Bible Reading Plan - Week of April 12th

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, April 18th

Monday - 1 Corinthians 4:7-21

Tuesday - Philippians 2:19-30

Wednesday - 2 Corinthians 1:13-2:2

Thursday - 2 Corinthians 10:1-18

Friday - 2 Corinthians 13:1-4 and 2 Timothy 5:17-6:10

This Week’s Transformation Verse is 1 Corinthians 4:15-16 “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.”

Bible Reading Plan - Week of April 5th

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, April 11th

Monday - 1 Corinthians 3:1-17

Tuesday - Ephesians 2:11-22

Wednesday - 1 Peter 2:1-12

Thursday - 1 Corinthians 3:18-4:6

Friday - 1 Peter 4:7-19

This Week’s Transformation Verse is 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Bible Reading Plan - Week of March 29th

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, April 4th

Monday - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Tuesday - John 19:1-42

Wednesday - 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Thursday - 1 Corinthians 15:12-49

Friday - Psalm 110:1-7

This Week’s Transformation Verse is 1 Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

Bible Reading Plan - Week of March 22nd

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, March 28th

Monday - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Tuesday - Luke 24:13-35

Wednesday - John 11:1-44

Thursday - John 11:45-12:11

Friday - Matthew 21:1-11

This Week’s Transformation Verse is 1 Corinthians 15:3 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Bible Reading Plan - Week of March 15th

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, March 21st

Monday - 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Tuesday - Acts 3:11-26

Wednesday - Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Thursday - Isaiah 64:1-12

Friday - Ephesians 3:1-13

This Week’s Transformation Verse is 1 Corinthians 2:16 “’For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

Bible Reading Plan - Week of March 8th

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, March 14th

Monday - 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

Tuesday - Isaiah 29:11-24

Wednesday - 2 Corinthians 2:12-

Thursday - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Friday - Titus 2:11-3:11

This Week’s Transformation Verse is 1 Corinthians 1:25 “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Bible Reading Plan - Week of March 1st

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, March 7th

Monday - 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 and 2 Corinthians 1:1-7

Tuesday - 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 and 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

Wednesday - 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Thursday - 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 and 2 Peter 3:14-18

Friday - 2 Corinthians 11:1-19

This Week’s Transformation Verse is 1 Corinthians 1:10 “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

Bible Reading Plan - Week of February 22nd

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, February 28th.

Monday - Acts 16:1-40

Tuesday - Acts 17:1-21

Wednesday - Acts 17:22-34

Thursday - Acts 18:1-17

Friday - Acts 18:18-28

This Week’s Transformation Verse is Acts 18:9-10 “The Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

Forty Days of Prayer Day Forty // Breakthrough For Financial Support

TODAY IS THE FINAL DAY OF 40 DAYS OF PRAYER!

What an incredible journey this has been to begin 2021! We trust God has moved in your life as you’ve meditated on His Word, been introduced or reminded of the passion of our family of churches around the world, and been challenged by the action steps God is calling you to take!

Enjoy the final day of this 40-day journey, and don’t stop now!

DAY FORTY - BREAKTHROUGH FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT BY TIM MEIER

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work

- 2 Corinthians 9:7–8

In most cultures, talking about money can be awkward at best and extremely uncomfortable or even taboo at worst. It’s weird to talk about finances because it’s personal and intimate. Further, with so much inequality in the world, we can end up feeling guilty, jealous, or somewhere in between based on how much we may or may not have at the moment.

Asking people to give feels like a violation of their personal “space.” In a me-centric culture, we often feel our finances must be protected at all costs. But the vision of the Kingdom of God paints a different picture about our resources. Not only are they to be shared—but they’re not even ours to begin with.

If everything we have comes from the Creator who provides all we need, our posture shifts from self-focused greed to open-handed generosity. Instead of wondering how to invest for our own gain, we start to wonder what a Kingdom investment could reap.

In His Kingdom, God uses His people’s generosity to create breakthrough in Kingdom spaces as more become open to hear the gospel and more workers and ministers are resourced to share it.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Pray for a move toward generosity in our own hearts and throughout the Alliance family so that more will hear, know, and be transformed by Jesus!

