Pray Now: 10 Prayers for the Church of Ukraine

Pray these prayers right now, fast and pray, cry out to God on their behalf. 

"Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." -Hebrews 13:3

10. Father, in the name of Jesus, we pray that you would supernaturally provide for the body of Christ in Ukraine. Protect their churches from bomb blasts, protect the people from bullets, feed and cloth those who are going without, lead the body of Christ in Ukraine to treasure-troves of food, water, shelter, and safety in this crisis. Amen.

9. Father, we pray that the Ukrainian church would shine very, very brightly in this dark time for the country. We pray the Ukrainian church would be living witnesses to the power of Christ right now. We pray that the lost in Ukraine would look in awe at the faith of the Ukrainian church right now and be absolutely amazed. Then they would turn and ask, and receive Christ as their saviors as well, by the hundreds and thousands, in Jesus name, amen.

8. Lord, we pray for the children of the Ukraine as they face great danger, and as their parents worry for them. We pray God you would preserve their innocence through this, that you would keep them save in bomb shelters and subways, that they would see hope in their parents eyes, and find hope in Christ Jesus during this chaos, that they might learn to sing, 'Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,' in Jesus name, amen.

7. God we loose your angels in the authority of Jesus Christ to fight across the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Donetsk, and the smaller settlements, that these angelic forces would strike down demons and principalities and powers of the air in the name of Jesus God rise up and defeat the enemy forces across Ukraine, we cancel their schemes, and stomp upon the evil one in Jesus name, declaring victory, binding every demon across Ukraine, cutting off their schemes and coming into agreement with the perfect will of God, in Jesus name, amen. 

6. Lord, we pray for the ukrainian soldiers and volunteers fighting for their nation we pray God you would supernaturally protect them, provide provision and safety and skill in combat and in care for one another, and we also pray for russian soldiers who belong to you, and those who are called by you, that you would protect them from death, and lead them toward your heart, toward safety, and healthy, and salvation, in Jesus name, amen.

5. Father, we pray for the hospital workers, emergency crews, police officers, firefighters, EMS workers, red cross, salvation army, and other charitable groups that are most needed now, God, we pray for divine encounters with people who are injured or hurting, people who are afraid, or separated from loved ones, that you would use your service workers, with hearts filled with compassion, to be that vital hand of help in the darkest of moments in people's lives, in Jesus Christ name, amen.

4. Father, we pray for the president of the Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, thank you God for his zeal and boldness in defending his nation and standing for his people. God we pray you would give him great wisdom and strength and knowledge and zeal. Please protect him and his family. Please give him everything he needs to stand boldly in this moment, and may he know Christ as his savior. Lord we also pray for Vladimir Putin, that you would soften his heart, and change his path, that you would make him like nebuchadnezzar, to be called to repentance, to give glory to the God of heaven, God may you transform Putin, and make him a Christ follower in the name of Jesus, amen. 

3. Lord we pray that the church of Ukraine would have great faith right now in their time of need. Please protect them as they hide, as they flee, as they stand, as they serve the hurting God, may they be the hands and feet of Jesus in this time of the country's sorrow, in Jesus name, amen.

2. God we pray for the thousands upon thousands of people who are becoming refugees because of this crisis. Lord we pray you would lead them to safety in various countries where they find friends, safety, and fellow members of the body of Christ who will help them rebuild their lives and find new hope in the renewal of Christ Jesus, in Jesus name, amen.

1. Lord God Almighty, we praise you in the storm God. We praise you because you are at work even in the darkest of times. Lord, have mercy on your body of Christ in Ukraine, truly God, as they suffer, as they seek refuge, as they go without, we as the body of Christ elsewhere, suffer as though we are with them in the subways and bunkers and hideouts. God, we suffer with them, and we cry out for your mercy upon them. May we hear of miracles in the Ukraine, may we hear of healings in the Ukraine, may we hear of revival in the Ukraine, may we hear of your divine hand powerfully upon the Ukrainian body of Christ and the lost and hurting in that nation now, and forever more in Jesus Christ name, we enforce this in the heavenly realms, in Jesus authority and name, amen! 

