On the ground in Ghana (2009-2010)

Adherents of African Traditional Religions (ATRs) believe that the way they worship God is specific to their people group, a book I was recently reading contended. Their ancestors have worshiped gods and spirits in a certain way for generations, and so they will follow in those ancestors’ footsteps. They feel under no obligation, however, to evangelize those around them and encourage others to join them in their religious practices.

How different is the situation for us as Christians! Our God is not just a God for a specific people group, but for the whole world! We must share His news with others, first because He has commanded us to do so, and second because of the love He has given us for people who will otherwise perish in their sins. Jesus stated that He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. He is not “a” way back to God – He is “the” Way back. He is not “a” truth, but “the” Truth. He is the only One Who lived a sinless life and can impart that life to us, reconciling us with our holy Creator.

Let’s obey our God, go to the world in love, and tell others about Jesus Christ!

Islam has an alternate version of many of Christianity’s basic truths. For example, the Koran tells its followers that Jesus was not crucified: rather, another man was killed in Christ’s stead, and God changed his appearance to resemble that of Jesus. As a result, no resurrection took place after the crucifixion. Of course, to us who are followers of Jesus Christ, the death and resurrection of our Lord are central truths that are critical foundations of our salvation. Details regarding Jesus’ birth are also changed so that in reality, the “Isa” in the Koran cannot be the “Jesus” of the Bible!

When my Muslim friends present different versions of history that they’ve been taught, I am always respectful of their beliefs, and rather than challenge theirs, I seek to explain mine. I carefully explain that the reason I believe the history that I do is that it was written by men who actually witnessed the events they recorded, and wrote about them mere decades after they occurred. Matthew and John lived with Jesus for years, watched His cruel death, and met Him resurrected. Ten of the eleven disciples who lived after Jesus’ resurrection were martyred for their faith in Him, showing us how strongly they believed that it was indeed Jesus Who died and rose again!

It is the Holy Spirit Who convicts and changes hearts, not strong arguments. Nevertheless, being sure of what we believe and why can help encourage a challenger to ponder anew what HE believes and why. May we “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have” (1 Peter 3:15). And may God use our readiness to bring many more people into His kingdom!

March 4, 2001
 
Why did God make mankind? Come, surely anyone who has ever read a catechism knows that we were created for the purpose of glorifying God! And yet He gave us free will.
 
I thought on it this morning: logically, it would seem to make sense that the best and easiest course to pursue would be to live life very comfortably here on earth—not sinfully, oh no! Just comfortably, you know, here in the States among Christian circles, putting away lots of money to pass on to the next generation—and then still have a painless eternity; maybe not chock-full of rewards, but hey, I can’t feel bad there, and I’ll be perfect then, so I can’t even envy those who ran a hard race on earth! Then it came to me: yes, there I’d be, happy in eternity, but where would be the others I could have brought with me, but who were instead doomed to an eternity without God because I couldn’t go enough out of my comfortable way to tell them! … The quote comes to me, “You have been born to privilege, and with that privilege comes specific obligations.” It’s not just about me—it’s them!
 
May 13, 2001
 
“Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” I know that Psalm 2 is primarily spoken to the Son; but it struck me with new force today that we Christians should pray to God that He will give us the nations & the ends of the earth, or allow us to partner with Him in claiming them for Himself. What a large prayer! Much like Jabez’s: the “expand my coast” part. But do I personally want to pray this prayer? You never saw an unlikelier candidate for missions than me: squeamish in what I eat, no foreign language to speak of, and very little in the way of personal holiness, not to mention a lack of guidance from parents & peers.
 
 
 
Well, there you have it, folks. There was nothing to qualify me for missions, and I was pretty sure that although I had some faint interest in the subject, personal involvement would never be requested of ME! =)
 
Thus concludes my little record of God’s earlier stirrings in my life, which I was apparently doing my best to smother. (There may be later journal entries; I’ve just not read them recently.) So: do you have a picky palate? no foreign language? a lack of clear confirmation from those you respect? God may not be willing to accept those excuses from you, so watch out – you too may end up in Africa some day. ;)

One of the projects with which I’m helping while in Ghana is assisting two village pastors in writing grant applications for orphan care communities they hope to construct. Each community would care for forty children and would be self-sustaining, as the children would assist in farming crops and raising animals. It is an honor to work with these men, who have such vision and enthusiasm and such a heart for the Lord.
 
Of the many questions on the grant application related to costs – which will probably top $10,000 – is one asking what the local church intends to contribute. “Pastor Jonah” told me he would have to return to his small village church and discuss the question with them.
 
Imagine my surprise when he walked into my office and announced that his small congregation (10 men, 5 women, 30 children) has agreed to pledge 100 cedis – approximately $70 – toward this orphan care project! To put this into perspective, no one in the village makes more than 15 cedis a year. They are subsistence farmers, and life is a daily struggle.
 
For them to pledge 100 cedis is overwhelming. As soon as Pastor Jonah left, I counted my stash of cash, as I’d recently made a withdrawal to last me for several weeks, and found I had over 500 cedis ready money on hand!
 
If I contributed 500 cedis to the orphans, and Pastor Jonah’s church contributed 100 cedis, Christ would justly look down and judge that I had given from my abundance, while they of their poverty had given all they had.
 
May God bless these dear Christians’ sacrifice and use their example to spur us on to joyful generosity!

What is your basic attitude toward Muslims? Do you see them as a danger, a threat to your way of life? Or do you see them as lost souls in desperate need of the salvation and eternal hope we enjoy? One attitude will tend to result in the erection of walls between yourself and Muslims, while the other will likely be demonstrated as you reach out to Muslims and attempt to build bridges over which they can walk to the truth.
 
Of course, the questions posed above don’t mean that there are only two choices. You may find you have a mixture of the two attitudes depicted. I probably do myself, but I am praying for a heart of compassion that sees past an evil system to wounded lives in need of eternal healing.
 
There are too many testimonies of hardened Muslims coming to Christ to believe that anyone is beyond His reach. While we need to conduct ourselves wisely and be sensitive to Muslims’ “special needs” in terms of how we witness to them, we must not cut ourselves off from them or give up on them.
 
After all, if God gave up on everyone hostile to Him, we’d all be in a rather sorry state, wouldn’t we? Praise God that He reached out to us, and can empower us to reach out to the hurting Muslims around us with His unconditional love.

Few of the chiefs in northern Ghana are what you would call good men. They tend to be polygamous, autocratic, and overbearingly traditional. But even most chiefs will agree that “Chief Kimbuka” is a terrible man.
 
Whenever a tragedy occurs in the village, Chief Kimbuka immediately looks for a witch to whom he can assign the blame. The women in the village are lined up and forced to take a drink brewed from a bitter plant. The first woman to refuse the drink or show a reaction to the drink (generally the first woman in line, so vile is the concoction!) is pronounced the witch at fault, while of course she’s perfectly innocent.
 
