I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3: 17-18
Cuba is an island full of color, warmth and smells, yet it is also run down and dilapidated. This island seems to be open, but it is subject to many restrictions. Almost all Cubans experience shortages of literally everything.
Christians can be found throughout Cuba, and shortages are extreme for them. There is a chronic shortage of Bibles and Christian literature. “Every month, we have baptism services and we often have tens and sometimes dozens of new Christians being baptized,” reported a female pastor. “Due to the shortage of Bibles, we do not give people a Bible when they convert. They first have the possibility to enter a ‘Christianity course’ before being baptized. Once people have finished the course and have been baptized, they receive a Bible. This way we have more certainty that the Bible will really be used.”
Christian leadership is lacking in Cuba. “There is a shortage of good, solid Christian leadership in the churches. We don’t have the knowledge and could really use good study material on biblical leadership,” stated a Cuban pastor.
Christians lack places to worship together. One pastor in Cuba said, “We don’t have our own building and our houses are too small to meet in. Every Sunday we use all the means of transport that we can find to go out into the countryside. There we're less conspicuous and we can hold an open-air service. But if it’s raining or too windy, it has to be called off. That’s a pity, because we like meeting together so much.”
Another pastor said, “We don’t get permission to build new churches or church buildings. Only the church buildings that have been here before 1959 are officially registered as church buildings. Since then, it has not been possible to obtain permits for new church buildings.”
When a pastor was asked what his greatest wish is, he replied, “To conquer the city for Jesus Christ!” This is the dream of many Cuban Christians, who show their resiliency in the midst of restrictions. Are there too few Bibles? Then they simply share Bibles with each other and copy out Bible texts. Is it prohibited to proclaim God’s Word outside your church building? Then they make sure that the music and the words of the psalms and hymns are heard through the open windows of the building. When the police drive them away while evangelizing on the street, then they carry on somewhere else tomorrow. The scripture above is sung as a favorite hymn.
Cuban Christians see the restrictions as a challenge. They have the courage to dream. They stand up for their faith. In this way, the Word is heard and the Church in Cuba is growing.

A Worthwhile Life

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)

Does Jesus really understand what it means to be stressed?

I used to wonder ... until I got desperate enough to ask Him.

For years, I was under the impression the Bible was not a resource for handling stress, much less a place to look for stress management tips.

However, although the word "stress" is not a commonly used biblical term, Jesus referred to stress consistently by using words such as anxiety, worry, trouble, fear, burdens, anguish, dismay, trials, and adversity, just to name a few.

He spoke of the heartache of worries, frustrations and betrayals; the sadness of deceit, the pull of temptation, and the devastation of sin. He addressed difficult circumstances taking place in politics, churches, marriages, families, parenthood, communities and the world as a whole.

Despite the differences between biblical times and the 21st century, the presence of stress and our need for Jesus is the same. He understood what we would face and promised the peace we would need in our busy and chaotic world.

Throughout the Bible we're shown how to celebrate and enjoy life, despite stressful situations. How to find joy, despite circumstances. How to overcome stress, despite constant balancing acts. How to not only survive the storms of life, but stay afloat in the midst of them. From Genesis to Revelation, we can discover infinite suggestions for biblical stress relief.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 encourages us that Jesus Himself provided a solution to stress. Peace is only available in and through Him.

Stress is not a sign of the times; it's a sign of living. Always has been, and always will be. Our stressors may be different today than when Jesus walked the earth, but the overwhelming power stress holds over our hearts is the same.

Maybe you have tried massages, vacations, relaxation techniques, shopping, and soft music or bubble baths to help you manage stress. Or maybe you've coped with stress through drugs or alcohol. Perhaps you've tried every stress relief tactic known, to no avail.

All the stress management tactics in the world cannot hold a candle to the very real stress relief Jesus offers. His methods have withstood the test of time, used by generation after generation for thousands of years.

