Christian Reflection and Prayer

QUESTION:

"If Jesus is the only way to God,
what about those who have never
heard of Him?"

ANSWER:

God's good, trustworthy character
assures us that He will do what's
right for every person He has created
and deeply loves.  Also, God makes
Himself known in many ways to
people, prompting them to seek Him,
and He has promised to reveal Himself
to those who seek Him with their whole
hearts.  God won't condemn people simply
because they haven't heard the Gospel. 
God will judge people who have not been
evangelized based on their responses to
natural revelation (such as creation,
conscience, reason, and experience),
which His Spirit can use to bring them
to salvation.  Also, God often uses the
world's natural revelation about Himself to
prepare people to respond to the Gospel
once they do hear its message.

Adapted from True for You but Not for Me:
Overcoming Objections to Christian Faith,
copyright 2009 by Paul Copan. Published
by Bethany House, a division of Baker
Publishing Group, Bloomington, Mn.,
www.bethanyhouse.com.
Paul Copan (PhD, Marquette University)
is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy
and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University
in Florida. He lives with his wife and five
children in Florida.

Original publication date: September 17, 2009

What Remembering the Persecuted Church Looks Like

Scripture:

Remember those in prison as if you
were their fellow prisoners, and those
who are mistreated as if you yourselves
were suffering - Hebrews 13:3

Reflection:

Researchers guess that about 176,000
Christians worldwide may have been killed
for their faith between mid-2008 and mid-2009.
Many of those believers died in secrecy, as
in the North Korean prison camps, and were
cut off from other believers at the end. Now,
consider that we have a daily opportunity to
partner with these men and women in prayer.
I have to think that's what the author of Hebrews
really meant when he encouraged us to
"remember" imprisoned believers. 

I'll be the first to admit it: I'm guilty of not
remembering my brothers and sisters in Christ.
My unfaithfulness to them reflects a heart that
hasn't quite grasped the enormity of the power
of prayer. And yet there James is, telling me
that the Christian's prayers have more impact
than perhaps we'll ever know. So - how about it?

What if we all pick a country and pray for the
believers living there in the coming month? I'll
be praying for North Korea, and believe me, there
are plenty of places to go around. Let's remember
that we serve a God who delights to use our prayers i
n ways we can't even imagine. Let's remember
the persecuted church.

Katherine Britton

crosswalk.com

"If I had not confessed the sin in my
heart, my Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen! He paid attention
to my prayer."
Psalm 66:18-19 NLT

Reflection:

For us to attempt to approach
God without first addressing the
ways in which we have knowingly
offended and wronged him is an
exercise in futility. Sin is the
"elephant in the room" that must
be acknowledged and dealt with.
Once we do that, we again enjoy
sweet fellowship with God. Clean
and forgiven, we can be sure he
hears our pleas for help.

Prayer:

Lord, you do not listen to my
prayers when I have unconfessed
sin in my life. By your Spirit give
me the humility I need to take a
hard look at my soul. Show me,
God, any wrong attitudes and
actions that I need to acknowledge.
I want to be right with you. I want to
be close to you. Thank you for pledging
to hear those who humble themselves
and acknowledge their sin. May my sins,
which block me from you when I don't
confess them, become a bridge to you
as I admit them, forsake them, and
experience your forgiveness.

from the Praying God's Promises in
Tough Times by Len Wood (Tyndale) pp 8-9"