2. All we have is from God; pray that we will steward it well.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-Nine // New Workers To Be Raised Up

WEEK SIX - ALLIANCE MISSIONS

The work of the U.S. Alliance spills out all over this world. This week we stand with our international workers as we intercede on their behalf. We will also cry out to the Lord for the unreached people groups that still do not understand who Jesus is and have never had a clear witness of His gospel. Pray that this will be a year when the light of Jesus shines brightly in the darkest places of our world.

DAY THIRY-NINE - NEW WORKERS TO BE RAISED UP BY STACY DOUGLAS

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

- Matthew 24:14

The Joshua Project estimates that more than 40 percent of the world’s people groups have no indigenous community of believing Christians able to evangelize their own people. This is heartbreaking and stirs within me an urgency to appeal to the Church to pray.

Please join me in interceding for more workers to be called, equipped, and sustained in their calling so that we can complete Christ’s commission for the gospel to be “preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matt. 24:14). I invite you to join me today in praying the following.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Pray that many new workers will be called to provide the least reached with access to the gospel. As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Lk. 10:2).

2. Pray that those called will intentionally “wait in their Jerusalem” until they receive the empowerment from the Holy Spirit to be effective witnesses, bringing Christ’s presence into every situation and place they enter (see Acts 1:4–8).

3. Pray that our new workers will be sustained in their journeys through an ever-deepening relationship with Christ—that even “As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; . . . go[ing] from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion” (Ps. 84:5–7).

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-Eight // Alliance International Workers and Families

WEEK SIX - ALLIANCE MISSIONS

The work of the U.S. Alliance spills out all over this world. This week we stand with our international workers as we intercede on their behalf. We will also cry out to the Lord for the unreached people groups that still do not understand who Jesus is and have never had a clear witness of His gospel. Pray that this will be a year when the light of Jesus shines brightly in the darkest places of our world.

DAY THIRY-EIGHT - ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS/FAMILIES BY STEVE FOWLER

I urge you, . . . by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

- Romans 15:30

One morning my wife and I awoke at 3:00, heavily burdened to pray for our son, Chase, in South America. Our intercession felt like a wrestling match; we both wondered aloud, “What was that all about?”

Months later, when Chase was back in Salem, I remembered that prayer time and told him about it. “Did anything happen while you were away that might have prompted the Holy Spirit to wake us up to pray?” He looked at me wide-eyed and told this story.

He was walking through a neighborhood with a large amount of cash in his satchel belonging to the mission team. A man with a gun appeared in front of him. A pistol was pressed against the back of his head. There was a lot of yelling by the two men who were preparing to rob him. They searched his pockets. One grabbed the satchel. Chase yanked it back from them, saying repeatedly, “I am a missionary who belongs to Jesus Christ. I am a missionary who belongs to Jesus Christ.” Holding onto the satchel, he turned to walk away. He heard the hammer on the pistol click into position, along with more yelling from the robbers. But he kept walking, now shouting, “I am a missionary who belongs to Jesus Christ!” He walked to safety with his satchel.

Leonard Ravenhill said, “The church has many organizers, but few agonizers. Many resters, but few wrestlers. Many who are enterprising, but few who are interceding.” Today Alliance families worldwide are counting on people like you and me to wrestle and agonize on their behalf.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Who are the two or three international workers you are praying for?

2. Pray for a breakthrough in the ministry they are committed to.

3. Pray for a holy boldness to clothe them as they serve Christ.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-Seven // Unreached People Groups

WEEK SIX - ALLIANCE MISSIONS

The work of the U.S. Alliance spills out all over this world. This week we stand with our international workers as we intercede on their behalf. We will also cry out to the Lord for the unreached people groups that still do not understand who Jesus is and have never had a clear witness of His gospel. Pray that this will be a year when the light of Jesus shines brightly in the darkest places of our world.

DAY THIRY-SEVEN - UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS BY AL STOMBAUGH

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

- Colossians 4:2-4

According to the Joshua Project, more than 4,000 people groups have little or no gospel access. This represents 3.4 billion individuals who will be born, live, and die without knowing Jesus.

Scripture clearly links prayer to the spread of the gospel. In the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus sent out the 72, the first thing He told them to do was pray. Through prayer, workers are sent (Luke 10:2); doors are opened (Col. 4:3–4); and witness is emboldened (Eph. 6:19–20).

