Prayers Needed: 23 Year Old Dies While Performing The Nativity Story

This email was sent to me by a friend, a lot of other people were included and received it, but it needs to reach even more people. It is a pure attack of the enemy and we need to cover with prayers, her family members, this Church, the people that were involved in the performance and all the people that God wanted to reach through this perfermance that will not get to attend because it had been cancelled.


If you are receiving this email, it's because I know that you understand the power of prayer, and that especially at this time of year, are grateful for the birth of Jesus who truly is, our only hope and security. I've never sent out a prayer request to multiple people, but this time,I couldn't not ask for your prayers. Last night was Opening Night for Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Crossroads is a "mega-church" with thousands of members. This church is particularly committed to reaching people who may not believe in God or who are searching to find some meaning beyond this life, which we know we can find from the ultimate sacrifice which resulted in an empty tomb. Crossroads puts on a Christmas show every year which is the caliber of anything you would see from a touring Broadway company. The stage sets are extensive, the talent is incredible, the special effects are amazing. This show is heavily attended every year, and this year 26,000tickets were requested (the show is free). People from all walks of life attend this; believers as well as non-believers, young, old, able and disabled. The gospel message is always preached at the end of each performance. Last night, during a scene in which the "three wise men" were climbing a"mountain" that was 25 feet high, a 23 year old girl fell to her death in the middle of the performance of Opening Night. It is uncertain at this time whether the harness malfunctioned, broke etc. They are still trying to determine what the actual cause of the accident was. The head pastor determined to cancel the show immediately and all remaining eleven performances have been cancelled. In addition to the tragedy of this young girl losing her life and the trauma that her immediate family is now experiencing, there were several thousand people in the audience who witnessed this first hand as well as the staff, crew, other performers and volunteers of Crossroads church.My two younger sisters were intimately connected to this show. One sister is the Producer and oversees a large creative team that irresponsible for every aspect of birthing and executing this show. My other sister is one of the choreographers. Both of them, as you might imagine have been deeply and profoundly affected by this. I'm specifically concerned about my sister who is the Producer as she was instrumental in bringing the aspect of harnessing so that actors could "fly" and "climb". She even personally attended at raining workshop in California earlier in the year where she herself,participated in the actual flying and climbing. (A former competitive gymnast, she found the experience exhilarating and couldn't wait to bring this to this year's Christmas show). She is suffering from unnecessary feelings of guilt and at this point, we have been unable to convince her to attend the free counseling that Crossroads is providing at the church today for ANYONE who may need to come and speak with professional. There are so many people who are affected by this and have experienced a great loss. Of concern also, is those who may be seeking to understand more about God and His love for us and something like this can be difficult to surmount. For those of us who have been Christians for awhile, something like this can bring up uncomfortable questions. Was God really in control? Why did He allow something like this to happen?Is it okay to be angry? Those are difficult questions for people who know and follow Jesus but for people who have yet to experience His grace, mercy and sacrificial love, these are questions born of a tragic occurrence that could make the difference in their decision to believe at all. Please pray that the parents and family of this girl will be comforted,especially at this time of year which will come every year with its own fresh memories. Please pray for the staff, crew and volunteers of Crossroads who put an amazing amount of hours, work, dedication and talent into this performance. Please pray for the thousands of people who witnessed this first hand last night and for the thousands of people who will not be able to attend the cancelled future performances.Please pray that my sister will be at peace and know that this was not her fault and that she was not responsible. Please pray that she and her creative team will have the strength to continue their work, the work they believe they were called to, the work that is and has been, touching so many lives. Should any specific thoughts or prayers come to you, please pray in that direction as the Lord guides you. For any of you who may today be experiencing the stress and anxiety that is inherent as we walk with our human minds and bodies in this world,please take a moment to realize that life truly is short. We spend so much time worrying about things that won't matter next week, let alone after we are gone. Take a special moment this Christmas season to share or remind someone of the true meaning of the season and though we can count on absolutely noting in this world, we can "be of good cheer, for He has come to overcome the world". Take a moment to understand that we don't and won't understand so many of the things that we encounter in our lives. And if you are reading this, take a moment to thank The One who lives in your heart, who comforts and provides, who loves us when we aren't so lovable, who believes in us when our beliefs are momentarily shaken. Because of His birth, we don't have to truly die. Because of His death, we can truly live. Here, in the perfect joy that only He provides and forever later, in His house and by His side. Spend one extra moment this season to tell someone you love them, that you care about them, that you are championing them, that you believe in them. They may not be here tomorrow. With love and affection to you all and embracing the resons for the Season, Jane

To find out more, follow this link: http://www.crossroads.net/about/AwaitedStatement.htm

Prayer

Lord, may I be authentic, may I be real, may I be transparent, may people see me flaws, most of all, may you make your light shines through me for people to see your wonderful Grace and Mercy! Amen

Poem From Bill Hybels' Second Grade Teacher

Oh! Give me Samuel's ear, an open ear, O Lord! Alive and quick to hear each whisper of thy word. Like him to answer to thy call and to obey thee first of all!


“If you pay attention to God’s Whispers; the anointing of God will be on your life.” Bill Hybels

Urgent Prayer

This is a request for prayer for YWAM (Youth With a Mission) missionaries and their churches in Orissa, India.
The request came from Mabel Hurst, an associate of HCJB Global. Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India. We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage…. And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media.
Let me explain: A militant Hindu priest (Swami Laxmananda Saraswati) and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and ‘reconverting’ people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend.
Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up, “Kill the Christians!” And the horror began…In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ.
Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa—they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and ‘finish the job.’ Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belongings. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace.
In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors, turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.
All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Manybelievers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road—even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind.
Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: ‘We stay with our kids…. we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.’ More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace.
But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days, supposedly the 14-day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the hand of God can calm this storm.
None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.
Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children.Orissa will be saved—that is our heart’s cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.
Please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Also, please pass this news on to as many friends as you can. We must getthe word out and increase our prayer base for this isspiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations…
Prayer works!Blessings,Chip & Sandy Wanner (Col 2:2 MBI)Team Facilitators to YWAM Frontlines

This email was circulating back in August of this year and although we need to keep them in our prayer, the reason I am posting it on my blog is that, it really had an impact on me about how I view my "persecution" I have heard of things like that before, but for some reason, this post on http://benandjacq.tumblr.com/ blog painted a vivid picture of real persecution and mine became pretty much insignificant! Let's just say, it out things back into perspective. Hope you were blessed by it and make sure to check Ben's blog at the address above!