2014P E R S O N A L

D A I L Y P L A N N E RP R AY E R D I A R Y

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YWAM Publishing is the publishing ministry of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international missionary organization of Christians from many denominations dedi-cated to presenting Jesus Christ to this generation. To this end, YWAM has focused its efforts in three main areas: (1) training and equipping believers for their part in fulfill-ing the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), (2) personal evangelism, and (3) mercy ministry (medical and relief work).

For a free catalog of books and materials, call (425) 771-1153 or (800) 922-2143. Visit us online at www.ywampublishing.com.

Project EditorsRyan DavisLuann Anderson

Project DirectionWarren WalshDesignAngela BaileyIllustrationsJulie Bosacker

© 2013 by YWAM Publishing. All rights reserved.

Published by YWAM Publishinga ministry of Youth With A MissionP.O. Box 55787, Seattle, WA 98155-0787

Information was taken from the most recent and reliable sources available to the best of our knowledge. Every effort has been made to ensure factual accuracy. However, because of the complexity and rapid pace of world events, statistical information should not be regarded as authoritative. Updated information is welcome.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the holy bible, new international version®, niv® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Verses marked nasb are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Navy: 978-1-57658-781-2Burgundy: 978-1-57658-782-9Green: 978-1-57658-783-6Black: 978-1-57658-784-3Insert: 978-1-57658-785-0

Printed in China

WelcomeUsing Your Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner 4Weekly Prayer Plan 6

Principles for Life and PrayerThe Primary Task: Making Disciples of All Nations 7Poverty, Suffering, and God’s Vision for the Church 10Living Intentionally: What We Do and Why 12

Calendars2014–2016 Year-at-a-Glance Planners 142014 Month-at-a-Glance Planners 22, 36, 48, 60, 74, 86, 98, 112, 124, 138, 150, 1622014 Week-at-a-Glance Planners beginning on page 24

Monthly Guides to Intercession and ReflectionJanuary: Syria’s Persecuted Christians 20February: Afghanistan’s Uncertain Future 34March: Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia 46April: Roma Refugees 58May: Leprosy in Somalia 72June: Brazil’s Slums 84July: The Baiga Tribe 96August: Medical Missions in Peru 110September: Injustice and Unrest in Mali 122October: Ministry among First Nations People 136November: Child Mortality in Ethiopia 148December: Free in Cuba 160

Snapshots of the WorldWeekly Featured Nations beginning on page 24Maps of the World 178Countries of the World 188Time Zones 199

Scripture InfusionDaily Bible-Reading Plan beginning on page 24Weekly Meditation and Memorization beginning on page 24Bible-Reading Checklist 174

ResourcesContacts 200Notes/Prayer Journal 202Contributors 205Article Notes 205About Youth With A Mission 207

Contents

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LIVING AND PRAYING INTENTIONALLY IN 2014WELCOMEYou hold in your hands a unique prayer and

scheduling tool designed to help you live an intentional, integrated life connected

to God’s kingdom. This multifaceted resource is far more than an effective organizer. It is a win-dow through which thousands of believers like you, each year, see God’s work in the world and join in through vital intercession for the nations.

After more than 30 years of publishing this re-source, we are convinced that humans are story- centric beings. We define ourselves through our personal and collective stories, ranging from small stories of daily occurrences to overarching stories about the nature of humanity, the world, and God. As story-centric people, we are not alone or isolated; we relate to one another through com-mon stories or contrasting ones. We also learn and develop through stories. They are a vehicle to learning, if we have open hearts.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains to his disciples why he speaks in parables, quoting the prophet Isaiah: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has be-come calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, un-derstand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them” (Matt. 13:14–15). Jesus’ disciples are blessed, he says, because they do “see” and “hear” the reality of God’s kingdom. They are trans-formed by what they hear.

After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the apostles continue to tell the story of salvation. Paul quotes the same prophecy from Isaiah and says that the message of salvation is for all who “will listen” (Acts 28:28). Peter comments on the truth of the apostles’ message: “For we did not follow

cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16). The apostles had been radically changed by Jesus’ life and teaching, and they worked tirelessly and boldly to spread the good news.

