Voice of the Martyrs prayer update

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Matthew 5:11-13

PAKISTAN — Imprisoned Believers Appears in Court — VOM Sources

2 Timothy 3:10-12

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

On Oct. 14, Asia Bibi’s husband, Ashiq Masih, her daughters and VOM contacts met her for 15 minutes before her court appearance. “Asia is in strong faith. Her eyes were hopeful. Praise God,” VOM contacts said. Asia told VOM contacts she prays everyday at 3 a.m. “I thank God that the jail administration has good behavior with me,” she said. “I don’t have trouble from them, but I miss my daughters and family. Please arrange my soon release from this jail.” Asia’s daughters were visibly upset when they met her. “The little daughter was continuously asking her mother ‘Mama when are you coming back home?’” VOM contacts said. Isha, the eldest daughter, cried and hugged her mother and would not let her go. Isha pointed to the veil on her mother’s face and said, “I want to see your face, remove this cover.” It was a sad scene. The court rescheduled another hearing for Oct. 27. On Oct. 17, Sandul and Gulsher Masir had a court hearing, but again the investigating officer did not appear. Another hearing was scheduled for October 26. Continue praying for these believers. Call on the Pakistani government to insure that the rights of Christians like Asia, Sandul and Gulsher are protected.

UKRAINE — Church Bombed in Ukraine — VOM Canada

Psalm 140:12-13

I know that the LORD will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

On Oct. 14, a homemade bomb was thrown into the Calvary Chapel church building in Kaharlyk, Ukraine. The building is also the residence of Pastor Wayne Zschech and his family. At 7 a.m., Pastor Zschech's wife awoke to the smell of smoke. Fire officials were called to the scene the blaze which caused minor damage to the building. The six people asleep in the church at the time of the attack escaped without injury. The assailants spray painted "Out with Sects" and "OYH," an abbreviated name for a Ukrainian Nationalist movement, on the church wall. Pastor Zschech later said, "We pray that the Lord would call people to salvation and that he would build up his body. We rejoice in being chosen worthy to suffer for the sake of our Lord and His Gospel. We do also pray for safety but hold this prayer out with open hands." Thank God no one was hurt in this attack. Pray that the perpetrators of this attack will be brought to justice and come to faith in Christ.

CHINA — Update: Chinese Pastor Released — China Aid Association

Matthew 5:11-16

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Praise God! On Oct. 12, Pastor Hua Huiqi, was released from prison, according to China Aid Association. Pastor Hua was arrested by Chinese officials on Sept. 17 and thankfully, he was not physically mistreated during his detention. Upon his release, however, officials reportedly threatened to harm his 13-year-old daughter if he "caused any trouble." Pastor Hua, who is recovering at home, has urged the international community to continue praying for his ailing Christian mother, Shuang Shuying, who has also faced imprisonment. He has also requested prayer for his dying brother, Hua Huilin. Thank God for this family’s faithfulness and ask God to heal those that are sick. Pray the Holy Spirit will encourage and minister to them.

Pure in heart

While teaching the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a series of remarkable statements.  They are remarkable because Jesus did not agree with any measure of deception - He spoke only what was true because He Himself is Truth, (i.e. Jesus was referring to Himself when He made the statement that: "You will know the truth, and the Truth will set you free.").  Yes, my reader, truth is a Person.  The reference point for the things that are true and right and pure and lovely are found in an exclusive, unique place.  Truth has a Name and a Face.  And these like no other!

Among the riveting declarations Jesus gave men among those Beatitudes was that the pure in heart will see God, (Matt. 5:8).  It begs the question then as to what constitutes "pure in heart" because if we have some basic grasp of the mercy and desire of God to reconcile men to Himself then we will WANT to see God.  If God is seen as something less than desirable then we don't see God as He is.  If thats too big of a leap for you to take reading this then you need to start at square one, right now, and begin to ask God yourself for evidence and assurance that He wants you to know Him.  Its just that simple: seek Him out.  Ask for Him to reveal Himself to you in such a way that you can feel safe in your beginning pursuit of Him.  For some of you, simply finding this web page is one such evidence.

Moving beyond that to where you are in active, deliberate pursuit to find God it behooves you to have hope that you can see God.  Man was made for communion with God like nothing else we were made to experience.  Nothing fits into your life as importantly and as pleasurably as knowing God.  But we all start when we begin to grasp how fallen we are.  By fallen, I mean that we are actually blind and deaf when it comes to spiritual truth.  We cannot generate our own light to even begin to seek Him.  No man is "smart enough" to find God, or "good enough" to assume fellowship with Him.  Man's best and brightest cannot close the distance between us and Him.  He is truly that Glorious and Wonderful, and we are truly that broken and poor.  Man by himself seeks for himself.  The warmth of love and the pleasures of His Beauty are vacant in our experience as well as from among what we desire.  Is humanity that desperate without God?  Yes.  What we build for and hope for and dream about is so much less than what God offers us.
"OK, Greg Burnett", you say.  "If thats the state of my existence then how can I ever hope to be pure in heart?  How can I ever hope to see God?"  Good questions.  Critical ones.  I'll address those in a follow up post.

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In a personal note, I'm yet waiting for the next season.  To everything there is a season, and its clear we are done in the local context.  I moved my family to Charlotte 11 years ago, and God sent us to build prayer here.  He has exceeded my expectations in that regard and for that I am forever grateful to be a part of His work on the earth in my generation.  I remember in the first several years while we were waiting on the Lord here a friend called me and described me as "shipwrecked".  I was rather intrigued by his observation, which I recognized came from Acts chapter 27.  The apostle Paul was shipwrecked during his missionary pursuits.  (There is even an inlet on the island of Malta called St. Paul's bay which legends holds was the place Paul landed as depicted in the scriptures).  Reflecting upon it for some time, I saw some validity to his statement in that God leads us into difficulty to grow us into greater Christlikeness.  Through such circumstances the temptations to get bitter are great, like the reefs around such an island.  The only way through them is to worship and pray, to find God in His word.  Oh to be more impressed with God Himself than our circumstances!  (Even in the blessing, and times of increase and favor!)
So I'm waiting again.  I would quickly state here, friend, that God's best is worth waiting for.  Let Him lead you in His triumph, don't lean on your own strength or understanding.  Instead, get lower!   As singers have sung, the river of God's Spirit rushes to the lowest place!
As for me, I'm watching and worshipping.  I'm listening and looking for glimpses of His beauty!  I bear witness that a man can only accomplish the works of God when he is sent by God.  And so I wait.  Find me watching, O God.  See my weak heart which desires You and strengthen that which must remain!