“Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: at his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.” Deuteronomy 24:14-15 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Deuteronomy 23 – 25
“And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Deuteronomy 20 – 22
“When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.” Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Deuteronomy 17 – 19
The three areas for prayer requests this week are Sri Lanka, Laos, and Cuba. Please lift our brethren to the Lord’s throne of grace.
VOM-USA Prayer Update for February 25, 2011
The Voice of the Martyrs USA: www.persecution.com
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:6SRI LANKA—Pastors Attacked in Sri Lanka—VOM Canada
- James 1:12
- Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Two pastors were attacked recently in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. In early January, a pastor and his family discovered an intruder in their home in Galle district. The man shouted threats at the pastor and began to assault him. After hearing the screaming, the pastor’s elderly landlord arrived to help. The intruder then attacked the landlord before running away. Later, the pastor and his landlord lodged a complaint against the attacker with local police. The attacker was arrested, but he was later released with a severe warning after apologizing to the pastor and his landlord. On Jan. 23 in the city of Middeniya, Hambantota district, assailants broke the windows of an Assemblies of God church while the pastor and his family were inside. The pastor and his family were previously targeted in July 2008, when assailants set their house ablaze after threatening the pastor and his church. Pray that the witness of pastors and their families in Sri Lanka will draw unbelievers to Christ. Pray that these pastors will look forward to their crown of life in heaven as they persevere in these trials.
LAOS—Christian Widow Evicted by Son—VOM Sources
- James 1:27
- Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
A 50-year-old Christian widow was evicted from her son’s house recently because she refused to renounce her faith in Christ. The woman and her teenage daughter had lived with her son and his family in a mountain village for many years. The woman’s son is not a Christian, and he told his mother to renounce her faith in Jesus or he would kick her out of the house. When the woman refused, her son forced her and her daughter to leave. They had no possessions and nowhere to go, so they took cover from the chilly weather in the jungle at the edge of their village. Local Christians who learned of the women’s predicament came together to build them a small bamboo hut, but they still lack basic necessities. Thank the Lord for this woman’s faith. Pray that her faith will remain strong while she and her daughter endure this trial. Ask God to provide for her needs and to soften her son’s heart toward the Lord.
CUBA—Persecution Increases on Church Leaders—Christian Solidarity Worldwide
- James 1:18
- Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Pastors and Christian leaders in Cuba are reporting a shift in how the government treats Christians. The government appears to have moved away from higher profile forms of oppression, such as threatening to shut down or destroy churches, and is now focusing pressure on church leaders. Church leaders both within and outside of the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC) report receiving frequent visits from state security agents and Cuban Communist Party (CCP) officials. The CCC is an umbrella organization representing Protestant churches. These visits and meetings seem to have the intent of intimidating church leaders and making them aware that they are under close surveillance. Pray that church members will not be intimidated by government informants in their meetings. Pray that those under pressure will not yield to fear and that they will trust the Lord.
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Persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ is probably growing in intensity, and will eventually reach the USA. Please pray.
posted by T.A.
“Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.” Deuteronomy 16:18-22 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Deuteronomy 14 – 16
“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them’; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.” Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Deuteronomy 11 – 13
“The LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the LORD loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them: He will not be slack to him that hateth Him, He will repay him to his face. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.” Deuteronomy 7:7-11 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Deuteronomy 7 – 10
“And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto Me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; and ye said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.’ And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!'” Deuteronomy 5:23-29 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Deuteronomy 4 – 6
“And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Thine eyes have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto these two kings: so shall the LORD do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest. Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God He shall fight for you.’ And I besought the LORD at that time, saying, ‘O Lord GOD, Thou hast begun to shew Thy servant Thy greatness, and Thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to Thy works, and according to Thy might? I pray Thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.’ But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, ‘Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.’ So we abode in the valley over against Bethpeor.” Deuteronomy 3:21-29 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Deuteronomy 1 – 3
“Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.” Numbers 35:30-34 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Numbers 34 – 36
“And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: and ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it. And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit. But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.'” Numbers 33:50-56 (KJV)
Today’s Bible Reading –
Numbers 31 – 33
The following is the most recent prayer update from Voice of the Martyrs,
VOM-USA Prayer Update for February 18, 2011
The Voice of the Martyrs USA: www.persecution.com
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1–3
CHINA — Government Plans Increased Regulation of Christian Worship — VOM Sources, China Daily Newspaper
- Hebrews 13:18
- Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.