Has Christianity been a force for Evil in the World?

St. Peter preaches in the catacombs, via Wikipedia.

We hear a lot about the negatives of Christianity.  We hear about them constantly actually.  We are those raised by the 1960s cultural revolutionaries.  But is "religion" in the case of Christianity really a source of evil and darkness in human society?  

Far from it friends, far from it.  In fact we've been sold the lie that religion is the source of most war in the world.  That statement of course is completely false.  In fact only about 7% of wars in world history had religious motivations, and after removing Islam the number drops to 3%.  That's just one tid bit.  Do you realize the bloodiest genocides were committed not by Christians, but by atheist regimes?  A few examples include: Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, the Cambodian genocide, and Adolf Hitler.  Blue pill, red pill, that red pill kicking in yet?  You've been lied to by Marxists and naturalists seeking to remake our society in their own image.  The truth is quite different.  Here are some of the positives of Christianity...

Positives of Christianity:

• The first orphanages were devised by Christians
• Hospitals were first founded by Christians
• Hundreds of Charities including The Salvation Army, The Red Cross, St. Jude Children's Research Hospitals, YMCA, Goodwill, World Vision, Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, Samaritan's Purse, Cross International, the list includes at least 37,000 organizations.
• Preserving writings during the dark ages in monasteries (And no, Christians didn't cause the dark ages, the dark ages were caused by the fall of the ancient Roman empire and the invading barbarian tribes).
• Criminals turned saints: Consider the billions who have chosen to live moral lives despite criminal pasts!  I'm included in that group, recall I was once a burgeoning junkie.
• Abolishing slavery in England (William Wilberforce)
• Abolishing slavery in the United States (Abraham Lincoln)
• Temperance movements in the U.S.A. and Europe.
• Peaceful revolutions (like the American revolution contrasted against the bloody secular french revolution, ala heads will roll)
• Redeeming broken cultures (like The Salvation Army's work in darkest England during the late 1800s)
• The birth of science: Galileo, Newton, and Bacon were all Christians.  They all testify that belief in God drew them to search for patterns in nature. 
• Universities like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Brown and others were all founded by Christians, as Christian schools. (Later they were quietly conquered by leftists and secular marxists.)
  Compassion International's work in providing sponsoring for children in Africa and Asia.
• Tens of thousands of homeless shelters provided by Christian groups like the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, & Lutheran social services.
• Thousands of treatment centers (ARCs) provided by the Salvation Army for addicts in need of recovery.
• Twelve step groups like AA, NA, and Celebrate Recovery based many of their precepts on biblical teachings (via Oxford groups).
• Christianity provides the foundation belief systems that describe all life as holding sacred value. Liberty is deemed an inalienable right, and morality is considered universally applicable.  Darwinism provides no such foundation, only survival of the fittest.
• Christians have always stood against child sacrifice, even in it's modern day invocation, abortion.
• The endless tens of thousands of churches that host food pantries, charity events, housing support, and dozens of other ministries to their local communities and in return are thanklessly hated and denigrated as "bigots" and " hateful fundamentalists." 

The list goes on and on.  Christians have done the world so much good, but are constantly mocked and ridiculed.  Christians have stood for truth, morality, and service to the poor in the darkest hours of human history.  Many have fallen short of the standard of Jesus Christ also, that is certainly admitted.  But we must not over look the incredible good done by Christians throughout history.  Do you enjoy this advanced society we live in?  Are you glad for hospitals? Universities?  Are you glad for the moral foundations of the society around you?  Are you grateful for charities and food pantries and homeless shelters?  Thank a Christian!

Portrait of William Wilberforce, who fought slavery in England, via Wikipedia.

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Noble: The Life of Christina Noble & her ministry to the children of Vietnam

You can tell a story is real, when circumstances tend to go from bad to worse.  Terrible things happen, and we turn our eyes to heaven and ask God: Are you still there?  Do you still care?  How could you let this happen? 

Yet you can also tell a true story, a real story, when God shows up at the most unexpected moments, at the darkest moments, to make his presence known, and bring good out of evil.  

