The Voice of the Martyrs - This Christmas, pray for Christians driven from their homes

The Central African Republic, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Laos, Nepal and Southern Mexico are a few of the many countries where Christians are driven from their homes because of their faith in Christ. Some are kicked out of their homes and villages by their own families and communities, while others are driven out by Islamists trying to eradicate any hint of Christian influence. As we enter the Christmas season, we encourage you to take a minute right now to pray for these members of our family: Dear heavenly Father, Our hearts break for our Christian brothers and sisters who experience the pain of persecution because of their faith. We ask that their every need be met according to your riches in mercy. We pray that those who have lost their homes will find safe refuge and that those fleeing their persecutors will be welcomed by other members of your body. We pray that those who have lost loved ones will experience your comfort as they mourn. May you direct them to others who will weep with them and pray with them, encouraging their faith so that they will trust you more each day. We pray that they will experience physical and emotional healing as well as continued spiritual growth. We pray that they will experience, like never before, the true and lasting hope of your Son’s birth that we celebrate this Christmas season – that their hearts will be filled with the peace that only Jesus Christ can bring into the pain and brokenness of our world. We pray, too, that those responsible for persecuting our brothers and sisters in Christ will repent of their sins and turn to God through faith in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen. This Christmas season, you can help provide for Christians driven from their homes during their time of need. Your gift today will be used to provide practical, tangible hope through basic necessities like blankets, shelter, soap, medical supplies, food and Bibles. Thank you for your heart for persecuted Christians — and for your generosity! HELP TODAY

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Our Persecuted Christian Family Members Say "Thank You"

Thank you for your partnership!

“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers” (Philemon 1:4), and so do our persecuted Christian family members. Nuela lives in a camp for internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A 27-year-old mother of three, she fled her home early this year after Islamists murdered 20 members of her extended family. With the prayers and support of friends like you, Nuela can feed her family. “If it was not for God, I would have been killed,” she said. “Thank God also for your support, because if you were not supporting us, we and our kids would already be killed back in the forest.” Thank you for helping provide for the needs of precious brothers and sisters like Nuela! You are also helping in the following areas: Through a network of volunteer workers, Ruth and Aurelio have planted more than 500 churches and established nearly 50 Outreach Bases that reach three different indigenous people groups in Southern Mexico. At the bases, volunteers host Bible studies, provide meals and distribute VOM’s Christmas Care Packs. Through their witness, more than 5,000 youth hear the gospel and learn from the Bible each Saturday. In central Ethiopia, VOM provided care for more than 1,200 Christians in communities that experienced nine different attacks by militant Muslims. God has been glorified in these communities through assistance provided by the global body of Christ. “Several people gave their lives to Christ because of the good work they have seen,” a front-line worker said. “The good work and love shown by the Christians is opening more doors … On one occasion, three of the main persecutors gave their lives to the Lord.” These are just a few of the many ways you have made a difference in the lives of persecuted Christians this year by supporting The Voice of the Martyrs’ work in more than 70 countries around the world. Your gifts have reassured persecuted believers that they are not forgotten by the global body of Christ. Thank you for your partnership. May God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving and throughout the coming Christmas season. Happy Thanksgiving! Jeremy Burton Vice President, Outreach The Voice of the Martyrs

“If, as a Christian, I spend all my life escaping the challenges … I may end up not doing what God is calling me to do.” Listen to “Pastor Joe’s” powerful challenge on VOM Radio.

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The Voice of the Martyrs - "You are not our daughter anymore."

“Not Our Daughter Anymore”

In her Laotian village, Ya grew up in a well-off family. Her father’s government job brought in a good income and other privileges, but Ya did not feel free. Like many Laotians, she and her family were bound up in animistic rituals, the worship of local spirits that requires regular sacrifices. Ya married and had children, but she was still not free. Then, in 2019, Ya found freedom in Jesus Christ and put her trust in him. But her husband and his parents opposed this. They abused and rejected her, believing she would bring the anger of the spirits down on their family. Eventually, her husband divorced her, driving her and their three children away from their home. Devastated, Ya turned to her own parents for help, but they too wanted nothing to do with her and her “foreign” faith. They mocked her and refused to shelter her out of fear of losing their income and angering the spirits. “Now you are God’s daughter and not our daughter anymore,” her father said. “Let God’s people help you instead of us.” SUPPORT CHRISTIANS IN NEED

