There is a difference in watching “for” and watching “with”. Most of the time we are watching “for” God to reply, respond, act, etc. In the midst of Gethsemane grief, Jesus asked His disciples to “watch with” Him (Matthew 26:40). Unable to do so, they opted instead for a few moments of sleep, watching and waiting only for Him to finish praying. While we may not opt for sleep, seldom do we “watch with” Him. We conclude that we are far too busy for such passive activity. We’ve got things to do, places to go, people to see. How could we possibly spend time simply “watching?” When will be learn that quiet time is never wasted time when it is spent with Him? The disciples would later learn not only to “watch with” Him on one occasion, but for the rest of their lives. Fanny Crosby, who could not “watch” as most of us can, wrote, “Watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in His love.” May He never have to ask of us, “Could you not watch with me” (Matthew 26:40)?

Join me in remembering the following global concerns before the Father:
• Sept. 8th, is the first day of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). Pray for those who minister among our Jewish friends.
• Pray for Patricia who is finishing a Scripture consultant check with the Nugunu (Cameroon).
• Pray for the new church starts that begin this week on and near University campuses in metro Vancouver, Canada.
• Pray for Marilyn and the ministry of the Hope Clinic in Macau.

What does it mean to be “called to worship?” Following a week to be forgotten, a pastor stepped to the pulpit at the beginning of the Sunday worship service and proclaimed, “I’ve had a terrible week and I don’t feel like calling you to worship, so why don’t you call yourselves to worship.” After a stunned silence, someone shared a passage of Scripture, another prayed. Finally someone began singing a familiar song. Others joined in. Eventually, they were worshipping. Are you called to worship because someone with authority announces it; or because you enter a place of worship; or because it is the appointed time for worship? What constitutes a “call to worship”? Jesus told a well-side woman, “The hour is coming . . . when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23). Bottom line: the Lord is calling to worship, those who sincerely desire to worship the Father with integrity. Times, places and methods are secondary.

Join me this week in interceding for the following global concerns:
• Pray for K’s Café, a new church start in Tokyo.
• Pray for the first baptisms of a new church plant, Ion Community Church, in Vancouver, Canada.
• Pray for the Wednesday “Concerts of Prayer” at the Capital City Baptist Church in Mexico City.
• Pray for those who are ministering to flood victims in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland.

Does your faith ever falter? Apparently Timothy’s faith was on the verge of doing just that. Paul wrote to young Timothy concerning faith and said some, in “good conscience”, had rejected the faith and thus had “suffered shipwreck” (1 Tim. 1:19). It is important to understand that a shipwreck is not necessarily fatal. One can survive a shipwreck without being drowned or lost. In fact, Paul had done so three times (2 Cor. 11:25). So this is not about losing one’s faith. It is about losing one’s grip on faith. And it has to do with conscience. Conscience, like a computer, is programmed with the will of God. A clear conscience allows God’s will to direct. A violated conscience sets off a warning signal – the computer is under attack, a virus is attempting to invade, faith is in trouble. So how do you keep the faith? I saw a piece of graffiti once that had been altered. Originally it read, “Keep the faith baby!” Someone had added one word, making it read, “Keep sharing the faith baby!” We are channels of faith, not reservoirs. One way to avoid shipwrecked faith is to keep sharing it.

Join me this week in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for those who minister in the Ukraine as the Ukrainians celebrate their Independence Day this week, marking 19 years as a sovereign nation.
• Pray for relief workers who are risking their lives to help an estimated 8 million people in urgent need of assistance in Pakistan.
• Pray for missionaries who now follow-up on the results of summer mission teams.
• Pray for the six new University community church plants in metro Vancouver that begin this fall.

Recent studies have shown that as high as 70% of young Protestant adults between the ages of 18 and 22 have stopped attending church regularly. How could this happen? We tried so hard to reach them – with slick slogans, casual worship clothing, shorter sermons accompanied with power point pictures and video clips, upbeat music with live band on stage, no more welcoming of visitors, entertainment that almost matched the theater district, low lights and bright spot lights, etc. While there is nothing inherently wrong with any of the above methods, the relevant must be matched with the real. Young adults have been raised in a culture of distrust, dysfunction, and distaste. They are looking for something and someone that is real. The wrappings can be flashy or faded, but the contents must be authentic and genuine. Paul asked, “Do you look at things according to the outward appearance” (2 Cor. 10:7)? Could it be that we focused on the outward to the exclusion of the inward and in our zealous attempt to be relevant, we failed to be real?

Join me in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for those affected by unprecedented flooding in Pakistan. As many as 1600 people are reported dead and another 14 million have been affected.
• Pray for missionaries who will gather this week for a retreat in the northern part of Serbia.
• Continue to pray for those who minister among Muslims during their month of Ramadan, August 11-September 9, 2010.

My son is with Homeland Security and just completed four months of advanced training. At his recent graduation, the speaker said, “Hope is not a survival strategy.” We Christians talk much of hope. To hear it spoken in a negative context got my attention. So I thought through it again. Paul wrote, “Hope that is seen is not hope” (Rom. 8:24). The writer of Hebrews added, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). So while we hope in the unseen, we prepare within the context of the visible. That’s why a visible profession of faith in Christ is necessary for eternal life in heaven (also called “the blessed hope” in Titus 2:13). You can’t simply “hope” to go to heaven. You’ve got to prepare by taking a step of visible faith. You can’t simply hope to live a Christian life. You’ve got to employ discipline. If hope is not a survival strategy, what is? Faith is. Faith in your preparation, your plan of survival. For the Christian, faith in Jesus Christ, who has done for us, all that we cannot do for ourselves.

Join me in praying for the following global concerns:
• Pray for Ignatius as he speaks at a camp in Cyprus on August 7-17.
• Pray for those who minister to the more than 200,000 Greek Cypriots who have settled in the major cities of England.
• Pray for those who are ministering in the aftermath of flooding that killed more than 1,400 people and affected at least 3 million more in northwest Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.
• RAMADAN (the holy month of fasting in Islam) begins this week on August 11. Pray for those who minister among Muslims.
• Pray for Rich, Suzanne, Craig & Ellen as they prepare to minister during the upcoming school year at the University of British Columbia.