My wife and I became acutely aware of the power of prayer during our first term as international workers in Gabon. While seeking to reach the Bakota, we endured tremendous opposition including sickness, resistance from authorities, and spiritual attack. Yet God worked amazingly! A powerful chief and sorcerer was transformed as he gave his heart to Christ. We saw deliverances from demonic bondage, physical healings, and many Bakota saved.

At the end of that term, I visited an Alliance church in New Jersey. The Alliance Women’s president asked if I’d heard of the Bakota people. “Yes,“ I replied. “Why do you ask?” “Our women’s group has been fervently praying for them,” she responded. “Can you tell me—has God done anything among them?” Imagine our joy as I shared how God had answered their prayers!

In this season of COVID-19, might the Lord be offering us the opportunity to enter new rhythms of prayer for the world’s unreached peoples? Might He be calling you to more fervent prayer for the lost?

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Adopt one unreached people group to pray for using the Joshua Project website.

2. Learn to pray strategically for the unreached by visiting the Orality website.

3. Ask a prayer partner to keep you accountable in your prayer commitment.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-Six // Lost Without Jesus

WEEK SIX - ALLIANCE MISSIONS

The work of the U.S. Alliance spills out all over this world. This week we stand with our international workers as we intercede on their behalf. We will also cry out to the Lord for the unreached people groups that still do not understand who Jesus is and have never had a clear witness of His gospel. Pray that this will be a year when the light of Jesus shines brightly in the darkest places of our world.

DAY THIRY-SIX - LOST WITHOUT JESUS BY TIM CROUCH

“Wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, it’s through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

- Romans 7:24–25

People are lost without Jesus. This is a biblical truth we affirm but often fail to adequately grasp. While we rejoice in our salvation, we can grow numb to the tragedy of those who remain lost.

Lostness is first about life on earth without knowing and trusting Jesus. Without the Savior, the Bible sees us as under the domain of Satan (see Acts 26:18, Colossians 1:13, Ephesians 2:1–3) and as blinded or ensnared by the evil one (see 2 Corinthians 4:3–4, 2 Timothy 2:25–26). While there is something of the image of God in each person, life without Jesus is not neutral—it is a living lostness (see Romans 1). This is earthly experience apart from Jesus, and many live it without awareness.

Secondly, lostness is about eternity and hell. God’s Word makes clear the terrible, eternal implication of lostness. While frightening images of hell abound in Scripture (see Mark 9:43, 48; Luke 16:19–31; and Matthew 22:13, 26:24), it is eternal separation from God—conscious of having wound up with what I chose in rejecting or ignoring Jesus—that most fundamentally characterizes lostness. This is the “after-earthly” experience without Jesus, and people will be very aware of it.

Just as we were all lost, many of our neighbors, friends, and family members—not to mention billions of our fellow earthlings—remain in this precarious position. We do well to keep this fact in view. Happily, we can also keep in mind God’s perfect provision for lost people and tell others. As Paul wrote, “Wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, it’s through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24–25).

PRAYER POINTS:

1. God, take me back to the stark truth that I was lost—and restore my joy in my salvation.

2. Lord, help me live daily with my eyes open to the lostness of people You love.

3. May I be used by You today, Lord, to help lost ones be found—both nearby and around the world?

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-Five // The Infirm, Those in Prison, And Our Institutional Chaplains

WEEK 5 - MARGINALIZED PEOPLE

The prayer spotlight falls this week on people who are often overlooked or even mistreated. Pray that the Lord will make us His vessels of love, hope, and justice. Pray for those among our Alliance family who do the important work of chaplaincy—bringing the message of Jesus to people in their most challenging times, when they need to hear that message the most and may well be most responsive to it.

DAY THIRTY-FIVE // THE INFIRM, THOSE IN PRISON, AND OUR INSTITUTIONAL CHAPLAINS BY PHYLLIS FITZWATER

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

- Psalm 46:1

As each day unfolds, we do not know what challenges we may encounter that only the living God can meet. A hospital chaplain may encounter a patient who is suffering from disease or injury. A police chaplain may speak with a law enforcement officer who doesn’t know if he or she will make it home at the end of their shift. A prison chaplain may be called upon to bring “light” into a world of dark depravity.

