“At the cross, God simultaneously showed us the greatness of our sin against him and the greatness of his love for us.”
FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications
Watching Jordan Spieth's collapse at the Masters this weekend reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend about the brutal reality of sin - it doesn't matter if you miss a 3 inch putt, a 30 foot chip or a 300 yard drive... it counts as a stroke against you. This spiritual reality should create gratitude in us for grace that our sin (no matter how big or small) is not counted against us but also urgency in our efforts to share this grace with the unreached.
For the Win[dow],
Bubby Bryan, DOC
VERSE OF THE WEEK: Romans 5:1-2
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Jordan
Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s. The area gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, King HUSSEIN's eldest son, assumed the throne following his father's death in 1999. He implemented modest political and economic reforms, but in the wake of the "Arab Revolution" across the Middle East, Jordanians continue to press for further political liberalization, government reforms, and economic improvements. In January 2014, Jordan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term. (CIA World Factbook)
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for current religious freedom to remain despite increasing pressure to suppress it.
- Pray for the multitude of refugees who have crossed into Jordan to clearly hear the true gospel.
- Pray for Christianity to be held in high regard so that God's work in this strategic part of the Middle East would not be thwarted.
- Pray for the Uttermost workers in the field.
- Pray for the US office.