Exloring Life Eternal

"Wake up, O sleeper, & rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!" - Ephesians 5:14

PRAISE:
Praise that the plans for the new church facility (mentioned in March PTAP) was recently approved by the authorities. This is so much a work of God! Pray for God to provide wisdom in the planning, selecting architects etc and also provide the finances needed.


PETITION:
Please continue to pray for the tentmaker family who are hoping to move here. Pray for one of the jobs he has applied for to come forth with a job offer / contract so that this family can come and serve God here in this country. Our team really needs them.

Pray that the power system of Wahhabi leaders would crumble and that the people of Saudi Arabia would not feel controlled by these leaders. Pray that God would break down the stronghold of pride that binds Saudis to Islam.

Please pray for a Ladies' Fellowship outreach in our country, where Muslim seekers and MBBs are invited to observe (or participate with) a group of Christian women who gather to pray, read the Bible, worship & fellowship. Ask the Lord to continue to send the women of His choosing, and to use it for His glory.

Pray for the MBB’s that are being cared for by several Christian families. The MBBs are being cared for by a team of Arab and Western workers. It has been a great exercise to draw us together in a common God ordained task.

Ask God to work in the teams in our country. There has been some difficult people relationships these past few weeks. Pray that we would seek out the Lord before we engage in heated debate and that we would actively seek reconciliation and restoration. (Pray John 17.)


TESTIMONY:
Salman is an Arab Muslim who began following Jesus along with his wife, just before she died of cancer about 16 months ago. Being with his mom in the hospital these past few days reopened the shallow wounds of his wife's death. he has not grieved properly for either. He is a young single dad with tremendous responsibility and no time to stop and grieve. Pray that God would touch Salman's heart deeply this week with comfort and peace. Pray too for his boys, aged 13 and 9, that God would heal their hurting hearts as well.

One of our workers learned tonight that local tradition mandates returning to the burial site on the third day after the death to make prayers for the deceased. Salman said he hated this tradition, because he said it just reopens the hurt. Could this be because there is no hope of resurrection for most Muslims who are buried in that cemetery! Pray for wisdom as several men and women in the country are involved in his life.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Praying Thru the Arabian Peninsula
www.pray-ap.info
USA #: 800-376-5876 (Eastern Time)
Encouraging & equipping believers & churches everywhere to pray through the heart of the Muslim world so that church planting movements will spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond for the Lord's glory.

====
To learn how you can support this & other work in the Middle East, visit:
http://www.srginc.org

Or write:
ptap@srginc.org

Or:
PTAP
c/o Strategic Resource Group
P.O. Box 1809
Easton, MD 21601
USA

Today I asked some folks where I work a simple question:

What is the simplest thing you have ever learned?

Some responses:
How to breathe.
How to walk.
Language.
How to love.
How to eat.

For me, the most important/simplest thing I have learned was:
The answer to this question:

"Whose ya Daddy?"

To know God as our Father is such a joy.

He gives us breath.
Fills us with love.
Enables to speak.
Feeds us with His Word.
& Has shown us how to walk.

A 21 year old Ph.D. student here @ U.Mich mentioned to me an odd statistic that he discovered while in High School:

1. There is a statistically significant correlation threshhold among male suicide committers/victims: US$18,000. This is roughly a little more than twice the USA poverty threshold. Today this would probably be more like US$20,000-21,000 in the USA.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/05poverty.shtml

Biblical Application ==> To me this indicates that Jesus was 100% right when he told the rich young ruler to "Go, sell all that you have & give to the poor." The rich young guy would have relieved himself of much unneeded stress by reducing overhead & by sharing with others ... not to mention the treasures that would wait in years to come!!

2. He also noted that that countries which share the same currency (U.S. & Panama) or those which have a fixed exchange rate (As the U.S. & China did historically.) are more likely to trade than those which have high fluctuation in their exchange rates.

Missiological application: ==> Intra-European Missionaries may be more able to deal with things there than US-European missionaries due to the ups and downs of the dollar-Euro.

Peace,
Mert

--
In response to:
Book Notes by David Mays
http://www.davidmays.org
THE WORLD IS FLAT: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
Thomas L. Friedman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005, 488 pp.
ISBN 0-374-29288-4

While it covers a surprisingly broad range of topics, it is an economic perspective and the world is bigger than economics.

Updated Praye Requests for November 20, 2005 -

1. In the news in Central Asia, Tajiks, Kazakhs, and other peoples are joining together on folklore concerts, telling stories to the masses willing to pay to listen - promoting peace by the commonalities related through stories. Please pray that the Good News will also be able to use this very popular media in this land of story-lovers. May the stories of Truth be so compelling to the people of Tajikistan that they will not only listen to them, but repeat them over and over again to everyone they know!

2. Life in Central Asia is not always peaceful. People here often live in fear. New believers often have more to be afraid of than others since they are often persecuted for their faith by friends, family, and co-workers. Lift up these faithful ones that the Spirit of God would overshadow them and be their shield, protection, boldness, and new energy every day. That they would not fear, but have the peace of God on them! Pray also that their supernatural peace would be appealing to others.