It was interesting in the case of Christina Noble, that she found herself in terrible circumstances, yet God used those moments to bring about revolutionary changes in the world.  

In the film Noble the story is told of the life of Christina Noble.  I was asked to write about the film and offered a special screening to view it before it's release.  My first reaction was similar to most: "I don't have time."  I had been working full time, I was trying desperately to finish up my last two classes before traveling to Virginia to participate in graduation at Liberty University.  Yet a still small voice seemed to hint occasionally, to take another look.

Much is the same when it comes to the plight of the poor, the lost, the homeless, and the starving in parts of the world like India, China, North Korea, and Vietnam.  "It's a tragedy, but I don't have time."  Just recently, and quite late, I managed to allot some time to watch the movie Noble.  

I was shocked, amazed, horrified, and inspired to the point of sobbing by the end.  And I'm a guy, I don't cry easily.  The story touched my heart in a very real way.  The plight and life of Christina Noble was powerfully captured.  It jumped right off the screen into my heart.  Why?  It managed to portray the struggle of life in a very real way.  

Noble was a child of hope, and joy, singing before crowds in taverns.  Yet after her mother's death, she was separated from her family and sent to an orphanage.  Christina Noble was later reunited with her father.  And then he vanishes.  It had that quality of random brutality.  When at moments in her life she desperately needed a cup of water to her lips, she was given a brick to the face instead.  Life is often like that.  

It's not like a movie, where the bad guys are defeated whilst the hero manages to create an elaborate situation where he keeps his honor, offers the enemies mercy, yet in the end defeats them.  No.  Life is ugly, and scary at times.  We're held down and violated, mistreated and lost.  We lose our dignity, and the bad guys often win.  Things go from bad to worse, and Christina is left time and again, facing the altar of God broken, asking: Are you really there?

We as humans have a certain romanticism about life.  Yet in reality, life is at times brutal and random.  The Word says the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). And how much more so for the forgotten children?  How much more so for the children of the streets of 3rd world countries?  

My God, my God, how Noble is needed today.  We in the west so often turn a blind eye to the suffering of the faceless.  We can't see them, we blind ourselves to their suffering, and we harden our hearts to their struggle.  After watching Noble it was much more real to me, the struggle of the homeless and lost.  Rape, violence, sex trafficking, assault, kidnapping, are all daily realities for so many.  

Everett Swanson, founder of Compassion International shared some of his story for one of my class lectures in Christian Counseling for Children 302 (at Liberty University).  He told how children in these countries are targeted, because they have no defender.  Children are weak, fragile, and easily snatched up and forced to do terrible things.  They are naive to the world.  They are the easiest target.  It horrifies us, but children are certainly easy targets.  

And how much more so unborn children in the womb?  And truly truly, they have been targeted in our society, to genocidal effect.  53 million people dead.  Real people.  The tragedy is unspeakable.  The heart cries for mercy from such organized madness.  And God hears, truly truly, God hears.

The story of Christina Noble vividly portrayed in this movie is the message we all need to see.  Christina Noble had nothing.  She had no money, she had none of the right friends.  She had been through trauma, rape, homelessness.  She had been abandoned by her father, and lost touch with her brothers and sisters.  She had been mistreated by nuns, those who should have cared for her and protected her.  

What more to say, enough, leave her alone, let her be for just a moment?  Just give her a chance, please?  Anyone might say, she went through enough, now let her rest.  But Christina Noble knew there was something wrong with the world.  And she heard the call of God.  In a dream she saw the chaos of Vietnam.  And she answered the call and went, with nothing.  

We often feel so powerless as Christians.  What can we do to change all this madness?  So we simply let it go, and keep moving forward in life.  Who could blame us?  But the story of Noble challenges us to step out in faith.  It challenges us to take a stand.  It challenges us to awaken that sense of valor buried within, that image of God within, and calls for us to be valiant, brave, noble, in this mysterious drama they call life.  When by all appearances there is no hope to change anything, one act of faith can change everything.  

