DMM: Leadership--Pit Bulls and Other Gnarly Tales

DMM: Leadership--Pit Bulls and Other Gnarly Tales

 

Addressing a growing level of unhealthiness in the Global Missions Community.

 

“That leader is a pit bull. He cannot let up on speaking in a mean spirited way to other missionaries with whom he disagrees. Unfortunately, he is influencing others in the global missions community in unhealthy ways,” lamented a highly respected missionary leader. 

 

Upon looking into the eyes of the above brother, that day, I saw a glimpse of the Father’s grief for the Bride reflected in his carefully confided lament. 

 

Honestly, how does one process a comment like the above? From one perspective, you wonder what pain and injury the author of that comment has endured from the said missions leader? And yet, from another perspective, how would you feel if that were said of your own life? What if this pit bull description were thought to be true of you? Somehow, the term “clanging symbol” feels a bit synonymous with the tag “pit bull”. How is the posture of being content to serve as a “pit bull” not breeding anything but that which is diametrically opposed to Paul’s exhortation in I Corinthians 13 to choose love above all else?

 

One of the principles of laying a foundation for seeing the Lord launch a Church Planting Movement is the area of unflinching evaluation. How does one evaluate the above statement, first and foremost, on an individual basis? Then, how does one facilitate on a corporate scale as to whether this is a tendency of the Global Missions Community, at some levels?

 

I must confess to not liking pit bulls. On the outside, pit bulls may appear cuddly, warm, and slobberingly affectionate. Or so, their owners espouse. However, adults come to realize what little children cannot recognize. The more the pit bull has been injured and not healed, the more the animal has the capacity to be injurious to others. The same pattern is true in the lives of missionaries, when left unchecked and not challenged to acknowledge their injurious ways. 

 

The sobering reality is that in missions organizations, there are leaders who rise in position with these same unchecked injurious tendencies. Hurt pit bulls, hurt people. And hurt people, hurt people goes the axiom.

 

 Hurt people, hurt people

 

 

The gaining of wisdom regarding “pit bull” types in the global missions’ community is crucial in our day and time. Those who yearn for unity in Kingdom endeavors without compromise on the essentials, while honoring an atmosphere of diversity in the Kingdom, tend to desire to understand the differences. Those who desire to exhibit tenacious obedience in a grace-filled atmosphere of mutual respect---know the difference. 

 

At the tender age of three years old, my mother lost sight of me only to find her little girl contentedly cuddling the neighbor’s “pit bull” type dog. Apparently, feeling quite secure at my family home induced an adventurous spirit. To my childhood curiosity, without the advantage of adult filters, that dog represented an intriguing challenge in which to draw near. Many years later, I have come to understand the nature of the danger I had embraced at that moment in my younger days. Thankfully, I am not so young now.

 

A Rather Gnarly Tale: An Observation Made

 

In over 35 years of on-going service on the mission field, I have observed a growing seed of unhealthiness which I feel needs to be discussed in Kingdom efforts among missionaries. 

 

There seems to be a growing contempt and disdain among missionaries for those in the Bride with whom one disagrees: in personal philosophical approaches to missions’ efforts, in personal development of convictions in the ever evolving understanding of contextualization, in the process of organizational uniqueness as expressed in differing priorities in Kingdom efforts. 

 

How will we, as the global missions’ community choose to interact with one another on levels of doctrinal import along with areas of philosophical differences? How will we distinguish the two? How will we then relate in such a way as Kingdom advancement does not go wanting for passion to somehow prove others “wrong” when we don’t agree on certain approaches?

 

A former missionary colleague in our area commented on the growing argumentative spirit between missions’ organizations serving on the field, expressing, “It is important for my heart to remember that no one person or organization has a corner on the market on God’s truth and doctrinal purity.” He continues, “Not one individual among us missionaries has one hundred percent accurate theology.” And yet, there is a necessary and healthy dialogue which needs to take place from time to time in these mission field issues in matters related to doctrine. 

 

There is a healthy tension, which can be embraced in the process of understanding the Movements of God and the fulfillment of His purposes in our day. The emphasis is the reality of the need for missionaries to choose to lovingly work through the tension that will arise. It is imperative that we grow in skillfulness in inviting others to dialogue, when necessary, in a way that honors one another. In humility and tangible mercy and grace it is vital that the missions’ community partners hold fast to the common thread which each desires in longing to demonstrate and express the glory of God among the ethne. May we never choose to forget to remember that another missionary or missions’ organization is NOT the enemy. 

