Back to School
For your average child, these words mean a sad farewell to the summer and a reluctant hello to homework. But for 12-year-old Noeh in Iraq, school is something he longs for.
Noeh’s family were displaced three years ago when Islamic State (IS) seized control of their village near Mosul. The terrifying threats of IS sent the entire village running for their lives. Since then, the villagers have been living as a displaced community, supported by their church leader Father Thabet, and Open Doors partner organisations in Erbil.
A few months ago, they were able to celebrate the liberation of Karamles, but most won’t be able to return for some time. IS fighters set fire to all 800 homes upon their retreat, severely damaging most, and razing about 100 of them to the ground. With no easy access to water and electricity, the job of rebuilding is an uphill struggle. “We start with the houses with the least amount of damage,” says Father Thabet, “But our budget is limited and the government is not helping us.”
The government wants children to go back to school – but that’s not possible yet, either. The cracked cream-coloured walls of Noeh’s old classroom still stand, but there’s rubble everywhere and weeds peeping through the floor. Worse than that, IS may have hidden bombs there.
“Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners,” says Lamentations 5: Written in the 6th century BC, these words could have been uttered by any number of displaced peoples in Iraq today. Christians and other minorities feel unsafe in their own land. It’s not just new homes they need. It’s a new environment. In order to return to their villages and towns, Father Thabet says, “We will need international support and protection. That is the only way our future as Christians in this country can be guaranteed.”
Noeh’s family can pay tribute to the faithfulness of God in their period of exile. Thanks to the prayers and gifts of Open Doors supporters, they and thousands like them have received practical aid are now looking to the future with faith. But they need the church in the UK, Ireland, and around the world, to speak up for them. That way they can rebuild their homes, their lives and their beloved nation – and Noeh can get back to school.
Please pray:
- for the rebuilding of Karamles, giving thanks for God’s faithfulness to Noeh’s family and community
- for increasing peace, stability and for pressure on the government, through the petition to bring a positive future for Christians in Iraq
- that the body of Christ around the world will stand in solidarity with their brothers and sisters, bringing hope to the Middle East.
You can hear more stories of faith from the Middle East and pray with others for persecuted Christians around the world at Open Doors celebration in Birmingham on 14 October: Standing Strong. For more information and to sign the global petition, go to www.opendoorsuk.org
TIME TO TURN IN THE CHURCH
Years ago I heard Sir Steve Redgrave talk about his decision to return to rowing for one final gold medal. They started their preparation when he and Matthew Pinsent made the hard decision that their previous best performance from the last Olympics would not be good enough to win gold in the next. They needed to get better.
As God moves in His Church, we need to recognise that we need to improve and in many cases we need to repent. Matthew writes about Jesus starting his ministry, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’”. It was a Kairos moment – Jesus moves into a new season, the waiting was over.
We believe it is a Kairos moment for our nation, the waiting has stopped. It is time to change. Jesus tells the people of Israel to turn from sin and turn to God. His message starts with His people. The Old Testament refers to repentance over 1000 times; again it is primarily a call to God’s own people. They use the Hebrew word shuv, which means to turn around. Jesus uses the Greek word metanoia meaning a change of mind, or re-think.
God is challenging us to go deeper with Him. We were with a group of national prayer leaders recently. God told us we needed a deeper understanding of the work of the cross in our lives. We need to truly die to ourselves if we are to move to deep oneness with Jesus. I know I have a range of ‘old me’ issues that need crucifying and God is saying “it is time”. We need to move to a new level. We repent by turning away from what is holding us back and turning to Jesus so we can run the race (or row the boat) He has set before us. Here are five specific turn away challenges.
Turn from fear - many of us carry fears. They may be fears of what others will think, fears around our finances, fears about doing things in public etc. None of these fears are from Jesus, He gives us wisdom. They are holding us back – it is time to turn.
Turn from disunity - we can often embrace disunity. We criticise this person, fall out with another, we stand on our high horse, or don’t like that person’s theology. In short we can be very judgemental and it is time to turn.
