So just to let you know why we need to pray for more laborers here in the city where I work and 6 urban centers like it all over my country here is some proof that the city is defenseless on the day of Jesus Christ, left without hope or hopebearers:

1. The Ratio of Christians to NonChristians- Our city has multiplied four times in the last 25 years. From 250,000 to over 1 million people. A large influx of the poor from the rural areas looking for work. So today there are about 30 believers here in this city. That is one for every 33,333 people! (In the city I come from, 1 in 8 claim to be born-again believers)

2. The Ratio of Churches to Non-Christians- There are three evangelical house churches here in our city (two Baptist and one Charasmatic). That’s one for every 333,333 people. (There is an average of one evangelical church in my country for every 1,000 people.)

The disciples of Christ are the light of the world set to be for it’s salvation. Where there are so few disciples of Christ there are no defenses against sin, the Devil, and the flesh and thus no place for refuge from God’s wrath as promised to the doers of iniquity.

3. The Results of the Dissapearance of Defenses- The people grow up here in a lie and in sin. They don’t recognize truth if they were to see it but they never do see it. Families are disintegrating in hate, selfishness, pride, abuse, sexual infidelity, religious hypocricy, and empty rituals. Drugs and predudice rule. Jesus is unknown. His power over sin in the life of the individual has never been witnessed by the “average Mohammed”.

I wonder if you’d weep for the Muslim cities that are left completely defenseless on the day of judgement with noone to weep over them like Abraham, Moses, Nehemiah, and Jesus all did? Would you adopt a city and love it like Jesus did? Do you love your city like that? Does it break your heart?

So I am learning how much I appreciate them by there absence. Time for a day off of team mountain climbing when they return with some lamb sandwiches to celebrate just to say thanks.

I am involved in something much bigger then myself: a team of men with like hearts. Outside of my immediately family there is nothing that makes me happier than working with a team of men whose hearts God has touched.

Have you thanked the people working on your team today? Have you shown your thanks? That’s job number one for me this week.

“Terrorists threatened to kill Pastor “Hakim.” His relatives pleaded with him to go somewhere safe. But God called him to minister in Iraq. Pastor Hakim and his wife trusted God more than they feared for their safety.

ne Sunday morning while Hakim was driving to work, three armed men confronted him with guns drawn. They ordered him to stop, but Hakim knew to stop the car meant he would die. Instead, he gunned the engine. The terrorists opened fire, and three shots hit Pastor Hakim. Later, at the hospital, his Muslim doctors said it was a miracle that none of the bullets hit a major organ or artery. After the shooting, Hakim continued his ministry in Iraq.”

In a number of Muslim North African countries we don’t see agressive, consistent violence like this toward Christians. Many will use the excuse of danger for not going to a Muslim country with the message of Christ. Why don’t we go then, when we aren’t in any real physical danger?

“Two of the other composers heard from tonight were Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. If you know much at all of music history, you are aware that these men were tormented souls. Among the painters, Van Gogh and Gauguin also suffered incredible personal anguish. There have been, of course, some remarkably happy and well-balanced musicians and artists down through the centuries, but it is striking how many were hugely flawed, hurt or both. Yet, God used these individuals and many others to bless us with great beauty.

I find it fascinating that hurt, pain and agony squeeze beauty and creativity out of some people and bitterness and selfishness out of others. The four talents I mention above made no pretense of having a victorious spiritual walk with God; they were not happy or satisfied people. How sad that many who profess great devotion to God, study the Bible voraciously and even engage in Christian ministry are sometimes those who are most angry and bitter. There is no beauty to behold, despite an occasional Bible study on the joy of the Lord being our strength.

The Apostle Paul said that we must through many tribulations enter into the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). He also told Timothy that all of us who would live godly in Christ Jesus would suffer persecution (2Timothy 3:12). As I took my seat at the concert and turned my Blackberry to vibrate, I saw an urgent email forwarded from Latin American sources urging prayer for a family set to be executed this evening in a Central Asian country if they do not denounce their faith in Christ. What did they do wrong? Maybe nothing.

Despite such plain teaching, many of us never learn to embrace pain and suffering and find beauty. Instead, we tend to flee pain at all cost and wonder what we have done wrong or why God has let us down. We naturally find it hard to reconcile pain and suffering with abundant living.

I would hate to waste pain and suffering! It’s hard enough as it is. I want to be certain that I allow my hurt to drive me to God, not away from him. Suffering is not something I seek; it is something I am promised. I want to have open eyes to discover the beautiful side of hurt and pain.”

