Prayer Requests - Please Pray Now!

(Note: Please feel free to print out this form and use it for your prayers, and please share with others!)

Please pray!  Pray hard. Prayer changes everything.  Prayer is powerful.  God answers prayers.  He has answered them in the past, and he answers them today.  

I have seen prayers change the whole world, if we will just believe. Prayer is mighty. Prayer moves God to act on our behalf.  Believe in Jesus Christ.  There is power in the name of Jesus!

1. Pray that the message of Jesus Christ would reach the lost in unreached people groups in our society.  Pray specifically for the lost in the United States.
-Pray for drug addicts
-Pray for Meth heads
-Pray for Rockers
-Pray for the LGBTQ community
-Pray for Democrats 
-Pray for Republicans
-Pray for libertarians
-Pray for atheists/agnostics
-Pray for Muslims
-Pray for Jews
-Pray for alcoholics
-Pray for sex trafficking victims
-Pray for those afflicted with cancer
-Pray for people with diabetes
-Pray for those with heart disease
-Pray for Sports fanatics
-Pray for university professors
-Pray for the poor
-Pray for the rich
-Pray for Celebrities
-Pray for unknown lonely lost people

2. Pray for the unreached people groups in the 10-40 window (parts of the world where Christians are severely persecuted) China, India, North Africa, and the Middle East.

3. Pray for God to raise up principled, uncompromising Christian patriots to lead in our local, state, and Federal legislatures.

4. Pray God will orchestrate events to put a godly man or woman in the Supreme Court and Congress.

5. Pray for the truth to shine through the lies of the mainstream media.

6. Pray for grassroots organizations to grow in strength to take on the corrupt Washington D.C. system.

7. Pray for luke-warm Christians to be set on fire for God.

8. Pray for sound doctrine within the churches.

9. Pray for Christians who will stand up for their faith.

10. Pray for religious liberty to remain in the face of attacks from partisan activist groups.

11. Pray for the Salvation Army and the leadership to be holy, to be on fire for Christ, and to stand firm in the truth.

12. Pray for atheists, that they would know Jesus Christ as their savior.

13. Pray for young people who are exposed to so much depravity and sin in this world, that they would be able to stand and resist every temptation and that they would know God.

14. Pray for public schools, and for the secular lies taught in public schools, and for the truth to be taught instead.

15. Pray for God's power to end the scourge of human abortion forever in this world.

16. Pray for the Christian message to reach out into all sectors of media and popular culture, including television, radio, the news media, movies, documentaries, history, and the sciences.

17.  Pray the Lord's kingdom come in the area in which you live.

18.  Pray for a great awakening in the United States.

19. Pray for Godly men to be raised up, who refuse to be shamed by the current culture, who live as men ought to live, and stand firmly as leaders and warriors of truth.

20. Pray for women, who have been so deceived by our culture, to stand for morality, for truth, and for justice.  Help women to stand as beacons of wisdom, truth, grace, and humility.

21. Pray for young adults to seek after Jesus Christ as he truly is, and not as we would have him be.

22. Pray for Christians to get involved in politics in meaningful ways, given Romans 13's requirement for us to obey the authorities, which means participating in our democracy style government.

23. Pray for persecuted Christians in the middle east who are being beheaded for their faith.

24. Pray for persecuted Christians in Iran, including Pastor Saeed.

25. Pray for persecuted Christians in China and North Korea.

26. Pray for wise Christian leadership who refuse to be caught up in sex scandals or immoral controversies.  We have a great vacuum of good leadership in evangelicalism. 

27. Pray Non-Profit leaders to meet the needs of people who suffer in poverty.

28. Pray for many of the televangelists who do not endure good doctrine and who pervert the word of truth. And pray that if they do not repent, that the Lord would remove them from the airways.

29. Pray for a new media to replace old media.

30. Pray for the leaders of Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and other massive banking institutions.  Pray for their leaders to be wise, godly, and to turn from corruption.

31. Pray for the owners of fortune 500 companies like Starbucks, Wal Mart, Costco, and others.  Pray they would know Christ and be charitable and generous with their wealth.

32. Pray for the end of corporate cronyism and corporate welfare.

33. Pray for ISIS to be brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ, and also pray that they would be defeated, to prevent the murder of innocent people in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

34. Pray for the victims of mass shootings and for the healing of their families.

35. Pray for those who are suffering from cancer, pray they would be healed and restored to health.

36. Pray for the LGBTQ community, pray they would receive the gospel and turn from their past ways and live in rightness with God.