 

When Christians turn their guns on one another, they have effectively turned their guns off of Satan and His schemes. 

Recently, we had the opportunity to dialogue with another missionary regarding their desire to write a book so that, in his expressed purpose, the funding trail for a certain type of contextualization approach among Muslims would “dry up”. My heart sank at the thought of the time and effort one can passionately pursue in this type of endeavor. I also wondered if the cumulative hours to be spent on “proving them wrong” type dialogues from one missionary org to others would be better spent invested in direct impactful labor among their targeted Unreached People Group? What amount of investment of time and energy has been spent in this posture, which could have produced eternal fruit in the lives of target people instead? From my perspective, some of these orgs could have actually been involved in enjoying having seen the Lord launch Church Planting Movements if they had been willing to die to some of their personal preferences and made adjustments along the way. 

 

 Be careful to guard your heart from the tendency to confuse personal preferences with biblical absolutes.

 

 Questions to ponder as missions organization leaders;

 

 

→What process does your organization practice to intentionally guard communicating unity in the Global Body of Christ?

 

→Does the person or persons your organization allows to speak to dicey issues represent a grace-filled expression along with a non-attack posture toward others?

 

→Is there any one in your leadership pool who is articulate and skilled in communicating unity in the Bride of Christ without a hinge of contempt or disdain for others? 

 

→Does your organization have an evaluative piece for your leaders which fosters and promotes non-punishment of field personnel for constructive criticism?

 

→Does your organization hold as a core value a deliberateness, by actions and words, of affirming the other organizations in your various fields?

 

→If your  missions organization has developed a reputation as “pit bulls”, in a negative sense, are you willing to ask the evaluative questions that bring correction where needed?

 

→How will your organization equip your personnel in a commitment to model healthy approaches in discussing dicey field issues with other organizations, when needed?

 

→How will your organization guard a commitment to Kingdom advancement which does not go wanting for passion to somehow prove others “wrong” when you don’t agree on certain approaches?

 

→Does your organization have a process in place whereby you can ask evaluative questions of other organizations as to how your organization is perceived in your various fields?  Does your organization factor in seeking counsel from national colleagues as well?

 

→Does your organization have a reputation of being Kingdom partners or Kingdom dividers?

 

The unreached people groups of the world are awaiting the fame and renown of the glory of God to be expressed and demonstrated among them. Vision killers can come in unexpected packages. How can one truly trust that God would bring desired Disciple Making Movements (DMM), unless one is yielded unto Christ in all aspects of the needed daily transformative power of Christ? Unity in the Bride at the expense of doctrinal and theological integrity is not the goal. However, the expression of the unity of the Bride, as Christ intends when he cried in the Garden of Gethsemane is the higher ground. That vision of cultivating unity in the Bride of Christ for the fulfillment of the Great Commission of the heart of Christ is one of the ultimate common grounds of all missionaries.

 

May His Kingdom Come

 

Women2Women DMM Trainer/Coach

www.beyond.org

 

DMM: Between the Miraculous and the Menial

Between the Miraculous and the Menial

Counterintuitive. That is the supernatural nature of the miraculous. 

Expected. That is the natural inclination of the heart of man when considering the menial. 

 

The book of Exodus paints a portrait of a broadsided Moses encountering the revealed presence of the God who is. God called Moses. Moses reluctantly obeyed. Moses learned a lifestyle of trust and obedience by being thrown into the deep end of believing God to be God. The daily obvious reminder of Moses’ desperate need to depend solely upon God was cultivated; a million plus doubting hearts stared him in the face. Wholehearted desperate dependence upon God’s goodness was crafted in the heart of Moses in the process.

 

How would he lead these stubborn people? These people who instantly disobeyed God when asked to wait upon Him for the next steps? Moses wondered.  After the miraculous came the menial. God delivered them but could God provide food for so many? And what about the nasty camping conditions? The Israelites no doubt wondered. They doubted. They disobeyed in the midst of the menial after directly witnessing the miraculous. Again, they wandered. Front row seats the Israelites were afforded as witness to a glimpse of the work of God’s mighty hand. 

 

Nothing compares to the greatness of God’s glory. Moses cultivated a heart that yearned for God’s glory while many of the others developed a craving for the wow of His mighty acts. 

 

When one desires to see a movement among an Unreached People Group, one can feign the menial while desiring the instant big fruit. To trust God for the launch of a Disciple Making Movement (DMM), is to believe God desires to accomplish His promised purposes in His timing and by His power. One also chooses to expect God to move asap while surrendering to His perfect timing. Even the intentionality and deliberateness in the yearning can be erroneously formed into just another sacred golden cow. Sometimes one can neglect the cultivation of a heart for God’s glory alone to be our beginning point in all that we endeavor; between the miraculous and the menial.

 

Surveying the landscape of the freshest group of local partners whom we are training/coaching in Disciple Making Movements (DMM), my husband and I felt a strong sense of awe along with gratefulness. 

 

We began this round of equipping with a commonly communicated challenge. 

Here are the ground rules in trusting God to initiate a DMM among Unreached People Groups:

1.   Forget tradition

2. Focus and rely upon authority of God’s Word alone

3. Trust the Holy Spirit to lead you

4. Be counterintuitive

Kingdom Movements are forged in the trenches of life. It is the inch-by-inch gain what wins the day. It is what we believe and embrace of the God who is Lord over the miraculous that delineates whether we walk faithfully and in fruit-bearing ways with Him in the menial.

 

The rain cascaded unrelentingly from the darkened sky in this coaching time. These college students are ones who desire to trust God with their respective profession to be sent as tentmakers among Unreached People Groups. Hours later, after waiting for an open seam in the fabric of the heavy downpour, we began the next phase of coaching them to form into an indigenous-led sending agency focused upon DMM. 

 

We waited. And we waited. We were way past the raining “cats and dogs” type rain and were officially experiencing the torrid monsoon phase. 

 

We prayed with the few of the group who were present. After three hours passed, most of the ones desiring to be sent out as teams for long term efforts had managed to come. How we each view these seemingly menial times reveals more than the ready adoration we offer to the Lord in the midst of the miraculous. To choose to trust God for the joy in the midst of the everyday is just that; it is a choice. 

 

DMM: No Small Disturbance

 

 
“About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way.”
-The Book of Acts, Chapter 19

No Small Disturbance

 
There came no small disturbance concerning the Way of Isa Al Masih that day in the heart of Ibu (Mrs.) Jawaria. This SaSumBi woman considered the long journey from a past full of unmet longings, as a faithful adherent to Islam. 
 
Then came the day Ibu Jawaria was introduced to another type of SaSumBi woman. A woman who was radically different and quite unlike anyone else she had ever known from an Islamic background. This other woman claimed to be a follower of Isa Al Masih.      
                                                                     
“How could that possibly be so?," Ibu Jawaria marveled.
 
Ati, her new friend, was meeting with Ibu Jawaria and sharing Discovery Bible Stories regarding the Old Testament Prophets and Jesus. Ibu Jawaria was being trained by Ati to take these stories, one at a time, and then facilitate her household to gather and discuss them. 
 
As a patterned response, Ati would facilitate her family in asking the following questions related to the stories they were learning;

►What does this story teach us about the character of God?
►What does this story teach us about man? 
►In what specific ways will you obey God from what you are learning in this passage of Scripture? When do you plan on applying these truths? 
►When and with what other household/friends' group will you personally share this story so that others too can know God and His ways?  

 
Over the several times of discovering God's Word, alongside her family, Ibu Jawaria felt the sweet release of tears that flowed as she began to see the heart of God. 

As a SaSumBi Muslim she had yearned to know if this Allah whom she sought could be known. She had tried to live in a righteous way according to Islam.  She had come to realize, to her frustration, that the many ceremonial outward cleansings required by Islam could not offset the sins she continued to commit against Allah in her heart.  As she reflected honestly, there were numerous times she had and would hurt others. She felt like one who had been invited to know Allah and yet was always separated by a great chasm between she and a holy and just God.  

She felt disturbed and quite undone. 

Ibu Jawaria’s longings met God’s way. After her household reached the part of the New Testament Discovery Bible Study Storying set, her entire family finally understood. They understood that only through Isa Al Masih could forgiveness and true life be found. The reality of Allah’s truth bore deeply into their collective as well as individual understanding. 
 