I mean statistically, a broke woman shows up to Vietnam to help children.  Not special, not different, just a Christian woman who wants to help.  What are her chances of starting orphanages that today serve over 700,000?  The chances are impossible.  Yet God does the impossible.  One woman was willing, and God worked through her.  Now not just 1 child, or 10, or 100 have a home, but 700,000 have a home, and someone to care for them.  

We as Christians can't see how it can be done today, with all the corruption, the chaos, the immorality, and western man's retreat from God.  We're discouraged.  But we don't need to be.  Time and again, God takes someone who by themselves could change nothing.  Not a deity, not a superhuman, just a regular person like you or me.  And they believe.  They try it, and then it starts to fail, it looks like it's not working at all.  Then at the last moment.. when all hope has faded, God blesses it.  

Everett Swanson was just a young man, not privileged or powerful.  Just an average guy, and he decided he would do something for the children.  Today his organization Compassion International serves millions of children in 3rd world countries. William Booth wanted to serve the truly lost, the most destitute, the ones Jesus loved.  He stepped out in faith, with very little, traveling around preaching.  Today the Salvation Army which he founded serves millions in 135 countries worldwide.  And Christina Noble decided she would serve the children of Vietnam no matter what.  Today her organization the Christina Noble Children's Foundation serves over 700,000.  They were not gods, they were not super men or super women. They were average, everyday people, who decided they would try to do something special.  They believed God could make oasis in the ghetto.  They believed God could make refuges of peace in mine fields.  And you know what?  They were right.  God could.  And he did. 

Life is tough.  For me it's been tough.  For Christina Noble it was often nightmarish.  There is great suffering in the world today.  That is the effect of the fall of man.  Yet that in no way changes our responsibility to God.  He remains God.  He never promises that we will be free from trouble.  He does promise to be with us in the trouble.   

As a Coldplay song played, and the credits rolled at the end of Noble I found myself sobbing terribly.  I've had a tough go at life.  Truly truly I have.  With so much brokenness and struggle, one eventually starts to wonder: Can I really do this?  Am I really going to be able to do this?  

Several times I have turned to heaven, as Noble did, and said, "Lord, I don't think I can do this."  The true story of Christina Noble reminded me, that though one may lose their family, live on the streets, be abused, kidnapped, raped, and abandoned... it can be done.  She did it.  She survived it.  She regained her strength.  Christina Noble was vindicated in the end.  At many moments it seemed it was over for her.  But it wasn't.  So today I'm reminded, by her story, that I may solemnly look toward heaven and say: "Lord, you're with me and I can do this.  I can change the world, because you're with me.  We can do it.  We can do it together.  Amen."  

 Please consider sponsoring a child at the Christina Noble Children's Foundation website. Click here.  Also consider viewing the award winning movie Noble, available streaming online.

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Am I called to Ministry? How can I know?

 Isaiah 6:8 (ISV) Then I heard the voice of the LORD as he was asking, "Whom will I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am!" I replied. "Send me."


Ah, the grand call to adventure.  Every hero has accepted the call and began the journey of love and service.  In a sense, every Christian is called to ministry of some sort.  It doesn't have to be flying to the Congo and teaching natives about Jesus.  It can be helping your landlady take out her garbage.  It's as simple as helping set up chairs for a youth event.  Or writing a Christian blog.  Or sharing some scripture on Facebook or Twitter.  

But what about full time ministry?  How can we know if we're called to full time service to the blessed Lord Jesus Christ?  

I've asked myself that same question.  But not too many times.  Deep down I just knew.  No one could tell me.  No church leader could say "yes" or "no."  It was something God placed on my heart.  Don't ever assume that because a certain leader or friend or colleague doesn't think you're right for the call, that you should give it up.  That's between you and God.  Of course the confirmation of friends and family is certainly helpful.  