If a so-called witch doesn’t escape the village, she will be stoned. If she can flee quickly enough, however, she can find refuge in the neighboring “Witches’ Village” – a gathering of outcast women who work together to survive. “There’s not a fat one among them,” reported Grandma Grace, who told me of her visit to the Witches’ Village. She and her team had brought corn, dried onions, and fish with them, and were amazed at how gratefully these simple gifts were accepted.
 
The team met one young mother who had been accused of witchcraft when her child died – she lost not only her little one, but everything that had comprised her life. The team heard that shortly before their arrival, two women had been stoned in Chief Kimbuka’s village.
 
“On the way home,” Grandma Grace concluded, “there wasn’t one word spoken by the team. One finally said, ‘It’s simply awful: such things shouldn’t be allowed!’ That may be, but the Witches’ Village exists nonetheless.”
 
Pray with us for the women in this village – outcasts to society, perhaps, but not to God!

For the first time since my arrival in Ghana, a taxi which had room for extra passengers failed to stop when I motioned I needed a ride.
 
A minute or two later, a second taxi drove past. It too had room, and it too drove right past my signals. “What is wrong this morning?” I wondered, disconcerted at the unusual start to the day.
 
A third taxi pulled up, with room for one passenger: and as I got in, I realized I was sitting next to a fellow-passenger from a previous trip whom I’d really been hoping to see again. We greeted each other warmly, and I was able to ask the question I’d been waiting to pose, and was glad to receive the answer I’d hoped I’d hear. Praise God that the first two taxis drove past! He knew which car was the right one for me to take.
 
Doesn’t He often go before us in such a manner? Yet how often do we fail to recognize His kindness and His goodness. We pray that God will give us a certain person as a spouse, and then s/he ends up marrying someone else…but then God brings someone better along, or reveals something about that person that makes him or her entirely unsuitable as a mate, or leads us down better paths that we could not have trodden had we been married. We ask that a particular house deal will go through, but something will interfere, and we are “back at square one,” wondering how God could have messed things up so badly. But when the right house finally appears on the market, or when we’re moved into another part of the city and are able to bring a neighbor to Christ, or when the market tumbles and proves that the original purchase would have been unwise, we’re reminded anew that God knows best! We expect an investment to be profitable, but instead end up losing everything…and God helps us pick up the pieces, and in retrospect, perhaps years later, we realize that we would have forgotten Him had we been granted wealth, and the humbling circumstances were the best possible answer to the true needs of our lives.
 
The next time we are tempted to be disappointed in what God allows, let us remember that His purposes are greater than ours. The One Who sees the end from the beginning does not err.
 
“You are good, and what you do is good” – Psalm 119:68

Jesus said that to follow Him, we must hate our parents, brothers, and sisters. This command always flummoxed me (“Aren’t we supposed to love our neighbor? to honor our parents?”) until my little brother asked me one day whether we were literally meant to hate our family members. As I prayed for wisdom on how to answer him, God gave me a beautiful word picture, which answered my brother’s question and mine!
 
We know that light bulbs can brighten an entire room: by their illumination we can read and engage in numerous activities after the sun sets. Yet we know too that after we have been outside in the strong sunlight, and we enter a lit room, everything seems dim by contrast. The light in the room is not inadequate, but it cannot compare to the brilliance of the sun. So too must our love for Jesus be so overwhelmingly intense that all other loves are dim in comparison.
 
When preparing to come to Ghana, my #1 worry was leaving behind my family, since I love them so very much. We’ve always been close, and I simply couldn’t imagine a year apart from them. Again and again the Lord evaluated my heart and challenged me to make sure that HE was first in my affections, so that obeying Him would make all else pale in comparison.
 
My journal records that on the day I flew from America, I waved good-bye to each beloved family member, “and I dearly love each one; but I realized with a little thrill as I continued standing in line that I LOVE MY JESUS MORE!” There is no way I could have spent eight months on the field thus far away from my family were it not that my love for Christ – and more importantly His love for me – sustains me.
 
God sweetly reminded me of all of this Sunday – and I didn’t realize until later that the reminder came on Valentine’s Day: what a precious appointment! With my whole heart I can say that Jesus is my Best Friend and loves like no one else. May He always be first in my heart…and in yours!
 
He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead

“So doesn’t Guinea Worm horrify you?” a visiting friend of the ministry asked me last week. “Don’t you stay up nights considering how awful it is?” “Um, actually,” I had to admit, “I just don’t spend much time thinking about it.”
 
As soon as the words left my mouth, I couldn’t help but think of other hardships which occur in the world every day, and “I just don’t spend much time thinking about it.” There are people starving every day, people suffering from a variety of diseases that are completely curable – but not for them, as they don’t have the money – people living as refugees, full of pain and confusion.
 
Worse than all these physical maladies, however, is the fact that every day, there are millions of people who die without Christ. Their eternities are sealed, and their tragedies will have no end.
 
Does THAT grab my heart on a regular basis, or do I just not spend much time thinking about it? Does it grab YOUR heart on a regular basis, or do you just not spend much time thinking about it?
 
God, give us Your heart for the lost of the world, a daily burden to see them saved for Your kingdom!

Mrs. Patience Mbarra led a hard life: I know this simply because she lived as a woman in Ghana. One of three wives, she bore her husband ten children and must have done an extraordinary amount of cooking, cleaning, washing, farming, and so much more, all without the aid of the modern machinery on which Americans are so dependent.
 
Although Mrs. Mbarra was only a nominal Christian for many years, and wasn’t excited to discover her son wanted to become a pastor when he heard God’s call on his life, she nonetheless supported him as she could, even stepping in at one point to help him pay an urgent school fee. This gift was crucial in enabling her son to remain in school and complete his education so that he could launch into fulltime ministry on God’s timetable.
 
Her son Pastor Mbarra, Smyrna’s ministry partner in Ghana, was thrilled the day both of his parents turned to Christ in true salvation. From that day on, his mother exhibited the fruits of true repentance and impressed all who knew her with her kindness and hospitality.
 
After a long and painful struggle with cancer, Mrs. Mbarra passed into the presence of her Savior in August. Due to her children’s travel schedules, the funeral could not be held until this week, so now is the time that the family is officially honoring her memory and coming together to grieve. Please pray for Pastor Mbarra and his family as they acknowledge and mourn her loss this week.

Americans are familiar with uniforms: members of the armed forces and police forces, package delivery service workers and restaurant staff – all wear uniforms that clearly identify their employer. But perhaps Ghanaians are even more familiar with uniforms, as all public and private school require that children come dressed in specified clothing. At a glance one can tell whether a child attends a government school, an Islamic school, a Presbyterian school.
 
As I observed all the different uniforms around me each day, I couldn’t help but wonder whether I was wearing any uniform that clearly identifies me as working for Christ, as learning from Him. Colossians 3:12-14 tells us what we should dress in as Christians:
 
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
 
Wow – are we daily being clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love? If these qualities are reflected in our lives, we will surely be identified at a glance as children of the one true God!

Yesterday was the first time I ever experienced the two of these simultaneously.