Here is his latest update about the situation:

Please Pray for Our Baby and Family

This is one of the hardest posts for me to write. Today, we went to the Doctor to find out about our baby that we are expecting in 19 weeks. Because this pregnancy hasn’t gone as smoothly as our first one, we were a little worried going into the appointment, especially since we had been given no new information at our last appointment. Well, we finally received some answers today.

We were able to hear the baby’s heart beat and see it’s profile (got a picture). We were excited! Then the ultrasound technician had to get the doctor and the doctor came in to look at the rest of the baby’s body. After she was done, she took us into a different room and explained the condition of our little baby.

Our baby has what is known as “Body Stalk Anomaly.” Basically, all the organs from the mid-chest down have developed outside the body and have attached themselves to the wall of the placenta. This condition makes the baby incapable of living outside the womb. The baby has a 5% percent chance of living. If the baby does make it full term it will only live for a minute or two.

With that being said, please be in prayer for the baby, my wife, and our family. The baby is currently living, and Natasha will continue to carry the baby as long as it lives. We know the Lord is in control, and we will continue as normal to see what the Lord does. If the baby passes away before it is full term then Natasha will be induced and give labor to the baby. This could happen at anytime, so we will be going to the doctor at least every other week to check up on it.

We will love this baby as long as it lives. We will tell it of it’s Creator and the love He has for us. We will tell it how it could soon be meeting Him.

We are thankful that the Lord has given us this child. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away; blessed be the name of the LORD. As the baby lives we will praise the Lord for everyday He has allowed us to have it, and once it passes on, we will continue to praise the Lord!

Thank your for your prayers and concern!

So why learn Arabic?

*It is the 5th most spoken language of the world. An estimated 246 million people speak Arabic fluently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers
*It is the “holy language” of all Muslims. (Over 2 billion people!)
*It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
*It is the language of the storm of current events happening in the Middle East that affect the whole world.

This particular discussion was on Evangelism:

January 8, 2010
Panel Discussion
Church Planting: Evangelistic Strategies
Obstacles
Communication
Give a definition of words that you and the people you address use
Ask, “What do you think that word or phrase means?”
Follow up with, “Would you be offended if I opened the Bible and showed you what it means by that word/phrase?”
You have to communicate meaning (make it make sense to them)
Avoid arguments and large group discourses
Let them speak first
Stay focused on the cross and God’s grace in every conversation
Take them back to creation (Start from the beginning)
Explain the Moral and Sacrificial laws
You have to know what type of Muslim you are dealing with before you spend a lot of time with an idividual. Find those who will listen.
Three types of Muslims according to Tony Ghareeb:
1. The Devout – Thinks from the Qur’an
2. The Secular – Worldly and not interested in spiritual matters
3. The Waste of Time – Only wants to argue
Three types of Muslims according to Michael Hajj:
1. Regualars – Secular
2. Religious – Spiritually interested (use friendship evangelism)
3. Radicals – Wast of Time
Ask them where the Qur’an says that we can know that our sins are forgiven
Bring Everything back to Redemption
Arrange multimple meetings with the people you meet and build a relationship
Teach the whole Bible
It was unpopular in some areas to preach the Old Testament because:
1. Israel and God’s relationship with them
2. God ordained killings of entire nations
*Remember is these cases to mention that God chose Israel by His grace, not because of their intrinsic virtue. And He did it for the the nations of the world to be blessed (you and me).

Getting the word out to new contacts
Reading groups (similar to a Christian library)
Spamming for Jesus – get connected through social networks like facebook, twitter, or bulk e-mail.
Media ministries (i.e. internet, television, radio, etc.)
Challenging the churches to reach Muslims here in the U.S.
60% of Muslims in the U.S. are immigrants
Go where Muslims are present – seek them out (www.islamicfinder.com, www.salatamatic.com)

Below I’ve written the first sermon of the Kanisa Conference which took place last week in Middletown, OH. If you weren’t there…you just missed it. Tim, a missionary in Turkey, preached this soul-stirrer:

The Need for a Generation of Missionaries to Reverse Jihad in the Muslim World

Jihad lays at the very core of Islamic doctrine and culture

What most of the world knows about Jihad is only the tip of the iceberg

What is Jihad?
A struggle or striving. The Arabic word closely related to the verb jaahada which means “exerting one’s utmost power, effort, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapproval.

