LET GOD'S LIGHT SHINE
On August 21 there was a complete solar eclipse. Perhaps you were able to experience it.
Living in Portland, Oregon, my husband and I thought we would experience the total dark effect as only .6 percent of the sun’s light would be exposed, verses 100% darkness, which others would experience. We had a “dusk” effect which was impressive but not nearly as much as we had hoped! What a difference less than 1 percent of light made, especially in comparison to friends and family that viewed the eclipse in places of total darkness, where street lights came on, crickets chirped and it was totally dark as night.
Total blackness occurred during daytime over 2,000 years ago too, not from an eclipse, but from Jesus’ death on the cross. Luke 23:44-45 teaches us, “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining.”
Can you imagine?
All of nature was in mourning as God Himself left the world! In contrast, when the Israelites were wandering around in the wilderness, “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light…neither left its place in front of the people” (Exodus 13:21-22). God lit their path so they could see their way, protecting and reassuring them of His presence. Jesus did that for us too on Easter morning.
At dawn, in Matthew 28:3 (The angel’s) “appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow,” announcing the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. The soldiers were afraid, shook and became like dead men. The woman who came were afraid too, but filled with joy as they ran to tell his disciples. We can be filled with joy too and tell others!
As we discovered from the eclipse (or even from a lit candle in a dark room), light always overcomes darkness! We can be His light too, not shining the light on ourselves, but lighting the way to Jesus. He doesn’t want us to hide our light, or be ashamed of Him, but instead be bold and bright, shining for Him!
The Palau team does this so well in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection and redemption worldwide! Let’s join them, using our light in prayer. God’s light continues to shine through Luis and we give God all the glory as we thank Him for the great news of Luis’ tumor shrinking. Please continue to pray with us for Luis’ health as well as for the Palau team shining Jesus' light of salvation to a dark world.
Lit up for Jesus with You,
Gail Stockamp
REGIONAL PRAYER REPORTS
Please open and pray for the people and events represented:
- Africa | Preparing the Church in Abidjan | Report
- Asia | Blessing over a new Easter book | Report
- North America | Newly launched City Gospel Movement website and new festival in Texas | Report
- Europe | Upcoming opportunities in the UK and Romania | Report
- Central & South America | Looking forward to Colombia, March for Jesus, and a personal message from Luis | Report
- Caribbean | Continued prayers for islands devastated by storms, and potential Cuba opportunity | Report
PRAISES & PRAYERS
- Praise God as Luis’ scan showed improvement with a third of the cancer shrinking! We thank God for the strength he provided through treatments and for the minimal side effects. Please pray as Luis begins his second round of chemotherapy, that the medicines continue to be effective and that ultimately, the Lord will completely heal him! Pray for encouragement for Luis and Pat as they navigate this medical world and are a witness to all those they meet through this journey. Pray for Luis’ ongoing strength, for clarity, and focus for his time as he works on a new book, new radio programs, and prepares to speak at upcoming festivals.
- Praise God for Andrew’s recent trip to Mexico City for the Marcha de Gloria Festival. Tens of thousands of people came out to festival and preceding parade and in total, more than 3,000 people documented a confession of faith in Jesus Christ.
- A movie has been in the works on the life on Luis and is in its final editing stages, to be released later this year. Please pray that it be well received and that God will be glorified.
- Pray for upcoming festivals in Brazil, Colombia, and throughout the U.S. Learn more here.
- Additionally, please pray for the City Gospel Movements and multiple Next Generation Alliance evangelist events happening worldwide as the Good News is being shared powerfully and clearly by these teams through festivals, as well as through TV and radio programs.
JOIN US IN PRAYER APRIL 24
Join us as we pray for Luis and LPA! Our one hour national quarterly conference prayer call is Tuesday, April 24 at 1 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, 2 p.m. Mountain time, 3 p.m. Central time and 4 p.m. Eastern time.
Calling in is easy. Simply call 712-832-8330. You will be prompted to enter an access code. The access code is: 8750743. Press # after entering the access code. You will be prompted to enter an audio pin for the call, so simply press # again at this prompt.
If you are calling from a phone with a "mute" button, please mute your phone when you are not audibly participating to avoid any background noise or distractions.
SHARE
Please forward this email to your praying friends and invite them to join us. They can sign up at www.nationalprayerteam.org to receive future emails and prayer requests. If it helps, print out the requests and keep them in a spot where you’ll remember to pray. (It helps me!)
THANK YOU
Thank you for joining us in prayer, in faith, trusting in our Lord in His light and His will for all things.