For me, in the Baptist church it seemed like doors kept closing in my face.  I was concerned about that.  But then I ended up with the Salvation Army, working for them.  And when I worked there it was like every door would open as I walked up to it.  Bosses and colleagues were telling me "yes, definitely, get involved, you're perfect for it."  So it began to confirm that there was a road ahead in ministry.  Imagine if I had given up in the Baptist church and assumed that I did not have a call.  That wouldn't have been good!  But I'm not trying to say here that what happened with the Baptist/E-free churches was a bad thing.  God moves hearts.  He didn't want me there, but that doesn't mean they were bad.  God was just maneuvering me where he wanted me.  I'll always be grateful for the people who helped mold me into a follower of Jesus.  Jesus just led me to a place he knew I would flourish.  Of course it hurt my feelings at times.  That happens in life.  

Even further, for all I know God might lead me elsewhere from here.  It's hard to know exactly what he's up to.  He's a complicated God, the one we have.  He moves in the shadows at times, and at other times he comes out in the bright lights.  I've seen wonderful things happening in the past few weeks.

I met with Salvation Army officers from Divisional Headquarters in Milwaukee.  The next step for me will be moving to a ministry internship somewhere out of state.  I don't know where yet.  It's all part of the SA Ministry Development Program.  I'm excited.  I'm very excited.  

Originally I had envisioned myself in a very different place.  But God knows what is best for us.  He knows where we can do the most good.  Since working at the TLC shelter, I've had the chance to minister to God's favorite people: the poor, the lost, and the needy.  Who did Jesus spend his time with?  The poor.  The Lord has a special place in his heart for the poor, lost, and broken.  I know, I'm one of them. 

Here's what I can tell you about ministry.  A lot of the wrong people are in ministry for the wrong reasons.  It's tough.  We desperately need one thing for ministry in the world:  People who really believe God's word is true.  Not kind of, not a little, not mostly.. but truly truly understand that the Bible is real.  That every word in there is true.  We desperately need people who understand that heaven, hell, Jesus Christ, are not just nice stories, or cool things, or traditions, but that these are realities.  Not just words on the page, or conceptual, but when we turn our heads up and look at the sky, or across the city, or around the neighborhood... we know it's real.  That we know and truly know, that in this physical world these people around us are facing eternal disconnection from God.  And live accordingly.  

Maybe you're called to ministry.  Maybe you need to pave a trail for those who feel like they have no way to God.  Think of all the people groups that aren't necessarily apposed to God, but they don't want to leave their culture?  Punk rockers comes to mind.  Indie rockers.  Metal heads?  Artsy people?  Writers?  Libertarians?  Democrats?  Republicans?  Occupiers?  Anime fans?  Movie buffs?  Gamers?  Nerds?  Motorheads?  Jocks?  Hippies?  New agers?  

And what about international missions?  So many countries remain largely unreached.  Japan is 98% unreached.  India is largely unreached (over 750 million people in fact remain unreached).  Countries like Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria remain largely unreached.  And those are countries where you could be killed for even speaking the name of Christ.  No one said it would be easy.  But it will be a challenge.  People sometimes think Christianity is for wussies and girly men.  It's not.  It's for the brave, the courageous, and the strong.

You get the idea.  If you're a little "different" like me, maybe God is calling you in an unexpected way.  Maybe he wants you to make a niche for people like you.  I'm sure a lot of people feel funny about going into churches where everyone dresses a certain way.  Like I've said in the past, many don't want to join evangelical culture.  And they don't have to.  Jesus didn't tell new believers to wear the Jewish colors, attend Jewish events, and go to Jewish festivals and holy days.  Nope, his followers went to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and did not require them to follow the laws of the Jews.  In the same way, maybe God is calling you to start a church or write a blog or reach out to people like you who don't see a clear way to come to Jesus.  

But how can I know? 

Here's the thing, you're never going to know 100%.  That's the whole point.  You step out in faith, in the incredible act of trusting God on his word and believing what he says in spite of all the horrors of this broken world.  Something deep down will push you in that direction.  Cultivate that.  Build on it.  Think outside the box.  Of course pray about it.  Talk to friends and family about it.  Write about it, read about ministry.  Just turn it around in your head and think about it.  Start to generate some ideas.  If it's of God, he'll make a way in the desert.  He'll help you pave a trail in the wilderness for those like you to come to the one we all must come to: Jesus Christ.