OK, so I didn’t really experience the tear gas per se; but it was being used outside the building where our church service was taking place. There was a political convention taking place nearby, and some of the mob broke through and were being chased by the police outside our windows, which were hurriedly closed by church members, while children were instructed to cover their faces just in case. The whole experience definitely added a bit of excitement to our Sunday morning. We heard afterward that a man had been killed, although later the rumor was discredited with the assurance that he had only been shot in the arm.

As I sat in the service thanking the Lord for our safety and praying for all the men with guns outside, I couldn’t help but think that in much of the world, church members are all too familiar with guns and tear gas – the guns and tear gas are often meant for those in the church, not for unruly political protesters outside of it.

Please pray for the Lord’s divine protection on our persecuted brothers and sisters this year!

Ghana’s President recently announced how the country is going to recognize the members of the Black Satellites – Ghana’s celebrated football (aka soccer) team that recently beat out Brazil for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. These young men – all 20 or younger, hence the designation “Under 20” – are now each the owner of a brand new Toyota Corolla, as well as a trust fund that is expected to be approximately 170,000 Ghana cedis in value when it matures in 15 years. (The cedi is currently worth approximately 70 American cents.) Additionally, their futures are wide open, as they’re being sought to sign on with various football teams.
 
Guess what? Cars will deteriorate, and inflation or changing economic conditions can easily devalue any trust fund. Fame will fade with the years, and one day we will each stand before God on the other side of death, soccer champion and ordinary individual alike. After a few mere decades on earth, our real existence will begin. The rewards that we’ve earned for that time will be worth far more than any Toyota Corolla, and far more lasting.
 
“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever.” – 1 Corinthians 9:25
 
Let’s exert ourselves to win a reward that will count and that will never go away. Let’s exert ourselves to please our Lord!

Imagine what it would be like if missionaries were not the only ones who had to write regular reports on their ministry. What if every Christian had to give monthly or quarterly feedback on what kingdom work he or she has been involved in?
 
Let’s make the supposition more personal: what if YOU had to share how you served the Lord this past month? Would you be able to report on how you were able to worship God through Bible-reading, fasting, prayer, and faithful giving?* Would you be able to describe the hospitality you showed to believers and unbelievers? Would you be able to share how God used you in the life of your unsaved neighbor? Or would you have to admit that you faithfully (more or less) attended church each Sunday morning, maybe you participated in a Bible Study, and that was pretty much the extent of your service for the Lord?
 
Church services and Bible Studies are NOT bad things – in fact, the first is commanded in Scripture (Hebrews 10:24), and we are encouraged to study God’s Word like a very diligent scholar (2 Timothy 2:15). But has the church become to us a spiritualized social club? Are we so inward-focused that we leave outreach to people in “full-time ministry” and busy ourselves with activities that are corporately self-centered?
 
Let’s pray that God will give us creative ways to serve Him throughout the weeks and months of our lives – as the fulltime Christian workers He’s called each of us to be.
 
 
* Yes, yes, I know, Matthew 6 says that these activities are to be done in secret, not broadcast to the world. They’re just listed as great examples of what we should strive to live out on a regular basis.

My African sister “Stephanie” is continually amazed at what Americans have contrived to lessen their workloads. “You really have a machine that washes your dirty dishes?” she asked a couple of weeks ago. She’d heard a rumor about such machines, but thought they were just made up: she couldn’t believe there really were such devices in the world!
 
Stephanie has also been impressed by my descriptions of clothes washing and drying machines, of blenders that pulverize food without mashing by hand, of a host of other little contraptions that we take for granted, but which shave minutes off of routine tasks. Most recently, she asked me whether we have mops in America. “Yes,” I laughed, “our floors get dirty in America too!” “What are your mops like?” she asked. And as I described the metal plates that squeeze the water out of our mops, she declared, “You mean you don’t even need to wring your mops by hand? You Americans are so lazy!”
 
“We DO work hard,” I protested. “Since we don’t spend so much time on household chores as Ghanaians do, we can be more productive…” “…and spend more time playing video games and watching television,” my mind quickly supplied. Ghanaians spend too much time surviving to even think of using their time in such ways, assuming they could afford video games and televisions. Then I was really convicted, and thought maybe we are lazy after all. At least Ghanaian women can sing and pray as they wash clothes and dishes by hand; but after we’ve loaded our machines and sat ourselves on the couch in front of the television screens, are we spending our time focused on God? God has given us so many great time-savers: are we using any of that saved time for Him?
 
May we remember to thank God for the blessings He’s given us…and may we wisely use the extra time He has given us to His glory!

In light of my stay here in Ghana, what do you, my Western reader, have to be thankful for?
 
Here’s a short list:
 

• An efficient trash removal system
• Electric power that is consistent except in the case of a storm
• Roads that aren’t congested with animals
• Silverware
• Clean drinking water from the tap
• Hot water from the tap
• A justice system that punishes domestic abuse
• Temperature controls in buildings and vehicles
• Washing machines
• Available food, no matter what the weather was during growing season

 
The list could go on and on, but I decided to break it off after the first ten random things that came to mind. All of these pale, however, in light of the things we can be thankful for no matter what our circumstances:
 

• A God Who is good
• Forgiveness of sin
• Eternity secured in heaven

 
This list could go on and on as well. This Thanksgiving, let’s remember to truly thank the Lord for His many blessings to us!

The story is a familiar one: four men hear that Jesus is in town, and decide to go to the miracle-worker with their sick friend in hopes that this man can be cured of his paralysis. As they approach the house where Jesus is teaching, they see no way to cut through the crowd and make it to the door: so they figure out how to access the roof, gently and lovingly carrying an inert body as they climb, hacking away at tiling once they get to the top, likely aware that they’ll be responsible for damages. No matter: they know Jesus CAN heal the paralytic, if only He will.
 
And He does: but the story doesn’t say that He heals for the sake of the sick man’s faith. Rather, “When Jesus saw their faith” (Luke 5:20), He first forgave the sick man’s sins and then healed his paralysis.
 
“He saw THEIR faith,” Pastor Mbarra reiterated. “What will Jesus do when He sees our faith on behalf of our friends? If we bring them before Jesus again and again for salvation, trusting that He can and will save them, will He likewise honor our faith?”
 
Do you have a loved one who is resistant to the Gospel? I certainly do – my 91-year-old grandmother is recalcitrant as can be when it comes to God. When I look at her I see no way she can be saved: but when I look at God, and see how He’s led people to pray for her, I have great hope. Will you pray with me for my grandmother’s salvation? And will you have faith on behalf of your unsaved friends and relatives?
 
“When Jesus saw their faith….” May He see ours today!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
 
Romans 8:28 is a beautiful assurance that has been rightly claimed by Christians over the millennia, reminding us that when we are called by God and love Him, every circumstance in our lives ultimately works toward our good. What a wonderful God! What other god can take tragedies and confusions and work through them to the good of each devoted follower?
 
Do you love God? If you answered “yes,” do you feel that every circumstance in YOUR life is working out to your good? Why might your answer to this second question be “no”? Perhaps you, like me, have unconsciously written your own description of “good” and presented it to God. “Romans 8:28 obviously means that everything will work out to the furthering of my health, wealth, and happiness.” Or does it?
 