Psalm 18:6a reads: “In my distress I called to the Lord.” The individuals we meet daily are often in deep distress. What hope can we offer them? We have the presence of the Lord—hope for them and for us as well. Psalm 23:4a reads, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow . . . I will fear no evil.” No matter what that valley may be—suffering, injury, disease, or incarceration—Christ is the only hope. Psalm 27:1b claims: “. . . of whom [what] shall I be afraid?” What shall we fear when we see no way through our situations? Psalm 46:1 is a verse my mentor lived by, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Scripture reveals that Lazarus’s death was to “glorify God.” What is God doing in your life that He might be glorified?

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Pray for God’s anointing and presence upon our chaplains serving in various fields—including law enforcement, fire departments, jails and prisons, healthcare systems, and hospice.

2. Pray that those whom chaplains serve will be open to God’s presence and power.

3. Pray that God will be glorified in all that chaplains do to serve others.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-Four // Military Families

WEEK 5 - MARGINALIZED PEOPLE

The prayer spotlight falls this week on people who are often overlooked or even mistreated. Pray that the Lord will make us His vessels of love, hope, and justice. Pray for those among our Alliance family who do the important work of chaplaincy—bringing the message of Jesus to people in their most challenging times, when they need to hear that message the most and may well be most responsive to it.

DAY THIRTY-FOUR // PRAY FOR OUR MILITARY FAMILIES BY CHAPLAIN (COLONEL) KEVIN PIES

We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

- 1 Chron. 29:15

Sojourning is not always fun and certainly not easy. As creatures of habit desiring established continuity, military service members and families lack opportunities to plant roots. An overlooked people group, military families nomadically sojourn by following their soldier, airmen, sailor, or marine to many global installations. Uprooted, they also make sacrifices in supporting those who defend and protect our freedoms.

In the pandemic summer of 2020 alone, more than 30,000 families were reassigned and required to move again. On average, military families will move at least eight times throughout their military service. This brings a disjointedness and the need to make new friends, enroll in new schools, seek spousal employment, and basically start all over again.

Many families are also challenged to find new places of worship. Civilian churches are often unaware of the complex needs that sojourning and serving brings. Therefore, military families do their best to fit in and enjoy a semblance of the next faith community. Throughout this process, many learn to rely on the one constant in their journey—faith in our unchanging God who reminds us that this world is not our ultimate home.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Pray that while living a life on the go, military families are reminded that only our Lord Jesus is a constant guide.

2. Pray that they will experience continuity in their spiritual formation as they transition to new communities of faith.

3. Pray for the chaplains who come alongside our military families to announce the continuous good news of Jesus and the need to set their minds “on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:2).

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-Three // Racial Reconciliation

WEEK 5 - MARGINALIZED PEOPLE

The prayer spotlight falls this week on people who are often overlooked or even mistreated. Pray that the Lord will make us His vessels of love, hope, and justice. Pray for those among our Alliance family who do the important work of chaplaincy—bringing the message of Jesus to people in their most challenging times, when they need to hear that message the most and may well be most responsive to it.

DAY THIRTY-THREE // RACIAL RECONCILIATION BY RON MORRISON

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…

Ephesians 2:14

God makes it clear in His word that His image bearers’ lives matter equally and supremely—and He sent His Son to prove it. There is no hierarchy of importance in human life. Do you believe that statement, or do you assign levels of importance on some over others? What makes one person’s life superior and another inferior?

If you don’t believe in a hierarchy of importance in human life, then you should have no problem unpacking the statement “All Lives Matter” to assign every people group equal value. Black lives included. While our nation’s history is scarred by injustices like slavery, and current events include the all-too-frequent mistreatment of Blacks, Christ followers must lead the way in fully acknowledging the equal dignity and value of Blacks as fellow image bearers.

This is why we need to allow the Bible to inform our worldview to “demolish arguments and . . . take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”—and to think like Him (2 Cor. 10:5). We need to agree with God about ALL image-bearing HUMAN LIFE—born and unborn—being of equal value and equally precious in His sight. This includes all Black life.

