of God and greater capacity to embody and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for sinners.  Their Christ-centered exuberance in worship and boldness in evangelism attracts critics but appeals to many others.  A deeper understanding of God's holiness leads to repentance and humility that may seem uncomfortable at first but ultimately foster meaningful community.  

"This is what God can do.  This is what God has done,"  Martyn Lloyd-Jones said.  "Let us together decide to beseech him, to plead with him to do this again.  Not that we may have the experience or the excitement, but that his great name may be glorified and magnified among the people.