Some ideas for Christmas

Christmas can and is always a hectic time of year. Everybody is going to the store, fighting the crowds and hoping to find that perfect gift. Some people wait until the last minute and shop for hours and come home with a gift they are not to proud of. Sometimes, Christ gets pushed a little too much to the side during the hustle and bustle of the season. With that said, I have put together a list of some ideas to help us all get centered around Christ.

• Grab your Bible, go to a quiet place with no interuptions, and read Luke chapters 1 and 2. Take a note of all the different people mentioned (Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the angel Gabriel, the Shepherds, Simeon and Anna) and really think about what might have been going through their minds as the birth of Jesus happened
• take some time to send a personal Christmas card to someone. Get creative and make the card and then write a special note to that person wishing them a Merry Christmas
• make a playlist of your favorite Christmas songs. While making that list ask yourself "why is this one of my favorite Christmas songs?" and then answer the question.
  
• go rent It's a Wonderful Life
• in whatever way possible, spends some time with Jesus, thanking him for coming to Earth for our salvation
  

Mission Monday- Israel

Keeping with our Christmas theme of praying for the countries where Jesus lived, our focus this week is on Israel.

If you watch the news on any day of the week it is a great possibility that you will hear something about Israel. Whether it be a bomb going off, a president visiting with Israeli leaders, or the "normal" conflict that continues there on a day to day basis, Israel is always in the news. Eighty percent of the population in Israel follow Judaism. Fourteen percent follow Islam and a mere 2% are Christian. The number of Messianic Jews (Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah and fulfillment of the Old Testament) has increased greatly since 1967. There where approximately 250 Messianic Jews in 1967. In 2000 there was an estimated 7,000 Messianic Jews.

Let's Pray:

• that more Jews would see Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah and place their trust in him.
• Outside of Israel the Messianic Jew Churches have grown. Pray that they may continue to be a strong witness for Jesus to the other Jews living in their midst.
• There is much tension between the Israelis in Israel in the Arabs in Israel. Pray for a peace resolution on both sides and that both would find true peace in Christ.
• With so many branches of Christianity seeing Israel as an important part to their faith (which is certainly is), this leads to some tension among the Christian churches, especially in Jerusalem. Pray that those different branches of Christianity may be able to come together under the cross of Christ and respect each others beliefs.
• there will not be true peace in Israel until Christ returns. However, pray that the Christians in Israel may live in such a way that the kingdom of Heaven is experience on Earth and that the presence of Christ is felt.
  

Mission Monday- Palestine

Since it is December and all the talk is about Christmas I think it would be good for us to look at the place of the world where Jesus lived and pray for that area. We will start will Palestine this week and next week we will look at Israel.

There is much tension between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Simply put, the two countries hate each other. This stems from a long history dating back to Biblical times.

The major religion in Palestine is Islam with almost 87% of the population adhering to Muslim beliefs. The next is Judaism (Jews) with almost 10%. The Christian percentage is almost 2%. As one can see, the very area where Jesus walked and taught has not responded to his message.

Pray:

• that the gospel or good news of Jesus to be received and accepted by the Palestinians.
• for peace between Israel and Palestine, so that the bombing and killing will end
• for a land settlement that both Israel and Palestine will agree to (they both claim Jerusalem as their capital so there is much fighting over this)
• that the 2 million Palestinian refugees will be able to return home
• for the Christians who live in Palestine. Pray that they may be able to stand firm in the face of persecution and that their lives my be a witness to all that would cause people to come to know Jesus.
  

Mission Monday on Tuesday-Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Watching on the news the current activity that has happened over in Mumbai I think it would be good to spend some time in prayer for the people over there as well as praying for the gospel to go forth into that nation.

Here are some numbers so that you can get acquainted with the Maharashtra state in India. 95,000,000 live in this state (that is a lot) in only 308,000 square feet. Mumbai is the capital of the state (like Austin is the capitol of the state of Texas) The main religion is Hindu with 80% of the people belonging to the Hindu faith. 10% of the people are Muslim and 6% of the people are Buddhist. The Christian population is only 1%.

Pray for:

• the city of Mumbai. There has been recent terrorist activity there leaving many dead and wounded. Pray that healing that comes from Christ would take place
• Mumbai is also the home of the continent of Asia's largest slum, 100,00 street children, as well as an alarming number of child prostitution and AIDS suffers. Pray that the Christians in Mumbai may be able to reach out to those children and save them for the horrendous things they may face.
• The church in Maharashtra needs a lot of help. Seeing that only 1% are Christians that means the church is small. Pray that those 1% of Christians may be able to be salt and light and bring the hope of Jesus to the people around them.
• Pray for the government of India and its leaders as they rule their country.