Rather than providing bare statistics, the Per-sonal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner has always told stories. Stories of those who have yet to hear the gospel. Stories of those who lack food or water, safety or freedom. Stories of orphaned children, refugees, the persecuted, the sick, the poor and oppressed. Stories also of places of hope, where the kingdom of heaven has taken root in earth. These stories are not fiction—they are about real people and events around the world. When we encounter such stories, we are given opportuni-ties to engage, to pray, and to be shaped by what we hear. This year, may the story and example of Christ form us and shape our responses to the sto-ries of our lives and our world.

Using Your Personal Prayer Diary and Daily PlannerThe Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner is de-signed to assist you in integrating three vital ar-eas of your daily life: (1) intercessory prayer; (2) Bible reading and meditation; and (3) planning your daily, weekly, monthly, and annual sched-ules. It provides many opportunities for you to live and pray intentionally throughout the year.

Mini-library of relevant Christian teaching. Be-ginning on page 7 is a series of short teachings to further inform your intercession and help you discover principles readily applicable to your dai-ly walk with God. These challenging, insightful teachings lay a strong foundation for prayer, mis-sion, and personal reflection and growth.

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Welcome

Monthly articles exploring places of brokenness and redemption around the world (A). Each month you’ll read about a people, nation, or issue in des-perate need of the church’s intercession and in-tervention. Each Sunday you’ll find a reminder to pray for the people or situation discussed in that month’s profile. Notes to the articles and a list of contributors can be found on page 205.

Daily thematic prayer guide (B). Each day a group or need related to that month’s prayer focus is targeted for prayer. Join thousands of other dia-ry users worldwide in praying for the same people or situation.

Bible meditation and memorization guide (C). Weekly meditation and memory verses are found at the beginning of each week. By meditating on and memorizing each selection, you will commit 53 portions of Scripture to memory in 2014.

Weekly guide to praying for the nations (D). A nation related to the monthly prayer focus is high-lighted each week. Important information and a flag are included in each listing to assist you in praying for that nation. On pages 197–98 you’ll find explanations of the symbols and categories used in the listings. Each nation may also be lo-cated geographically using the maps section be-ginning on page 178.

Two-track Bible-reading program (E). Option 1: Read through the Bible in a year by follow-ing the reading guide each day. Option 2: Use the checkoff system on pages 174–77 to read the Scriptures in your own order and at your own pace. By reading an average of 3.5 chapters each day, you will read the entire Bible in one year,

regardless of the order you choose to read each portion.

Calendars for planning your day, week, and year (F). A three-year long-range planner can be found starting on page 14. Each month opens with a month-at-a-glance planner to keep track of im-portant events, birthdays, and appointments. The daily calendar is designed in a handy week-at-a-glance format. This section can be used as a daily planning tool or as a daily journal and prayer diary should you desire to use the monthly planner for all your scheduling needs. (Note that some non-Christian religious holidays are included on the calendars as an aid to prayer.)

Personal notes and contacts. A personal notes/prayer journal page is included at the beginning of each month. Additional notes/journal pages begin on page 202. Also, a handy section for re-cording phone numbers and addresses begins on page 200.

Reference helps (G). The world maps, coun-tries of the world section, and time-zone chart are found on pages 178–87, 188–98, and 199, respectively.

The more you use your Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner, the more natural it will become to you, assisting you in connecting the whole of your life to God’s kingdom. As you learn about ar-eas of need and areas of hope in God’s world this year, both through this tool and in your daily life, be encouraged and emboldened in the knowledge that you are one of thousands of Christians us-ing this diary worldwide who are united in vital intercession.

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This page will help you remember your prayer commitments. Each day of the week lists one or more areas of society that help shape a nation. You may want to note the particular people or needs in these spheres of influence for which God has impressed you to pray. You may also re-

cord other prayer responsibilities here, such as your native land, its governmental and spiritual leaders, your family, your friends, non-Christians you know, your area of ministry, a nation of particular need, or specific individuals for whom God has called you to pray.

Church & Religion

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Weekly Prayer Plan

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THE PRIMARY TASK:

b y D a r r o w L . M i l l e r

“The Church is only the Church when it exists for others.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper, at the inauguration of the Free University in Amsterdam, famously said,

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”1 Christ is sovereign over the university, the hospital, the business, the factory, the auto shop, the farm, and the artist’s studio. He wants his people to repre-sent his kingdom, whatever their occupation, wherever they are deployed.