Have you allowed God’s Word to challenge your assumptions and change your thinking about absolutely everything? If only the Church for which Jesus shed His blood could unify around and embrace the great equalizer, the Cross, we could show this world what a holy nation looks like when God is our King.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. The Lord has reconciled all believers to Himself and one another by tearing down walls that separated people groups and uniting them in one Body. Let us recognize the unity He has created (see Ephesians 2:14–18).

2. Each of us has been given a ministry of reconciliation to tell others about the God who makes reconciliation possible. Pray that you will fulfill your assignment in word and deed (see 2 Corinthians 5:18).

3. Acceptable worship involves going to our brothers and sisters to attempt to reconcile when we realize they feel something is hindering our fellowship. Pray about who you need to reconcile with (see Matthew 5:23–24).

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-Two // Those With Special Needs and Their Families

WEEK 5 - MARGINALIZED PEOPLE

The prayer spotlight falls this week on people who are often overlooked or even mistreated. Pray that the Lord will make us His vessels of love, hope, and justice. Pray for those among our Alliance family who do the important work of chaplaincy—bringing the message of Jesus to people in their most challenging times, when they need to hear that message the most and may well be most responsive to it.

DAY THIRTY-TWO // THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND THEIR FAMILIES BY TOM FLANDERS

. . . I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One

- 1 John 2:1

My wife holds her graduate degree in special education, but it’s our experience as parents of children with special needs that has taught us the most about ourselves and God and how to be their advocates. If you are a parent or guardian of someone with special needs, you are familiar with the term “advocate.” And you’re often reminded that you are your child’s BEST advocate.

Initially, I was overwhelmed at the thought of being an advocate for our children, as I was unfamiliar with the laws upon which special needs advocacy is based. In time, I realized these statutes, while needed and helpful, were not the best foundation for my advocacy. The reason my wife and I make the best advocates for our children is that we know them better than anyone else. 1 John illustrates Jesus’ advocacy for us in the context of being God’s children.

Who better to advocate for you than the One who knows you best? God’s intimate and infinite knowledge of you is what allows Him to arrange what’s best for your life. We love our children unconditionally, but we will not always be around to advocate and care for them. This thought can be unsettling, because no one loves your children the same way you do. Our comfort is in realizing that God knows, advocates for, and cares for them perfectly every day of their lives. One day, His advocacy will remove all the limitations they experience in this world. Trusting Christ as your advocate means He will do the same for you.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Go confidently to the Advocate of heaven, who occupies the throne of grace and dispenses mercy from there. Tell Him your concerns.

2. Ask God to reveal how your church can embrace families and individuals with special needs, a largely unreached segment of society.

3. Prayerfully consider giving some of your time and resources to an individual or family with special needs. It can make a world of difference!

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty-One // Single Parent Families

WEEK 5 - MARGINALIZED PEOPLE

The prayer spotlight falls this week on people who are often overlooked or even mistreated. Pray that the Lord will make us His vessels of love, hope, and justice. Pray for those among our Alliance family who do the important work of chaplaincy—bringing the message of Jesus to people in their most challenging times, when they need to hear that message the most and may well be most responsive to it.

DAY THIRTY // SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES BY AMY ROEDDING

Blessed are the merciful…

- Matthew 5:7a

One topic the Church has struggled to address is single-parent families. A recent Christianity Today article notes, “In 2018, there were more than 16 million single parents in the U.S., and nearly half (40%) of births in the U.S. were to unmarried women.” I work with both the women’s and children’s ministries at my church, and I realize I don’t know any single parent families who attend our church. Why? Single parents tend to be in a lower income bracket; so if the church isn’t near where they live or doesn’t provide a way to get to church, they will not attend.

Life of Single Mom Ministries notes that two-thirds of single mothers do not attend church. It’s as if we have an unreached people group within our communities that we, whether intentionally or not, overlook. Dawn VanderWerf, who started Single Parent Missions in 2012 after her husband was incarcerated, writes, “Single moms and fatherless kids are like the ‘widows and orphans’ of this generation.”

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount we are given an image of what believers should look like: merciful, meek, poor in spirit, caring about righteousness and justice, and mourning with those who mourn. In The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard notes that preceding the sermon, “Jesus was demonstrating the Gospel of His Kingdom . . . by healing people, and huge crowds were coming. He demonstrates it by acting with God’s rule from the heavens, meeting the desperate needs of the people around him.” Shouldn’t we be acting on this need in our culture and communities?