If you have been searching for a peace and serenity that seems completely out of reach, might I encourage you try a few other things? Sneak away for a few minutes and simply rest in His presence. Invite the Lord into your stressful situation and seek His perspective in Scripture. Before we turn to anything the world has to offer, let's turn to Jesus. Our number one stress solution.

www.gsmungesia.blogspot.com

Dear Lord, I am drowning in stress and I have tried everything to relieve it — except for You. Forgive me not trusting You enough to believe that You offer the peace I am searching for. Today, I invite You into my circumstances, and into my life, and ask You to open my eyes to see the real truth and stress relief that my heart is aching for. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Communicating Vision

Read Deuteronmy 6:1-25 Moses learned firsthand how to communicate a vision. Our last two studies depicted how God had moved Moses from downright rejection of a vision to becoming its primary spokesperson. Moses spent the rest of his life leading others to fulfill the vision that he himself had initially resisted. His experiences both as God's student and Israel's leader provide us with some valuable insights for communicating a vision. In this passage, Israel was poised to move into the promised land. Faced with the possibility of strong opposition from fortified cities, Moses knew that his followers would not take the risk involved if land were the only prize. With God's guidance, he envisioned more for this people, but he had to communicate that vision.  In doing so Moses demonstrated that the vision: • was rooted in the followers' values (1-9). He emphasized that this move was essential to Israel's identity as God's people (4-9) and that it would provide a safe place in which to raise their families (2-3). Visions that don't communicate value won't be embraced. • had utopian elements (10-12). People need a compelling reason to sacrifice their safety and comfort. They won't commit to sacrificing for something that's merely "nice." An effective vision offers something better than the present situation, something that is worth working to attain. • required the followers' participation (13-19). When something is perceived as being precious and costly, it will be respected. The realization of this vision depended upon the people's dedication. Moses couldn't accomplish this formidable task alone. • had long-term ramifications (1-2,20-25). A vision must be worth passing along to the next generation. • required faith to complete. The Bible teaches that God is involved with his people. A vision that is limited to human resources robs followers of a fundamental element of Christianity. An omnipotent God blesses leaders and enterprises that are committed to him. That is the greatest distinctive when a Biblical leader communicates a vision. Communicating Vision and Who God Is Jesus teaches us so much about leadership that we would be foolish to ignore his teachings on as essential a subject as communicating vision. Early in his ministry he called his disciples to leave everything and follow him. How did he do it? Turn to Luke 5:1-11 and its accompanying study note. Communicating Vision and Who I Am Throughout his ministry, Jesus focused people's attention on great and eternal visions. Matthew recorded an instructive incident of vision casting in Matthew 13:24-52. Communicating Vision and How It Works God's prophets were visionaries. If we want to learn about effective communication of vision, we can learn from these masters. Turn to Micah 4:1-5 and catch a glimpse of a master craftsman at work. Communicating Vision and What I Do We come back to our Moses study for a review and a last look at how God led Moses to fully embrace his vision for Israel's future. Turn to Exodus 3:1-10 for today's reading. This Week's Verse to Memorize Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

PRAY WITH THE PERSECUTED

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16

The first request of us from the persecuted church is that we pray for them. And correspondingly, they are usually great models of people of prayer which we can emulate. But we often need to be reminded that they do not ask us only to pray for them but also to pray with them. If we only pray for them, we will pray for their safety and the termination of their persecution. They want us to pray with them which means we will pray for: the advance of the gospel in their land; that they will bear fruit that will last; and for perseverance and fearless courage in the face of suffering.
Pastor Samuel Lamb from Guangzhou, China, has an interesting prayer for severe situations of persecution which expresses his trust in a great God. He prays: “Lord, I rejoice in how You are going to work this out.”
Moses Xie, a Chinese Church leader who spent more than twenty years in jail for his faith, says that when asking visitors to pray for him he is really after three distinct outcomes:
“First, I want them to experience the blessing of prayer for themselves. They will go to God on my behalf, but they will receive a great blessing from being in the presence of God.
Second, I know that as they pray, their burden for the persecuted will increase, and as their burden grows, so their commitment to assisting us in all sorts of other ways will increase also. Prayer alone makes them be the body.
Third, I want them to release more of God’s power into our situation through intercession, since I know that God has bound Himself not to act until we ask.”
Today is a great day to glorify God in our lives and those of the persecuted church.

REMEMBER

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” Exodus 17:14

Joshua led the Israeli army in the fight against their long-time enemies, the Amalekites. Moses went up to the top of the nearby hill. As long as his hands were held up, the Israelis were winning. When he grew tired of holding up his hands, he sat on a rock and Aaron and Hur each held up one of Moses’ arms till sunset when Joshua finally overcame the enemy.

The Lord instructs this event to be “remembered.” It was to be written down—the first time in scripture—as a permanent reminder. God’s people are explicitly called to remember both God’s deliverance and His judgment of the wicked.

he Bible records a number of events that people remembered. After Jacob’s dream at Bethel, he used the stone pillow on which he slept as a pillar of remembrance. After the Israelis finally crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, they took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan and set them up as a memorial about which they were to tell their children. Memorials help us to remember what God has done and enable us to trust Him for the future.