Paul speaks of Christ’s supremacy over all things: “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authori-ties; . . . he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven” (Col. 1:16–20). With this background, we can understand Christ’s words as he commissions his disciples: “There-fore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). Because Christ has conquered the fear of death and death itself, because “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to him (28:18)—therefore go!

It is important that we understand the primary task of the Great Commission, Jesus’ command to “make disciples of all nations.”

The Task of the ChurchThis task is not an option; it is a command from Christ, central to the existence of the church in each generation. Why? Because there is no

neutrality in this matter: if the church does not disciple a nation, that nation will disciple the church. Ideas have consequences, and someone’s ideas will shape society. Social networks that turn ideas into lifestyle will inevitably shape the institutions and life of a nation. If the church is not consciously incarnating the word of God, and thus impacting the world, then the ideas that dominate the nation will govern the church.

In the Gospel of John, Christ prays for his dis-ciples and the church: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world” (17:15). He goes out of his way to articulate what he was not praying. Why? Why did he not pray to have his disciples taken out of the world? Because he wants his people in the world! Christ left heaven to come to the earth as the incarnate Word of God.2 Now he wants the church, the body of Christ, to manifest the Word of God in their communities.

Sadly, many Christians instead become like the world. Others, wanting to be distinct from the world, virtually take themselves out of the world and into a building. Christ wants the church to be in the world but not of the world. His people are to influence the world in all areas of life and every sphere of society.

It’s common to assume that the church is a building. It is not. A mosque is a building, a syna-gogue is a building, but the church as taught in the Scriptures is a people, a community of believ-ers. The church gathers on Sunday for corporate worship and equipping. The church may gather in a rice field in Thailand, under a tree in rural Ke-nya, in a soccer stadium, or on a large urban cam-pus. The same church scatters on Monday all over the city to minister to and influence society.

Making Disciples of

ALL NATIONS

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The Primary TaskThe church does not exist for itself as a kind of

social club, nor does it exist for the pastor as a kind of fiefdom. No, the church is a people established by God for the sake of others. William Temple, archbishop of Canterbury from 1942 to 1944, un-derstood this when he said that the church is “the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of its non-members.”3

The church is not merely a base for activities and programs that benefit the congregation, but is an outpost of the kingdom of God for the commu-nity. My good friend Dr. Bob Moffitt, founder of the Harvest Foundation, is fond of asking the pro-vocative question, “If your church suddenly disap-peared overnight, would anyone notice?” A church that exists for itself could disappear unnoticed, but one that exists for others would be missed.

This way of thinking must influence the way we view our communities. Gary Skinner, founding pastor of the outwardly focused Watoto Church in Kampala, Uganda, instructs his church’s leaders and members to identify and address the needs and problems in their communities. He states, “The problems are not the communities’ prob-lems—they’re our problems!”4

Discipling NationsThe West has always recognized the significance of the individual, as it should. More recently, how-ever, we have drifted from a Judeo-Christian con-cept of the uniqueness and value of every human to a mere shadow of this ideal in the modern con-cept of individualism. In the past, Western culture honored God, and the individual found his or her unique place as a free and responsible agent with-in God’s glorious order. Now, Western culture no longer honors God, but makes man the center of the universe. Now we worship man, which is the essence of individualism.

We see this individualism everywhere: Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way,” the rugged Marlboro Man, Burger King’s invitation to have a burger “your way.” Shaped by today’s values, the church has focused its evangelism and discipleship on individuals, blinded to the communal compo-nent of the Great Commission. Individuals must come to a saving knowledge of Christ, but this

truth must not blind us to the biblical concept of community. Paul and Silas told the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:31).

Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations. The word translated “nations” in Mat-thew 28:19 comes from the Greek word ethnos, meaning “a people, a large group based on various cultural, physical or geographic ties.”5 Ethnos is re-lated to ethos, “the distinctive character, spirit, and attitudes of a people.”6 A culture’s ethos includes its sacred belief system, its values system, its first principles, and the virtues of its people.