From an Islamic theological, ideological, and historical perspective, jihad can be defined as taking advantage of every opportunity and resource to defend and spread the cause of Islam by all means and  until Islam is globally acknowledged as supreme

4 types of Jihad

1. Jihad against the soul – only exists where Muslims are a minority, they struggle within themselves
2. Jihad against Satan – Anything contrary to Islam
3. Jihad against injustice – combat, civil disobedience, activism, and public condemnation
4. Jihad against hypocrites/unbelievers – in the heart secretely, open debates, financial, fighting, and martyrdom (highest form of Jihad) Holy War

“Fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem” Surah 9:5

We are at war!

Ephesians 6:2 – We wrestle not against flesh and blood. We are fighting against spiritual darkness

We need a generation of heroes!

We need mighty men of God!

I Chronicles 11:10

1. They must have a strong, unwavering faith (11:11,20)

1. They must not be a deserter (12-14)
   1. In the face of hardships
   2. In the face of Pressure – eccuminical
   3. Hand clave to the sword
   4. Stay in the battle until it is won

1. Willingness to Venture all for the King(15-19)
   1. For the desire of the Lord
   2. Tadjk boy from Taliban camp
   3. Jeopardizing their lives for their king (19)

1. Conditions of the fight do not matter (22)
   1. Scary foe – lionlike men
   2. Cold – desert
   3. Not afraid of giants (23)
   4. Fearless
      1. i.     David Himself
      2. ii.     The giant of Islam is defying the living God!
      3. iii.     He was out-weaponed but still won the fight

1. Loyal (12:1)
   1. Stayed close to the king

1. Well trained (12:2)
   1. We must get preperation
   2. Bows
   3. Sling stones (left and right handed)

1. Ready for offense and defense (12:8)
   1. Brave
   2. Valiant
   3. Quick to Attack – they didn’t wait for the battle to come to them

1. Extremely Zealous of their lord’s name (2 Samuel 16:5)

We need a generation of believers that will push forward and blitz the Muslim world with the gospel

Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of the world’s population live in countries with high restrictions on religion, according to a report by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life titled Global Restrictions on Religion.

Nearly 70 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people reside in countries with high or very high restrictions on religion, the Pew Forum reported. Although only 64 of the 198 countries or territories studied have those levels of restrictions (32 percent), they contain the large majority of the world’s population.

In the government restrictions ratings, the countries that scored “very high,” or in the top 5 percent of the scores, were, in descending order, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Egypt, Burma, Maldives, Eritrea, Malaysia and Brunei.

The countries that ranked “very high” in social hostilities were, in descending order, Iraq, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Somalia, Israel, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

In rankings by region, the Middle East-North Africa had the highest scores in both government restrictions on and social hostilities toward religion, while the Americas were the least restrictive in both indexes.

Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India were the most restrictive among the world’s 25 most populous countries when both categories are considered. Meanwhile, the least restrictive of the 25 most populous countries were Brazil, Japan, the United States, Italy, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

“There is no other country in the world where Christians are persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner,” Carl Moeller said in a Jan. 6 news release from Open Doors. “Three generations of a family are often thrown into prison when one member is incarcerated.”

The regime of dictator Kim Jong-Il has an estimated 200,000 political prisoners,including 40,000 to 60,000 Christians, according to Open Doors.

Despite the repression, “the number of Christians in North Korea has grown in the last 10 years,” Moeller said.

According to Open Doors, the 10 countries where persecution of Christians is worst, with scores in parentheses, are North Korea (90.5), Iran (65.5), Saudi Arabia (63.5), Somalia (62.5), Maldives (62.0), Afghanistan (61.5), Yemen (60.5), Mauritania (59.5), Laos (56.0) and Uzbekistan (56.0).

Tom Strode is the Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.

I wanted to praise our God by reporting two great blessings in 2009:

1. My surgeon in Cincy told us in Oct. 2008 that I would need to have a procedure to widen my bronchial tube every three months for the rest of my life. We decided to go back to North Africa anyway. Now it has been 1 year and 3 months and I haven’t needed the procedure. Praise God.

2. I’ve had 5 bronchoscopies since the surgery in May 2008. Three in the US and two in Europe. I haven’t been charged a dime for any of them. I don’t know how to explain that except to say praise be to God.

Pray, then, on Friday as I have a procedure to widen my bronchial tube. Our prayer is that the doctor will find the bronchial tube as wide open as she saw it last time she checked it.