37. Pray the church of God would spend more time in the word of God.

38. Pray that churches, organizations, and groups would promote healthy eating and help stem the tide of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes in our nation.

39. Pray that the body of Christ would spend more time in prayer.

40. Pray that young people within the body of Christ would take the Bible's teachings on sexuality seriously including the issues of masturbation, pornography, and pre-marital sex.

41. Pray for the church to help end the horror of child sex slavery.

42. Pray that believers would be better stewards of their money, and would learn better ways to manage their finances.

43. Pray that Christians in the world would have a closer walk with Jesus Christ.

44. Pray for cutting edge media, movies, and music to help transform the culture.

45. Pray for those addicted to drugs, pray they would seek recovery and know Christ.

46. Pray for alcoholics and for recovery and faith in Christ.

47. Pray for those addicted to cigarettes, that they would have the power to quit and stay quit. 

48. Pray for children who are led astray by the sexualized culture. 

49. Pray for sex addicts and relationship addicts to experience recovery and hope.

50.  Pray for prostitutes to be freed from their captivity, pray for Christians to help them be set free.

Praise the Lord for how good he is to have set us free in Jesus Christ!  In Jesus name, Amen.

How Theology Can Harm Scriptural Understanding

Matthew 24:10-13 (ESV) "And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Do you have a strong allegiance to a particular set of doctrines or theology? Are you a staunch Arminian or a dedicated five point Calvinist? Are you a severe Molinist or a Wesleyan? In my theological studies as a Christian in ministry I've learned a great deal about both Calvinist theology, mainly from Liberty University, and also a great deal on Arminian theology, mainly through Olivet and the Salvation Army.  

I've been very dedicated to my theological systems in the past. But today I no longer hold as closely to a particular theological system. Why? Because as time passed, I realized that as I studied the scriptures, I was beginning to cancel out scripture passages that didn't fit with my theology. 

I'll give you a very basic example. This is a common scripture, directly from the mouth of Jesus: "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." -Matthew 6:14-15 NIV.

Now, this plainly says a clear truth, if we as followers of Jesus do not forgive others when they sin against us, if we hold resentments and unforgiveness in our hearts, then our sins will not be forgiven. 

But both core theological camps would throw up their arms at this simple scripture.  Calvinists would say hey, that can't be true because our tulip says that you can't lose your salvation. So they cross out that scripture.  Arminians would say hey, we believe in grace through faith alone, the only way you can lose your salvation is through falling away, rejecting Christ!  So it gets crossed out twice.  

I found myself doing this regularly.  As we were studied salvation at Liberty university I found myself quite befuddled by the fact that John 15 said something very simply, that you must "remain in me" and if you don't, you'll shrivel up, and be tossed in the fire and burned.  But I found myself the only person in the class really asking the question, doesn't this impact our salvation?  

Let's look at another example.  A classic scripture, very well known and often discussed, Matthew 25:31-46:

"31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”"

This scripture is clearly telling me that if I don't feed the hungry, cloth the naked, invite in the stranger, and the visit the sick and in prison, and instead I live selfishly and don't do those things, I'm going to eternal punishment.

Now, both camps would scream at the top of their lungs, "Your preaching a works gospel!"  I'm not preaching a works gospel.  All I did was read what Jesus said in an important teaching, and give the obvious answer to it.  But both camps cross out this scripture too, because of rabid dedication to theological systems, instead of dedication to the scriptures.  I mean, look at it, it's in the Bible.  It's right there in black and white.  It doesn't fit into our theological systems.  Yet there it is, plain and simple.  Now many will try to bend themselves into theological pretzels to try to explain about scriptures like Matthew 25, and John 15, and many others.  But I'm not willing to be dishonest about it, I'm taking a plain reading, in it's context, and in the greater theological context, and it's still right there.  It's the word.  And I won't paper it over with man made theological systems.

That's the point today.  Hold loosely to your theological system.  Let scripture upset your neat theology.  Don't paper over scriptures that contradict, even cores of the theological system. Because it's just dishonest to do that.  God is real.  His scriptures are true.  What fate awaits us if we paper over God's word for the sake of our theology and doctrine?  

And this is where the dastardly charge of legalism comes in.  You know it's quite interesting that so many reformed preachers and pastors think of this issue of legalism as such a dangerous key concern for our day and age.  Maybe back in the 50s and 60s I might've agreed.  I mean, have you taken a look around lately? Do you see a lot of legalism in the church?  I don't.  I see a great deal of antinomianism though. Antinomianism is the idea of just getting saved and then never changing how you live at all. But this is not about legalism.  It's just about reading the scriptures and taking their plain meaning. 