The verses that follow reveal that the good God has for each of us who love Him is a plan for us to be shaped into the image of Jesus, and ultimately to be glorified with Him throughout eternity. It’s hard to imagine a better last chapter to our life story.
 
It’s in that context that we are asked whether trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword can possibly separate us from Christ’s love; it’s in that context that we are told that for God’s sake we face death all day long and are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Trouble and hardship and danger and sacrifice aren’t words I’d have chosen to list in connection with the word “good,” but God has bigger dreams for us than we do, and a bigger and better perspective than we will ever possess.
 
Praise Him that He can work through every aspect of our lives to make us more like Jesus!

Last week I sat in the back seat of a taxi with a schoolgirl of perhaps 11 or 12 years. Her uniform would usually have fallen just above the knee, but carelessness had allowed the hemline to fall back a few inches. In her childish innocence, she was completely unaware of the skin she was revealing.
 
I took brief note of the situation – and rejoiced, because even though northern Ghana is predominantly Muslim, it is not subject to Sharia law, the code of rules that governs the most fundamentalist Muslim states. If this region were ruled by Sharia law, you can be sure that my little taxi companion would be very aware of her body and of what was and wasn’t showing in any given situation. It’s very likely that she would be reprimanded or possibly prosecuted for the physical position she’d thoughtlessly adopted.
 
Please pray that God will protect every part of Ghana from adopting Sharia law. The people here are so warm and friendly, and to have that openness squelched by religious fanaticism would be heartbreaking indeed.

“Now, Lord, consider [our enemies’] threats,” the apostles prayed in Acts 4:29. How would you finish that prayer? “Consider our enemies’ threats and confound their counsel so that their plans do not come to pass.” “Consider our enemies’ threats and notice that we need Your protection!” It’s amazing to see how they continued: “Consider our enemies’ threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” Wow!
 
Again and again throughout Scripture we see that God is far more interested in us reflecting Christ regardless of our circumstances than He is in improving our situations. Indeed, the promises we have in Scripture concerning our circumstances state that we should expect persecution and hardship. Life will be hard: but God assures us that no matter what we encounter, He will supply the grace that we need to undergo hardship. He will be faithful.
 
What about us?

“Haman boasted to [his wife and friends] about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials” (Esther 5:11). Two days later, Haman was hanged.
 
What good did all that wealth and prestige do him? And what good will wealth and prestige do us once we die?
 
Wealth and prestige aren’t bad things on their own: it’s what we use them for that counts. Mordecai followed in Haman’s office, and used his position to help the people of God. His name is honored by Jews and Christians to this day. Solomon was Israel’s wealthiest king, and God used him to construct a temple of worldwide renown for the Lord. Godly women supported Jesus from their wealth. Rich landowners sold their holdings and funded the growth of the early church. When we dedicate what we have to God, we can turn what is transient into what is truly lasting.
 
Are you seeking after status or materialistic pursuits? Of what value will these things be “when it’s all said and done”…unless they are yielded to the Master’s control?

I sleep through the morning call to prayer now.
 
My body definitely needs the rest, so it’s good not to be jolted out of a sound sleep at 4:30 every day. However, there’s a tinge of sadness about this fact, as I’m sleeping through a subliminal reminder to pray for the hundreds of thousands of Muslims in northern Ghana. It’s also a reminder that as my body adapts to the culture and accepts its Muslim surroundings, I don’t want my soul to grow dull toward the need here: I want the sharpness of an Islamic environment to remind me of prayer and eternity and the urgency of salvation.
 
Please pray with me that God will put people and circumstances in our paths that will continually remind us of these priorities.

One of the rarely-mentioned practices of Islam is female circumcision. Grandma Grace told me stories of Muslim women who told her how traumatic their circumcisions had been. “But this was just when we women were together,” she continued. “As soon as any man entered the room – even my husband – they closed their mouths, afraid to be caught criticizing the practice.”
 
The main purpose of this procedure is to take away all sexual pleasure that a woman might experience in life. The stated reasoning behind this goal is that women will be less promiscuous as a result; but of course nothing is done to take away the pleasures of men, who wield the real power in Muslim societies. Although these men often veil their women from head to toe (to reduce the temptation to lust, they contend), and obviously comprise the stronger sex, women are consistently found at fault when any indiscretion takes place.
 
Of course, one often-ignored aspect of female circumcision – and of the veil too, for that matter – is the fact that it’s a way for Muslim men to continue to keep their women in violent subjection, to remind women of their inferior status within Muslim society.
 
Please pray that Muslim women around the world might hear of and personally discover the unconditional love of Christ, in Whom there is neither male nor female.

If we compare the Christian God with the Muslim Allah, what will we find? Are they one and the same, or are there irreconcilable differences between the two?
 
Consider first the absolute control Allah is said to have over his worshipers’ lives. You think some Christians believe in predestination? Well, I’ve never heard even the most predestination-minded Christian argue that God made one person a beggar, another a thief, a third a cheat, and that none of these have any say over the matter. Paul made it very clear in Acts 17:30 that God “commands all people everywhere to repent.” We cannot blame our sin on our God – but that’s what the Muslims do.
 
In Islamic theology, Allah is the only active being, and humans are entirely passive. A common phrase on the lips of Muslims is “Inshallah” – “If God wills.” Someone may have grand ideas, but they will come to pass if God wills: no initiative is required on our part. Imagine the hindrance to progress this theology results in. If you went to a Muslim country, you would see all you can imagine and more proving that non-progress is indeed the sad result of such thinking.
 
Our Bible tells us that God is Love; but Allah is not love. Love implies vulnerability – as was demonstrated by our God when He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross! – and Allah can never be vulnerable. He is stern, powerful, unapproachable. The kindest title he possesses is “the merciful,” but the word mercy brings to mind the concept of a master and servant, or of a judge and victim. Contrast this with the relationships between a tender parent and beloved child, or between a caring husband and adored wife – images which the Bible plentifully uses to picture our God’s relationship to us.
 
Because they serve such a stern, implacable god, most Muslims are themselves unforgiving, still following the Mosaic principles of “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth.” While we as Christians are warned that God cannot forgive us if we don’t freely forgive those who offend us, Muslims are taught that a forgiving spirit is a sign of weakness, leaving them open to the contempt of others.
 
Lastly, let us consider our motivation in serving God. The Muslim obeys because he is compelled to, because he fears not to, because he hopes in some way to earn the favor of his obdurate deity. The Christian serves his God out of gratitude and love.
 
Which God would you rather serve?

Western visitors to any Islamic country soon notice an intrusive feature of their new location: the five-times-daily call to Muslim prayers.
 
The most noticeable call to prayer is the one that occurs at 4:00 in the morning, waking even the most tired traveler from a sound sleep. It urges Muslims to get up to petition Allah, and reminds them that “prayer is better than sleep.”
 
