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Guest PostThis week we are sharing some information on the Lausanne Movement "Praying for the World" initiative. This was shared with us by Herman, one of our guest contributors to the blog.More information on the prayer initiative can be found at https://www.lausanne.org/pray Praying for the worldWeek 1, January 1-5The WorldIf the world was a village of 100 people, 33 would claim to be Christians; 24 would be Muslims, 14 Hindus, 7 Buddhists, 6 would follow Chinese religions, 11 would be non-religious and there would be a handful of others.The proportion of the world that claims to be Christian has been much the same for a century or more. But many things have changed through that time:The Church has spread more widely. There are now groups of believers in every country.The Christian faith has grown much stronger in the Global South. Millions of Christians have been born across Africa and Asia. Many cultural Catholics in Latin America have met Christ in Pentecostal, charismatic and other evangelical churches.In its former heartlands, particularly in Europe, the Christian movement has declined.Pentecostals and charismatics have changed the composition of the Church. Almost zero in 1900, they now make up more than a third of all Christians.The Church has grown despite opposition and persecution in countries like China, India, Sudan, Vietnam, Iran, Algeria, Albania and Mongolia.Some of the fiercest persecution has been followed by the largest church growth. The Cultural Revolution in China was a deadly attack on all religions. Fifty years later, around100 million Chinese have joined the Church, the greatest turning to the Christian faith in history (so far).Thousands of people have turned to Christ in Muslim countries in the last 30 years. This has never happened before.Whatever this year brings, we can pray to King Jesus: ‘Your Kingdom come!’ The nationsThe Mission Heart of GodGod’s first word to Abraham at the dawn of recorded history was about blessing the nations (Genesis 12:3).The story that follows, of the Jewish people in the Old Testament, is like the slow ripening of seed-head, filled with God’s purposes for the world.After the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the pouring out of the Spirit on the Church, this seed-head has burst upon the nations. We are part of this, as we live the gospel out in the world.This gospel comes to the nations like Christ came at first: in human weakness. The good news of Jesus spreads in the midst of our losses and struggles. The poor in spirit possess the Kingdom; the meek inherit the earth; those who hunger for justice are sustained in their fight. In our weakness, the power of Christ is made perfect.As we start a new year, whatever we face, we can look up and see Jesus, reigning as King, unfolding his purpose to bring divine blessing to all peoples. In our small acts of service and devotion, we are walking alongside him in a cause and a life that can take all our love, and that cannot fail.Let us…

by Graham Mol I'm sure you've heard Jesus' saying before: "But many who are first will be last, and the last first," (Mark 10:31) I can tell you its a firm favourite among Christian kids when they lose a race. "Ya but in the Bible it says the first will be last and the last first... so I win!" As with many well-known sayings from the Bible, it is well worth asking ourselves what does it really mean? So often we quote or recite these platitudes without truly understanding their full meaning. Therefore, let's take a brief dip into Mark 10:17-31 to see what Jesus really means when He says that the last will be first and the last, first. The passage where we find this saying from Jesus is one that deals with the Rich Young Man. This young man came running up to Jesus asking Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus brings up the commandments to which the man confidently claims that he has kept all of them from birth (which is to say the least, extremely unlikely!) Jesus, seeing right into the man's heart, challenges him to renounce his worldly wealth and come follow Him. What an opportunity! To be included in the group of Jesus' disciples. Yet the young man doesn't quite see it that way. Unable to give up his substantial possessions he sadly turns away from Christ. Jesus remarks on how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. This is not because they are rich, but rather because they struggle more with not trusting in their own possessions. When questioned by the disciples He does clarify that it is difficult, but not impossible with God working in a person's heart. The disciples then state that they have given up everything to follow Christ. Jesus affirms that no one who has sacrificed their comforts and securities to serve the Lord will not be rewarded, both in this life and the life to come. It is at this point that Jesus says: "But many who are first will be last, and the last first." We can be clear that Jesus is not speaking of a simple role reversal of the rich and poor in the Kingdom of Heaven. Rather, what Jesus is homing in on is that those who placed themselves first. Those who chose that which would benefit them and advance their own selves, those who "store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21), would ultimately find themselves coming in last. But those who put others first, thinking of their needs above one's own (Philippians 2:3), those who lay down their rights and privileges to serve the Lord and His people, those who are willing to lose their live's for Christ's sake, will instead in their humility find themselves lifted up. The last will indeed be first. *** I do realise that this is a blog post and not…

by Caryl Moll One of the things I feared most, as a young child growing up on a farm, was the annual “fire season”. The images of the familiar orange glow on the horizon at night-time and the acrid smell of smoke in my nostrils still strikes a deep fear in me. Fire is unpredictable. Add wind to the equation and it becomes even more terrifying. Fire creates its own conditions and can whip itself up into an unimaginable storm. It’s scary. Unpredictable and very scary! I recall a particular incident one year on the farm. The fire had been raging for days across the vast countryside. It was edging closer and closer to our farm and our homestead. The whole community was on heightened alert to fight the various outbreaks. Some people’s homes had been burned to the ground and some had lost everything in the flames. We were all under threat and the carnage was visible for miles. Now it was approaching our home – from all directions. What were we to do? That particular evening, my father was out in the fields, with a group of workers trying to build fire breaks and fight the approaching flames. My mother and our household staff had packed up all our belongings and piled them up on the outside lawn. We’d soaked the surrounding area using a small hosepipe, but there was no guarantee that our efforts would save our belongings. The dogs and farm animals were rounded up too as we waited for any indication that they needed to be moved. They were uncertain and scary moments. The only thing we could do was to wait and pray for a miracle. As the night advanced, my father still hadn’t returned and my mother was becoming increasingly more worried. (We didn’t have cell phones in those days, so there was no communication). I remember her setting up a safe place for me to ‘sleep’, but sleep was the furthest thing from any of our minds. Fear gripped us all as we huddled and listened to the sounds of the wind changing direction and nearby trees going up in flames. We were totally at God’s mercy. Sometime during the night I fell asleep, but woke up to excited voices.  I recognised my father’s voice immediately and ran from my sleeping area to go and investigate. The scene that greeted me was one I’ll never forget… My father stood in front of us all, visibly exhausted and bending over to catch his breath. His shoes were clogged in mud and he was covered in dark soot and dirt - from head to foot. He was hardly recognisable – only the white of his eyes and the glow of his teeth stood out. He still had hair on his head, but his eyelashes and eyebrows had been singed off totally. All the hair on his arms and legs was gone too. My father was a ‘hairy’ man and was now ‘hairless’. Thankfully, his…

by Luke Kincaid Last night, while Seth was playing with some of the children in our complex, I was taken aback by what one of the little one's had to say while they were talking about their dad. I can't remember what I asked them exactly but it was in regards to their dad's ability in doing something or another and her response made me smile: "Of course! My dad can do anything!" with a beaming smile on her face. Upon hearing these words I thought to our indescribable Father in heaven and how these words said by a four year old were applicable to Him: God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but buy working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. - Ephesians 3:20-21 (The Message) Our Father in heaven is able to accomplish incredible things in our lives and those around us. So be reminded of the fact today that we have the strongest dad, the smartest dad, the most loving dad, the best dad!  Thank you Father for loving us so much and giving us the right to be called your children through our Savior and big brother Jesus!  Much love, Luke