Will you give your life away in order to unleash God’s life-giving power in you? Watch as K.P. passionately shares about the desperate need there is for believers to “stand in the gap” for the lost and dying in this world. God can and wants to use our lives in mighty ways, if only we will surrender ourselves to Him.
Learn more about K.P. Yohannan’s passion for the lost in his book,Revolution in World Missions.
Filed under Christianity, Church, Fasting, Gospel For Asia, India, Kingdom of God, Prayer, spiritual warfare
My life was forever changed in 2011 when I read No Longer a Slumdog by K. P. Yohannan.
The stories about 9.9 million little girls between the ages of 4 and 11 years of age being homeless and walking the streets of India attempting to survive, the stories about 300 million downtrodden Indian people who are considered untouchable because they were born to the wrong parents, and the stories about the degradation of women in India crushed my heart.
My poor heart has never recovered nor do I ever want it to revert back to before reading Yohannan’s book.
The above video was produced by the Saylor Brothers and the quality is A+++, but it is 17 minutes and 22 seconds long. If you have the time, watch it. You won’t regret doing so.
Just so you know: I wept all the way through it, thinking about the six children my wife and I sponsor through GFA’s Bridge of Hope program and asking the Lord to show me how we can do more.
Filed under Christianity, God, Gospel For Asia, India, jesus, Kingdom of God, Poverty, Prayer
Jesus sat in His home in Capernaum, teaching a crowd of people. Four men carried a paralytic on a stretcher to His home, but they could not move through the throng. They carried the paralytic up the stairs to the roof and proceeded to rip apart the roof tiles. Then, they lowered the stretcher, with the paralytic on it, down through the hole in the roof to the floor below.
Because of the noise and the falling debris from the roof tiles, every eye focused on the paralytic as he was lowered down in front of Jesus. The Lord recognized the men’s faith and said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
The scribes and Pharisees got all bent out of shape because Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins, but then Jesus said something amazing:
“Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk?'” (Luke 5:23)
Most of us probably believe that it’s easier to be forgiven by God than to be healed by Him, but Jesus did not answer like that. He forgave and healed the paralytic.
Because of this story in Matthew 9, Mark 2, and Luke 5, I am convinced that if we have enough faith to believe the Father will forgive our sins then we have enough faith to believe God will heal us or others when we pray for them.
Okay, if this is true, then why aren’t more people being healed in America? And why are people being healed in Third World nations?
Sadly, we Americans have so complicated the gospel with teachings, books, seminars, and religious rigamorole that we can no longer see the simplicity of Jesus’ message. But the people in Third World countries are not burdened by all of this and simply believe His Word.
We need to change!
Today, I prayed for us American believers:
“Lord, open the blind eyes of us Americans to bring us out of our prisons of unbelief.” (Based on Isaiah 42:7)
What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you?
Join with me on Fridays to fast and pray for prisoners, according to Hebrews 13:3.
Filed under Christianity, Church, Faith, Fasting, Gifts of the Spirit, jesus, Kingdom of God, Poverty, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
I just received a letter from Shanti, the little ten-year old girl we sponsor through Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope. Her letters are treasures to read over and over, but one sentence in her recent letter grabbed my heart:
“Thank God He has created such beautiful success for you…”
In my eyes, I am not a success. Almost everything I’ve ever attempted has fallen short of the finish line, ending up in failure.
But maybe, I’m looking through the wrong eyes. Maybe I should view my life through her eyes.
Shanti lives in West Bengal, India. This state is on the east side of India, bordering with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Bay of Bengal. She is a Dalit, which means she is a part of the Untouchable Caste, the least of the least and the lowest of the lowest, almost subhuman to other Hindus. Her dad is an agricultural worker and probably earns a dollar per day for twelve hours of backbreaking work. The dollar per day has to clothe, feed, and shelter Shanti, her mother, a brother, sister, and, of course, the dad.
So, even though I am unsuccessful compared to my neighbors and friends, I am a wealthy man in Shanti’s eyes. You see, I can afford to live in a house, drive a car, and pay $35 per month to sponsor her at a Bridge of Hope School.
Maybe Shanti is right. Maybe I am a beautiful success, not because of anything I’ve done, but because I just happened to be born in America. That may seem unfair, but it is the truth.
If you are interested in learning about sponsoring a child in Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope, click here.
Filed under Christianity, Church, Gospel For Asia, India, Kingdom of God
The children of South Asia are among the most vulnerable in the world. The United Nations estimates that 1 million Asian children are traded every single day. In India alone, 45,000 children are reported missing each year. Thousands more are missing, but their families have not reported their absence to authorities.
The majority of these missing children come from Dalit (“Untouchable”) families, from tribal areas or from families that live in extreme poverty.
