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The America’s

How to Stay Up to Date with World News

Staying up to date with what is happening around the world takes a lot of work. It is nonetheless vital to keeping everything happening around the world in prayer. Here are some ways that I’ve found helpful:

Daily
Subscribing to a world news RSS feed such as BBC World News. This ensures you stay informed of world news as it happens.

Weekly
Subscribing to a weekly world news journal like The Economist (Expensive but worth it!). Here you will get healthy views about world events and how it impacts everyday individuals. (The Economist provides good opinions on the state of America from a perspective outside of America.)

Daily Devotionally
Praying through a world prayer guide like Operation World (No subscription needed!). This ensures you are aware of and praying for countries and areas that you otherwise would not have known existed. It should be a regular part of our time with the Lord if we so desire to see His Kingdom come for all peoples to the ends of the earth.

Praying Through the New Year

From Operation World:

“What is God’s will for your life? In the coming year, are you willing to do whatever He commands regarding the needs of the world? Is it possible God is calling you to a specific ministry in praying, supporting or going to the ends of the earth for your Master?” -Operation World, pg.978

A reminder to consider praying for the world this year through Operation World (ebook edition). I recommend this to anybody who desires to share God’s heart for the nations and continue to believe that this is the best way to get involved with world missions. The research is phenomenal and the prayer points are practical.

Will you take up the challenge to pray for the world this year?

*An updated link to the country to pray for each day will be at the top of this blog.

What Kind of Knowledge Puffs Up?

“Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.”
-1 Corinthians 8:1 (ESV)

Among Evangelicals, 1 Corinthians 8:1 is commonly used to lash out against any form of intellectualism (theology), extensive study or formal education (seminary) within the Church. But is that the knowledge Paul refers to that “puffs up” or makes arrogant?

Given the context of the passage, it appears Paul is speaking more about a spiritual knowledge as it intersects with another culture. Because Christians knew there was no such thing as idols or other gods, that knowledge could have easily turned to arrogance towards people who came out of culture where they believed in such idols. Such disregard for these people by eating food sacrificed to idols was in direct contrast to the “love” that builds up (1 Cor. 8:1b).

Historically, this sort of “puffed up” knowledge has led to cultural insensitivity on the part of overseas missionaries. Imagine the horror as natives look on and see a missionary scarfing down on what’s left of the beloved cow they once worshipped!

We don’t have to look far to see examples of this “puffed up” knowledge in our own culture. The celebration of holidays (Christmas, Easter, birthdays and more recently Halloween) has been a point of contention among Evangelicals. One can easily take a stance whether to celebrate a holiday and cast judgment on the other side. But Paul calls us to the ultimate solution to our puffed up problem: love.

Our love for others should cause us to be sensitive in how we act towards others who do not share our conviction about Halloween. Our love for others should cause us to be wise with our words when speaking about one’s beloved Santa. Our love for others should effectively bridge our spiritual knowledge to another culture and allow God’s love in Christ Jesus to shine that much more brighter.

Here’s to the true Love that came down from God to meet us where we are and invite us to be who we were always created to be: children of God.

Merry Christmas.

Give Thanks, Give Bibles

Here’s a great way to give thanks this Thanksgiving and also put it into action. From Crossway:

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If you’re reading this, you have a wealth of theological resources at your fingertips, most importantly God’s Word. Unfortunately many Christians in the world don’t yet enjoy a similar abundance.

That’s why this Thanksgiving week, as a way to raise awareness for how important books are in passing truth on to the next generation, Crossway is inviting you to help send Study Bibles to leaders in the Global South (in partnership with our friends at Desiring God).

It’s super easy.

Through next Monday (11/28), for every new “Like” on our Facebook page, Crossway will give $1 worth of Study Bibles through Desiring God’s International Outreachinitiative. Every Study Bible given will go directly to our brothers and sisters in the Global South, many of whom are hungry for tools to better understand, apply, and share God’s Word.

Already “Like” our Facebook page? Consider partnering with us in these ways:

• Share this Facebook post with friends
• Share this blog post on Google+ or Twitter with the hashtag #givebibles
• Link to this blog post from your blog or preferred social network.

May God use these Bibles to encourage many Christians in the Global South!

