Year: 2011

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Operation World – Praying For Every Nation

I recently picked up the latest edition of Operation World – The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. After reading David Platt’s Radical last year, I was convicted to spend 2011 praying for the whole world using Operation World as a guide.

I’ve started. It’s a big task. But I’m praying to a big God who can do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). The book is set out with dates to be able to use as a year long prayer journal, or you can just read and pray about random countries (I’ve used it to pray during the past 2 soccer World Cups).

The official Operation World website has a stack of useful pages to help fuel your prayer if you don’t own the book (click here to buy it).

If you join me praying through the world this year, use the hashtag #OperationWorld if you plan on tweeting what you learn to help others pray with you.

And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
(Revelation 5:9-10 ESV)

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The Most Famous Youth Pastor in the World…

…has started blogging at DougFields.com, boom! Bookmark or subscribe to learn from the Jedi Master. Doug Fields has been involved in Youth ministry since 1979 and has written about 10,000 books. His blogging categories include: marriage; family, youth ministry and leadership. He’s probably not as smart as this guy, but still worth a read.

I’ve enjoyed learning from Doug’s ministry over the last 10+ years and look forward to reading more of his blog content. One of the things that encourages me about his ministry is that he doesn’t make ministry an idol but works hard to prioritise being a husband and father. Good stuff. Very wise.

Check it.

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Bus-Driving Evangelist Strikes Again!

Every second vehicle cruising the streets of Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila, is some form of public transport. T for Taxi or B for Bus. The taxis are small cars, the buses are 12-seat mini vans. We had two buses that we contacted each time we needed a ride during our November visit. I found particular encouragement from continuing a friendship with Kendrick from a previous visit and establishing a new friendship with Reginald. Both of these men, like many of the bus drivers in Vanuatu, are followers of Jesus.

I tried to encourage them both in the way that they interact with the typical white tourist from Australia. I wanted them to know that most of the Australians that they carry around are not Christians, and that they have an opportunity to share the gospel each time they have new passengers.

The cool thing is, I think they are already doing this. I pray they’ll do it all the more!

Reginald in particular seeks to tell tourists why Ni-Vans are a joyful people. He said that often tourists will say to him: “The people of Vanuatu are so happy, why is that?”

Reggie responds: “We are a joyful people because of Jesus. Jesus brings us joy. Jesus has changed us as a people.” And with reference to the initial response that the gospel had in Vanuatu, “Before Jesus came to this island… I eat you!”

Gold!

Both bus drivers had insights into the way that God has continued to work in their country. What an encouragement to hear and see the way that the gospel of Jesus has reconciled different tribes and islands within the nation of Vanuatu.

I’m praying for boldness for bus drivers with tourists and praying that Vanuatu would keep living out that reconciliation and not lose the gospel.

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25 years is a long time to wait!

I’ve been reading Genesis as part of my OT bible reading plan for 2011 (you got a plan yet???). In Genesis 11 we’re introduced to Abraham, and by Gen 12 God has made some massive promises to him. It was interesting to note the different ages of Abraham throughout the unfolding of God’s promises. Here are the references I noticed:

  • Gen 12:4 – 75 years old when he leaves Haran to set out for Canaan
  • Gen 16:3 – 85 years old as he’d been in Canaan for 10 years
  • Gen 16:16 – 86 years old when he tried to speed up God’s promises by having Ishmael with Hagar
  • Gen 17:1, 17, 24 – 99 years old when he was circumcised
  • Gen 21:5 – 100 years old when Isaac is born to Sarah

God makes promises to Abraham that through his family all peoples on earth will be blessed. This was at age 75. He didn’t yet have any children. After 10 years, he got itchy feet and with an old barren wife, figured he had to make it happen. God says that he has it under control and that Sarah will be the one who will bear the child through whom God’s promises will continue to unfold. It’s then another 14 years before baby Isaac rocks up on the scene!!

Even though they tried to speed things up, I think you see something of Abraham and Sarah’s trust in God while they wait for 25 years before his promised is fulfilled through them. However the biggest thing is that God shows himself to be a promise keeper, and he will do things in his time.

Pretty handy to know when we think we’re in control!

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Rerun: Beached Whale

I’m currently preaching at a youth conference in New Zealand with a lovely bunch of young punks.  The talks and the vibe of the camp are going really well. A bit of a giggle has been had on account of my Aussie accent, but I’m equally having a giggle at their Kiwi accent. Except I’m clearly in the minority, so they win! Beached As Whale has been linked before, but I thought I’d give it a rerun! (Warning: the seagull uses the ‘S’ bomb)

The dudes that made the above viral video have made millions! They keep selling a stack of merch and hooked up a deal to make more animations for ABC TV. I haven’t seen any of the other episodes, but there’s a stack of them on youtube.

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Worth Losing Everything

My favourite book of 2010 was Radical: Taking back your faith from the American Dream by David Platt from Brook Hills. I tweeted about it during 2010 (“Just finished @RADICALbook by @PlattDavid. Maybe best book on discipleship since Bonhoeffer’s ‘Discipleship’? Check it: http://bit.ly/cX9xNC“), but don’t think I’ve blogged on it. At it’s heart, it’s a challenge to take Jesus seriously! I’ll return to it again in 2011, look out for some blog posts. In the meantime, here’s a solid quote that Of First Importance blogged today:

“This is the picture of Jesus in the gospel. He is something — someone — worth losing everything for. And if we walk away from the Jesus of the gospel, we walk away from eternal riches. The cost of nondiscipleship is profoundly greater for us than the cost of discipleship. For when we abandon the trinkets of this world and respond to the radical invitation of Jesus, we discover the infinite treasure of knowing and experiencing him.”

From here