We face global crisis, crucial elections and daily choices in how we invest our time at this critical time.

Do you understand our time as the beginning of the end?

“… the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:3-14

Jesus predicted His followers would be divided and He prayed we’d all be made one, so the world would know His Father sent Him and loved them as He loved Jesus. (John 17:21-23)

Which kingdom do you live in?

We become what we focus upon.

Do you fix your focus on the One who so loved the world that He gave His life for us? He calls us to love each other as He has loved us. (John 15:12)

Our daily choices determine the fruit of our lives.

Do you choose to live in anxiety, deception, offence, hatred and cold love
or in righteousness peace and joy – in God’s kingdom come? (Romans 14:17)

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:19-26

Our Prayer: Lord, prepare us for the times we are in.
Enable us to forgive as we have been forgiven and to love as we have been loved. Lead us away from temptation and deliver us from evil.

Adonai by LIz Hadassah Wiid. Album: Born for such a Time
Lyrics: Can you hear He’s crying out, for His children to prepare themselves?
But everybody love their lives, so much that they’re afraid to die.
Can you see the time is near, but no one really seems to care.
Don’t you realize when you die to self, you will gain life in the end?
Oh Adonai, our Adonai, Will we hear the trumpet sound? Will we hear You call our name?
Oh Adonai, our Adonai, When You come to fetch Your bride Will we be standing in the line?

The Answer for the World Today

Does your life release love and forgiveness to our troubled world?

There is much persecution at this time and the world is watching how Christians respond under persecution, loss and tragedy.

As you know, we are working with Danny and Leila Abdallah, who captured Australia’s attention when they chose to forgive a driver who hit 7 children from their extended family.
In the Blink of an Eye: Four young lives lost by the side of a Sydney road | 7NEWS Spotlight

The Abdallah’s, whose forgiveness initiated the i4Give movement, are Maronite Christians – one of many persecuted Christian groups.

Has persecution produced their fragrance of forgiveness and heart for mission?

Under the Ottoman Empire 200,000 Maronites were condemned to perish from starvation between 1915-1918. Maronite Catholics felt a sense of alienation, exclusion, and targeting as a result of Pan-Arabism and Islamism in Lebanon. Part of its historic suffering is the Damour massacre by the PLO, as well as the Beirut Blast in August 2020. Persecution drew Maronites to Australia.

The Bishop of the Maronite Church in Australia, Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay, Danny & Leila’s pastor, illustrates deep insight in Recapturing Forgiveness.

He also addresses our mission in today’s world, “The question remains: How the Church can be more ready and equipped to live its mission, the mission of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ in today’s world?” Questions on the Plenary

Maronite Faith carries the authenticity of early Christian teaching

Maronites get their name from Maron, a 4th-century Syriac Christian Saint from Syria – Antioch, a city on the Orontes River, 16 miles from the Mediterranean. Paul passed through Antioch on all three missionary journeys. Followers of Jesus fled the 300 miles from Jerusalem to Antioch to escape persecution (Acts 11:19-21) and this was where the disciples of Jesus were first called Christians. (Acts 11:26)

Maronite faith focuses on the mercy of God, rather than the sin that separates us from God.

“The entire liturgy (prayers, gestures, music, art, and architecture) reflects from beginning to end, glory to God for His loving mercy and the call of the worshipper to forgiveness and rebirth.”

”…the process leads to mystical union with God- for the more one loves God, the more one encounters God. The search for God then leads to wonder, communion and prayer.”

”Prayer is the process of ‘being’ in the presence of God Who is always present to all creation. To encounter creation and humankind is to meet and embrace God. To live is to pray, and to pray is to live in the awareness and experience of all creation as made in the image of God.

Prayer of the heart means light, clarity and inner vision. The heart becomes the altar for prayer-offering. The Spirit overshadows, accepts and transforms the prayer. Note well the link between the overshadowing of the Spirit at the altar of prayer and the altar of Eucharist. To pray from the heart (center) is to be continuously filled with a remembrance of God, here and now, by the Spirit’s infusion.

Thus prayer is the state of lovingly remembering God so that the person experiences His presence and communion. It is the gift of inner vision which sees all created things as transparent- God-touched, transformed and divinized.”

“You have united Your divinity with our humanity. You have joined Your Immortality with our mortality. You have taken what is ours and given us what is Yours for our life and salvation.” (Maronite Liturgy).

”The human vocation is to become like God, but sin interrupts this call. Conversion and purification invite a person to renewal, new life and intimacy with God. Thus, human beings become what God intends for them- children and heirs of the kingdom.”
Source: https://www.ololeaston.org/?page_id=373

Answered Prayers

We gratefully pour our love and joy filled congratulations on the Abdallah family who have announced the birth of their 7th child, a daughter, born 18th March 2022. Danny and Leila welcomed Baby Selina as another child in their family –
“Antony, Angelina, and Sienna in heaven, Liana, Alex and Michael with us.

God has answered our prayers. The Lord gives and the Lord takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Selina was named in memory of her sisters Angelina and Sienna. Danny has said forgiveness made it possible for them to be able to move forward to have another child.

Join us in praying for this family and the impact of forgiveness in our nation, in Lebanon and every nation rocked by war at this hour.

Will you pray with us…?

Jesus has given us a prayer that is perfect for our times, to unite us as one and guide our many crucial choices and response to circumstances all day every day.

Will you pray these familiar words slowly – letting the Holy Spirit apply the words’ completeness into each matter you face?

“In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:9-13

Blessing you to choose to live an eternal and abundant life in Jesus,

Sue Tinworth & the team
PIPES: Partners in Prayer & Evangelism
sue@partnersinprayer.org.au
www.partnersinprayer.org.au