This really is to me the chief heresy of our day and age.  It's the heresy of papering over the scriptures for the sake of assurance of salvation.  We cancel out all the requirements of Christian living because they make us uncomfortable.  We cancel out the various concerns like forgiveness and being forgiving, serving the lost, carrying the gospel, and willful sin because we don't want to offend anyone. We don't want anyone to worry that they might not be saved.  We don't want anyone to suffer under fear and concern for how their living needs to change.  

But that's exactly the problem in our modern faith.  We don't really live it out. And our churches are dying as a result.  We want everyone to feel comfortable so we heap grace up to the sealing and we don't preach holiness, and what is the result? We have believers who don't evangelize. We have believers who care nothing about sexual sin. We have believers who come to church to get something instead of to give. And can we really blame them? We've taught them that no matter what they're saved, and they should be good because, well, just because. But the scriptures recognize the motivation of concern for our salvation. We have a holy concern for how we live it out.  And though we hate this idea today in our modern ideology, we need the fear of God (1st Peter 2:17).  We need to tremble before a holy God.  But nobody wants to hear that today.  They just want the ear candy, and love love love.  

Of course God loves us.  He loves us so very much.  But he insists we live differently.  And yes, it does affect our salvation.  So we have to be very careful how we live, in holiness, not in sin, or we will lose all we've gained, and go to a place away from God, in outer darkness. That is just a fact.  I'm not trying to be mean, or hurt anybody. I'm just writing what the Bible says.  If it doesn't feel good, well, I don't care.  Sometimes the truth is painful.  So be it. 

Now I can cite as many scriptures as I want.  But any number of scriptures won't convince those who are dedicated to a theological system of doctrines and not the truth.  Trust the scriptures my friends.  Be cautious of the theologians.  We need our spiritual leaders today.  We need to honor them. But if they're feeding us all candy, we need to get some meat and potatoes on our own.

Now recognize this basic truth: No action, no good work can wash away a single sin.  Not even one.  Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away sin. So never, ever, ever, ever put good works in the place of Christ.  

But do recognize that our lack of repentance and holy living can certainly harm our salvation and cut us off from Christ.  

I really see now that the modern church paints salvation as a broad highway, but that is simply not accurate. Salvation in Christ Jesus is a narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14). 

We really are in the last days and we need to seek God ourselves.  We need to study the scriptures ourselves and learn the truth ourselves.  We can't necessarily trust authors, writers, bloggers, and theologians to give us the unvarnished truth.  Don't trust me either.  Examine the scriptures for yourself. Trust Jesus.  Trust God.  Trust the scriptures and what they say.  God be with you. Amen. 

Related Posts:

1. The Army of God will have Victory after Victory
2. The Church of Laodicea & The Church of America
3. How Holiness Theology Transformed My Understanding of Christianity
4. Fasting and Prayer: Why You Should Fast Twice a Week
5. An Investigation of the Biblical Concept of Hell
6. Why Do I Exist? A Quick Look at the Human Life
7. What is the equation that shows us how to inherit Eternal Life
8. How to Repent of all Sins in your Christian Life
9. God will Uphold His Army: Standing on the Truth
10. To Those Who Overcome: How to Be Free from all Sin

A Corrections Officer Who Lived Micah 6:8 in Prison Work - Guest Post by John Stephenson

Correctional Work as a Christ Follower 

I spent the majority of my working career as a Correctional Officer with my Provincial (State) Corrections Division. After attending University I worked in the business world.

I had a period when my use of alcohol and drugs caught up with me. I had an 8 to 10 week binge that started in Halifax, Nova Scotia and ended in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I had traveled about 2,200 miles. That motivated me to seek treatment and deal with my addictive behavior. This was in the summer of 1973. I entered a Rehab Program at The Salvation Army and 3 months into it came back to faith in God, and became a Salvation Army Soldier in January 1974.

Coming off the program I took a temporary fill in position as Science Resource Specialist at a High School for a couple of months while the incumbent was off sick. When they returned I started working as Counselor/Chaplain and Evening supervisor at The Salvation Army Men’s Social Services Hostel in Winnipeg.

During that time I started dating a woman who was a lifelong Salvationist and we got engaged and married. We entered Training College in 1975 and were commissioned in 1977. We left TSA a few years later and worked for a Presbyterian Church in Canada for a few years, mainly on a Northern Mission field before returning to Winnipeg. 

