Heartbreaking scenes from Nepal.

PRAY FOR NEPAL

Rescuers struggling to reach disaster zone after more than 160 killed in Nepal-Tibet flash floods

More than 160 people have been killed in Nepal, and hundreds of tourists are missing, after a massive flash flood and mudslide

The missing tourists include more than 100 from India, 54 from the US, 34 from Australia, and 33 from the UK, as well as more than 100 from Nepal itself, according to officials. The area is popular with pilgrims and trekkers

The US, China, the EU and India are among the countries that have pledged assistance or dispatched relief supplies

Dozens of Nepalese police officers and army personnel are also missing, as well as power workers. My family was swept away in front of me, one woman tells us - she and her son survived by climbing to a rooftop

Authorities initially thought an earthquake may have preceded the flooding - but the US Geological Survey now says the "seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide"

May those still in danger be protected and may everyone affected find strength. Pray for Nepal.

COMMUNISTS EXECUTED THEM FOR THEIR FAITH. THEIR HIDDEN BABY SURVIVED IN A RICE BASKET.

John and Betty Stam met at Moody Bible Institute, both individually feeling called to serve as missionaries in China, and married there in 1933 through the China Inland Mission. In September 1934, their daughter Helen Priscilla was born, and just two months later, the young family settled into a new post in Anhui Province, in the small town of Jingde. Two weeks after arriving, Communist soldiers unexpectedly overran the town and took the entire family prisoner.

John wrote a letter to mission headquarters that night, informing them of the Communists' $20,000 ransom demand, knowing full well the mission's strict policy against ever paying ransoms. He closed the letter with the words, "The Lord bless and guide you, and as for us, may God be glorified whether by life or by death." The next morning, the couple was marched to a hill outside the nearby town of Miaoshou to be executed, a Chinese medicine seller who pleaded on his knees for their release, and who was later found to own a Bible and hymnbook, executed alongside them for his own faith.

Before the couple was led away, Betty found a way to hide their three month old daughter, tucking her into a sleeping bag with a change of clothes and money pinned inside her diaper. Two days later, a Chinese evangelist named Dr. Lo found baby Helen alive, concealed her in a rice basket, and carried her to safety, eventually delivering her to Betty's parents, who were still serving as missionaries elsewhere in China. Helen grew up, became a teacher, and raised her own family in the eastern United States. News of the Stams' deaths spread around the world and, in the decades since, has continued to inspire generations of believers to serve overseas despite the risk.

Do you think you could have found the peace John wrote about, in that same letter, facing what he faced?

#JohnAndBettyStam #MissionaryMartyrs #FaithUnderFire

COMMUNISTS EXECUTED THEM FOR THEIR FAITH. THEIR HIDDEN BABY SURVIVED IN A RICE BASKET.

John and Betty Stam met at Moody Bible Institute, both individually feeling called to serve as missionaries in China, and married there in 1933 through the China Inland Mission. In September 1934, their daughter Helen Priscilla was born, and just two months later, the young family settled into a new post in Anhui Province, in the small town of Jingde. Two weeks after arriving, Communist soldiers unexpectedly overran the town and took the entire family prisoner.

John wrote a letter to mission headquarters that night, informing them of the Communists' $20,000 ransom demand, knowing full well the mission's strict policy against ever paying ransoms. He closed the letter with the words, "The Lord bless and guide you, and as for us, may God be glorified whether by life or by death." The next morning, the couple was marched to a hill outside the nearby town of Miaoshou to be executed, a Chinese medicine seller who pleaded on his knees for their release, and who was later found to own a Bible and hymnbook, executed alongside them for his own faith.

Before the couple was led away, Betty found a way to hide their three month old daughter, tucking her into a sleeping bag with a change of clothes and money pinned inside her diaper. Two days later, a Chinese evangelist named Dr. Lo found baby Helen alive, concealed her in a rice basket, and carried her to safety, eventually delivering her to Betty's parents, who were still serving as missionaries elsewhere in China. Helen grew up, became a teacher, and raised her own family in the eastern United States. News of the Stams' deaths spread around the world and, in the decades since, has continued to inspire generations of believers to serve overseas despite the risk.

Do you think you could have found the peace John wrote about, in that same letter, facing what he faced?

from Heidi Baker :
Rolland ( Baker ) showing a new Tibetan friend how to use a solar-powered audio bible. Rolland’s grandfather, H.A. Baker, was also a missionary in Tibet and later China. Rolland’s father continued the missions work in China, where Rolland was born. The region is still much on our hearts

Ephesians chapter 1

Introduction;

I am stepping out in faith, am going to write a series of devotions on the book of Ephesians. I hope you will follow along, as we go through this great book.