Turn from unbelief – we can all fall into the disbelief trap. We may have prayed for things where we saw no change and the enemy loves to tell us it is a waste of time to pray for healing, for this person to come to the Lord, for our church to see a deep move of God. The enemy imprisons us with lies which undermine our faith. We need to be free of these lies - it is time to turn.
Turn from prayerlessness – this can be a huge challenge for people of prayer because we look at wrong measures. It is easy to find people who pray less that you, with less faith, with less standing on the Word of God and that makes us think “I’m not doing too badly really”. We need to keep pushing ourselves on, in particular to go deeper with Jesus with a prayer life inspired by Him and filled with the things on His heart. It is time to turn.
Turn from sin – from our wicked ways. Galatians 5:16 – 26 gives us a good starting point. Paul says the works of the flesh are plain to see – anger, selfishness, jealousy etc. We live in a corrupting world where so many temptations are thrown at us it is easy to lose our moral compass. John Wesley and friends set up a Holy Club with a self-audit asking questions like “Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?” We need to ask God to highlight our sins, bring them into the open that we can pray for change. It is time to turn.
Repentance and turning start with us because we should be the very first people to give testimony to God’s wonderful mercy and freedom.
Steve Botham, Director World Prayer Centre
Shaken and stirred
As we watched in horror as the storms lashed The Caribbean Nations and parts of America, an earthquake in Mexico, floods in India and Bangladesh to name a few, it was as if everything that could be shaken was being shaken.
As Christians, we have the privilege and calling to stand as watchmen and sometimes, this is one of them, we can be overwhelmed by all that is going on as we watch. Everything is being challenged, from institutions that we have grown up with, the structure of marriage and family life in nation after nation, personal, national and global security, worldwide attacks on our Christian faith and its values.
As we see in the natural, buildings demolished, trees uprooted, crops destroyed, bridges collapse, so in the spiritual. Around the world today, often in the midst of such devastation and often at great cost, we see the Church being stirred, God’s Kingdom being built, new life is springing up, green shoots of spiritual awakening are becoming evident, bridges of unity are being opened, and united prayer is rising. Around the world today, as God’s people humble themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways He is hearing from heaven, forgiving their sins and healing the land.
So by God’s grace, we will not be overwhelmed. As we stand and watch the unfolding of ‘the times’ in the nations, it is on Christ the solid rock we stand. As God places a nation on your heart today, pray that in the midst of the chaos His kingdom will grow as individuals, relief agencies, mission agencies, united churches; reach out with God’s love bringing His light into very dark situations.
Ian Cole
Founder of World Prayer Centre
#HowWillTheyHear
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Romans 10:14
Many millions of people are on the move across the Middle East and Europe. While their plight may have dropped down the news agenda, they continue to arrive in huge numbers. Many of them are now living in camps or communities far from home; some are living in the UK, perhaps even in areas near your church.
All too often, the stories of these migrants and refugees are reduced to a bewildering array of statistics. While the numbers are huge, bare figures mask the reality of individual lives torn apart by the horrors of war and economic deprivation.
Very few of the refugees and migrants know Jesus Christ or the eternal hope he offers. Very often, they are asking profound questions of their inherited faith. While many of these people are facing great hardship, their single biggest need is to know Jesus Christ – and that is why the #HowWillTheyHear campaign has been launched.
#HowWillTheyHear is a collaboration between Serving In Mission UK and several other agencies. It is designed to mobilise prayer and people to ensure migrants and refugees are told the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The initial focus of the campaign is on our 10:14 prayer initiative. We understand the all-important role prayer has to play in ensuring this vital gospel work can press ahead. We have produced this prayer guide to help you think through and pray through some of the major issues involved in sharing the gospel with migrants and refugees.
Inspired by Romans 10:14, we would love you to join with us in praying for the refugees and migrants for 14 days, starting on October 14. From then on, would you consider setting an alarm for 10.14am, so you can remember refugees and migrants in a prayer every day?
As the prayer campaign gets underway, we will also be helping people move into direct mission work with refugees and migrants. We have placements in UK churches, in European churches and in Middle Eastern churches, all ready to be filled by gospel workers with a heart for this ministry.
