Immigrants in the Bible: For such a time as this!
Nehemiah as Immigrant:
"O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." For I was the king's cupbearer.(Nehemiah 1:11)
Nehemiah was concerned about the wellbeing of his people, the Jews that had survived the Babylonian invasion and remained behind. On one occasion he had the opportunity to ask a person that came from Judah about Jerusalem and he got disturbing news: “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire."
Nehemiah was hurt and saddened to hear this report about the country and city of his ancestors. Nehemiah “sat down and wept. And I mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven”. Nehemiah had achieved a great position in the king’s palace as the king’s cupbearer . His burden for the wellbeing of his people in Jerusalem was noticeable to the king and he asked Nehemiah why he was troubled. Nehemiah replied: “Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
Nehemiah wanted to do something to help his people in Jerusalem and he asked the king for permission and help for the journey to go there: “ And I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors Beyond the River, so that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the kings forest, so that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which belong to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house into which I shall enter. And the king granted me what I asked, according to the good hand of my God upon me.”
Practical lessons from this reflection:
1. Intercede before God for your country and the land of your ancestors
2. Don’t forget the wellbeing of that land
3. Find out about the situation of your country of origin and how you might be able to help
4. Use your influence and resources to help your country
SNAPSHOT
Ethnic Group District Churches Worship Membership
Korean Anaheim 8 105 161
Korean Canada Central 1 50 -
Korean Canada Pacific 2 40 29
Korean Canada West 1 - 12
Korean Central Florida 1 16 -
Korean Chicago Central 3 92 146
Korean East Ohio 1 73 39
Korean Hawaii Pacific 1 12 -
Korean Illinois 1 30 28
Korean Kansas City 2 300 245
Korean Los Angeles 7 298 289
Korean Louisiana 1 35 64
Korean Metro New York 9 359 533
Korean Missouri 2 50 82
Korean New England 3 175 168
Korean North Carolina 1 15 35
Korean Northern California 6 228 325
Korean Philadelphia 1 - -
Korean Sacramento 1 40 45
Korean South Carolina 1 15 35
Korean South Central Ohio 1 43 74
Korean South Texas 4 80 92
Korean Southern California 1 - 52
Korean Southwest Oklahoma 3 170 216
Korean Tennessee 3 183 210
Korean Washington Pacific 1 7 8
Korean West Texas 2 - 20
Korean Total 68 2,416 2,908
CALL FOR PRAYER
Korean Ministries Facilitator - Rev. Stephen Lee
Korean Ministries SRT
Korean Pastors and Churches
Korean Ministerial Conference - September29 - October 2, 2014 - Anaheim, CA.
EVENTS
July 17 - 18 - African Leadership Meeting - GMC
July 28 – 30 - PALCON - PLNU
July 31 – August 1 - Chinese, Samoan and Filipino SRT Meetings - PLNU
Multicultural Ministries vision is to encourage the development of strategy and initiative to reach the USA/Canada mission field through the visionary leadership of the ethnic facilitators, and their strategy committees.
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment