Isaiah 60:1-62:5 So many Christians spend their lives looking forward to when their ministry will be released in power. While they are waiting, they miss so many opportunities. The great ministry they hope to have one day may never develop. Many years ago when I almost died, the Lord taught me about the ministry of the moment. As I felt my spirit leaving my body as I was hemorrhaging after a miscarriage, I realized I might not have another minute to live. At that time I learned how precious every minute is. True ministry is seeing every moment as an opportunity to minister to another person or to the Lord.

This passage in Isaiah shares the ministry of Jesus; that is the ministry we are to allow to flow freely from us as we are empowered by the Spirit. Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him to anoint Him to do seven things:

1. To preach good tidings to the meek (preach the gospel)

2. To proclaim liberty to the captives (deliverance)

3. To open the prison doors for those who are bound (deliverance)

4. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and His day of judgment

5. To comfort those who mourn

6. To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (healing the brokenhearted)

7. To cause us to be planted as trees of righteousness (discipleship)

The above is the ministry of Jesus. It also is your ministry today. Be watching today for opportunities to reach out to the rejected, preach the gospel, to tell people of the liberating power of Jesus, to disciple someone or to speak of the Lord’s coming to another person. The person you are face to face with right now is your ministry.

Lord, help me to be diligent to look for the opportunities to have You minister through me today. Help me never to miss the ministry of the moment.

READ: Isaiah 60:1-62:5; Philippians 1:27-2:18; Psalm 72:1-20; Proverbs 24:11-12

Humanitarian groups are assisting victims of what some are calling the Hurricane Katrina of the Philippines.

In just 12 hours Saturday, Typhoon Ketsana dropped more than a month’s worth of rain in Manila, flooding the homes of more than 1.9 million residents. More than 240 people have died and an estimated 380,000 people are displaced.

Operation Blessing International (OBI), which has offices in Manila, is distributing food and water, partnering with local groups to conduct cleanup efforts and deploying medical teams to some of the hardest-hit areas.

“This is Hurricane Katrina of the Philippines,” said Dr. Kim April C. Pascual, executive vice president and chief operating officer for OBI Philippines, whose own home is also under water. “Almost a month’s worth of rainfall has submerged riverbank cities like Marikina and Pasig, and buried neighboring cities and provinces under ravaging floodwaters, putting the whole region under a state of calamity.”

World Vision, which is the one of the world’s largest Christian humanitarian aid organizations, has set a goal of helping at least 100,000 of those in dire need. Working with the Philippine Coast Guard, the agency is targeting four of Manila’s hardest-hit areas, all of which are home to thousands of poor residents living in low-lying areas next to a river.

To date, World Vision has been able to deliver relief packs via helicopter. Fellow Christian relief organization Catholic Relief Services is also providing immediate assistance by distributing food among those who fled throughout the northern island of Luzon.

“Thousands of people have lost all they owned-their food, their clothing, bedding, school items, and kitchen equipment,” said Boy Bersales, a director for World Vision Philippines. “But their immediate needs are for food and water. Many have gone without either for hours and hours and the children are especially vulnerable having been trapped in flooded conditions for several days. The city is only now waking up to the massive extent of the devastation.”

World Vision is assisting storm victims in Vietnam, where the storm made landfall on Tuesday. The storm killed at least 23 people, and more than 170,000 were evacuated from its path, the Associated Press (AP) reported. World Vision reported that 700 families who were evacuated received small packs of food assistance to see them through the disaster.

“We believe the communities we work in are well prepared for disasters,” said Danny Selvanayagam, national director of World Vision Vietnam. “We feel that people were made well aware of the approaching typhoon and World Vision is well geared up to respond to any suffering that may result.”

Philippines officials appealed for international aid, warning they may not have enough resources to withstand two new storms forecasters have identified in the Pacific Ocean, the AP reported. One storm could hit the northern Philippines later this week and the other early next week.