For more information about the campaign or to sign up for the 10:14 prayer initiative go to www.howwilltheyhear.net
God is creating a movement
Fifteen years ago, Stoke-on-Trent came 134th out of 134 places in a survey of the best places to live. Our friend Lloyd Cooke, a proud Potteries lad was distressed. “This happened on our watch”, he told the church leaders.
They started to run citywide prayer events to pray for change and improvement. They invited local politicians and civic leaders to work with them and gradually started to see change, whilst significantly strengthening church unity in the city. Alongside this they began to explore what input the church was making and found the work with the elderly was four times bigger than the work of Help the Aged. The churches work with children, young people and families was essential to the city. The church now has credibility and a shared responsibility for the good of Stoke-on-Trent. Alongside this Beacon House of Prayer act as watchers for the city, praying for Stoke, and people to come to Christ.
The Stoke story is mirrored across the country. In Bristol, churches have repented of the cities role in slavery, held large prayer gatherings and seen a very active Christian become their elected mayor. They have started to get prayer into every aspect of the city, because they believe Jesus is Lord of Bristol’s politics and arts, its business and its children and education, its health and its communities.
In Liverpool, the passion for the city is tangible with many people coming to Christ after concerted prayer for the city. This prayer has seen large drug imports exposed, a thousand Iranian and Iraqis come to Christ and the obtaining of justice for the 96 Hillsborough victims.
There are many more stories from across the UK. The whole Turning movement, which has seen thousands come to Christ, is based on working with places where the church is already praying and working together. God is shouting a very clear message to us – He cares about our place and He wants to redeem it. Whether it is the tiniest village or a thriving city, Jesus is building unity and a shared passion for mission.
On 6-7 October the Movement Day conference takes place in Westminster Central Hall. The national, denominational, and city leaders will proclaim this is the time for unity in the Church, for the Church to bring unity to the nation and for us to refresh our commitment to take the Gospel to the nations. The conference will be a launch pad for increased prayer and mission across our large towns and cities.
It joins a global movement. Houston, Texas is responding fast to the devastation that has hit them because the church has built strong supportive relationships.
Mumbai in India sees the churches working together to rescue and restore child slaves, outreach to the prison and prayer walk the boundaries of this 22 million strong city.
Lloyd Cooke has a deep and very obvious passion for Stoke-on-Trent. He loves his place, he has seen what can change when the church realises it is better working together than standing alone. We can follow Lloyd – praying with expectations for our place and working with others to bless it.
We will feedback from Movement Day but please keep it in your prayers and go to www.movementday.uk for more information.
A NEW SEASON – IT IS TIME TO TURN
Ecclesiastes 3 tells us “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” WPC believes we have entered a new season – a time of turning. Ecc 3:17 talks of “a time to judge every deed”. The key message for this season is – turn away from sin and seek God. The vast majority of people will not see the need to repent and far less the need to seek God. Jesus says “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” John 8:32. He continues “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin….. You belong to your father the devil…he was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” This season of turning is also a season of intensified spiritual warfare. We are fighting the father of lies and praying for a revelation of the truth across our nation.
In this new season, we want to encourage a new approach to prayer. Our starting point is ourselves. Many of us are crippled by lies. The enemy attacks our self-worth, he picks at the scars of our disappointment, and he wants to stop us praying effectively. We often fail to engage in spiritual warfare because the enemy has told us it is not needed. We want to turn away from those lies, which weaken our effectiveness. We turn to Jesus, wanting to spend more time in His presence and listen to Him. We continually ask “how do you want me to pray Lord?” We are “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12:2).
This season of turning will include:
• A strong focus on praying for this powerful move of God to turn our nation around. Join us at our Prayershift and Watch and Pray gatherings as they step up a gear.
• Strategically, this is a time to pray for prayer. We have accepted prayer being a minority interest for too long. We believe God wants to mobilise His whole church to pray for and see a turning.
• We will be encouraging you and providing tools and resources to pray for this turning.
• We will be working with prayer and mission organisations and churches to encourage a shared call to pray and work for turning.
Date for your diary 12-14th March. Our next national prayer conference at Swanwick will focus on Time 2 Turn. We expect to see significant change in our nation when we gather together. Book online and take advantage of the early bird offer.
We are praying about what God is releasing – watch this space for more info on prayer events.