1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God

WHAT A CALLING


Why are we Christians at all?
Why are we in the place we are?
Why for example, am I in China?

We are Christians, because God has chosen and called us, he has called us to serve him and to be his children.

The reason is his will.

Paul was a Pharisee, he was an educated man, who didn't ever imagine, he would be a preacher of the gospel.

But he became an apostle, by the WILL OF GOD.

We are, what we are, because of the will of God.

Praise God that he has set you apart and placed you in a unique place.

To be called a child of God and called into his service, is the highest privilege in the world.

Let's never complain of who we are and where we are, because it is by the will of God.

Thanks

KK


1 To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus

SET APART ONE

In the first devotion, we saw that we are, what we are, because of the will of God.

So, what are we:

We are saints, literally, set apart ones. God has set us apart for himself, he has personally chosen us. That is so amazing.

They are in Ephesus, of all the places to start a church, this must have been one of the most difficult, full of idol worship, black magic and the like, but in that place, God set apart some to be saints, as he does in every place.

Despite persecution, which you can read about in the book of Acts, this little group of saints are faithful, that is what we are called to do, wherever we are.. amen.

These believers are grounded in Christ Jesus, they are not faithful to a creed or a theory, they are faithful to a person, CHRIST JESUS.

Why can we be faithful to HIM? Because he is always faithful to us.

It is all about a relationship, a relationship based on HIM, although we are sometimes unfaithful, he never is.

Glory in the fact, that you are his set apart one and that you are and always will be:

HIS SET APART ONE

Thanks

God bless you

Daily devotion for August 11th
A Great Work
I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?

Nehemiah 6:3b
These erstwhile enemies suddenly become Nehemiah's friends and invite him to a conference down on the plain of Ono. It is located down on the seacoast near the Gaza strip. But Nehemiah senses danger: they were scheming to harm me he says (Nehemiah 6:2). Some commentators suggest that they were trying to trick him into leaving Jerusalem, where he had armed support, to come to a conference where they could set upon him and perhaps kill him. Nehemiah evidently senses this. He firmly declines, saying, I am carrying on a great project, and I cannot go down.

That is a great answer. Note the reasons he gives. On the surface it seems a surly response to their invitation to meet together. It sounds brusque and blunt. But Nehemiah sees through their scheme and refuses to go along, even though they pressure him four different times.

You too may experience continuing pressure to change your mind and go along with something that is wrong. Many have fallen after a proper refusal simply because they gave in to repeated pressure. But Nehemiah persists in his refusal. Here is his reason: I am doing a great work, he says. I have a great calling. God has committed a tremendous project to me, and if I leave, it will be threatened.

One of the most helpful things that we can do to resist temptation is to remember that God has called us to a great task. This is true of every believer in Christ. I do not care how young or how old you are in the Lord, you are called to a tremendous work today. That task is to model a different lifestyle so that those who are being ruined by wrongful practices will see something that offers them hope and deliverance. If they see in you peace in the midst of confusion, an invisible support that keeps you steady and firm under pressure, they will learn that there is another way to live than the destructive way they have chosen. That is the great work that God has called us to. We ought never to give allegiance to anything less.

I read years ago of a missionary in China, a capable young man who did a great job as a linguist and diplomat in his work for the Lord. His abilities were so outstanding that one of the American companies in China tried to hire him. They offered him an attractive job with a salary to match, but he turned them down. He told them that God had sent him to China as a missionary and that was what he was going to do. He thought that would end the matter, but instead they came back with a better offer and an increase in salary. He turned that down too, but again they came back, doubling the salary that had originally been proposed. Finally he said, It's not your salary that is too little. It's the job that's too small!

This is what Nehemiah is saying here. He has a great work, and he is not going to forsake it for anything less. He is confronted with an offer that seems to promise peace and support and yet is filled with danger, which he successfully avoids by refusing to leave his calling.

Father, You have given me a great work to do. Help me to see through the seeming golden opportunities that come my way to divert me from that which You have called me to do.

This Week's Prayer Guide


August 9 - This week, pray for the needs of the people of Suzhou. Pray for the church to be a Christlike witness to their friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family members.