3. Pray for all those in Tajikistan who are persecuted by the government for their faith. In general there seems to be a growing trend in the government to limit religious expression. Ask that those being discriminated against would seek a closer relationship with God and that in the end Truth would win out. Ask for wisdom as well for government leaders in Tajikistan who seek the best for their country and their people. May God give them Wisdom from heaven to make decisions that will truly serve all peoples there.

4. Drug Use and Trafficking - Much of the heroin harvested in Afghanistan is transported through Tajikistan on its way to Russia. This can create pockets along the way of drug-addicted Tajiks, and money hungry drug smugglers. Ask God to remove this element from Tajik society by changing lives and hearts. Show them the emptiness of this kind of life. May they find fulfillment in Jesus!

Thanks again for praying! May your prayers be heard and answered quickly!!!
Psalm 1:1-4

Ah, a bank is standing ready to offer a loan ... sounds like how the Israelite's ended up in Egypt for years.

You can donate through them ...
You can borrow from them ...
You can repay them ... later, and again.
Notice the endnotes: You will still have to pay interest!!
You may lose all your blessings at any time, at the bank's discretion. How kind!

Is it not good that the cross of Christ is not so whimsical or unreliable? Is it not good that we can daily draw on the store of credit established through the blood of Jesus? Indeed, his life sustains us!! You say, I'm too bad, too evil. Good news folks!! Jesus welcomes both bad & good to the banquet! Rejoice & fear not! While there may be many in the Salvation Army who really are not acquainted with the good news, the Lord's Army daily does His will in proclaiming His glory! What love, what mercy!!

Peace,

Mert

----- from askus@regions.com -----
From: Regions Bank <askus@regions.com>
Reply-To: Regions Bank
Dear customer:

As one of the largest banks on the Gulf Coast and in Louisiana, Regions
is grateful for the opportunity to work with our customers and
associates to rebuild our communities in the devastating aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina and now, also in the wake of Hurricane Rita. We wanted
to update you on what we are doing to assist our customers and
associates in the affected areas during these difficult times.

- Regions Bank branches are accepting donations for disaster relief
for the American Red Cross and Salvation Army.
- We are matching contributions to the Regions Associate Assistance
Fund dollar-for-dollar. To date, the fund has provided more than
$230,000 in assistance for our own associates who were displaced
from the storm. We are also working to relocate those associates
and provide them jobs in our many branches that we have reopened
since the storm, or, of course, that were not impacted at all.
- In addition, Regions is offering a variety of financial resources
to assist customers, including:

-- Loan Payment Deferral -- Payment deferral on personal
installment loans and lines of credit and Right Business Line

of Credit. (Call 1-866-453-9892 to make arrangements.)
-- Discounted Rates -- Discount rate on new direct consumer
installment loans and home equity loans.* (Call Loans by
Phone, 1-800-588-1267.)
-- Mortgage Payment Deferral -- Payment deferral assistance for
Regions Mortgage loans (in hurricane affected areas).
(Call 1-800-986-2462 to make arrangements.)
-- Credit Cards -- Credit card line increases and payment
deferment.** (Call 1-800-362-6299, or 1-800-892-3219 if you
are a business credit card customer.)
-- Waived Fees -- Fees waived for retail customers on incoming
and outgoing wire transfers.* (International wire transfers
not
included.)
-- Line Increases -- Consumer line of credit and home equity
line increases.* (Call Loans by Phone 1-800-588-1267.)

Banks play a critical role in peoples' lives after a disaster, and even
though Regions did have to deal with some serious problems from
Hurricane Katrina in certain markets, we have been and will continue to
be there to make sure both our customers and others have access to their
cash and credit. Over the course of these disasters, we kept our
automatic teller machines in operation for as long as possible,
sometimes with generator power; immediately reopened as many branches as
we could when the storms had passed; and deployed our mobile ATM
capacity across the impacted areas for use by both customers and
non-customers, waiving foreign ATM fees for all.

And, in other parts of our 16-state footprint, Regions associates held
fundraisers for the Red Cross and Salvation Army, donating time, money
and clothing to these worthy charities, once again demonstrating their
commitment to our values of respect for all individuals and to -- as
always -- doing the right thing.

If you have questions about how Regions can help, please call us at
1-800-REGIONS or visit our Web site at www.regions.com . We want our
customers and associates to know that we are confident that they, we and
our communities will rebound from these natural disasters -- and that
all will be stronger than before -- especially our relationships.

Together, we will rebuild, with confidence.

Every day.

Sincerely,
Jack Moore
President and Chief Executive Officer
Regions Financial Corporation

Special services available to the residents from Hurricane Katrina and
Rita-affected areas only. These special offers are subject to change and
may be withdrawn at any time. Services to non-customers may be subject
to fees charged by other banks.
*All loans subject to credit approval.
**Regions' credit card customers in the areas deemed a natural disaster
area by FEMA will also automatically receive a 60-day payment holiday.
Credit card customers should contact 1-800-362-6299 for consumer cards
and 1-800-892-3219 for business cards to request emergency line
increases, alternative payment arrangements, overrides and other
services. Calls from credit card customers in the natural disaster area
will be given priority handling. In all cases, interest on accounts will
continue to accrue and payments will be applied in the normal fashion.