Week of August 8, 2016

"Be dogmatically true, obstinately holy, immovably honest, and desperately kind." - Charles Spurgeon

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

This week I am working on updates and newsletters as an excuse to include as many Olympic stories as I can find. So many cool stories about the power of sport to lead, teach and unite. Particularly obsessed with the backgrounds of the Refugee Team.

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Psalm 27:1

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Ethiopia

Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for supporting nations to be wise in their programs and not cause diminished work ethic among Ethiopians.
• Pray for a resurgence of the deep Christian beliefs held by this nation from the earliest Church history.
• Pray for militant Muslims to know the truth of Jesus Christ and to stop persecuting believers.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers in the field.
• Pray for the US office.

Week of August 1, 2016

"Salvation is the exchange of all we are for who all Jesus is." - John MacArthur

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Friends. Our long national sports nightmare is over. This week we have both professional (preseason) football and the beginning of the Olympics. Happy days are here again! Enjoy!

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: John 1:14

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: India

The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century.

By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence, which was granted in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring nations have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991 and a massive youthful population are driving India's emergence as a regional and global power. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for the cultural barriers of the caste system and Hinduism to be overcome by the Gospel.
• Pray for the Good News of Jesus Christ to reach every village and town.
• Pray for justice and hope in a nation plagued by oppression, poverty, and disease.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers on the field.
• Pray for the US office.

Week of July 25, 2016

"Hope has two beautiful daughters: anger and courage. Anger at the way things are and courage to see that they do not remain as they are." - Augustine

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

It feels like this weekly office blog has become simply an update on the latest terrorist attack. Yesterday a Catholic priest in Normandy was murdered during mass by two men inspired by ISIS. This is just weeks after an attack in France left 84 dead. Continue to pray that God would end ISIS and that Uttermost would be part of the solution in turning Sauls into Pauls.

For the Win[dow], 

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Psalm 27:1

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?"

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: China

For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for continued Church growth and pure biblical teaching amid ongoing persecution.
• Pray for Jesus' teachings to take deep root in the culture and expose all false religions.
• Pray for a renewed value for life to abolish abortion, suicide, abandonment, and human trafficking.

Week of July 18, 2016

"Keep the altar of private prayer burning. It is the very life of all piety." - Charles Spurgeon

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Another week, another series of shootings, terror and tragedy. Globally and locally it seems the world is deteriorating. Praying this week for clarity, strength, patience and humility.

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: 2 Corinthians 4: 8-10

We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies...

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Pakistan

 

The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. India-Pakistan relations have been rocky since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, but both countries are taking steps to put relations back on track. Nawaz SHARIF took office as Prime Minister in 2013, marking the first time in Pakistani history that a democratically elected government completed a full term and transitioned to a successive democratically elected government. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for the spiritually oppressed in remote areas to encounter the Gospel.
• Pray for the Church to multiply in the power of the Spirit as persecution intensifies.
• Pray for the strongholds of Islamist extremism and terrorism to be demolished and rendered powerless.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers in the field.
• Pray for the US office.

Week of July 11, 2016

"Satan is a lion on a leash. Don't underestimate the lion. He devours. Don't underestimate the One who holds the leash. He wins." - Matt Smethurst

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Difficult week. Another difficult week actually. Black men shot then policemen shot. Headlines that are too familiar. 

How long O lord?

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Psalm 13:1

"How long O Lord..."

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Laos

Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th century under King FA NGUM. For 300 years Lan Xang had influence reaching into present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as over all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the domination of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual, limited return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1988. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997 and the WTO in 2013. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for house church leaders who are singled out as targets of persecution to persevere with grace.
• Pray for Lao seekers to toss aside the social pressure to practice Buddhism and place their hope in the one true God.
• Pray for believers to unashamedly proclaim the Gospel to their neighbors despite close government monitoring.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers on the field.
• Pray for the US office.

Week of July 4, 2016

"The Church doesn't spread through the work of experts, the Church spreads through the work of converts." - Jared Wilson

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Yesterday was a tough day for our local office and its OKC Thunder fans. We learned that Oklahoma's favorite [adopted] son and NBA All-Star, Kevin Durant signed as a free agent with the Golden State Warriors. The only solace the office could take was that this news broke on the one day of the year when it is perfectly legal to blow stuff up.

Pray for us. #thunderup

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Ephesians 2:4-5

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ..."

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Philippines

The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected president and was tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during World War II, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. A 20-year rule by Ferdinand MARCOS ended in 1986, when a "people power" movement in Manila ("EDSA 1") forced him into exile and installed Corazon AQUINO as president. Her presidency was hampered by several coup attempts that prevented a return to full political stability and economic development. Fidel RAMOS was elected president in 1992. His administration was marked by increased stability and by progress on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands. Joseph ESTRADA was elected president in 1998. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, in January 2001 after ESTRADA's stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and another "people power" movement ("EDSA 2") demanded his resignation. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2004. Her presidency was marred by several corruption allegations but the Philippine economy was one of the few to avoid contraction following the 2008 global financial crisis, expanding each year of her administration. Benigno AQUINO III was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2010. The Philippine Government faces threats from several groups, some of which are on the US Government's Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Manila has waged a decades-long struggle against ethnic Moro insurgencies in the southern Philippines, which has led to a peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front and ongoing peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The decades-long Maoist-inspired New People's Army insurgency also operates through much of the country. The Philippines faces increased tension with China over disputed territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for more Filipino churches to raise up and send out missionaries committed to worldwide evangelism.
• Pray for honesty, justice, and fairness to replace corruption and greed in the government.
• Pray for the church to stand firm on biblical truth and to be unified with one another.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers in the field.
• Pray for the US office.