At that moment, Ibu Jawaria was no longer disturbed. Ibu Jawaria along with her entire household realized the Way to Salvation and life in abundance today and for eternity was found in Isa Al Masih alone. They prayed a simple prayer of commitment to Christ, turning from their own ways, and gave their lives to Isa Al Masih that day.  
 
Ibu Jawaria’s husband told her recently, “you’re really bold in telling others about Isa Al Masih.” To which she replied, “of course I am bold, this is the truth!” 
 
Ibu Jawaria has exclaimed to Ati how she longs to become like the Apostle Paul. Ibu Jawaria’s heart cry is to become one who loves their life not unto death and one who proclaims the glory of Isa Al Masih boldly. She and her husband are presently studying the Word of God on-goingly with their oikos (household) as a reproducing House Fellowship.
 
 Pray with us and local disciple makers to:

• Reproduce Laborers for the harvest. 
• Launch a social media campaign to find and reproduce laborers from among local believers. We are asking God to identify and filter those whom He would raise up, to equip and coach to be Timothys/Timothy-etts.   (2 Timothy 2:2) We are looking for those who are Holy Spirit led dissatisfied believers from both Muslim backgrounds as well as from traditional church backgrounds.
• See more rapid multiplication of Discovery Groups that are meeting throughout the ten counties of the SaSumBi to come to Christ together.
• See the increased multiplication of house fellowships of baptized disciples.

DMM: Finding Ina

                                         Longing to Be Found

 

 

 "For it is not you who speak, but {it is} the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” - Matthew 10:20

 

                                  Ibu Ina—A Person of Peace 

                                      (Luke 10, Matthew 10) 

 

 

Devastation awaited restoration. Ibu (Mrs.) Ina lingered for a bit as we concluded our art therapy sessions for villagers traumatized by the recent 8.0 earthquake. The exacting lines sculpting her leathery skinned face belied the harshness of life in this rubber-tree rich area of Southeast Asia. I felt led to ask her privately if she was a reader, to which she lit up. I asked her if she had ever read of the beauty and splendor of Isa Al Masih (Jesus) from the Injil (the Gospels)? 

 

Animatedly, Ibu Ina confided her desire to hear more of the life of Isa Al Masih. She shared that, years prior, a man with a Muslim background came to their village and declared himself a follower of Isa Al Masih. Ibu Ina recalled having studied a glimpse of the life of Christ through a brief discussion of the Gospels with him. She noted that many others in her village had gathered with this man at the time. However, as Ibu Ina commented, that opportunity to learn more of Isa Al Masih seemed a very long and lonely stretch of lifetime ago.

Reflections to Ponder 

 

►Picture yourself in the same conversation as the above. If desiring to see a Kingdom Movement (CPM/DMM) begun among this Muslim Unreached People Group, what would be your next move?

 

Heavenly Father, cause the SaSumBi laborers to find the Persons of Peace who will lead them to the households of Muslims whom you are bringing into Your Kingdom. Cause each of the laborers to walk in the humility of Christ, while appropriating the power of the Holy Spirit in all endeavors for Your glory. In Jesus name. Amen.

  

 

DMM: Multiply the Super Spreaders

 

Let It Rain!

Buol People of Sulawesi (excerpt taken from GPD article written by RA)

The Buol people’s former Sultans (Islamic kings) were quite effective implementing a class system of the haves and the have-nots. Zul, a simple rice farmer, definitely saw himself as one who inherited the takdir (fate given by Allah) of the have-nots. 

Zul’s neighbors, Burhan and his wife, had recently begun to talk with him about the prophet Isa (Jesus). They invited Zul and his family to a discussion of the prophets as studied from the books of Moses, Psalms, and the gospels. These simple discussions, using 8 easy to understand discovery questions, had caused Zul and his family to be a bit bothered, yet intrigued, all at once. Something felt so different than what they had known of Allah's heart. They could not argue that their neighbors, Burhan and family were behaving in a different way than what they had experienced of Burhan's family for many years prior. Burhan and his family seemed to demonstrate love, care, and forgiveness in ways so strange to Zul and his family. 

Could this be connected to the discovery of Allah's heart and applying these stories which has brought a change?, Zul wondered.

During his last crop failure, Zul had observed Burhan and his wife standing in the middle of their rice field as they cried out to Allah in the name of Isa Al Masih (Jesus the Messiah). They asked Allah to bring rain for the parched land so that Allah would be glorified. A beautiful rain did descend at that moment! Mysteriously though, rain fell only upon Burhan and his family’s farm. 