The body of Christ, with the support of friends like you, did respond to Ya’s needs. Her pastor and members of local churches helped Ya secure land. VOM has helped meet the physical and spiritual needs of her family in their new home while Ya works, raises her children and saves money to complete the house and pay back loans. As a result, Ya and her children know they are beloved members of God’s family — with a home and a greater hope. As you celebrate Christ’s birth this Christmas, your gift for Christians driven from their homes can bring this same hope to brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe who have lost homes and more for the sake of the gospel. Please consider giving a gift today to stand alongside our persecuted Christian family members. As you gather with loved ones this holiday season, you’ll have the joy of knowing families like Ya’s are being cared for … and are surrounded by Christ’s love as demonstrated through gifts like yours from the global body of Christ! P.S. Just as Joseph and Mary fled from Herod, Christians today are forced to flee their country or even their own home because of their faith in Christ. Thank you for providing them peace and joy today! GIVE NOW

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Christian Counseling Associates - Happy Thanksgiving!

All calls are confidential Clinical coordinators are available Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM For All Locations Call (724) 396 - 1510 Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving to our extended family at Christian Counseling Associates! As we gather to give thanks for the many blessings we've received, let's embrace the spirit of generosity that fills this season. Giving Tuesday is just around the corner, and it presents us with a wonderful opportunity to "pay it forward." This year, we encourage you to consider a supportive donation to the Foundation for Christian Counseling (FFCC). Your contribution will help us continue to provide guidance and support to those in need, fostering hope and healing within our community. Every act of giving is a spark of light, a message of love, and a step towards a brighter tomorrow. Let's join hands and hearts this Thanksgiving to make a difference. Together, we can continue transforming communities, one family at a time. CLICK HERE TO GIVE The Foundation for Christian Counseling (FFCC) provides access to mental health resources through funding professional faith-based clinical interventions. Currently, the FFCC subsidizes a myriad of counseling interventions for those in crisis. Because of your support, help is available for those who struggle with depression, anxiety, trauma, abuse, addiction, grief, mental illness, anger management, marriage and family crisis, and many other issues.   Please Consider the Foundation on Giving Tuesday! Christian Counseling Associates works in partnership with the FFCC by presenting candidates to the Foundation who are in need of financial help for their mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation services. More than 5000 individuals contact CCA per year across Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia. CCA identifies individuals who are underinsured, have no insurance, or do not have adequate financial resources. An FFCC Grant makes Christian Counseling available and affordable for those in need at CCA. Partner with us!   See Community FFCC Donors Here The Foundation seeks to: Provide Light in Times of Crisis by providing access to Christian Counseling.   Strengthen Families by providing marriage and family resources and interventions in the local community.   Connect Communities by providing training and support of leaders in local church communities who minister to those struggling with addictions, mental health issues, and family crisis.  Donate Here! From all of us at Christian Counseling Associates, we pray that your family will be blessed with a joyful Thanksgiving Holiday celebration! With gratitude, Richard Hoffman, Ph.D.   Clinical Director Christian Counseling Associates The Foundation for Christian Counseling Benefits local families in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia

Christian Counselor Directory - Thanksgiving Pause: Weekend Seed Thought

Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Thanksgiving Pause  Thanksgiving celebrations in Christendom have deep historical and spiritual roots. Even as far back as Moses; although Jewish, he was a founder of the faith that was to come in Christ, he directed the people of faith to give thanksgiving offerings as a remembrance of what God had done and was doing for them. Jesus encouraged thankfulness when he was with us in the flesh. The Pre-Roman Church, Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, and Protestants churches have all celebrated and continue to do so in one way or another or in some degree; albeit different days, weeks, and even months when celebrating some kind of thanksgiving. Thinking of our National Holiday in America: In 1619, ship Margaret brought thirty-eight settlers to our shores. They paused from the excitation of finding the New World and established in their charter that an annual day of Thanksgiving to God should be kept. The settlers established a faith driven Thanksgiving tradition two years and 17 days before the faith hungry pilgrims arrived aboard the Mayflower at Plymouth Massachusetts who when arriving also paused and offered thanksgiving to God subsequently establishing a day of Thanksgiving.  This Thursday we will be sharing a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends. A prayer of thankfulness will likely be offered for the food and guests. As people of faith this is what we do. Yet, we could also pause for a few minutes by ourselves and thank God for the many blessings we have received; for even the least of what we have is greater than a vast majority of the citizenry of the world. Yet at the same time prayerfully keeping the less fortunate in mind. It would also be fitting to call a moratorium in regard to our religious differences and political leanings. We could welcome a day where we are only thankful for what we do have and not what we don’t have. And what is collectively right with us and not what is wrong with us. There will be other days to share our religious and political views.  On Thanksgiving Day we could pause and thank God for the life of faith; for the life of faith is a gift and there’s nothing for us to do but be thankful for it. We are members of a worldwide spiritual community that will one day be transformed into an eternal community. We are not a part of this community because we deserve it or earned it. Paul wrote that we have a life of faith by grace, through faith, not from ourselves; it is a gift from God. The Life of faith is a gift which merits a moment by ourselves; to pause and thank God for what He has done for us.   God bless you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Listen to Our Devotional Podcast New Postings Each Week  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Thanksgiving

The goal is year-round gratitude. The main task is noticing

November 23, 2023

Photo by Diliara Garifullina via Unsplash

Deadlines being what they are, I’m writing this Thanksgiving piece on gratitude long before the bird’s in the oven, the potatoes have been mashed and the pumpkin pies are cooling on the wire racks. The hardest part is putting fingers to keyboard without those olfactory cues. Nonetheless, it’s not difficult to reach inside a grateful heart, as we do every year at this time, and thank God for being alongside us on the journey.

In fact, I’m working at making gratitude a more everyday occurrence. All that’s required here is to notice: no big health scares of late, children who make the effort to call us regularly to chat on the phone — and seem to enjoy it — and work that still feels like a calling and is fresh every day.

Clearly, any success at year-round gratitude depends solely on my own efforts. Blessings and accompaniment are just about always there and require only that I notice them, a little like a backyard strewn with dyed eggs on Easter Sunday.

I’m also noticing as I get older that the benefits of noticing can be cumulative. When I perceive a drought of either blessings or presence, it’s not hard to tap into the noticing that occurred last week or last month. While it’s great to stay current, it’s also reassuring to look back and be blessed all over again.

An old friend once told me I could carry on a conversation with a dead ant on the sidewalk. It’s a quality that’s helped sustain my career as a journalist, and it’s a curiosity that can also make noticing more frequent and less difficult. May blessings and accompaniment be yours this Thanksgiving Day.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Today’s Focus: Thanksgiving

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Alicia Samuels, Vice President of eCommerce & Marketing & Flyaway Books Editorial, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Elizabeth Sanders, Customer Service Representative, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

Let us pray

God of blessings and accompaniment, thanks for walking alongside us — not to prevent calamities, but to be there for counsel and emotional first aid when we need it most. Stoke our inclination toward gratitude, so we can be mindful year-round of your gifts and your guidance. Amen.

Warm Thanksgiving Wishes from Montreat for You and Yours

Happy Thanksgiving! During this season of gratitude, we invite you to celebrate Giving Tuesday by joining others who have already made gifts to the Montreat Fund. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! We are grateful for your support of the Montreat experience. Join in our celebration of Giving Tuesday by making a gift to the Montreat Fund. Gifts impact the Conference Center's ability to carry out its mission and ministry, gathering people to experience God's transforming power and inspiring love for the world. Whether that means bringing exciting conference leadership, maintaining our lodges and facilities, or offering recreational activities like Clubs, hiking, crafts, and pottery - the Montreat Fund makes the Montreat experience possible! However you choose to give this holiday season, thank you for holding Montreat in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers. Give Now Learn More About the Montreat Fund Keep up with Montreat!   Support Montreat! Give Now