Saturday

Uganda: Kampala Protests Intensify

Keep the nation of Uganda in your prayers. My sister there wrote me to ask for prayer. She writes: "God has a great purpose for this land...pray that it will come to pass in-spite of the enemy's attempt to stop it."

allAfrica.com: Uganda: Kampala Protests Intensify: "Unconfirmed reports say three people are killed and over 80 others injured. Roads leading to the city centred are blocked as protesters burn tyres and police use teargas. Shops remain shut and transport is interrupted."

Friday

Reviewing Chapter 4 of Rob Bell's Love Wins

Posting this here per the request of a reader.  The following video focuses on what Rob Bell writes about universalism and hell in Love Wins.  For more info on this subject, I recommend digging through James White's site here: http://aomin.org

Pray for Uganda: Violent Riots in the Streets

I just heard about this from a friend online and then contacted my sister who is living in Kampala.  She's okay but said that they haven't been able to leave their house today.  I hope you will pray for the nation of Uganda and ask God to continue to advance his Kingdom there.

Is Prince William the Antichrist?

Answer: No.

And with that, I end all that I care to say about the royal wedding -- the marriage of someone who might one day hold a position without authority in a nation that I don't live in.

The Real Royal Wedding

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
(Rev 19:6-16 ESV)

Are you prepared?

Sunday

He Came Alive Again!

Happy Easter everybody!  A few minutes before Monday and my day is just winding down.  It has been good, but I will not wax on today.  Just wanted to share a funny video from our neighborhood Easter/Good Friday party the other day.  My kids wrote the words to the song in the video.  I taught it to the kids and they helped me to perform it.  Hope you enjoy!



By the way.  That's . . .

He came alive again.
He talked to people some more.
All of them were so excited.
He came alive again.

And we say, "Yay!" (repeat many times)

Tuesday

Donate to our Team Retreat!

On a bit of a vacation right now.  Kind of a pseudo-vacation really, I have some work with me.  Work to do while I'm away.  Stuff like that.  But hey, the time is quickly approaching for TIBM's team retreat.  Our fundraising efforts have lagged behind.  Less than $500 away from having it fully covered.  I know that hundreds of people read my blog and have been blessed in one way or another by it.  Thousands more by our ministry in general.  This will be a critical time for us to get away with the Lord and one another.  Please give a gift of support today or ask a friend to.  If you can't do either of those things, please take 1 minute to pray that God would provide the support through someone else.  


To give, pull out a credit or debit card and make a gift using the little widget below. This is a very secure system and your gifts are fully tax-deductible.






Summary of The Cape Town Commitment

The following link is to a very helpful summary of the Cape Town Commitment. I personally have found the CTC to be a powerful and prophetic document that does a great job of articulating what the Spirit is saying to the Church today.

Summary of The Cape Town Commitment: "SUMMARY OF THE CAPE TOWN COMMITMENT

The Cape Town Commitment (CTC) is a masterful and comprehensive document, faithfully reflecting the proceedings of The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, which took place in Cape Town, South Africa (October 2010). It is impossible to capture the spirit of Lausanne III in a three-page summary, so this synopsis should be read in conjunction with the full CTC."

MaarifatAllah - الكلمات التي سوف تقرأها هي صحيحة

This is an awesome website to share with your Muslim friends. I have met the great folks that manage the site and heard some of their stories. God is using it wonderfully to bring salvation through the Lord Jesus to many in the Muslim world. Pass it on today to an Arabic-speaking Muslim friend that you know.

MaarifatAllah - الكلمات التي سوف تقرأها هي صحيحة

Soe Rah & Cody - Annual Video of Exodus World Service

This year, Soe Rah and I were happy to be able to share our story at the annual banquet of Exodus World Service.  EWS is a great ministry that focuses on mobilizing the Church to connect with and serve the needs of refugees arriving in the United States from around the world.  TIBM has been partnering with EWS for several years.  We really love them and commend them to you as a wonderful and God-honoring ministry.  Below, please enjoy the annual video.

Monday

Humanitarian wars and rejected refugees | openDemocracy

Thousands of refugees are now flowing out of Libya and Tunisia. Get ready, Church!

Humanitarian wars and rejected refugees | openDemocracy: "For France, acting in a ‘humanitarian’ manner means intervening in Libya’s civil war but does not extend to freely accepting refugees from Libya or Tunisia within its borders."

Photos of Bhutanese - Nepali Church Learning, Discussing, & Praying About Global Challenges

Yesterday, the members of TriEak Parmeshwar Mandali -- a Nepali-speaking Bhutanese church in the Chicago area -- spent time learning, talking, and praying about three great global challenges.  Human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, and unreached people groups were the topics of focus for this young church made up entirely of refugees.  The primary question before them was this: "What would God have us do?"

The discussion was tremendously fruitful and I look forward to seeing what develops from here.  Some of the ideas that came forward including planning dedicated times of prayer and fasting, getting more education about these issues as a group, hosting fundraising and awareness events, and sending mission teams and even full-time missionaries from our church.  Little attention was paid to the fact that the ones having the conversation were mere refugees and thus typically considered unable to even attempt such things.  The belief was firm that with God's help, we could accomplish anything.