That prayer and apparent intimacy with Allah had mystified Zul. Why did Allah answer Burhan’s prayer in the name of Isa Al Masih and not his?

• Pray for the Holy Spirit to draw the Buol people to Jesus. 
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to thrust out a local team that will implement a Disciple Making Movements approach among this Unreached People Group for God’s glory.

96,000 Muslims, five believers

Status: Needs committed DMM catalyst team of local laborers for engagement

Location: Northern Sulawesi

 

Daniel 4:32 

You will eat grass like cattle…until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes. 

Daniel’s fourth chapter is a kind of celebrity tract in which the most powerful king of his day tells how God broke his pride and stubbornness, and how in simple childlike surrender, he came to acknowledge the most High God as his Sovereign. Nebuchadnezzar said, “I raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me and I blessed the Most High….” 

When we are tempted to believe that any individual or any nation is beyond the saving power of God, we should be reminded that the king’s heart is in the hands of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases.

• Pray that God will give us the faith to trust Him for miracles in the hearts of men and nations.
• Pray for the launch of cascading Kingdom Movements among these Unreached People Groups.

 

Disciple Making Movements: Coaching from God's Heart

Coaching from God's Heart

Movement coaching is not merely about improving fruitfulness. It is about helping transformed disciples abide in Christ, obey His Word, and reproduce His life in others.

A White Bunny at Midnight

Scars. Who wants them?

It was nearly midnight when a white bunny slipped through our backyard gate. Five-foot-long monitor lizards settling into nesting places in our yard—yes, we had seen that. But a wild white bunny? That was a first.

Through that unexpected little visitor, the Lord tenderly ministered to my heart.

My husband and I had recently endured a difficult season on the mission field. There had been pain, sorrow, and profound sadness. The experience had left scars.

That particular evening, my husband was meeting with a group of men he was training in Disciple Making Movements. My own plan for the evening was simple: take my guitar outside, intercede over the training and spend time worshiping.

I placed a chair in the middle of our backyard and settled beneath the brilliant canopy of the Southern Hemisphere night sky. There, surrounded by the stillness of the night, I began to worship.

I remember the white bunny. Even more, I remember how the Lord met me and ministered to my wounded heart.

The very essence of who Christ claims to be commands our response. Worship lies at the epicenter of a life that trusts and obeys Him. It is devotion expressed with delight. It is the place where our wounds, questions, and longings are entrusted to the Almighty—the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

In worship, we do not deny our scars. We bring them into the presence of the One who redeems them.

A Transformed Heart Overflows in Worship

I saw this same overflow in the life of my friend Nyn.

From the moment she climbed into the front passenger seat of my car, she could hardly sit still. She began pouring out story after story of all that God was doing in and through her life.

Throughout nearly our entire time together, this precious woman could not stop speaking about the goodness of God. As our hours together drew to a close, I marveled at the passion flowing from her transformed heart.

Was God preparing to launch a movement in and through Nyn? Absolutely.

Yet before a movement could flow through her, something had first moved deeply within her. Her heart had been captured by a holy and loving God. Her words were the overflow of a life being transformed by His goodness.

Her response reminded me of Peter and John in the book of Acts:

“As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

—Acts 4:20

That is the language of worship. A heart that has truly encountered Christ cannot remain untouched or unmoved.

As we press into deeper expressions of worship, there will be times of exuberant declaration. There will also be seasons of quiet reflection—moments of stillness, reverence, and adoration.

Yet whether worship erupts in joyful proclamation or rests in silent awe, Jesus cannot remain peripheral. We may resist Him or surrender to Him, but once we encounter who He truly is, indifference is no longer a reasonable response.

Worship as the Foundation of Movement Coaching

Worship and movement coaching are not separate pursuits.

Our goal is not merely to transfer strategies, teach tools, or review ministry activity. We are helping leaders abide in Christ, recognize what God is doing, and respond in loving obedience. Effective coaching must flow from intimacy with God and lead people back into deeper dependence upon Him.

The following framework provides a simple rhythm for coaching indigenous leaders who are applying Disciple-Making Movement principles.

A Practical Framework for Coaching Indigenous Leaders

1. Invest Consistent Time

Meet weekly, when possible, for approximately one to two hours with the leaders you are training and coaching.