We must not confuse “nation” (ethnos) with the modern concept of a geopolitical state. For instance, Ethiopia, a geopolitical state, is home to dozens of ethnic groups, or ethnē (the plu-ral of ethnos). Throughout history, nations have been identified in other than geopolitical terms, such as by descent, tribe or clan, language, cul-tural heritage, religion, or ideals. Today some occupational groups—medical personnel, for example—have aspects of a distinctive culture and language and thus may be considered ethnē. In addition, the concept of transnationalism finds growing expression in global organizations. These “transnationals” transcend national borders and often carry greater economic and political clout than the nations where they engage. Transna-tionals fall into several categories: multinational corporations like Toyota, Airbus, Google, and Conoco-Phillips; nongovernmental organiza-tions like the International Red Cross, Catholic Social Services, and World Vision International; and quasi- governmental organizations like the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Interna-tional Monetary Fund. Today all of these groups can be considered ethnē, “nations,” to be discipled.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) was an English Presbyterian Puritan perhaps best known for his commentaries on the whole Bible, works bound not by modern sensibilities of individualism but by the biblical frame of community. In his com-mentary on our text, he wrote:

“Do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations”; not, “Go to the nations,

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The Primary Taskand denounce the judgments of God against them, as Jonah against Nineveh, and as the other Old-Testament prophets” (though they had reason enough to expect it for their wickedness), “but go, and disciple them.” Christ the Mediator is setting up a kingdom in the world, bring the nations to be his sub-jects; setting up a school, bring the nations to be his scholars; raising an army for the carrying on of the war against the powers of darkness, enlist the nations of the earth under his banner.7

Discipleship is an inside-out process, begin-ning in an individual, moving into the family, the vocational sectors or other ethnē, and from there to the larger society. The gospel penetrates culture.

Jesus taught that his people are salt and light. Salt must come out of the shaker to flavor and preserve. Light cannot bring life, illuminate, or heal unless it comes out from under the bushel basket.8 Christians are salt and light, not theo-crats; influencers, not autocrats; organic, not hi-erarchal; bottom up, not top down. We are to be people of light in a world of darkness, people of compassion in a world of cruelty, people of justice in a world of wrong, people of beauty in a world of the mundane. Christians are to be radicals in the traditional sense of the word: having roots, going to the origin. We are to call societies back to the root, back to first principles. Cultures are not to be Westernized nor destroyed; they are to be thor-oughly redeemed. Nations are to be discipled at the level of culture. We call nations into the life of the kingdom under the authority of the King.

Every ChristianAs a young Christian, I was taught that the Great Commission was for the professional mission-ary going overseas. It had nothing to do with the Christian in the pew. Those Christians who were more spiritual went overseas; the less spiritual stayed home and worked “secular” jobs, giving money to support missions.

The problem with this teaching, which many Christians hold, is that it is a dualistic understand-ing of the world that comes from Greek philoso-phy. The Bible does not recognize any concept of merely secular work for the Christian. Every call-ing is sacred because every calling is assigned by Jesus Christ. Nor does the Bible give special sta-tus to one’s place of deployment. A Christian who goes abroad is not somehow more spiritual or important than one who remains at home; both are essential to the work of the kingdom. The task of discipling nations is shared by every Christian, wherever he or she is.

When Christ says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,” the Greek word trans-lated “go” means “to pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one’s journey.”9 Christ commands his followers to make disciples as they continue on their journey. The task is not just for professional missionaries overseas but for all Christians wherever God deploys them and in whatever vocation they are called.

Several years ago at a leadership school for 150 young Christian leaders from fifty nations, I taught on Christ’s universal sovereignty and ex-posed the false dichotomy of the sacred versus the secular. As I finished, a young woman came up to me and said that I had “ruined her life.” When I asked how, she told me she had studied and prac-ticed law. When she became a Christian, her new Christian friends said her work was secular and thus inferior. They told her she needed to leave law and become an overseas missionary, a “spiri-tual” and thus superior occupation. So she quit her job, undertook missions training, and went to West Africa as a missionary. Now, years later, hav-ing heard teaching on the kingdom of God, this woman realized that God in fact wanted her to be a lawyer. She decided to return to West Africa, her place of deployment, and work as a lawyer, seek-ing to bring more justice to a corrupt society.

This woman embraced the primary task of the Great Commission.

Adapted from Darrow L. Miller, Emancipating the World: A Christian Response to Radical Islam and Fundamentalist Atheism (Seattle: YWAM Publishing, 2012), 131–37.

