As we stand in the middle of the Week of Prayer for International Work, allow me to share a recent story of how your praying has impacted my life! (Be sure to check the end of this page, too, for a worthwhile reminder.)

Last Wednesday was the most encouraged I've been in a long time as several key SBC leaders saw the potential of the International Prayer Center of Jerusalem (IPCJ) in reaching 'company goals.' Last year we saw fourteen (14) previously unreached people groups gain access to the Good News! One of our recent goals is to engage all unreached people groups with a population greater than 100,000 by the end of 2008.

A recent study shows at least 647 people groups in that category - talk about exponential growth from 14 to 647 in three years! And that's without groups of less than 100,000 not growing in number! Can't you see it... the lostness of the world just keep getting bigger :-(

The IPCJ will be a catalyst to enlist the remaining prayer advocates for the last of the world's unreached people groups. How? When tourists/others come up the street from the Garden Tomb to pray around the world form the center of the world. I'll continue to trust God to provide the resources to make the Garden a reality that will enable visiting intercessors to petition God for the lost of the world. Please feel free to ask for more information :-)

SBC President Bobby Welch wondered how we could give more and how we could go more, and we agreed. Our heart and our desire is to see the peoples of the world worship God. A mere 5,000 workers out of a pool of more than sixteen million (0.0003125%) is surely nothing about which to brag before a God Who desires the world to be reached. While I realize that everyone can go, how about if we tithed our membership? Could we send 10% of our sixteen million constituency? Would the 90% prayerfully and financially support the 1,600,000 who would go? Would the 99% take care of the 160,000 who would go if we offered God 1% of our congregations?

Well, I've lived in the Middle East for over a decade, so I know a little about bargaining. If we can't get the 1.6 million or even 160,000 to go, could we ask that each of our 42,000+ SBC churches send *one* person from their congregations? Since we don't want to split families, yes, we'd even accept *one* family from each congregation. What would that do to our churches and what would it do to the world?

Here's a story to encourage you along those lines: Southern Baptist churches of all sizes show Lottie Moon Offering is worthy investment.

Perhaps this story about four candles will illustrate how I felt last Wednesday and how I hope you'll feel as you give priority to this critical channel of support for reaching a lost world (thanks Mike H!).

I have yet to read the book, but it looks promising! ‘Islam and America’ is focus of retired prof’s new book. 

Jerry Rankin, president of the International Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, has written an article I hope will pique your interest in what it's going to take to see the world reached for Jesus: A new breed of missionaries. 

Let me finish with a recommendation to visit www.johnankerberg.com for some great teaching!

Matthew 24:14

* Be sure to sign up for the Wednesday Weekly.

+ You asked God to use today's time with these key SBC leaders to continue casting the vision of the IPCJ so that more than 14 unreached people groups will be reached with the Good News this year... while it remains to be seen how they will respond, I thought you might want to read about their adventures: SBC’s Bobby Welch, in Israel, treated after traffic accident.

+ Shirin celebrated her 21st anniversary of walking with Jesus, so you asked God to grant her another year where she will be able to see others on that walk... one of the people she wants to see come know Jesus as sin bearer is Jasmine, and we're trusting you to join us in prayer as we share from His Word on a regular basis.

+ Jasmine was struggling a bit with written Arabic and asked for your prayers... she improved so much that her tutor took her out for a time of celebration! Thank you for praying! You've made a difference in Jasmine's life :-)

<T H I S  W E E K><

<>< Shirin and I have an opportunity to share Jesus as together we clear an administrative hurdle. Join us in asking for "Maher" to be saved!

<>< Please join Shirin and other co-laborers in prayer for the Christmas outreach party. Pray for the hearts of the women and children to be ready to receive God into their lives. Please lift up the speaker, music and children's program leaders as they all present the greatest gift God has given us.

<>< Jasmine asks for prayer for concentration as she prepares to take her mid-term exams: 15, Arabic; 17, math;, 19, religion and English; 20, science; 21, social studies.

><Pray for the Persians of Iran.

 CALENDAR UPDATES

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30, Jasmine is six-and-a-half years old :-o

* My, how she is growing and maturing :*-)

1, Shirin celebrates 21 years of walking with Jesus!

* We had a delightful day celebrating, topped off with Jasmine hearing her mom's testimony!

2-3, Pray over those worshiping on Fridays and Saturdays to understand the Empty Tomb.

* They're on both sides of the cross and need to come to the Crucified One Who has conquered death and the grave.

4-6, Week of Prayer for International Missions: Ask God to use Marty Hunter, Mark Caldwell, Percy “Boots” Holder, Lori Funderburk, Oliver Graham, Mike and Molly Turner, Brad Barron, Carter Bolin, and FBC Powell TN. For more information, visit http://ime.imb.org/wpim/default.asp

* Your intercession for these workers will go a long way!

I dreamed that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.

My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, "This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received."

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world. Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again

how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section," my angel

friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed. "How is it that? There's no work going on here?" I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings?" I asked.

"Simple," the angel answered. "Just say, "Thank you, Lord".

"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep .. you are richer than 75% of this world."

"If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy."

"And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."

Also "If you woke up this morning with more health than illness .....you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day."

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 700 million people in the world".

"If you can attend a church meeting without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death .. you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world."

"If your parents are still alive and still married .. you are very rare."

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you are unique to all those in doubt and despair."

"Ok, what now? How can I start? "

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

ATTN: Acknowledgement Department - Thank You Lord! 

"Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people to share it with." [Top]