(no subject)
Matthew 14:28-29
Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water." "All right, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.
A 17-year-old Christian girl has been kidnapped for the second time in two months by militants trying to force her to convert to Islam. According to the human rights organization Barnabas Fund, the girl, whose name was not given, was abducted June 2 in Cairo. During her initial abduction (April 6) she reported that she was sexually abused and drugged in order to manipulate her. A cross tattoo on her hand was forcibly removed. One of her abductors now claims to be her husband. Egyptian law specifically forbids the marriage of a girl under 21 without her parents' consent and also outlaws converting a Christian girl under the age of 18.
Pray this girl will be returned to her grieving parents. Pray God will strengthen her faith as she experiences the difference between His love and the violence of her captors. Pray moderate Muslims in Egypt will insist that the government follow its own laws.
I don't know why but this story really hit me. This girl is only 17... Only 2 years older than me. What this girl has already been through must be emotionally challenging. I couldn't even imagine what she has been through. I want to have the kind of faith this girl does. When God tells me to come, I want to have the faith that I can walk on water without sinking. Even though here in the United States and I have the freedom to live for God. I will still hope that I'm the salt. I may not be martyred but I will be prosecuted.
Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Hey God, it's Ashley. I really don't know what your plans for me in the near future but God I know your will is perfect. So I'm putting my trust in you. God when you call me to "come" please just give me the courage I need and the heart to know that you're calling. Please help me stay strong in you and your word. God you know all my problems and all that I'm dealing with and I know only you can help me. Only you can deliver me through it. So help me over come these things. Please be all the people that I talk to in the future. Let me have relationships with them so I can share about you with them. Open their hearts, their eyes, and their ears. Grant me the words to show them your grace and love. Thank you for being ever present with me and for even those who do not believe in you God. Amen.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.
Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water." "All right, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.
A 17-year-old Christian girl has been kidnapped for the second time in two months by militants trying to force her to convert to Islam. According to the human rights organization Barnabas Fund, the girl, whose name was not given, was abducted June 2 in Cairo. During her initial abduction (April 6) she reported that she was sexually abused and drugged in order to manipulate her. A cross tattoo on her hand was forcibly removed. One of her abductors now claims to be her husband. Egyptian law specifically forbids the marriage of a girl under 21 without her parents' consent and also outlaws converting a Christian girl under the age of 18.
Pray this girl will be returned to her grieving parents. Pray God will strengthen her faith as she experiences the difference between His love and the violence of her captors. Pray moderate Muslims in Egypt will insist that the government follow its own laws.
I don't know why but this story really hit me. This girl is only 17... Only 2 years older than me. What this girl has already been through must be emotionally challenging. I couldn't even imagine what she has been through. I want to have the kind of faith this girl does. When God tells me to come, I want to have the faith that I can walk on water without sinking. Even though here in the United States and I have the freedom to live for God. I will still hope that I'm the salt. I may not be martyred but I will be prosecuted.
Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Hey God, it's Ashley. I really don't know what your plans for me in the near future but God I know your will is perfect. So I'm putting my trust in you. God when you call me to "come" please just give me the courage I need and the heart to know that you're calling. Please help me stay strong in you and your word. God you know all my problems and all that I'm dealing with and I know only you can help me. Only you can deliver me through it. So help me over come these things. Please be all the people that I talk to in the future. Let me have relationships with them so I can share about you with them. Open their hearts, their eyes, and their ears. Grant me the words to show them your grace and love. Thank you for being ever present with me and for even those who do not believe in you God. Amen.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.