MORNING DEDICATION

ALMIGHTY GOD,  As I cross the threshold of this day   I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to thy care; Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me.  Incline my heart to thy ways;  Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay;  may my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound thyy praise;  Let those around me living by thy Spirit, trampling the world underfoot, unconformed to lying vanities, transformed by a renewed mind, clad in the entire armour of God, shing as a never- dimmed light, showing holiness in all my doings 

Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands.  May I travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain.  In needful transactions let my affection be in heaven, and my love soar upwards in flames of fire, my gaze fixed on unseed things, my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility, mockery of earth and its vanities.

May I view all things in the mirror of eternity, waiting for the coming of my Lord, listening for the last trumpet call, hastening unto the new heaven and earth.

Order this day all my communications according to thy wisdom, and to the gain of mutual good.

Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable.

May I speak each word as if my last word, and walk each step as my final one.

If my life should end today, let this me my best.

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CHINA

China continues to arrest, torture and jail Christians associated with illegal house churches as they attempt to control or eliminate all religions.  1.2 billion people inhabit the oldest  Communist republic.  It is estimated that 90 million being Christians.  Christians appear to be the hardest hit by the persection.

Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Society are the government-approved churches where Christians may worship legally.  The loyalty of these groups is first to the government and then the church.  Children under 18 may not legally attand church.   AMAZING!!

Millions of believers choose to worship at illegal house churches rather than register with the government.  This is despite the chance of persecution, torture and prison.  China is presently putting more believers in prison or under detention than any other country.  They also continue to confiscate Bibles and church property.

YET, the Church still continues to expand.  It is extimated that 3000 Chinese are coming to Christ each day.  Praise the Lord!!

You can write to any of the prisoners on their website.  Most of all you can be praying for their faith and strength to stand strong and hold fast for the Lord.

When you watch, think or read about the Olympics-Pray for the brothers and sisters under persecution and the Chinese government.

Check out: PrisonerAlert.com

Thank you.

ABLUTIONS: Ceremonial washings for the purpose of religious purity ( Heb 6:2; 9:10)

ABNER (AB nur) Saul’s cousin and commander of Saul’s army.  Later served under Saul’s son Ishbosheth and favored David.  David’s commander, Joab, was suspicious of Abner and murdered him (1Sam 14:50-2 Sam 3:30)

Pastor Zhang Mingxuan, known as “Pastor Bike,” is known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize.  He was arrested by Chinese police just two days before the Olympics began.  Pastor Bike was the inspiration for the recent partnership between The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association to creat the Olympic Prayer Band.

Pastor Bike is president of the Chinese House Church Alliance.  He rode his bike more than 10,000 miles visiting 24 Chinese provincesto introduce nonbelievers to Jesus Christ.  Armed with a Bible and his Business card which declared “Believe in Jesus, Earn Eternal Life.”  Pastor Bike brought the gospel to thousands of people.  he and other Chinese evangelists have been repeatedly harassed by Chinese official during this Olympic year.  Please pray for the release of Pastor Bike and his wife.

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The Church Triumphs over Terror–Return to Peru-20 Years Later  (part 1 of 5)                    BY DR. TOM WHITE

Twenty years ago Peru was in the grip of a Marxist war led by the Shining Path “Maoists,”who patterned themselves after the Chinese Communist dictator Mao Zedong.  The Shing Path was responsible for the deaths or disappearances of 31,331 people according to Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission 2003 report.  Another source said there were 600,000 to 1 million displaced people.  Many pastors and believers, especially ones from the indigenous Quechua people, were killed because they would not renounce their faith in Jesus.

Throughout this terror which lasted more than a decade, our Peruvian director, Jose Zapata, continued to broadcast on a Christian radio station and supply aid to Christians who were being attacked.  One night while descending some church steps, he was beaten by terrorists in the dark.  they broke his ribs.

In 1991, Pastor Zapata and I traveled in the mountains to Calicanto and Ccano riding in a truck driven by Miguel Quicana.  We carried Quechua Bibles and blankets.  We saw the bodies of dead believers killed hours before our arrival.  In the town of Ccano, 32 Christians were burned to death when the Shining Path threw gasoline into the sanctuary of their church.

During this time we appealed in our newsletter for our VOM friends in the USA to send us blankets and clothes for the orphans in the city of Ayacucho.  Help poured in from our faithful readers.  We packed and shipped 40-foot containers by sea to Lima, which were then trucked up into the mountains for the children of our martyred brothers and sisters.  We also distributed milk and food.  We printed 20,000 booklets, Why Am I a Revolutionary?, to win terrorists to Christ.

Part 2 of 5  STILL WALKING FOR JESUS

What has happened to our brothers and sisters since that time?  One of VOM’s five main purposes, listed on the back of our newsletter, is to help Christians in formerly opressed nations.    Today, they continue to help those coming back to minister up in the mountains after the wave of terror.  Recently, we were led by Miguel Quicana to visit a man with no legs, who excitedly shared how he is “still walking for Jesus.”

When lay pastor Alejandro Gomez was 28 years old, he ran to help the people in his village who were under attack by the Shining Path.  As he ran, his legs were shattered by a mine or grenade.  His youg wife, Victoria and their baby, due to be born the next day, were killed.  with his useless legs amputated, Alejandro would lie outside a church in Ayacucho and pray.

He sat in his first-floor shoe repair shop and told me, “When I worked shining shoes, I told the businessmen, “Christ love you.  Christ loves you.’  These words came out of my mouth.  Before God changed me, I never used to say that.  I was too embarrassed.  Some of the people came to Christ.  Some did not have money.  I told them ‘Don’t wrorry.’  Since then I have moved up a bit.  I am a shoe repairman now.”