The Chinese government is planning to tighten regulations on Christian worship this year, according to a report in an English-language newspaper in China. China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) has announced that it will “guide Protestants worshiping at unregistered churches into worshiping at government-sanctioned ones.” A VOM source in China confirmed that during a detention in 2010, police told him they would stop being “nice” in 2011. The newspaper report also stated that “SARA will strengthen regulation of foreign nationals’ group religious activities in China and resist foreign infiltration under the pretext of religion.” This new policy could mean increased persecution of Christians in China, especially those who worship in unregistered churches. Christians faced similar pressure from the government before the 2008 Olympics, when Christians were detained, forced from their homes and put under house arrest. Pray that Chinese Christians are spiritually prepared for this fresh wave of persecution and that it will not intimidate new believers.
ETHIOPIA — Muslims Warn Christians to Convert, Leave or Die — VOM Canada
- 1 Timothy 4:10
- For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
Muslims in the city of Besheno posted notices on the doors of Christians’ homes warning them to convert to Islam, leave the city or face death. Three Christian leaders were forced to flee the city and two Christians were forced to convert to Islam. Other Christians have been harassed and physically abused since the notices were posted. The Christian community in Besheno consists of only about 30 believers, and Christians there have been targeted by Muslims for many years. Evangelist Kassa Awano remains in critical condition after Muslims attacked him on Nov. 29, 2010. A few days after the attack, nearly 100 Muslims surrounded a vehicle carrying Christian leaders who were on their way to negotiate for peace with Muslim leaders. Two men, Tesema Hirego and Niggusie Denano, were seriously wounded in the attack, and the other Christian leaders suffered minor injuries. On Jan. 2, Muslims assaulted Temesgen Peteros with a knife after he testified against the Muslim attackers in court. Pray that God will enable Christians in Besheno to share the gospel boldly and lovingly. Pray that their persecutors will come to know Christ’s love through the lives of the Christians.
INDONESIA — Mob Attacks Churches Over Court Decision — Release International
- Psalm 122:6
- Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.A Muslim mob in Temanggung, Indonesia, attacked three churches last week after a Christian convicted of blasphemy received a sentence they thought was too lenient. About 1,500 Muslims threw stones at police and chanted “kill, kill” as they broke courthouse windows and burned vehicles. The rioters then targeted several churches in the area. The Indonesia Bethel Church, two kilometers from the courthouse, was badly burned, damaging part of a kindergarten on the property and six motorbikes. The Temanggung Pentecost Church was also burned as the mob chanted “burn, burn!” The Church of St. Peter and Paul was vandalized, and its leader, Pastor Saldhana, was badly beaten, according to Release International. Release also reported that a church-run orphanage and medical center were destroyed in the violence. Pray for the congregations and Christian workers affected by the violence, and pray that peace will be restored in Temanggung, Central Java.
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Please pray for the Christians in China, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
posted by T.A.
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ‘Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and My bread for My sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto Me, shall ye observe to offer unto Me in their due season.’ And thou shalt say unto them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even; and a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD. And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering. And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.'” Numbers 28:1-8
Today’s Bible Reading –
Numbers 28 – 30
…I Will Not Cast Them Away…
Leviticus 26:44-46
1. After reading the first 25 chapters and hearing about the benefits of holiness we now hear God’s Word concerning unholiness and its consequences.
2. God promises great reward to those of His children of Israel who will obey Him as a nation, a priesthood.
3. There are also grave consequences for disobedience for the people and the land; so that the land can heal.
4. Even though the LORD may punish or discipline His people He does not forsake them.
I. GOD DESIRES TO DWELL AMONG HIS PEOPLE WHOM HE HAS REDEEMED UNTO HIMSELF (v. 11; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23).
II. THE LORD DESIRES TO BLESS THE LAND, HIS PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD (vv. 1-13).
III. WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE ARE NOT HOLY; HOW CAN A HOLY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS; EXCEPT BY CLEANSING (vv. 14-39)
IV. THOUGH THE PEOPLE HAVE DISOBEYED, REBELLED, AND BECAME UNHOLY; THE LORD SAYS, ‘I WILL NOT CAST THEM AWAY’ (v. 44).
Application –
i. God dwells in His people through the antitype who is Christ Jesus Himself – He lives in those who are redeemed through His precious blood.
ii. The land could be a type of the spiritual blessings of those who are in Christ Jesus; spiritual gifts, life lived and given to the LORD.
iii. Even the Christian who is not walking with God suffers grave consequences (Galations 6:7-8), and must come back into a right and holy walk with God.
iv. He has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5) and He will not cast away His redeemed people (John 17:11).
-Tim A. Blankenship