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Fr iday Saturday

1New Year’s Day

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5 6Epiphany

7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20M. L. King Jr. Day

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26 27 28 29 30 31 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14Valentine’s Day

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16 17 Washington’s Birthday

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23 24 25 26 27 28 1

2 3 4Shrove Tuesday

5Ash Wednesday

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9 Daylight Saving Time Begins

10 Commonwealth Day

11 12 13 14 15

16 Purim 17 18 19 20 Spring Begins 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30 31 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13Palm Sunday

14 15Passover Begins

16 17 18Good Friday

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20 Easter / Orthodox Easter

21Easter Monday

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27 28 29 30 1 National Day of Prayer

2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11Mother’s Day

12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19Victoria Day

20 21 22 23 24

25 26 Memorial Day Observed

27 28 29Ascension Day

30 31

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8Pentecost

9 10 11 12 13 14

15 Father’s Day / Trinity Sunday

16 17 18 19 20 21Summer Begins

22 23 24 25 26 27 28Ramadan Begins

29 30

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Fr iday Saturday

1Canada Day

2 3 4Independence Day

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6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28Eid-al-Fitr

29 30 31 1 2

3 4 Civic Holiday (Can.)

5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 1Labor Day

2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 Patriot Day

12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23Autumn Begins

24 25 Rosh Hashanah Begins

26 27

28 29 30 1 2 3 4Yom Kippur

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 Thanksgiving (Can.) / Colum. Day

14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31 Reformation Day

1All Saints’ Day

2 Daylight Saving Time Ends

3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 Veterans Day / Remembrance Day

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16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 Thanksgiving (US)

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30 First Sunday of Advent

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7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17Chanukah Begins

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21Winter Begins

22 23 24Christmas Eve

25Christmas Day

26Boxing Day

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28 29 30 31New Year’s Eve

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b y R y a n D a v i s

Ranya waited for a bus that would take her and her two young sons, ages four and seven, to a ref-

ugee camp in neighboring Jordan. Piles of belongings of other Syrian refugees lined the dusty road where she stood waiting for hours. Ranya’s husband and eldest son had been killed by a blast in their home village. They had done nothing wrong—they weren’t involved in the conflict between the rebels and the government. In fact, Ranya had heard mixed reports about whether the rebels or the government forces were responsible for the bombing. But the damage was done, and now she was fleeing her beloved coun-try with the only things that mattered—her sons and her life.

“Humanity Has Been the Casualty”The antigovernment protests that began in Syria in 2011 have led to a bloody, drawn-out civil war between rebel and government forces. The death toll at the time of this writing was near 100,000, and war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by both sides. Foreign govern-ments and international groups have been ham-strung, looking on at the horrors of the war but unable or unwilling to stop them. Reports reveal the use of chemical weapons and thermobaric

bombs, “which scatter a cloud of explosive par-ticles before detonating, sending a devastating blast of pressure and extreme heat that incinerates those caught in the blast and sucks the oxygen from the lungs of people in the vicinity.”1 Syrian government forces, under the leadership of Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad, dropped bombs near baker-ies, “killing and maiming scores of civilians who were waiting for bread.”2 Suicide bombers have attacked city squares, killing dozens, and the list of atrocities continues.

All this led one commentator, Paulo Pinheiro, the chairman of a commission of inquiry investi-gating the hostilities in Syria, to say, “Syria is in free fall. Crimes that shock the conscience have become a daily reality. Humanity has been the ca-sualty of this war.”3

Christians in Syria For Christians worldwide, Syria, which borders the Mediterranean Sea between Lebanon and Turkey, is a land central to their religious history. The country was the location of early Christian missionary efforts, and church communities have existed there ever since. The apostle Paul (then Saul of Tarsus) was converted on the road to

January

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Syria’s Persecuted ChristiansDamascus, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities and the capital city of modern Syria. Today the majority of Syria’s population is Sunni Muslim, and roughly 10% is Christian (2.5 million people), spread across Orthodox, Catho-lic, and Protestant traditions.