It was just after that I took a position with Manitoba Corrections as a Correctional Officer. I worked at the Winnipeg Remand Centre (Pretrial Detention). I had wanted a Probation Officer role but they weren't hiring for that at the time. Little did I know that I would spend 20 plus years working in institutional corrections.

So I then began to experience a world that was dark and different. As a new CO1 I was tested by both staff and inmates. Staff, knowing I had been a Minister and a Salvation Army Officer were leery thinking I was a bleeding heart liberal. Inmates tried to pull the wool over my eyes for the same reason.

But I saw an opportunity to effect how Inmates were treated in Correctional facilities. I also saw an opportunity to affect how staff dealt with Inmates and how they viewed inmates, often times, as less than human.

I resolved to try and practice what one of my favorite verses said in the Bible. Micah 6:8 (NCV):

“The Lord has told you what is good. He has told you what He wants from you: ‘Do what is right to other people, love being kind to others. And live humbly, trusting you God.’"

This verse speaks of compassion, mercy, and justice. It was my goal to live this out in my duties. Staff saw that I could deal with violent inmates and hold my own in an environment where use of force was often needed. Inmates saw that I treated them as humans who mattered. In fact I often joked that their job was to be a criminal while mine was to make sure they stayed in jail and behaved while there.

So how did a brand new CO1 do that? One example came from one of the duty assignments that two staff had during the working shift-Coffee and Cleaning…you and your partner saw to the Inmate Trustees who swept, mopped and cleaned that jail, did the laundry and distributed the coffee between meals to Inmate locations. I noticed that many of our trustees were being fired or thrown into segregation and figured out through talking to them and watching that many had no idea of how to sweep and clean properly. So I began asking each new trustee if they knew how to sweep, mop, do laundry and took time to show them how to. All of a sudden the function was being done properly.

It did not take long for the message to get around to inmates that I , while tough and demanding, actually was willing to teach them, and would take time to talk with them and give them suggestions.

They noticed I was different. Staff took notice as well, including our Shift Managers. But it didn’t become an issue because they realized that in a fight situation or a code call that I could hold my own. Our facility was a dangerous one with issues regarding safety and health. Not just for staff, but also for inmates.

It didn’t take long before I was trusted by both staff and inmates. In fact within a year and a few months, I was elected President of the Corrections Component covering the jail, a youth facility, and component chair for the full provincial corrections component.

As a result I ended up as Operations Coordinator for that facility with CO4 rank within 3 to 4 years of my start. I was then tasked by Corrections Division and our Superintendent to coordinate the building process of a new standalone Remand Centre and to create a new method of Inmate Supervision.

Balancing the need for staff safety and providing safe housing for inmates in an environment that included Correctional Officers, providing case management, and counselling as well as Security was like walking a tightrope at times but it worked.

Along the way in those first 8 years of my career in Corrections both staff and inmates picked up on the fact that I was a believer. 

No, I didn’t tell them you need to get saved or else but I practiced and lived Micah 6:8. I tried to show compassion and mercy, even when disciplining inmates, and as a manager disciplining staff. And it worked.

I can remember as a CO1 being on a Hospital Escort with another CO1 when he asked me why did I even talk with him, and treat him as a friend when I knew he was going straight to hell due to his lifestyle of drugs, booze, and sex. My answer was: "You're my friend." I ran into this guy at a funeral 2 years ago-almost 30 years after that day, and he believes in Jesus.

I also remember being on mercy seat duty at a Divisional Congress here in Winnipeg. It was a Sunday evening meeting when a guy off the street came to the mercy seat. I recognized him! 

I knew that I had to deal with him rather than some of the others on mercy seat duty. He was a regular prisoner who on almost every occasion when he came into jail was a major security problem, and fought staff constantly. I knelt and prayed with him, talked with him, and all of a sudden he was a friend. The next few times when he came in to jail I never had an issue with him. 

Many years later when I was Jail Security Operations for the Division I was at Headingly Gaol in the basement gym and off in a corner I could see him using weights. He noticed me, put down the weights and headed over. Staff tried to intercept him. I told them not to-just watch. He reached where I was, put his arms around me and hugged me thanking me for what I had done years before. That turned into a teaching moment for me when I turned to the staff there, and explained what happened and why.

And today as a 68 year old retiree I am convinced that we need more Christians working as Correctional Officers. It is the influence and attitude that comes with faith and following Micah 6:8 that can impact a criminal and bring change as well as impact staff to realize that inmates are humans who are no different in their needs than ourselves.