Of course, the seasoned traveler knows of this aspect of Islam, and is well prepared – with earplugs! Thanks to these little stoppers, one can get a full night’s rest without being unduly interrupted.
 
Isn’t that what we as westerners do more often than not? Don’t we in effect believe that “sleep is better than prayer” and close our ears to the cry of the lost? Muslims are crying out for hope, for life, and it’s easier for us to stop our ears and continue on in the relative comfort of our insulated existence.
 
God, give us ears to hear and hearts to pray…and do!
 
   Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
   And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
   If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
   Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
   He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
   And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?
                                           ~ Proverbs 24:11-12

“Why do Christian nations prosper while Muslim nations have no progress?” the perceptive young man asked his imam. “My son,” replied the spiritual leader, “It is Allah’s will that Muslims must suffer on earth while Christians prosper; but Christians will suffer in heaven while Muslims prosper.”
 
Thus did the imam summarily dismiss a valid observation. It’s actually quite true that Christianity tends toward progress, while Islam tends toward stagnation or regression. There are several inherent reasons for this discrepancy, but I’ll briefly touch on two.
 
One is that Mohammed took features of his 7th-century culture and enshrined them in Islam for perpetuity. An obvious example would be the dress code of his time and place: loose robes that cover one completely were perfect protection in the hot deserts of Arabia, and have been mandatory for the serious Muslim ever since. If you’re stuck in a 7th-century mindset, you’re not going to make much progress hundreds of years later.
 
At a more basic level, Islam is interwoven with a fatalism that makes progress very hard to achieve. If you are born a poor Muslim, Allah has destined you to be poor. If you see a beggar, it is his lot in life to beg, and it is your lot in life to give: offering him a job is not an option!
 
Christians recognize, however, that God made us to take dominion of the earth and be diligent in our business. He orders idle people “to settle down and earn the bread they eat” (2 Thess. 3:12). In every way He sets an example of being diligent, and He expects us to likewise be busy.
 
And so the nations with a Christian heritage progress, while Islamic societies flounder, envying the rest of the world rather than working to improve their own lot. May God transform these societies starting with the individual hearts, so that they can be productive members of this world…and the next!

Mission experts say that in the twentieth century, more Muslims came to Christ than in all previous centuries combined. 
 
Islam has been around since the seventh century!! Where has the church been in the intervening stretch of time? 
 
As I think about the encounters between Christian Europe and the Empire of Islam throughout the middle ages, it seems the most famous events are as follows: 
 

• The Crusades – Yes, these represent more than one event; and yes, much of what we’ve been taught about them has exaggerated the Christians’ misdeeds and minimized the Muslims’ wrongs. Nevertheless, the fact remains that those who identified themselves with the Name of Jesus met Muslims with military might, not with the love of the Lord they claimed to serve.
• The Expulsion of the Moors from Spain – Ferdinand and Isabella dealt ruthlessly not only with the Muslims in their land, but with Jews and supposed heretics. So-called Christians in Spain were more interested in acquiring their Muslim neighbors’ possessions than in winning souls for Christ.
• The Battle of Tours – Charles Martel, aka “Charles the Hammer,” stopped the northward advance of Islam. God used this crucial encounter to preserve European Christianity, so it was a very important engagement. However, it was a defensive move, not an example of reaching out to Muslims in love as the Great Commission demands.

What a shame that the church failed to leave its comfort zone and evangelize lost Muslims. Not only has this failure resulted in a world that now lives with the threat of terrorism, it has resulted in millions of lost souls throughout the ages who are now spending an eternity in hell.  

Lord, You went far out of Your comfort zone to rescue us from damnation. May we be willing to follow in Your footsteps and finish the work that is left undone.

Every good Muslim must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his lifetime. This obligatory trip is known as “The Hajj.”
 
Ghana obviously doesn’t have the separation of church and state about which we hear so much in America, for its national TV station reported this past weekend that Ghana’s president has appointed a special officer to oversee details of the Hajj for the country’s Muslims this year. This official is working with Muslim leaders not only to arrange for the logistics involved, but also to use government resources to subsidize some of the costs associated with the journey.
 
Government funds have already been used to subsidize Islamic education in the country, so this new Hajj initiative isn’t out of line with the direction in which Ghana is going. What makes this direction particularly sobering is the fact that Ghana is merely one of many countries that are acquiescing more and more to Islamic extremists’ demands.
 
Don’t think it won’t happen in America!

So if you had to avoid food and drink between sunrise and sunset, what effect would this have on your body?
 
For one thing, you probably wouldn’t get as much sleep, because you’d be spending a lot of the time between sunset and sunrise eating and drinking.
 
For another thing, your 24-hour caloric intake would be very concentrated during a few hours late at night and early in the morning. Your metabolism would be “out of whack” during a month of alternating between starving and gorging.
 
A muddled metabolism, disturbed sleep patterns, and a lack of any kind of sustenance through the heat of the day would likely leave you a trifle irritated, and perhaps unable to complete your normal daily responsibilities. Imagine the effect on a society where over 90% of the population is Muslim and subjected to these conditions for an entire month every year.
 
How the people of Islam need your prayers!

Grandma Grace and her late husband served God in Africa for 38 years. This morning she told me that the only sacrifice she ever made was to send her children to Boarding School. “And God’s made up for it by putting us within five blocks of each other now.”
 
Just imagine for a moment what this woman has gone through. Separation from family, illness, discouragement, threats, and so much more – at the end she can think of only one thing that was a sacrifice, and even then she feels that God is giving back the years that the locusts have eaten!
 
“It amazes me,” she said of herself and her husband, “that God would allow two such ordinary people to have so much joy!”
 
Christ says that the one who will hold onto his life will lose it, but the one who will lose his life for Christ’s sake will find it. I think Grandma Grace has found the life God intended for her to have. Have you?

Have you ever planted a garden? I’ve had a few, but nothing to compare to the fields so familiar to nearly everyone in this rural setting. Suddenly rainfall is an important topic beyond “Will tomorrow’s party get rained out?” This different perspective sheds new light on some encouraging verses from Scripture.
 
“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” James 5:7-8
 
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
 
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:7-9
 
These verses make clear two facts about planting and harvesting:
 
1)      The more you plant, the more you harvest
2)      You have to wait a while after planting before you can harvest
 
Additionally, we are told how we should plant (cheerfully) and why (God is coming soon). In other words, we should be glad at the chance to do good because we know God is coming soon with His rewards!
 
These verses warn that WHATEVER we sow we will reap, be it good or bad. While we should definitely be aware that sin has bad consequences (and no doubt we’ve had plenty of those in our own lives), these verses are mainly meant as encouragement to keep on doing well!
 
An earthly harvest may fail. Insects may wipe out a crop, the rains may not come or might flood out a field – but our spiritual harvest is guaranteed! God does see everything, and He will make sure we receive what our words and deeds deserve. Let’s rejoice in the fact that our good work is not in vain, and seek to serve Him whole-heartedly each day!