Consistency communicates care. It provides space to deepen relationships, address challenges, celebrate obedience, and help leaders discern their next steps.

2. Begin with Worship, Gratitude, and Care

Devote approximately the first third of your time to worship and personal connection. Use the opening Discovery Bible Study questions to guide the conversation:

• What are you thankful for?
• What challenges are you facing?

Listen carefully. Celebrate God’s activity in their lives, and intercede together over the needs and challenges they share.

This portion of the meeting reminds everyone that the work belongs to God. Strategy must never replace dependence upon Him.

3. Review and Map Current Ministry Activity

Use the second third of your time to review their current Discovery Bible Studies, Discovery Groups, and house fellowships.

A simple diagram or relational map can help everyone see where groups have begun, who is facilitating them, which Persons of Peace are engaged, and where reproduction may be emerging.

Ask accountability and application questions such as:

• What story did your group study last week?
• How did you obey or apply what God showed you?
• How did the people you are training respond in obedience?
• With whom did they share the story?
• Which groups or relationships appear open to taking a next step?
• Where are you encountering obstacles?

This review should be encouraging and discovery-oriented rather than controlling. The purpose is to help leaders recognize what God is doing, learn from experience, and identify the next faithful step.

4. Prepare and Practice the Next Story

Devote the final third of the coaching time to preparing the next Bible story or passage.

Read the passage aloud twice. Then have the leaders retell it twice in their own words. This helps them internalize the story and prepare to facilitate discovery without becoming dependent upon written notes or outside teachers.

As you practice together, ask:

• When will you meet with your Persons of Peace or Discovery Groups?
• With whom will you share or facilitate this story?
• What is working well?
• What is not working?
• What will you do differently this week?
• Who else can you train to do the same?

Conclude by interceding specifically for each Person of Peace, Discovery Group, house fellowship, and emerging leader.

Coach the Person, Not Merely the Process

Care deeply for the leaders you coach.

Invest not only in their ministry activity but also in their hearts, families, spiritual health, and intimacy with God. Create a relationship of mutual accountability in which both coach and leader remain teachable, obedient, and dependent upon the Holy Spirit.

Movement coaching is not merely about improving fruitfulness. It is about helping transformed disciples abide in Christ, obey His Word, and reproduce His life in others.

Strategies matter. Tools matter. Accountability matters. But worship must remain at the center.

Before movements cascade through households, communities, and peoples, they begin in hearts captivated by the goodness and glory of God.

May our own lives—and the lives of those we coach—overflow like Nyn’s: unable to stop speaking about all we have seen and heard.

Until the SaSumBi worship,

R. A.

DMM: Unless a Grain

 

Unless a Grain

Missionary Biography: Anna Tan 

(Excerpt written by RA, published June 2013 for Global Prayer Digest)

“When your bucket gets kicked, what spews forth will be either bitterness or blessing. I can’t answer for others, but I know what I desire. When God takes me through suffering, I want to respond with blessing,” commented Anna Tan, Singaporean missionary to the Sasak Muslims of Lombok island, Indonesia. 

One morning in 2001, Anna was found with 80 percent of her body covered in 2^nd and 3^rd degree burns. Anna had awakened to the daily routine of making coffee in anticipation of her time with the Lord. The propane gas tank, which supplied the stovetop operation, had leaked profusely overnight. In her sealed kitchen area she unknowingly walked into a cloud of undetectable gas and lit a match.

Anna obeyed the Lord’s voice to demonstrate and proclaim the glory of Christ among the Sasak people. Her life represents just one from among the 200+ missionaries who have come and gone in service among them in the past 36 years of modern mission efforts. For those of us still called to be among the Sasak, we jointly believe God to launch a rapidly multiplying movement of Sasak worshipers of Christ.

 

Anna is a reminder of the high cost and the privilege of obeying God’s voice to the least reached peoples. She spewed forth blessing as she clung to Christ’ sufficiency, even as she died.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to plant blessings in the hearts of disciples of Jesus who face suffering.

Isaiah 25: 7b-8

On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever.

The end of shrouds, funerals and the stench of death; that is what Isaiah is proclaiming. And this is a promise to the faithful in all nations. How can anyone say no to such a promise? Though the majority of humanity will say no, there will be a remnant from all nations that will say yes to the Lord, and yes to life. That is why we pray for them. 

Pray that the Lord will bring unimaginable life to the nations that we intercede for this month.