Syrian Christians and Muslims once lived peacefully in the same cities together, without di-vision. Since the beginning of the uprising, how-ever, a hostile, sectarian atmosphere has taken hold, and Christians have faced increasing perse-cution. Some of the antigovernment rebel groups, linked to the Islamist terrorist organization al- Qaeda, have desecrated and burned churches and the homes of Christians. In April 2013, two Christian archbishops were captured by extrem-ists and another was killed. Two months later, in June, Father François Mourad, a Syrian monk, was shot and killed when he opposed Islamist rebels who attacked the Franciscan monastery of St. Anthony of Padua in Ghassanieh, a predomi-nantly Christian village near the border with Tur-key. The monastery was providing a safe place for a number of friars, nuns, and other Christians.4

Because of the increased persecution, as well as the danger of being caught in the clashes be-tween rebel and government forces, countless Christians have fled to neighboring countries. Some Christians have made the dangerous jour-ney to Lebanon, taking refuge in a convent in the mountains. Others have undoubtedly ended up in Jordan, where the Zataari refugee camp alone holds 120,000 people in tents and trailers. Still others have remained in Syria amid the chaos of war.

Traditionally, Christians have supported the al-Assad government because it protected mi-norities, and many fear what would happen if a radical Islamic regime took control of the coun-try. The future of the church community and re-ligious freedom in Syria remains uncertain, and some Christians have attempted to remain neu-tral, waiting and hoping for the conflict to abate.

The Need for ForgivenessIn a country that is being torn apart by destruc-tive forces with little or no regard for human

life, there is great need for a fear of the Lord, the Judge of good and evil acts (2 Cor. 5:10). There is also need for forgiveness and reconciliation, and Christians are those who bear this message. Paul writes, “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. . . . For Christ’s love compels us. . . . God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:11, 14, 19).

After a massacre in Tartus Province in which entire families—including women, children, and babies—were killed, Ahmad Abu al-Khair, a well-known blogger from the area, asked, “How can we reach a point of national forgiveness?” Some Syrian Christians responded to the attacks by em-bodying the message of reconciliation. “Survivors said Christian neighbors had helped survivors escape, and on Tuesday, Alawite and Christian residents of the province said they were starting an aid campaign for victims to ‘defy the sectarian wind.’”5

Father Hanna, a Franciscan priest who lives in a small village north of Aleppo, has witnessed the constant tug of war between government forces and rebels. He rings the bell to mark the hours of the day and as a sign of hope for the whole population.6

Let us pray for an end to the violence and kill-ings, and for a point of national forgiveness to be reached. And let us pray that the ancient roots of the Syrian Christian community will once again flourish, bringing a message of reconciliation in the one Lord, Jesus Christ.

Pray• for Syrian families whose lives have been

destroyed• for the millions of Syrian refugees as they are

resettled or return to Syria• for the establishment of a stable and just gov-

ernment, and that destructive forces will not overtake the country

• for those guilty of crimes against humanity to be brought to justice

• for Christians to be strengthened to help oth-ers and embody God’s love and forgiveness

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month at a glance

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Fr iday Saturday

Notes: 1

New Year’s Day

2 3 4

5 6

Epiphany

7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20

M. L. King Jr. Day

21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31 Notes:

January

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Notes & Prayer Journal

DecemberS M T W T F S1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 2122 23 24 25 26 27 2829 30 31

FebruaryS M T W T F S

12 3 4 5 6 7 89 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 2223 24 25 26 27 28

JanuaryS M T W T F S

1 2 3 45 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 1819 20 21 22 23 24 2526 27 28 29 30 31

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Goals and projects for the week:

Syria — Middle EastPopulation: 22,457,336Muslim: 90%Christian: 6.34%Nonreligious: 1.4%Baha’i: 0.01%Other: 2.25%Literacy Rate: Male 86% Female 74%Life Expectancy: Male 73 Female 78Infant Mortality: 15GDP per capita: $5,100

ROMANS 8:15–16 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Pray for the many people in the DRC who live below the poverty lineSUNDAY Zech. 5–9; Prov. 29;

Rom. 1429

Pray that materialism would cease to be worshipped in the WestMONDAY Zech. 10–14;

Prov. 30; Rom. 1530

Pray that the church will embody God’s justice, mercy, and truthTUESDAY Mal.; Prov. 31;

Rom. 1631New Year’s Eve

December

24

25

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

New Year’s Day

Pray that Jesus Christ would be the object of all praise

Pray that Jesus Christ would be the object of all adoration

Pray that Jesus Christ would be the object of all honor

Pray that Jesus Christ would be the object of all worship

Gen. 1–2; Ps. 1; Matt. 1

Gen. 3–4; Ps. 2; Matt. 2

Gen. 5–7; Ps. 3;Matt. 3

Gen. 8–9; Ps. 4;Matt. 4 4

3

1

2

January

25