“On the way home,” I journaled last April – in a land where the weather ever got cold enough to support growing daffodils – “I was concentrating on I know not what – driving, blowing a [bubblegum] bubble – then saw a flash of color in the corner of my eye, and saw the daffodils only in a quickly receding reflection. Oh, I do not want my life to be like that, distracted by the trivial and regretting in retrospect that I’ve somehow missed what is truly important!”
 
I stumbled over those lines this morning, and quickly evaluated the ways I am spending my life these days. Which of the activities which comprise my daily schedule will lead to regret later in life, and which will gladden my heart – and more importantly, God’s heart – when I look back at them decades later? Will it really matter what dress I wore on a given day, or whether I had to eat something I didn’t particularly like for a certain meal? Will it matter that speaking to someone about Jesus was outside of my comfort zone, as long as I obeyed when the call to speak came?
 
May our lives be consumed by what is truly important rather than by the trivial!

“It looks as though a fire swept through!” I pointed out to Pastor Mbarra as we passed a teak plantation. All the underbrush was gone and the ground looked charred; but the trees, though browned, still stood strong and tall.
 
“Yes,” he replied, “Every year they set a quick, hot fire to burn through the grove. Fire hardens the trees and improves the quality of the wood so that it’s more valuable when the time comes to harvest and sell the trees.”
 
What fires does God allow to sweep through my life, I mused, to improve my quality in His sight so that I’ll be more valuable for His purposes? Do I resent the heat of trials, or accept them as from a loving Creator?
 
“Those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” – 1 Peter 4:19

My good friend “Verity,” a Muslim background believer (MBB), told me about her early days as a Christian, when she lived in her home village with her devoutly Muslim family. “My father would beat me every day to make me go to the mosque. I was forced to go where I didn’t want to go, and I still live with the pain of the scars.” Eventually the physical pain and the emotional stress of being forced to participate in a form of worship that didn’t reflect her heart led Verity to run away from all she had ever known and seek a new life on her own.
 
Verity is one of tens of thousands of MBBs around the world who face abuse and suffering as a result of their decision to follow Jesus. Some experience milder persecution, such as mocking or collective shunning; others are forced to marry against their will, or are divorced and driven from their children; still others are literally tortured or killed.
 
Today, please remember to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ from a Muslim background.
 
“Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow-prisoners, and those who are ill-treated as if you yourselves were suffering.” (Heb. 13:3)

“There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet” states the Muslim confession of faith, commonly called the Shahada. Apart from being a creed that gets repeated in various contexts, the Shahada also serves as the magical incantation that can make a Muslim: all you have to do to convert to Islam is recite the Shahada in public, and poof! You are converted.
 
How different from Christianity, whose God is so concerned with the heart. Again and again, the Bible addresses the need to believe (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9; and these are just the references I can recall without consulting a concordance). It is the attitudes of our hearts that determines our salvation: nothing we do or say can accomplish the miracle of making us part of God’s family.
 
May Muslims realize that words and works are futile when the heart is not right with the true God!

When a baby elephant arrives at a zoo, its leg is chained to a thick pillar. The little elephant will attempt again and again to free itself from its shackles, without success. Eventually, it will give up trying.
 
This practice explains how adult elephants are restrained with a rope and a wooden peg. An elephant could easily pull a small stake out of the ground; but years ago it learned that a tied-up leg cannot be freed, and it never again made the attempt.
 
 
“Then I looked up – and there before me were four horns! I asked the angel who was speaking to me, ‘What are these?’ He answered me, ‘These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.’ Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. I asked, ‘What are these coming to do?’ He answered, ‘These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no-one could raise his head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.’ ” ~ Zechariah 1:18-21
 
 
“What horns of fear have scattered you?” Pastor Mbarra asked us. “Judah and Israel were so discouraged, and thought they could never lift their heads again. But God sent carpenters to destroy the horns.
 
“The Master Carpenter, Jesus Christ, stands ready to destroy the horns assailing you. Are you ready to let Him?”

This statement encapsulates the vision and work of Smyrna’s Ghana ministry partner, “Pastor Mbarra.” Over the next few months, I hope to outline some of his ministries for you and tell you of the impact they are having on local people.
 
We’ll start with the first ministry he showed me: village schools. Although most western countries are used to compulsory publicly-funded education available to all children through eighth grade or high school, the situation is quite different in northern Ghana. Most village children learn traditional manual skills with their parents (farming, cooking, etc.) but never get the chance to learn reading, writing, math, and so on. Without a basic education, they have little hope of rising above their parents’ living conditions (mud huts, no running water, no hygiene – all of which result in much disease and a 50% mortality rate in children six and under). Those who know no English – Ghana’s trade language – will not be able to communicate with those outside their tribe. More importantly to us as Christians, people who cannot read will never be able to read God’s Word for themselves.
 
In such a setting, imagine the impact that a village school will have on people. The parents will see that there is hope for their children, while the children themselves will have something constructive to do with their time, much of which would otherwise be idle.
 
There is a Western foundation that has provided funding for schools in the area, and they partner with Pastor Mbarra in meeting this need. While they supply the money, Pastor Mbarra's ministry identifies the places of greatest need and provides oversight and accountability in how they are being run. As a result, his ministry name is listed right along with the foundation’s name on plaques at various schools. The Muslims in these regions know that the ministry is providing a good service to their children, and even though the parents are not directly evangelized (the children are taught Bible truths and songs), their hearts are opened to build relationships with people from the ministry.
 
Please pray that as a result of these village schools, many families will come to a personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Muslims are five days away from finishing their holy fasting month of Ramadan. If they have completed all the requirements perfectly throughout the month – if during daylight hours they have not eaten or drunk, or had sexual thoughts, or done anything that is ill-natured, among a number of other things – they believe their sins will be washed away.
 
Do any of us think that these requirements can be perfectly met for an entire month? Do Muslims think they can harbor a lustful thought or let loose a sharp word, and Allah will not take note? And if this month-long perfection (during daylight hours, at least) is the best hope they have, they must know in their hearts that they still bear the guilt of their sin!
 
Praise God that we don’t have to do anything to secure our forgiveness…except to ask for it!

Did you know that right now there are over 200 Muslim people groups with populations greater than 100,000* which have no Christian witness? Furthermore, mission strategists are unaware that anyone is making plans to reach out in these areas.
 
How can this be? More than 2,000 years after our Lord came to earth, so much of the task remains undone. As I wrote some years ago, “When the last command is ‘Go,’ I had better have a jolly good excuse to stay, hadn’t I?” There is urgency not just in the fact that making disciples was our Lord’s last command on earth, but in the fact that hundreds of millions of people are living their lives in darkness, “who will die without any knowledge that could make the decision theirs.”
 
Christian, you have some role to play in light of the facts outlined above. Has God called you to the field? Has He called you to find and support people who will go? Has He called you to pray?
 
Nearly two millennia after they were spoken, these words are still relevant to us today:
 
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” ~ Luke 10:2
 
Yes, Lord, this is our prayer.
 