Evangelist Roberts Liardon has been named principal of the International Bible Institute of London (IBIOL), the training arm of the charismatic Kensington Temple London City Church.

The school, which began classes Monday, trains Christians to evangelize throughout Europe and around the world.

“Roberts brings an enormous amount of experience in ministry in general and in training in particular,” said Colin Dye, founder and president of the school and apostolic overseer of Kensington Temple. “We know Roberts will be a blessing to us, and we hope to be a blessing to him.”

The appointment comes nearly eight years after Liardon stepped down from his Embassy Christian Center in Irvine, Calif., after confessing to a short-term homosexual relationship with the church’s youth pastor.

Dye said he believes Liardon, 43, has been fully restored to ministry since his December 2001 confession.

“He went far beyond the recommendations set for him by those involved in the initial six-month process of his restoration,” Dye said. “After two years of counseling and recovery, he returned to ministry.”

The scandal, however, triggered an exodus from Liardon’s church and his accredited school, Spirit Life Bible College. Some leaders who left complained that Liardon did not accept initial pastoral counsel from a leader who advised him to step away from the pulpit for one year.

Both organizations closed in 2007, when Liardon relocated his itinerant preaching ministry to Florida.

Dye believes the two ministries will be of mutual benefit. Because Kensington Temple is part of the Elim Pentecostal Churches of Great Britain, Liardon will be subject to its accountability structure as part of the church’s staff.

But Dye said Liardon is answering a Macedonian call by moving to London, where he said religious freedom is being stifled as a result of Islam’s influence across Europe. In September, a Christian couple who run a hotel in England was arrested for talking to a Muslim about Jesus, he said. Other Christians have been fired for saying “God bless you” or wearing a cross.

“[Liardon’s] burden for Europe as a major 21st-century spiritual battleground has been welcomed by European ministers who see his coming as part of the ongoing spiritual partnership between the U.S. and Europe,” Dye said.

In a statement, Liardon said IBIOL will emphasize evangelism to prepare students to reach diverse communities with the gospel. “IBIOL is raising up men and women of faith who can stand against these challenges,” Liardon said. “We are training them to re-evangelize European nations and to plant new churches. Much of Europe has no effective evangelical witness.”

Liardon is the author of God’s Generals, a history of Pentecostal pioneers. He has relocated to London, but will continue preaching, writing and leading his international missions ministry.

A Muslim prayer rally on Capitol Hill Friday drew between 3,000 and 5,000 participants, a figure well below the 50,000 organizers hoped to attract.

At one point, organizers asked the protestors to show the Muslim group some respect, likening the Friday prayer service to Sunday worship services.

Organizers of the Islam on Capitol Hill rally said their goal was to unify Muslims and show the nation the spiritual side of Islam.

But several Christian leaders expressed concern that the prayer gathering was an attempt by Muslims to exert greater influence in the nation.

Other Christian leaders expressed concern that one of the lead organizers, Hassen Abdellah, was part of the legal team that represented one of the men convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver were among several conservatives who issued a letter before the Friday gathering calling on Abdellah and other organizers to denounce specific recent terrorist acts and plots.

Humanitarian groups are assisting victims of what some are calling the Hurricane Katrina of the Philippines.

In just 12 hours Saturday, Typhoon Ketsana dropped more than a month’s worth of rain in Manila, flooding the homes of more than 1.9 million residents. More than 240 people have died and an estimated 380,000 people are displaced.

Operation Blessing International (OBI), which has offices in Manila, is distributing food and water, partnering with local groups to conduct cleanup efforts and deploying medical teams to some of the hardest-hit areas.

“This is Hurricane Katrina of the Philippines,” said Dr. Kim April C. Pascual, executive vice president and chief operating officer for OBI Philippines, whose own home is also under water. “Almost a month’s worth of rainfall has submerged riverbank cities like Marikina and Pasig, and buried neighboring cities and provinces under ravaging floodwaters, putting the whole region under a state of calamity.”