“God has blessed me.  He has given me wisdom to pray for the brothers from other countries which I have never known: the United States, Europe, Palestine, Isreal, Saudi Arabia.  I never know where my prayers are going to take me.  I pray for our country, the authorities, for missionaries, for those preaching.  God has answered my prayers.”

Twice a week, Pastor Alejandro walks several kilometers above Ayacucho up into the mountains to preach and witnessfor Jesus.  His orginal prosthetics were worn out, so we provided new legs for him.

Alejandro is typical of the heroic faith of many believers who are now returning to the mountains.  We will not let them down.  We are supplying them with DVD projectors and thousands of Bibles in 2008.  Whether we live or die, Christ Jesus is our triumph through terror and over terror-our 20 years in Peru have not been in vain.  We are grateful for our readers and donors who all keep walking for Jesus.

 Part 3 of 5 The church begins to grow

Another Quechua brother told us, “When I was 7 years old, we began hearing about the guerrillas.  Then they came to our village and began talking to us about the Marxist ideology.  The Marxist ideology was that our lives were worth nothing, that our lives belonged to the Communist party and that we had to sacrifice them to the party.  They started assassinating our leaders.  How could they kill our own people is these marxists were fighting for us?  My grandmother told us, ‘Death has arrived.  We must go.’  We went into the forest, taking our cattle.  We could hear the bullets, the bombs and see the houses burning.  Houses were burning around the whole countryside.  There were dead bodies in the river, along the roads.  the guerrillas told us, ‘leave with the clothes on your back.  Leave everything to the party, everything.’  My father was a member of the Assemblies of God.  They beat and tortured him, then killed him by shooting him in the head.”  These Christians suffered tremendously, but they remained faithful.  Pastor K’sopio told us, “I was a deacon in the church.  The terrorists hated us because we did not want to participate with the terrorism.  The Bible tells us to separate from those things.  When I became a pastor, our worship service was in a cave.  Even there they caught us and put a gun to my head.  But the gun did not fire.  A lady spoke up for me, and they killed her.”  Cresenciana, A Quechua sister, related, “Ond day the guerrillas came to our church,  They took over our building and stood in our pulpit putting a red flag over it.  After a few months, they would no longer let us enter the church.  They ate our livestock and slaughtered animals in our sanctuary.”  Maximo Aquino told us, “Actually, the church began to grow for fear of death, and because of all the problems.  I was a little bit undecided.  finally I said, ‘My life is in the hands of the Lord.  If it is His will, I will die even if I am not shot.  But if it is not His will, not even 1.000 bullets can kill me.’  The majority of the people had this type of confidence.’  One young women confirmed the same point of courage.  “Faith does not mean that I am not fearful, that I don’t cry or that I won’t want to escape.  faith is also to cry, to tremble, but the a strength that keeps you in peace.”

ABIMELECH (uh BIM eh lek) A son of Jerubbaal (Gideon) who became king after killing his brothers (except Jotham who escaped).  Abimelech ruled Isreal for threee years until he attacked Thebez where his skull was crushed by a stone in battle (Judg. 8:29-9:57).  Also a line of kings (Gen 20-21, 26:1)

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ABIHU (uh BIGH hyoo) The second son of Aaron and a priest (Ex 6:23; 28:1).  Went with Moses, Aaron, and others toward Mount Sinai to worship God (Ex 24:1,9). Later he died a fiery death with his brother Nadab after they had displeased God (Lev 10:1-2; Num 3:4)

ABNER (AB nur) Saul’s cousin and commander of Saul’s army.  Later served under Saul’s son Ishbosheth and favored David.  David’s commander, Joab, was suspicious of Abner and murdered him (1Sam 14:50; 2 Sam 3:30)

ABLUTIONS- Ceremonial washings for the purpose of religious purity. (Heb. 6:2, 9:10)

Abimelech (uh BIM eh lek) A son of Jerubbaal (Gideon) who became king after killing his brothers (except Jotham who escaped).  Abimelech ruled Isreal for three years until he attacked Thebez where his skull was crushed by a stone in battle (Judg 8:29-9:57)  also a line of kings (Gen 20-21; 26:1

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ABIHU (uh BIGH hyoo)  The second son of Aaron and a priest (EX. 6:23; 28:1).  Went with Moses, Aaron, and others toward Mount Sinai to worship God (Ex. 24:1, 9).  Later he died a fiery death with his brother Nadab after they had displeased God. (Lev. 10:1-2; Num. 3:4)

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ABIGAIL (AB ih gayl) Beautiful, wise, and poised wife of David, who married him after her first husband, Nabal, died (1 Sam. 25) Another Abigail was a sister of David who married Jether and became the mother os Amasa (1 Chron. 2: 16-17)

ABIATHAR (UH BIGH UH THAR)  A high priest during David’s time. Served after his father Ahimelech but was later thrown out of the priestly office by Solomon because Abiathar favored Adonijah over Solomon (Sam. 22:20-22; 23:6,9; 1 Kings 1:24-25; 2:26-27)

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ABEL (AY bel) Second son of Adam and Eve.  A shepherd who pleased God with his worship.  His brother Cain’s sacrifice did not please God, and so Cain murdered Abel. (Gen. 4:2-8; Heb. 11:4; 1 Jn 3:12)

ABBA:  Father in Aramaic-much like our word Daddy.  It shows that God is a loving approachable father.

All three NT references are to God (Mk 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6)