 
 
* Please visit http://www.30-days.net for information on Muslim peoples. 30 Days International also offers prayer guides which assist Christians in praying for Muslims during the month of Ramadan. The numbers above are cited from this prayer guide and are used by permission. I urge you to visit their website and see how you can join believers around the world in praying for lost Muslims at this critical time.

“If you realized the inroads Muslims are making in the United States, you would stay awake nights.” So said “Grandma Grace,” who spent 38 years serving God in Africa, and now educates Americans on the truths about Islam. She’s in her eighties, but shows no sign of slowing down, for this topic is her passion. “Of course,” she added reassuringly, “We must remember that God is in control. But mark my words, one day the people in the United States are going to wake up and ask, ‘How did this happen?’ ”
 
Grandma Grace related that many new airport terminals being constructed in the United States are including special rooms for Islamic prayers, along with facilities for the required ablutions. This is just one example of the ways in which we are accommodating Muslims in America, and I can assure you that the requests to accommodate will grow only more insistent as the Muslim population grows.
 
The ultimate truth, as mentioned above, is that God is in control. However, we do have a little window of time now to educate ourselves and other Americans about Islam’s ultimate goals – and most importantly, to pray!
 
I’m not advising that you stay awake nights; but I do urge you to pray fervently and consistently for our country at this time – and for the hearts of Muslims in America who so desperately need the truth of God’s love!

What happened in September 2000 to spark my interest in missions? I have no idea; but as you can see, five months later I was pretty sure that actually, missions and I would have nothing to do with each other. Whatever had lit a fire in my heart the previous September had quite run its course, and there was no burden for the things of God. I saw the need but preferred to ignore it…how about you?
 
September 17, 2000
 
“I do not feel called, but I feel available.” This has been the state of my heart this past week with regards to foreign missions. Does God want me to serve Him amongst a strange people who speak a strange tongue? I’m not saying He does. I’ve felt no definite calling, and indeed any inclinations I may have may spring from my heart alone, not God’s. Too, [there are those who] have never encouraged that direction—quite the contrary.
 
January 7, 2001
 
[A speaker] told us last night of the ratio of Christian preachers to laymen: 1 to 216 in America, 1 in 490,000 in the rest of the world, and 1 in 1.2 million in places closed to or never touched by the Gospel. Oh sad state of affairs, a glutted America rotting at the core, yet “out there” billions who will die without any knowledge that could make the decision theirs. What is my role, Lord?
 
February 25, 2001
 
Daddy just casually mentioned that the world’s population is now 6 billion. It seems I remember when it was 4 billion. How quickly does it grow! How ever are Christians to keep up with spreading the message? And when there are literally billions who have never heard the Gospel, what is my excuse for planning a life at home? When the last command is “Go,” I had better have a jolly good excuse to stay, hadn’t I? Oh be not deceived, future Leah. Is my heart burdened for missions currently such that I give money & fervent prayer to the efforts of those currently out on the field? Assuredly not. And what do I see as the most likely scenario? Me in America, ten, twenty, thirty years from now. Too lazy to ever get around to acting on what I plainly see. I’m sorry to be so pessimistic, but if I’m to be quite honest with myself, that is what will probably transpire.

One of the families in the area is frustrated with their house girl. She helps with the cleaning and the laundry in exchange for her room and board, but won’t participate in their activities as a member of the family.
 
Despite their repeated invitations, the girl won’t eat her meals with the family at the table. Instead, she eats them by herself outside, rain or shine, amid the mosquitoes and the snails. Although the family treats her with kindness, she continually acts browbeaten and put upon. Of course, this doesn’t represent an accurate picture of them when visitors are present.
 
Seeing that she had an old Bible which was falling apart, I got her a beautiful brand new edition. She said “thank you” once – and continued to bring her old, falling-apart Bible to church meetings. Just to clarify, I did NOT give a Bible to earn myself any gratitude! But observing her attitudes made me pause and question my own.
 
We have been adopted into the family of God, and are invited to sit at His table. Do we ignore His call and hang around outside, preferring the company of our pet sins to His perfect friendship? He gives us blessing after blessing: do we remember to say “thank you,” or if we do say the words, do we go beyond that and live them, rejoicing in His goodness?
 
I am not to maintain a “martyr complex,” letting everyone know the sacrifices and hardships I have to endure. Rather, my life is to glorify God in every area. When I identify and delight in the good things God has given me – more than that, in HIM as a good and loving God – I am honoring Him as the great Giver. When I act miserable, I communicate that God is not adequately meeting my needs.
 
Does your life today reveal the great goodness of our God?

1)      Islam motivates us to pray. Muslims pray all the time; why don’t we? They have the zeal, but we have the truth, and should surpass them in their passion to pray.
2)      Islam compels us to study the Bible, as we listen to Muslims’ attacks on Christianity and seek the Biblical basis for the various doctrines we believe.
3)      Islam arouses our jealousy, just as Gentile Christians arouse the jealousy of the Jews. While the Christian population of the world experiences a biological doubling every 54 years, Islam sees its population double every 27 years. We are spurred on to keep pace with them by winning converts for Christ.
4)      Islam reminds us what we as Christians can do if we’re united. When denominations and parachurch organizations work together rather than in competition with one another, they have a synergy and love that Muslims cannot withstand.
5)      Islam reminds us that Christ is coming soon. Missions is his heartbeat, and must be our priority.
6)      Islam reminds Christians of God’s priorities in managing the money He’s given us. Western churches need to focus less on investing in buildings and programs and more on missions, especially to the Muslim world. There are 200,000 white-faced missionaries in Africa today, but fewer than 5% are reaching out to Muslims, even though Muslims comprise 50% of Africa’s population.
7)      Islam reminds us that we can do nothing through our own effort: we MUST rely on God.
 
Pastor Mbarra quickly listed these benefits of Islam for me, then stated that he has a list somewhere of over 20 reasons he composed why Islam is good for us as Christians. The key is that we must pray so that God can work. Just in case you read over that quickly: we must pray, and God will work. Next time we are tempted to be discouraged over the presence of Islam in our world, let us remember that God has His purposes for allowing it to spread – and then let us pray!

“Our Time Has Come!” announces every page of a website dedicated to announcing a prayer service taking place on Capitol Hill today. Washington, D.C. has been the site of many a prayer meeting throughout the centuries, but this one is different: this one is Muslim.
 
Muslims are planning for tens of thousands of their adherents to assemble on the Nation’s mall from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Featured speakers will include two men who each memorized the Koran before they were teenagers. Despite the organizers’ claims that the event is meant to produce peace and unity, we must recognize that their assertion that their time has come is a battle cry. Make no mistake about the fact that they are demanding that American society legitimize and accept Islam…as a first step to their ultimate goal of domination.
 
Please pray for our nation at this crucial time!

While the east coast is experiencing record-breaking snowfalls, the likes of which I have never personally seen, Ghana has been experiencing its typical heat for this time of year. The highs where I came from and where I’m living now are both supposed to be in the upper 30s today; but that’s in Fahrenheit in the States, and Celsius here in northern Ghana – translating into temperatures that will soar into the 100s in this part of the world!