World Vision, which is the one of the world’s largest Christian humanitarian aid organizations, has set a goal of helping at least 100,000 of those in dire need. Working with the Philippine Coast Guard, the agency is targeting four of Manila’s hardest-hit areas, all of which are home to thousands of poor residents living in low-lying areas next to a river.

To date, World Vision has been able to deliver relief packs via helicopter. Fellow Christian relief organization Catholic Relief Services is also providing immediate assistance by distributing food among those who fled throughout the northern island of Luzon.

“Thousands of people have lost all they owned-their food, their clothing, bedding, school items, and kitchen equipment,” said Boy Bersales, a director for World Vision Philippines. “But their immediate needs are for food and water. Many have gone without either for hours and hours and the children are especially vulnerable having been trapped in flooded conditions for several days. The city is only now waking up to the massive extent of the devastation.”

World Vision is assisting storm victims in Vietnam, where the storm made landfall on Tuesday. The storm killed at least 23 people, and more than 170,000 were evacuated from its path, the Associated Press (AP) reported. World Vision reported that 700 families who were evacuated received small packs of food assistance to see them through the disaster.

“We believe the communities we work in are well prepared for disasters,” said Danny Selvanayagam, national director of World Vision Vietnam. “We feel that people were made well aware of the approaching typhoon and World Vision is well geared up to respond to any suffering that may result.”

Philippines officials appealed for international aid, warning they may not have enough resources to withstand two new storms forecasters have identified in the Pacific Ocean, the AP reported. One storm could hit the northern Philippines later this week and the other early next week.

Evangelist Roberts Liardon has been named principal of the International Bible Institute of London (IBIOL), the training arm of the charismatic Kensington Temple London City Church.

The school, which began classes Monday, trains Christians to evangelize throughout Europe and around the world.

“Roberts brings an enormous amount of experience in ministry in general and in training in particular,” said Colin Dye, founder and president of the school and apostolic overseer of Kensington Temple. “We know Roberts will be a blessing to us, and we hope to be a blessing to him.”

The appointment comes nearly eight years after Liardon stepped down from his Embassy Christian Center in Irvine, Calif., after confessing to a short-term homosexual relationship with the church’s youth pastor.

Dye said he believes Liardon, 43, has been fully restored to ministry since his December 2001 confession.

“He went far beyond the recommendations set for him by those involved in the initial six-month process of his restoration,” Dye said. “After two years of counseling and recovery, he returned to ministry.”

The scandal, however, triggered an exodus from Liardon’s church and his accredited school, Spirit Life Bible College. Some leaders who left complained that Liardon did not accept initial pastoral counsel from a leader who advised him to step away from the pulpit for one year.

Both organizations closed in 2007, when Liardon relocated his itinerant preaching ministry to Florida.

Dye believes the two ministries will be of mutual benefit. Because Kensington Temple is part of the Elim Pentecostal Churches of Great Britain, Liardon will be subject to its accountability structure as part of the church’s staff.

But Dye said Liardon is answering a Macedonian call by moving to London, where he said religious freedom is being stifled as a result of Islam’s influence across Europe. In September, a Christian couple who run a hotel in England was arrested for talking to a Muslim about Jesus, he said. Other Christians have been fired for saying “God bless you” or wearing a cross.

“[Liardon’s] burden for Europe as a major 21st-century spiritual battleground has been welcomed by European ministers who see his coming as part of the ongoing spiritual partnership between the U.S. and Europe,” Dye said.

In a statement, Liardon said IBIOL will emphasize evangelism to prepare students to reach diverse communities with the gospel. “IBIOL is raising up men and women of faith who can stand against these challenges,” Liardon said. “We are training them to re-evangelize European nations and to plant new churches. Much of Europe has no effective evangelical witness.”

Liardon is the author of God’s Generals, a history of Pentecostal pioneers. He has relocated to London, but will continue preaching, writing and leading his international missions ministry.