Now, I want to simply share some of the photos from our time.  These are some of the coolest photos:

Ganesh leading a conversation about Human Trafficking


Dikura explaining the concept of Unreached People Groups to members of UPGs

"Round-Robin" Style Conversations on Global Issues

Krishna explaining how HIV/AIDS & poverty are connected

UPGs praying for UPGs
  
Our Commitment: To Do Something Before Oct. 31, 2011



Sunday

LORD WILLING: WE'LL DO SOMETHING!

Today at TriEak Parmeshwar Mandali, our Bhutanese-Nepali church -- a refugee church -- we are going to have a discussion about three huge global challenges.  We will discuss HIV/AIDS, Human Trafficking, and Unreached People Groups / Diaspora.  We will talk, pray, and ask God what He would have us do.  That's right, the congregation is entirely refugee, poor, new followers of Christ. Considered by most to be mere objects of charity. No, we are in Christ. Christ has something for us. We will rise up and do something.

Last night, I appointed three of the churches leaders to be conversation leaders today.  Each will lead the conversations and prayers about each of the key challenges.  The rest of the congregation will be divided into three groups that will spend about 15-20 minutes on each topic.  At the end, the leaders will report back on what they have heard from God and His Church.  Below, is the conversation outline that will be given by the leaders. It is Palm Sunday. Hosanna to the King! Save us! A good time to ask the Lord how He wants to use us as an instrument and vessel of His salvation to those who are crying out around the world.


Basic Facts and Information about Human Trafficking

What are the Facts?

1. It is estimated that there are approximately 27 million slaves around the world.[1]
2. Around half of trafficking victims in the world are under the age of 18.[2]
3. The average cost of a slave around the world is $90.[3]
4. According to some estimates, approximately 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation, and 19% involves labor exploitation.[4]
5. Trafficking victims normally don't get help because they think that they or their families will be hurt by their traffickers, or that they will be deported.[5]
6. In Nepal, every year 10-15 thousand women are trafficked to India alone.[6]

How can we pray?

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
(Isaiah 61:1)
·         Pray  that God will end human trafficking in the world.
·         Pray that God will use governments and churches around the world to stop human trafficking.
·         Pray that God will show our church what we must do.

What can we do as followers of Jesus?

What are some small things we can do this year about human trafficking?
What are some big things that we could do if God really helped us?


Basic Facts and Information about HIV/AIDS

What are the Facts?

1. More than 30 million people in the world today have HIV/AIDS.[7]
2. HIV/AIDS is among the leading causes of death worldwide and the number one cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa.[8]
3. HIV/AIDS cases have been reported in all regions of the world, but the large majority of people living with the disease (approximately 95%) reside in low-and middle-income countries.[9]
4. More than 2/3rds of people in the world with HIV/AIDS are in Africa.[10]
5. More than 2 million children in the world have HIV/AIDS. More than 200,000 die every year.[11]
6. 15 million children across the world have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.[12]
7. Asia is believed to have nearly 5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, with India accounting for 2.4 million cases.[13]
8. HIV/AIDS is a growing problem in Nepal because of poor education. Most Nepalis (80%) who have AIDS don’t know that they do.[14]

How can we pray?

And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
(Matthew 10:7-8)
·         Pray  that God will use governments, churches, scientists, doctors, and others to end HIV/AIDS by discovering a cure.
·         Pray that medicines will be available to the poor in the world who have HIV/AIDS.
·         Pray that good education will be provided around the world that will help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
·         Pray that God will show our church what we must do.

What can we do as followers of Jesus?

What are some small things we can do this year about human trafficking?
What are some big things that we could do if God really helped us?

Basic Facts and Information about Unreached Peoples & Diaspora

What are the Facts?

1. A “people group” is a group of people that share certain things like language, ethnicity/race/caste, or other cultural traditions.  For evangelistic purposes, a people group is the largest group within which the gospel can spread without facing obstacles of understanding or acceptance. There are about 16,000 people groups in the world.[15]
2. An “Unreached People Group” is any people group in which less than 2% of the population follows Jesus. There are more than 6,000 of these in the world.[16] In Nepal, there are many unreached people groups. Some include: Magar, Maithili, Darjee, and many others. Bhutan also has many unreached people groups including the Dzongkhas, Sherpas, and Lhotshampas.[17]
3. There are only about 100,000 missionaries in the world. Only 3% of them are working among unreached people groups. There is a great need to send more missionaries.[18]
4. An “unengaged unreached people group” is an unreached people group that has no missionaries or churches. Most of these people have no opportunity to hear the message of Jesus in a way they can understand.  No one is trying to reach them![19]
5. Today, more than 214 million people live outside their home country. These are diaspora or “scattered” people. Many are from unreached people groups.[20]
6. Nepalis live in countries all over the world. 600,000 live in India. 215,000 live in Saudia Arabia. 125,000 live in Malaysia.  73,000 live in Hong Kong.  2,000 live in South Africa. More than 50,000 live in the USA. Most of these people do not know Jesus and have no one to tell them.[21]

How can we pray?

And Jesus said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
(Mark 16:15)
·         Pray that God will send more missionaries to the unreached people groups of the world.
·         Pray that the Bible will be translated into every language in the world so that everyone can understand.
·         Pray that followers of Jesus in every nation will reach out with love, friendship, and the message of Jesus to immigrants.
·         Pray that God will show our church what we must do.

What can we do as followers of Jesus?

What are some small things we can do this year about human trafficking?
What are some big things that we could do if God really helped us?