As I considered such extreme weather conditions on either end for the month of February, I couldn’t help but think of heaven, where the weather will be perfection! And as I thought about this wonderful heaven that’s awaiting us, and then looked around at so many beautiful people who are suffering in an inhospitable environment now, and will be damned to an eternity of suffering after death, my heart broke. Am I burdened every day with a passion to reach the lost around me and see them come to Jesus, that they too may spend an eternity with Him in that marvelous heaven of His?

Lord, don’t just let my heart break: may I be moved to action!

Health teams in West Africa are actively working to eliminate Guinea Worm within the next couple of years. This repulsive creature lays its eggs in water, where they hatch. People who drink contaminated water in affected regions are at risk of ingesting the larvae, which grow several feet long, and then try to burrow their way out of their host bodies. Imagine having a worm piercing its way through your flesh, trying to reach the surface. In addition to any internal damage that might be caused as it works its way through bodily organs, the worm leaves nasty scars on the skin when it breaks through in its quest to find water, where it hopes to lay more eggs and continue the vicious cycle.
 
Unfortunately, the most soothing response to an erupting worm is to soak the skin in water…but this must not happen if the cycle is to be broken! The only safe way to extract the worm is to wind it around a stick that lies across the skin and winch it out over the course of a few weeks. I leave you to imagine what a horrible process this is.
 
Medical personnel say that they are closer than they’ve ever been to eradicating this nuisance. Please pray with us that God will be merciful to the people of this region and will indeed cause this scourge to be eliminated.

“Journaling is a western habit, but it’s not at all African,” someone mentioned to me the other day, as I was busily scribbling away in my blank book.
 
Pastor Mbarra and I began to discuss the habit with each other and he pointed out several cautions I hadn’t previously considered regarding journaling:
 

• I Corinthians 13:5 tells us that love does not keep any record of wrongs. If we journal, are we documenting the bad things others do to us?
• Did Jesus journal? While we aren’t told either way, it seems unlikely that He spent His valuable time writing about each day’s events. We do know that He lived each day to the full and focused on the relationships God had given Him.
• If we journal, are we letting this habit take precedence over other priorities? Should we make time to journal if we’ve not first made time to read God’s Word and pray?

 
Like many another habit, journaling is a tool: not good or bad on its own, but potentially dangerous if abused. I don’t plan to give up journaling; but I do intend to keep these warnings in mind as I continue.
 
How about you?

Why are the men in town so outgoing, and the women in town so shy? Whenever I walk the streets, I find that while I am reaching out to men and women alike with smiles and greetings, the women give a quick reply and move on, while the men try to engage me in further conversation.
 
After carefully considering the matter, I’ve reached the following conclusions – which remind us all how much the women in this region need our prayers!
 
1)      Muslim society expects its women to be subdued and encourages its men to be bold; and it’s amazing how we live up to our expectations! Because I’m a foreigner, I can live by a different set of expectations: and people do love hearing me try out their language. Whew for me!
2)      The women are busy working, while the men are lounging. When I greet a woman, she usually replies and carries on with her work. A man will have all the time in the world, and want to pursue a conversation.
3)      Men are typically better educated, i.e. it’s likely that they will know English, while most women won’t. Of course a man will feel more comfortable talking to me, knowing that if I revert to my tongue we can continue to chat, than will a woman who knows the talk can easily wander away from her abilities of comprehension.
 
How I want to quickly learn their language – and how I want these women to discover the freedom of living in Christ! Pray with me for the women of northern Ghana: may God transform their society from the inside out so that they may become the vibrant, liberated people God intended them to be.

Every two to three Saturdays, the morning radio announcements include a public notice that the electric power will be turned off for the entire region from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (although generally the power stays off until 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening). Americans would never stand for such an arrangement, but the patient Africans accept this inconvenience along with so many others in their challenging lives.
 
Of course, the scheduled outages are only part of the “problem” here – there are many more unscheduled outages. Two features I’ve observed of every power outage, whether or not it’s planned, are:
 
1)      When there is no power, I cannot do my normal tasks. I have no internet connection, no light in the office, and limited time on the computer, assuming that my laptop battery is charged.
2)      Without power, I am very uncomfortable. Fans and air conditioning do not work without electricity; and they’re pretty necessary for comfort when the temperature is soaring into the 100s each day this time of year.
 
As I considered the recurring condition of things here, I couldn’t help but think of what happens when we allow ourselves to be spiritually drained. When we neglect prayer, we lose our source of spiritual power, with sad results:
 
1)      We cannot accomplish the tasks to which God has called us. We might be able to do some things in our own strength, but our own work will lack the effectiveness and the lasting impact of God’s work.
2)      Without the power of God in our lives, we will not enjoy the peace and happiness that He meant for us to experience, no matter what our circumstances.
 
May we develop the habit of faithful prayer so that we will experience God’s uninterrupted power supply in our lives!

As we come to the end of 2009 and look back at how the year has treated the country of Ghana, one word comes quickly to mind: inflation.
 
If you think the economy is suffering in the United States, consider Ghana with its 22% inflation rate. Although that’s a national average, the specific increases on some basic items are much higher. A bag of cement – the main “ingredient” of lasting construction in this country – has increased from 10 cedis to 14.5 cedis since January. A friend who arrived in Ghana at the end of September has seen the price of cooking oil rise from 2.5 cedis per liter to 3 cedis in three short months. The price of apples has doubled in just a little over a year. Interest rates are between 32 and 38 percent: small wonder that there’s little motivation for entrepreneurial ventures. Since my arrival in June, the city in which I’m staying has experienced nearly a dozen gasoline shortages: many times these are due to the fact that fueling stations will hear rumors of upcoming price increases, and will hoard their supplies against the possibility of a greater profit.
 
The word I consistently hear in connection with the present government (as in the United States, Ghana’s President was elected in November 2008 and serves for four years) is “ineffective.” People are frustrated that the country’s problems are multiplying, with no solution in sight.
 
Imagine how bleak these circumstances are for people who are already living on so little. If a Westerner faced such rising food costs, s/he might cut back on entertainment or start purchasing clothes at consignment shops. Faced with the same rising food costs, a Ghanaian may not be able to buy medicine for a dying child, or may trim the family diet so that vital nutrients are excluded.
 
Please pray that Ghanaians will pursue peace in the midst of an unstable economy; that their economic conditions will improve; and that ultimately they will find their security in the One Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

“[Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side’…A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped” (Mark 4:35, 37).
 
The disciples didn’t get themselves into a predicament and then beg Jesus to rescue them from their own foolishness (although the Bible certainly recounts occasions where this was the case). Jesus was the One Who led them into the storm. Had they not encountered this terrifying episode with Jesus, they would not have come to know Him as the One Who calms the storm.
 
Does God ever lead you directly into troubles? Will you allow Him to use them to show you a greater revelation of Himself? Hear the disappointed tone in Jesus’ voice as He asks His disciples, “Do you still have no faith?” What will He think of our reaction to the squalls of life into which He leads us? Will our faith fail, or will we wait on Him and discover that He is so much more than we ever knew?