Biography of John Stephenson

I was born in New Waterford on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia on 24 May 1950. I was brought up Roman Catholic and was active as an Altar Boy through to about 17. I was being recruited by a couple of Orders of Priests and our Diocese to be a Priest.

I started University in September 1967 under the Regular Officer Training Plan with the goal of being an Officer in Canada’s Military. Finished University in 1971. While at University I get heavily involved in the Hippie Movement of the late 60s as well as Radical Politics and Student Activism. As well I became a user of illicit drugs (LSD, Marijuana, Hashish, Magic Mushrooms et al) as well as alcohol abuse .

Eventually dealt with my straying from faith and my chemical addictions in 1973 after a 10 to 12 week 2,000 mile drug and alcohol binge. This also meant coming back to faith in God and joined The Salvation Army. Got married attended Training College (1975-1977). My wife and I were commissioned and ordained in 1977. Eventually resigned and worked for PCIC as a Minister and Missionary in a far Northern Isolated area for a few years.

Started working for Manitoba Justice-Corrections in 1984.

Retired in 2005 as Chief Correctional Officer working for Director of Institutional Corrections as Jail Operation Specialist.

Have 4 children and 4 grandchildren.

Presently a member of living Hope Community Church of  The Salvation Army in Winnipeg where I serve as Vice-Chair of Ministry Board , teach Bible Study , and serve as Chair of Social Services Advisory Community Board of The Centre of Hope.

Waking Up in the Dream - Epic Poem

Star light, glorious

Moon light, the mystery of God’s hand

The warmth of the day, a breeze

In awe of this undertaking.

Living dreams in a reality in which I’m awaking,

Confusion, hard metal surfaces,

Grit and grime, rust and faded paint

Yellow tint of the cat tails along the highways

One day eyes opening,

Discovering a touch of light

That penetrates within me

It becomes part of me,

I am transformed

the grit and grime washed away

set as a heir of an empire

named as a person of great worth

marked with the symbol

property of God

I have a mission

A calling

No longer a slave to the consumerist nightmare

No longer a freak show repeating disaster

Instead a light in the darkness

A prince of the king

A chariot of fire

On a mission, in a battle,

Carrying a torch in the city,

A rally cry for the provision of the many,

A caring mention of something better,

A light to the cities beyond us, ever crumbling,

Yet the battle rages within,

Between what I used to be, and Who I am now,

I want to speak up, I want to shout from the rooftops

But I’m so afraid to say something,

Distracted by the limelight, distracted by this life,

So many people living lives for selfish pleasure

Outside the valley of broken dreams

I want to shout come home to Jesus

But there’s a trembling within,

Lakes, rivers, and streams

Chariots of fire over the valleys

The roaring of the people in their rejection

Of the beauty of the one behind the mountains

A trumpet blast upon the air waves

It echoes across the broken cities

Terror and rejoicing join in the air

As a son makes ready those he loves

He’s coming sooner than we think,

The clock is ticking,

I can see the clocktower overlooking the cities,

The people walk around in their apathy

Looking at their smart phones,

Looking at the reflection of themselves in the bean downtown

Selfies, selfies, and modern ideologies,

Despairing children in broken homes,

And endless lines of people at the counter,

Waiting for their products and purchases,

Living do they realize,

Dying mighty they recognize,

That to live is to die, and to die is to gain,

The whole world in Jesus Christ,

The living gospel proclaimed,

I see a people rising up around me,

One by one, day by day,

In no great rush, but steadfastly and determined,

A great holy army, rising up,

Proclaiming the mighty gospel

Doing great deeds in the name of Jesus,

The Holy Spirit reigning in a great awakening,

That brings this hallowed out shallow miserable generation,

To the feet of the cross, where he lay dying,

Nailed to the tree he did so willingly,

And the world was changed that day, forever and always,

This generation brought home,

This generation opening into the gates of heaven,

God’s people rising up,

Could it be?  Could it really come? 

Or is it just a dream?

I see brilliance in the eyes of God’s mighty people

Here comes the end time army,

Bringing these people, to the open arms of Jesus,

To wash them, save them, give them hope, a future, holiness, eternal life.

I’m a part of this,

Someone pinch me,

I’m living in a dream,

This dream, too good to be true,

I have to pinch myself,

Sometimes I do,

And I think I might wake up in a hospital bed, a near dead junkie,

Who was having a dream, the best possible dream he could have,

But it turned out Jesus came into my story,

And turned that dream into reality,

And now I live, I’m a live, born again, and part of a holy, Spirit-filled end times salvation army waiting for the return of the Lord Jesus!

 Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Amen.