August 10 - In recent years, many foreign and even domestic manufacturers have left Suzhou and its nearby development areas, leaving behind an economic void. Please pray that God will help revive Suzhou’s economy and provide for the economic needs of its people.

August 11 - The departure of these companies and factories have led to a rise in unemployment, particularly among the young people. Many of them are steeped in a sense of hopelessness and feel like giving up. Please pray that the young people in the city can find a hope that is not based on career success, but in Christ.

August 12 - Like many other cities in China, the economic downturn inevitably leads to population loss. Many young people have migrated to other cities or other parts of Suzhou to seek employment, making some less developed neighborhoods feeling empty. Please pray that God will bring revival to these neighborhoods, both economically and spiritually.

August 13 - Population loss is also leading to shepherding challenges. People come and go according to their economic and employment needs, leaving pastors and church leaders feeling destabilized. Please pray that God will provide local churches with a stable core group of people, and that church leaders can know their sheep deeply.

August 14 - One silver lining of the economic downturn is that young professionals are working less and thus have weekends open, and they are able to participate in Sunday worship more regularly. May the Lord refresh the souls of these young professionals through worship and church community, and alleviate their anxiety about their future.

August 15 - One of the local churches in Suzhou recognized the opportunity to reach out to the elderly in the city. Volunteers divide into teams to cut hair, trim nails, visit and pray with the elderly. Please pray that they will encounter more opportunities to share the gospel, and that God will bring many elderly to faith through their work.

8月9日——本周，请为苏州人民的需要祷告。请祷告，愿教会能像基督一样，在他们的朋友、邻居、同事和家人面前作见证。

8月10日——近年来，许多外资甚至中资企业相继撤离苏州及其周边开发区，留下了经济上的空虚。请祷告，求神帮助振兴苏州的经济，并满足当地民众的经济需求。

8月11日——这些公司和工厂的撤离导致失业率上升，尤其是年轻人中的失业率。他们中许多人深陷绝望之中，甚至在家里躺平。请为这座城市的年轻人祷告，愿他们能将未来的希望建立在基督之上，而不在事业当中。

8月12日——与中国许多其他城市一样，经济低迷不可避免地导致人口流失。许多年轻人为了谋生，迁移到了其他城市或苏州的其他地区，使得一些社区显得冷清。请为这些社区祷告，求神在经济和属灵两方面都赐下复兴。

8月13日——会众流失也给牧养工作带来了挑战。人们根据经济和就业需求来来去去，使牧师和教会领袖感到不安。请祷告，求神为当地教会预备一个稳定的核心群体，并让教会领袖能深入地认识他们的羊群。

8月14日——经济低迷带来的一线希望是，年轻职场人士的工作时间减少了，因此周末有空闲能够更规律地参加周日礼拜。愿主通过敬拜和教会团契，使这些年轻职场人士的灵魂得到更新，并缓解他们对未来的焦虑。

8月15日——苏州当地的一间教会意识到向市老年人传福音的机会。志愿者们分成小组，为老年人理发、修剪指甲，探访他们、与他们一同祷告。请为他们祷告，愿他们能遇到更多分享福音的机会，也愿神通过他们的工作带领许多老年人信主。


Join us on Zoom this Thursday from 10:30am-11:00am EST for our weekly prayer call as we pray for Chinese churches in Suzhou.

Click here to open the Zoom link.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86248059041
Meeting ID: 862 4805 9041

God bless you and greetings  from China
Please feel free to email me keitherichobkirk@hotmail.com

Jonathan Goforth’s Seven Rules for Daily Living:

1. Seek to give much-expect nothing.
2. Put the very best construction on the actions of others.
3. Never let a day pass without at least a quarter of an hour spent in the study of the Bible.
4. Never omit daily morning and evening private prayer and devotions.
5. In all things seek to know God’s will, and when known obey at any cost.
6. Seek to cultivate a quiet, prayerful spirit.
7. Seek each day to do or say something to further Christianity.

(Jonathan Goforth was a Canadian Presbyterian missionary to China with the Canadian Presbyterian Mission, with his wife, Rosalind Goforth. Jonathan Goforth became the foremost missionary revivalist in early 20th-century China and helped to establish revivalism as a major element in Protestant China missions.)

Thanks and welcome to everyone on the group, I am keith from the UK
I live in China
If you wish to email me my email is keitheritherichobkirk@hotmail.com

My website which has many resources is

https://totallylovedbygod67.cw.center/

Please check it out and make a comment AND SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND WITH YOUR CHURCH

THANKS

KEITH