Children in South Asia go missing for many reasons. Some are abducted by strangers and put into forced labor. Others are trafficked or exploited in the sex trade or sold to other families to work as domestic help. Some missing children have simply run away from home or were forced to leave home because of difficult circumstances, such as the death of a parent or the introduction of a stepparent into the household.
India has the largest population of poor and vulnerable children of any country in the world. Nearly 44 million children live on the street as beggars. Millions are orphans. Others may be the children of migrant workers, commercial sex workers or prisoners. Thousands are also child soldiers who have been forced into armed conflict.
Sadly, there are many waiting to exploit these vulnerable children. One of the most common ways children are misused is by being forced into the adult workforce. India has some 13 million children younger than 15 in its workforce—more than any other country in the world. Some estimate that the real number of child laborers is close to 100 million. That’s about five times the population of the state of New York.
How to Pray for Them
Even though these children’s parents may not know where they are, their Heavenly Father knows them and cares for them. The following list describes some of their prayer needs:
Filed under Christianity, Church, Gospel For Asia, India, Kingdom of God, Poverty
Rains continue to batter the countryside of India in the aftermath of Cyclone Phailin, as hundreds of thousands of families find themselves displaced and without electricity. Recently, a Gospel For Asia Compassion Services team was able to travel to one of the districts in Odisha that was the most affected by the cyclone. They provided relief materials to 440 families.
Pleaser pray for these people who have suffered so much and if you can, pray about helping them with financial offerings. You can check it out at Gospel For Asia Cyclone Phailin.
Filed under Christianity, Church, God, Gospel For Asia, India, Kingdom of God, Poverty
If you have time, check out the above less than three minute video or go here to read the facts about destruction caused by Cyclone Phailin. The storm has affected 9 million people. They need our prayers now…and if you can, please consider giving a financial offering, of which 100% will be used for the people who have suffered in this storm.
Filed under Christianity, God, Gospel For Asia, India, Poverty, Prayer
The UN estimates there are 200 million missing females in the world because of gendercide carried out through abortions, infanticides, murders, and the abandoning of female children. One of the nations with the worst record on the gendercide issue is the world’s largest democracy, India, which comprises almost a third of the total population of Asia.
In India, 50,000 females are aborted each month just for having XX chromosomes. The reason is simple: it’s a family business decision. For a poor family, children are a major drain on family income. What was barely enough money for a husband and wife to live on becomes strained even more when a child arrives. A baby boy has the potential of providing future income to the family, but baby girls have little potential of helping the family. Thus, baby girls are aborted to save the costs of feeding and raising them.
Almost 10 million girls, between the ages of 4 and 11 years old are abandoned by parents on the streets of India. Over a million of these end up in prostitution rings. Others are coerced into being a part of the 50 million children from ages 4 and up who labor from morning until night to survive. Many beg. Many steal. Many die.
Question: What are the three deadliest words in the world?
Answer: It’s a girl.
Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope turns these situations around for good. Children are educated and nurtured. Families experience Christ’s love. More than 60,000 children have been helped so far and thousands of families have found faith in Christ as a result.
If you’re interested in learning more about Bridge of Hope, click here.
Filed under Christianity, Church, God, Gospel For Asia, India, Poverty, Prayer
(Actual letters from children)
Not too long ago, I found myself with three writing projects and wondered where I should start. As I sat there, a gentle voice whispered to my heart, “Do the two most important ones first.”
“What?” I said, not knowing which two were the most important.
“Write replies to the two letters you just received.”
I pushed aside the three writing projects and reread the two letters, sitting on a to-do pile next to the computer. One letter was from an 8-year old girl named Joshni, who lives in Tamil Nadu, India, and the other from a 5-year old boy named Anupam, who lives in West Bengal, India. Both are Dalit children who attend Bridge of Hope schools and are sponsored by Carol and me.
I wrote letters to both and included three pictures in each envelope. The pictures reveal life in California and my family to them.
I’m a small potato in the writing world, but to these children, I’m probably the big enchilada. You see, my letters are most likely the only ones they will ever receive. A few words can make a difference in their lives.
And the Lord seems to agree with me.
If you are interested in knowing more about sponsoring a child in Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope program, check it out here.
Filed under Christianity, Church, Faith, God, Gospel For Asia, India, Kingdom of God, Poverty, Prayer
To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to be sure of keeping your heart intact you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries, avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safely in the casket of your selfishness. And in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will not change, it will not be broken. It will become unbreakable, impenetrable and irredeemable. The only place outside of heaven where you can be perfectly safe from the dangers of love is hell. (C.S.Lewis)
Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope offers love and hope to the most vulnerable humans in the world − children − through sponsors like you and me. If you’re interested, check it out here.
Filed under Christianity, God, Gospel For Asia, India, Kingdom of God, Poverty, Prayer
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Larry Who 