Ponderings of a Kansas Kowgirl: August 2008

Friday, August 29, 2008

Sign the Petition to Free Pastor Bike & His Wife

Today, as I checked my computer, I learned that more than 52,265 people have signed the petition to help free Pastor Bike. Yesterday I sat and watched the tallies and every 15 minutes approximately 350 people signed. That is encouraging! Still, many more signatures are needed to help this dedicated and courageous servant of the Lord. Please go to http://www.freepastorbike.com/ and sign your name to help set Pastor Bike and his wife free.

On Aug. 6, Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan was arrested while trying to deliver medicine to his ailing wife. His wife and another pastor were also arrested. In response to these arrests, The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association launched a petition drive to free these three Christians and to let the Chinese government know that the world is aware that these Christians are being detained.

Pastor Bike is known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize. He has traveled more than 10,000 miles on his bicycle, visiting 24 Chinese provinces to introduce nonbelievers to Jesus Christ. Armed with a Bible and his business card, which declared “Believe in Jesus, Be Granted Eternal Life,” Pastor Bike brought the gospel to thousands of people. The pastor voluntarily preaches the gospel openly in China despite being persecuted. He and other Chinese evangelists have been repeatedly harassed by Chinese officials during this Olympic year.

Please pray for the release of Pastor Bike and his wife.

Read more about Pastor Bike here:
http://www.freepastorbike.com/
http://www.freepastorbike.com/moreinfo.html
http://www.persecution.com/topStory_olympics.html

New Series of Articles Beginning on Suffering

This series is devoted to fellow Christians who are suffering with pain or experiencing some sort of trouble in life. For many their struggle begins with trying to understand why God has allowed this painful situation to happen to them.

If this describes you, you're not alone, I too struggle with suffering. No one is exempt. Even though I know (head knowledge) that God has a purpose for ordaining difficulties in my life, it's usually hard to keep that in focus.

We all desire wisdom and understanding in dealing with difficult circumstances. I hope by sharing this collection of articles at least one person will be helped and God will be glorified.

About My Blog

This is where I've chosen to gather my thoughts, along with the wise and beneficial thoughts of others.

Like all Christians, I struggle. My Christian life is not what it should be. I long for a closer, deeper fellowship with God. My marriage and other relationships are often less than perfect. I desire to be more obedient to God. I'm past the 50 mark, closer to 70 now than I am 50. At times that frightens me. Aches and pains, part of the aging process, are my daily reminders. Fibromyalgia became my constant companion 30 years ago. Life is less than perfect. To quote Jerry Bridges, "Life is difficult. We live in a sin cursed world, ravaged not only by the forces of nature and disease, but even more so by people’s sinful actions towards one another. No one is exempt."

Here, I hope to record my journey, answers to the problems and questions of life, that God has so graciously given me. I hope to set them here as a reminder to me and, I hope, as an encouragement to you.

MAKING COMMENTS

Allowing comments is something I've not tried before and in someways I feel I'm missing out. So I've decided to allow them at least on a trial basis, but first I felt that I must lay some ground rules:

Don't expect me to reply to your comments. Although I might participate in the comments from time to time, I make no promise that I’ll reply to arguments or questions.

Say whatever you like; you may disagree with me if you like; but please keep your comments within the parameters of Christian civility. I will automatically delete comments which contain any profanity or unwholesome words.

Finally, no ‘anonymous’ comments. All anonymous comments will be automatically deleted.

Sorry but if you break these rules more than twice and I will delete any further comments you might post.

Prayer Updates From The Voice of the Martyrs

VOM USA Prayer Update for March 10, 2009
The Voice of the Martyrs USA: http://www.persecution.com/

Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith
in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. - I Thessalonians 1:4

NIGERIA – Christians Killed, Homes Burned and Believers Displaced – VOM Sources
Numerous Christians were killed and more than 500 were displaced during violence against believers in Bauchi state, Nigeria, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. Following Christians’ disapproval of Muslims’ using their church grounds for Islamic Friday prayers, Muslims set fire to their own mosque on Feb. 21, and blamed Christians. Muslims attacked Christians with guns, double-edged daggers and sticks and burned their homes. Pray for injured believers and for displaced Christians currently living in a school. Ask God to encourage them, and believe He will provide for their needs as most have lost all their possessions.
Psalm 91

VIETNAM – Christian Worker Killed – VOM Sources
A Christian woman was killed by her son in North Vietnam following an argument about her belief in Christ, according to VOM sources. The mother accepted Christ, but the son who was not a Christian disapproved of his mother becoming a Christian. Recently, the conflict between mother and son developed into a big fight; and the son killed the mother. Pray for believers in North Vietnam concerned for their safety because of this incident. Pray for this family as they deal with the loss of their mother. Ask God to give the family strength to forgive the young man who killed his mother.
Romans 8:34-39

INDIA – Christian Persecution Continues – VOM Sources* CHHATTISGARH – On Jan. 5, police arrested 10 Christians, including Shankar Sona, an associate pastor, on charges of defiling a Hindu temple under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code. On Christmas day, Bastar for Christ Church held a picnic attended by 150 Christians in Dendewada district. They left behind some food and plates on the picnic grounds and Hindu extremists collected these items and piled them inside a small Hindu temple and took photographs as evidence of defilement. They later lodged a complaint at a police station. The pastors were released on bail the same day.*
ORISSA – VOM contacts report that children in Kandhamal district will lose a year of school due to attacks against Christians in that district by Hindu extremists in August 2008. The attacks also destroyed education certificates and diplomas that believers need in order to either further their education or obtain jobs. Pray for persecuted believers in India. Ask God to give them strength to forgive their persecutors, for the Lord to encourage and protect them.
2 Thessalonians 1:3-5

Ponderings of a Kansas Kowgirl

Friday, August 29, 2008

Sign the Petition to Free Pastor Bike & His Wife

New Series of Articles Beginning on Suffering

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MAKING COMMENTS

Prayer Updates From The Voice of the Martyrs