Faithware Passages

We welcome another story from Sara, our friend and guest blogger from Gospel for Asia.

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Lately I have been thinking about how many people still have to hear the Gospel. Two thousand years after Christ died and rose again, and so many still don’t know this good news. The Joshua Project reports that there’s still 6,650 people groups that are still unreached, which makes up about 2.75 billion people.
This is one reason why I fell I love with the ministry of Gospel for Asia—because through our national missionaries, we are working to reach these unreached groups.
The task seems so great, yet lately God has been teaching me that indeed, it is not too great for Him.
Recently a GFA-supported missionary Kapil Gavde was working in a village where people were staunch in their traditional religious beliefs. He would tell them about Christ, and give them tracts to explain clearly the Gospel, yet they rejected him.
Yet Kapil did not give up. He and the church fellowship he was leading prayed that God would provide a way for them to reach the unbelievers, and soon an opportunity arose to host a day-long Gospel meeting. Kapil and his church members invited 80 people to come, and during the day the Gospel was shared with them.
At the end of the day, they were asked if anyone wanted to respond to what they had heard, and 20 people raised their hands that they were making a decision to trust in and follow Christ!
Soon these new believers began actively attending Kapil’s church and telling others about their new faith.
This story has been an encouragement because it is just one way in which God is showing Himself more than able to reach the lost. I believe that God primarily works through our prayers, and that is why He was faithful to bring these 20 to salvation—because Kapil and the believers asked God.
One hundred years from now, what is going to matter? The car I own, the clothes I wore, the money I made? None of it will matter. I want to use my time and resources to help reach the lost. Although I have been chosen to serve at Gospel for Asia, I still feel God asking me to give up more time to PRAY to reach more of these unreached people groups. I have begun to work into my prayer time a few minutes to pray for unreached people groups, because in 100 years, I believe THAT will matter. I want to see that my time was spent doing something that lasted for eternity—standing in the gap for the 2.7 billion souls waiting to hear that there is salvation.
What a blessing in 2110 to meet the people my prayers affected! May the Lord give me the strength to put aside my wants, and pray!
By the way, thank you to those of you who have been praying for me. I am so blessed to be able to serve the Lord here at Gospel for Asia, working to reach the most unreached. In order to send 100% of missions donations to the field, GFA staff raise their own support. If you are interested in supporting me as I serve here, please visit www.gfa.org/hometeam and enter 6254 in the designation field. Thank you!
Sara Linert

Sara Linert
linert@gmail.com
651-249-9294

This free book changed my life.
www.gfa.org/freebook

Support me as I serve at Gospel for Asia:
www.gfa.org/hometeam
(enter 6254 as the designation code)

Tags: Gospel For Asia, Sara Stories

“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body what ye shall put on.” Matthew 6:25

Jesus sums up common-sense carefulness in a disciple as infidelity. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will press through and say - Now where does God come in in this relationship, in this mapped out holiday, in these new books? He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration. Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion.

“Take no thought . . .” don’t take the pressure of forethought upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is infidelity, because worrying means that we do not think that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never any thing else that worries us. Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the word He puts in? The devil? No, the cares of this world. It is the little worries always. I will not trust where I cannot see, that is where infidelity begins. The only cure for infidelity is obedience to the Spirit.

The great word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon.

–Oswald Chambers

Tags: Quotes, Verses

Focus on the Family is sponsoring an ad during the Superbowl that will feature Tim Tebow (Florida Gator Quarterback) and his Mother, Pam Tebow. It is a pro life commercial and although the content of the ad has not been released yet the rumor is Pam Tebow will discuss her refusal to take doctor’s advice and abort Tim because of medical complications. The pro choice groups are all over these and are putting petitions together to force the networks to not run the ads. You can read more about it here.

I hope the networks do not cave and will run the ads!

Some of the best blogs of the week.