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Pray that God will forgive us for overlooking these “modern-day widows and orphans.”

2. Ask God to give us a burden for the single-parent families in our communities.

3. Pray that God will enable us to think of creative ways to serve single-parent families in our communities.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirty // Immigrants and Refugees

WEEK 5 - MARGINALIZED PEOPLE

The prayer spotlight falls this week on people who are often overlooked or even mistreated. Pray that the Lord will make us His vessels of love, hope, and justice. Pray for those among our Alliance family who do the important work of chaplaincy—bringing the message of Jesus to people in their most challenging times, when they need to hear that message the most and may well be most responsive to it.

DAY THIRTY // IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES BY SHELLY CROUCH

When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

- Leviticuss 19:33-34

Our world is home to 7.8 billion people. Most reside in the land of their birth, but 3.5 percent, or 272 million, are migrants. Some leave their communities by choice; many more are forced to flee their homelands, cultures, and families with little or no say about their future destination. Myriad reasons motivate migrants to relocate, but there is one constant experienced by every immigrant—vulnerability. Vulnerabilities that are relieved only by the compassion and hospitality of the people who do not have to move, whose lives are blessed with stability.

Scripture teaches that God sees those who feel invisible, forgotten, and vulnerable (Gen. 16:13). We are told, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing” (Deut. 10:18). In Scripture we see God’s plan for those living in the land to receive people who are new: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:33–34).

God wants us to have compassion on those who are vulnerable, who rely on the kindness of others to endure their struggles. Compassion involves intention and action. Intention is simply opening your heart to others; action is what you do about it. Compassion begins with empathy— seeing the story of another fellow human being from their perspective.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. God, open my eyes to immigrants in my community who need my compassion.

2. Lord, provide wisdom, discernment, and provision to those who work with immigrants.

3. Jesus, reveal your compassion to immigrants through Your people so they will come to know Your unconditional love and saving grace.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Twenty-Nine // Those in Poverty

WEEK 5 - MARGINALIZED PEOPLE

The prayer spotlight falls this week on people who are often overlooked or even mistreated. Pray that the Lord will make us His vessels of love, hope, and justice. Pray for those among our Alliance family who do the important work of chaplaincy—bringing the message of Jesus to people in their most challenging times, when they need to hear that message the most and may well be most responsive to it.

DAY TWENTY-NINE // THOSE IN POVERTY BY MIKE SOHM AND MCCABE

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven…

- Colossians 1:21-23

Human beings are a beautiful blend of body and soul designed to be highly interconnected. Body and soul together make us whole.

When sin entered the world, the whole of who we are came under the curse. In our fallen world we experience brokenness in our relationship with God, ourselves, one another, and creation. Jesus came to free our bodies, our souls, and the entire universe from the Fall’s effects. Yet the gospel we often preach is only that Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins so we can spend eternity in heaven.

While that’s accurate, Jesus entered this world to do so much more. My friend Kumafi lives in extreme poverty in the African slums. It’s not hopeful for her to hear this message: “I’m sorry you and your children are hungry, that you are mistreated, scared, and alone. But it’s OK; your sins can be forgiven, and you can go to heaven when you die.”

This isn’t reaching the hearts of the poor because we are undervaluing the gospel’s fullness. Jesus cares for the whole of who He created Kumafi to be; His redemptive work on the cross covers all her emotional pain, every messy relationship, and every difficult day she faces.

Colossians 1:15–23 proclaims a gospel message that is compelling to people in poverty. We see a Savior who reigns and is the sustainer and reconciler of all things! Jesus has all authority and power in heaven and on earth and is reconciling all of creation.

The good news Kumafi needs to hear is that there is hope for this life, not just eternity—that King Jesus reigns right now over the whole of who she is, and through Him there is the promise of fullness of life today.

Now that’s good news worth telling!

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Pray that people like Kumafi will understand and experience the fullness of the gospel in their difficult circumstances.

2. Search your heart. Do you provide a simplified and over spiritualized gospel to those who need to experience its fullness?