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Another tough nut to crack -Thailand

One can argue that Thailand is a harder nut to crack than Japan when it comes to kingdom growth. Operation World reports the percentage of Christians in Thailand is 1.1% compared to Japan’s 1.54% and also notes:

Church growth has been less than spectacular. After four centuries of Catholic work and nearly 200 years of Protestant work, Thai Christians hover around 1% of the population. Catholicism’s percentage has increased little in 50 years. Protestant growth has been very modest despite many missionaries and programmes. -Operation World, pg. 814

For all the mission organizations that set up base in Thailand, it’s baffling why the number of Christians is so low. But when one looks at the many spiritual strongholds that dominate the country such as sex trafficking, drugs, idol worship and corruption, it’s clear that Thailand needs a lot of prayer for spiritual breakthrough to occur and God’s Kingdom to spread.

Will you pray for Thailand?

International Day of Prayer (IDOP)

This Sunday is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Let’s keep praying for our brothers and sisters around the world facing persecution.

Click on the image above to find more resources of how we can pray for the persecuted church.

Carried to the Table -Orphan Sunday

Here is my message on Orphan Sunday with Carey and Patti Yung sharing their story of God’s kindness:

And here is the song by Leeland I referred to in the message:

Orphan Sunday’s Comin’ …

I’m excited that Evergreen SGV is able to join with many other churches in celebrating Orphan Sunday this upcoming Sunday. As Pastor Cory mentioned earlier in the year, God has historically incorporated Orphan Care into the spiritual DNA of our church and has given us unique opportunities to care for orphans as I’ll share about this Sunday. May this video prepare us for what God has to show us that day.

Don’t forget about Japan (updated)

Yesterday, I had the privilege of hearing Rev. Akira Sato from Fukushima First Baptist Church at a function hosted by Asian Access at Evergreen SGV. It was eye opening to hear Rev. Sato share firsthand experiences with his church being just a few miles from the nuclear reactor site, as most of what we hear about the tsunami devastated areas are just cold figures and statistics.

Among the things I learned from the talk that we can keep in prayer are:

• Discrimination is common against people from Fukushima, where parking lots, restaurants and even hospitals refuse people because they are from Fukushima.
• Deaths are common after the disaster as Rev. Sato shared about a constant cycle of sermons, baptisms and funerals.
• Workers at the nuclear reactor site are viewed as the reason for the disaster and so apologize profusely to residents. Even relatives of workers apologize on their behalf. You can imagine what sort of issue this is in a shame filled society.
• People from evacuated areas are literally dispersed throughout Japan. Those who want to move back in the area are discriminated against and even denied.

Throughout this all, I was encouraged by the blessings Rev. Sato realized having gone through this disaster. He shared that little things now bring great joy such as being able to take a shower or being able to eat warm food. He believes the tsunami effectively knocked down previous barriers existing between churches and communities, denominational barriers between churches and barriers between Japan and the rest of the world. Finally, he shared that he knows of no other time in history when the Church around the world has prayed this much for Japan.

Let’s continue to pray for Japan.

Rev. Sato recently purchased land for the church to rebuild near the Fukushima area. It is fitting that one of the founding themes for this new church is “resurrection”. Read his reflections on his experience here (click on the English button)

Visit the Asian Access website to see where Rev. Sato will be sharing next in the Southern California Area.

Gospel for San Gabriel Valley

Just a reminder to register for the upcoming Seeds of Life conference at Evergreen SGV on Sat., Sept. 24 from 9am-5pm.

From the Seeds of Life website:

Our passion is for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be glorified in the San Gabriel Valley. God’s Word calls us to live worthy of the gospel by striving together in one spirit for the faith of the gospel. (Phil 1:27) The Lord desires to ignite a fire in your hear to reach the lost with the love of Jesus Christ.

This one-day conference will equip you to share the gospel through personal evangelism and loving others. We will passionately magnify the Lord through Christ-centered worship and have a time to pray for the church to evangelize San Gabriel Valley. There will also be a break out session to practice personal evangelism. Join us as we set our hearts upon Jesus Christ to live out His great commission.

Come to what promises to be a very practical training on sharing your faith with others at home, school and your workplace. Lunch and childcare are provided. You can register online here.