• Help Haiti - More trustworthy sites for donations
• Five Tips on Simplifying and Living Generously - Something Sue and I have been striving to do.
• What If The Pharisees Had Twittered? - Love this post!!!
• Earthquakes and Family Wellness - A theme I keep running into this week “why do bad things happen to good people.”

Tags: Other Blogs

We have been hearing and seeing a lot in the news about the devastation in Haiti. Compassion International has been posting pictures of general images of the damage in Port-au-Prince as well as pictures of their office buildings and development centers. You can see them on their flickr account at Haiti Earthquake Set here

Compassion also is collecting for Haitian relief. A place where you know they are being good stewards of your money. You can check it out here.

Tags: Compassion International, Pictures

Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.
- St. Augustine of Hippo

Tags: Quotes

Gospel For Asia has posted its new issue of “Send,”  check it out here.  Great article on pg 22 that gives a good idea on what GFA is all about.

Tags: Gospel For Asia

If you have been looking for a way to support the relief effort in Haiti and you just didn’t know which effort to support, here is another very good option. Lutheran World Relief LWR has made it easy to phone in a $10 Donation. LWR has committed an initial $1,000,000 to the relief effort and will reevaluate that commitment as new reports emerge.

WHO IS LWR? Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world’s most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945. Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.

A Message from Lutheran World Relief:
The coming days are critical as teams dispatch to Haiti to conduct search and rescue efforts. Lutheran World Relief is working with partners on the ground to deliver aid. Every dollar donated is critical to this life-saving effort. Please give today.

There are several ways you can help:

* Pray: for all those affected and those who are there to help.

* Give: by making a donation to the Haiti Earthquake fund, you will help ensure that LWR is able to quickly provide the most effective assistance.

LWR accepts donations by phone at 800-LWR-LWR-2, online at
lwr.org or by mailing a check or money order to:

Lutheran World Relief
Haiti Earthquake
P.O. Box 17061
Baltimore, MD 21298-9832

Or Give Right Now - Starting today, January 17, you can also text gifts to LWR from your cell phone. It’s quick and easy. Just text LWR to 40579 to make a $10 donation. Remember to reply YES to the confirmation.

Messaging and data rates may apply.

Once immediate needs are met, further gifts will be used to help LWR respond where the need is greatest, in Haiti or elsewhere around the globe. Please also consider making an unrestricted donation which will enable LWR to respond quickly to the next emergency.

* Act: LWR hopes to send material aid, such as quilts and health kits, to Haiti. Help restore hope and health to people in Haiti and all around the world by making quilts or health kits – visit lwr.org/beinvolved to learn more.

* Connect: As we learn more about the needs of the people of Haiti, LWR will explore more ways to help. Keep up with our on-going efforts by visiting lwr.org/Haiti.

Tags: Current Events, Prayer Requests, Support

I am currently in the middle of Mark Batterson’s “Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God”
a great book that I would highly recomend. As the title states, Batterson talks about how the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed and how following the Spirit is like chasing a wild goose. He goes on to discuss six cages that entrap us that keep us from following the Spirit.  Life dangerously!

It just so happens I caught one of his blogs about Idol worship and Four Ways to Identify An idol. Check this post out as well!

Tags: Other Blogs

Haiti Cries . . . And We Cry With Them
(A prayer as we search through the rubble)
by Safiyah Fosua from www.gbod.org

Earth shaking

Home breaking

Ground-moved-the-mountain-into-my-way tragedy!

Broken bodies

Broken hearts

Broken lives.

Haiti cries

And we cry with them.

God,

Our hearts are aching as we try to imagine what the daylight brought

To our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

Heal the young eyes that have seen far too much on this day.

Heal the hearts of many who have lost friends, family and a way of life on this day.

Be with those who are missing

And those who are dying outside of the grasp of

Loving hands to hold them

Loving voices to soothe them.

Move us over here from empathy to action

From sympathy to substance

As we contemplate what can be done to help

Today

And many days

Into a forever-changed future.

Amen.

Tags: prayer