Moves of the Spirit of God are always precipitated by spiritual hunger and repentance. Revival restores to us the knowledge and the experience of the gospel’s truth.

When the Spirit of God is poured out, our spirits are awakened to the reality of Christ’s presence, His love for the world and His victory over every bondage of the enemy. God will attend to the cries of any group of believers who will ask Him for a visitation and be willing to pay the price in prayer.

Read

Is. 35:1-10, Is. 44:1-6, Hos. 6:1-3; 10:12, Joel 2:28-32, Luke 11:13; 24:49, Acts 2:1-21,38-39

Heart Issue

What in your own life hinders you from experiencing personal revival? Is it a lack of desire or a need for repentance?

Prayer Focus

Father, Your Word tells us we could not even come to You had You not sought us first. But now we want to know You in a deeper way. Make us aware of those things that would be a hindrance to us. Stir our hearts, Lord, to love You and desire You more, so that we can pursue You as You’ve pursued us. Amen.

Every one of us has known the reality of separation from God because of sin and shame. But the hope of the gospel is that God’s mercy extends to anyone who will look to Him and accept His gift of salvation.

Abortion leaves in its wake devastated women. Millions of them today need to know that God still loves them and wants to make them whole.

Read: Job 11:13-19, Ps. 34:18, Ps. 51:1-17, Matt. 11:28-30, 1 John 1:9, 1 John 2:1-2

Heart Issue

It’s estimated that 43 percent of the women in America have undergone at least one abortion. If you know someone who has, let God burden your heart with a desire to see her restored to Him.

Prayer Focus

Father, give us the heart and courage to participate with Your will in praying for an end to abortion in America and around the world. We pray for the hurting women who feel as though this act has left them so far from You. Reveal Yourself to them as the Father who wants to greet them with pardon, not judgment. Amen.

Brenda J. Davis is former editor of SpiritLed Woman magazine and acquisitions editor of Creation House.

At first glance, evangelist Olivia Mitchell’s life didn’t appear to be promising. She was born to an interracial couple in the 1950s and subjected to ridicule, neglect and repeated acts of abuse.

Many others would have given in to despair and failure when faced with such trying circumstances. But with God’s help Olivia persevered.

In Christ there is always hope. We mustn’t allow circumstances to force us out of the race when certain victory is just around the corner.

Read

Ps. 27:4-14, Jer. 29:11-13, Phil. 3:12-14, Heb. 12:1-3, 1 Pet. 1:3-9, Rev. 3:11-12,20-22

Heart Issue

What have previous times of testing taught you about God and about yourself?

Prayer Focus

Father, teach us to savor our testimonies of Your faithfulness. May those memories encourage us to persevere in difficult trials. As we share what You’ve done in our lives, use our experiences to bless and inspire others to trust in You. Amen.

Entrepreneur Gail Pittman found her niche when she began “playing around with pottery” at her kitchen table. Without formal training in art or business, Gail started small and trusted God to direct her steps.

Not everybody will feel led to start a business from scratch. However, fulfilling the call of God is a mandate from heaven for all of us.

When we put Jesus first, He uses our abilities and gifts and expands them so that they become greater than we’ve ever imagined. We need only to surrender to His will and trust that His timing is perfect.

Read

Ex. 31:1-11, Ps. 78:70-72, Prov. 18:16, Dan. 2:48-49, Matt. 4:18-22, Matt. 25:14-30

Heart Issue

The purposes of God can appear to shift during different seasons of life. Many of us have discovered that our purpose is not a destination, as we thought; it is a journey. Are you embracing the purposes of God in this season?

Prayer Focus

Father, we are grateful for the knowledge that You go before us in all the changes we experience. Help us to walk in Your will, knowing that You have purposed good things for us. Thank You for flooding us with Your wisdom and for challenging us to go beyond the limitations we’ve set. For Your glory, use us in ways we’ve never dreamed. Amen.