“I am aware that a vast number of professing Christians display little or no commitment to spiritual growth or discipleship, and for them the Christian life is no more than the mere formalities of attending church and avoiding scandalous behavior.” ~ Jerry Bridges

Quoted from a footnote on p. 233 of The Discipline Of Grace

I thought this quote touched on one of the main reasons this site is here. We want to help Christians live a dynamic, purposeful life, as Jesus has promised them in John 10:10.

What is the Christian life to you?

Each year Open Doors publishes the free World Watch List, which details Christian persecution globally. North Korea again heads the top of the list.

This year, Open Doors has initiated On Watch. You can sign up for 10 weekly emails to pray for the ten top countries where Christian persecution is most severe.

Many of us woke to the news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti this morning.

Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation, was still recovering from four tropical storms and hurricanes in 2008 when the earthquake hit early this morning. The video should help you know how to pray for this country and her people. If you would like to pray for Campus Crusade’s ministry in Haiti visit Campus Crusade’s main site for updates on Haiti and for ways you can help. We know that the director of our ministry and his family are safe, but have not heard from the “Jesus” film teams in Haiti. Thank you for praying for our staff’s health and safety and that they would be able to minister to the Haitians. This is the link to give to Campus Crusade’s relief efforts for Haiti.

Increasing numbers of earthquakes are one of the signs of Christ’s return. If you look at this list of just the historic earthquakes of the world notice the increase starting in 2002. Also on this site is an interactive map of earthquakes.

Scroll down to the end of this lengthy article (the Seven Major Prophetic Signs of the Second Coming ) to “Birth Pains” for Bible references on the increase of earthquakes as a sign of Christ’s return.

The need is great if you can assist in some tangible way. I can also recommend Samaritan’s Purse. CNN also has put together a list of their recommendations.

“Don’t ask yourself what the word needs. Ask yourselves what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ John Eldredge (1960 – )

The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building and initially called Burj Dubai, opened on October 4th.

I know you will enjoy a funny skit Conan O’Brien put together about the tower for The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

Also, read more about Dubai on our most popular post, Babylon Today.

Learn more about Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎ “Khalifa Tower”) on Wikipedia.

About ten years ago, I heard a talk on Ephesians 2: 8 – 9 – 10:

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

The speaker explained that “God’s masterpiece” in the Greek could also be translated, “God’s poem”. I felt deeply loved that God, the Master artist, created me for a purpose. I took the speaker’s challenge and prayed about the verse and what it meant for me.

After two weeks of focusing on this passage, I sensed God’s clear direction which I am still following today. Have you spent time in prayer, asking God to reveal His direction for your life?

Today, I found a website, Grace Through Faith, with Spanish and English articles on prophecy.

Their statement of faith looks solid, so even though “no puedo leer español,” I believe I can recommend this site for Spanish readers.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12: 1 NIV

Martin Luther explained Romans 12:1 in this way:

“A lawdriver insists with threats and penalties; a preacher of grace lures and incites with divine goodness and compassion shown to us; for he wants no unwilling works and reluctant services, he wants joyful and delightful services of God.”

I encourage you to watch an exclusive video interview of Joel Rosenberg.

He addresses:
• The significant events of 1979
• The effectiveness of The Jesus Film in reaching the peoples of the Middle East
• Prophecies in Matthew 24 and Joel 2

I especially enjoyed the true story of an Iranian woman’s vision of Jesus while watching the film.

An accurate and exciting movie on the life of the Apostle Paul.