by Jason Joyner | Oct 13, 2009 | Blog, missions, prayer, Seven Spheres, Thailand, YWAM
I can’t believe that it was almost 18 years ago that I spent 2 months in Thailand with Youth With a Mission. It was an amazing time of formation for me, being fresh out of high school. I changed from a wide-eyed Idaho boy to a wide-eyed Idaho boy with a sense that there is a big world out there that needed Jesus. The Thai people were incredible to be around, and I’ve never forgotten the experience.
A couple from our outreach team showed true sacrificial love by staying behind in Thailand on a long-term commitment. In that time they’ve just become the directors of YWAM Thailand. Thanks to Facebook, I’ve been in a little contact with them, and I’m so excited how far they’ve come in their ministry to Thailand. God has kept me State-side for the time being, but that doesn’t mean I can’t support them from afar.
Thailand is about 95% Buddhist, although for them it is very much a cultural identity. To be Thai is to be Buddhist, it is said. However, there is a strong mix of ancestor worship and spiritism as well. There is a sizeable Muslim population in the south, with some occasional breakouts of violence, and few Christians. Thailand has been a hard place for missions for a long time.
It is known for its beauty and its corruption. Thailand immediately conjures up images of beaches, the tsunami of 2004, and human trafficking and red light districts. There have been frequent governmental upheavals. It is know as the “Land of Smiles” because the people are very friendly and hospitable, but it belies a deep need under the surface.
My YWAM friends have called for 40 days of prayer for Thailand. It started at the beginning of this month, but it is never too late to pray. I’m asking for my friends and interested people to remember Thailand in your prayers for the next month or so. God can speak prayer needs to your heart. If you are still wondering about how to pray, a suggestion would be to pray through the
Seven Spheres of Influence that shape a society:
Family/Home
Church/Religion
Government
Education
Arts/Culture/Entertainment
Business/Commerce
Media
I was also referred to
Bless Thailand, where they are slowly translating a prayer guide into English. If you’ve been to another country, you know that it sticks with you. I want the Father’s heart for Thailand, and I hope the people there will open their hearts to the love He has for them in this season.
Thanks for praying! Bless you.
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by Jason Joyner | Apr 13, 2009 | Blog, prayer, social justice, Thailand, world events
Nothing like a thrown-out back to blow away the best laid blogging plans, but I’m back in the saddle today (more or less).
I’ve got some things for this week, but I want to start off by asking everyone to take time to pray for Thailand. This southeast Asian country is undergoing another round of political turmoil. There are two main factions battling over an ousted Prime Minister, and the protests turned deadly today with 2 people being killed. I don’t have an opinion on which side is “right”, but I don’t want to see people hurt anymore.
Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles,” and Thais are some of the friendliest people you can ever know. I spent 2 months there in 91-92, and it was some of the formative experiences in my life. However, I know that behind the smiles is the bondage that over 95% of the people suffer as they hold to old forms of Buddhism and ancestor worship. Christianity has had a hard time getting a strong foothold there, but more and more there are Thais turning to Jesus.
There is a couple that were on the outreach team with me that stayed there, and continue to live there 18 years later. Please pray for all to be protected, especially God’s people, and that truth and righteousness will reign in the country.
by Jason Joyner | Apr 13, 2009 | Blog, prayer, social justice, Thailand, world events
Nothing like a thrown-out back to blow away the best laid blogging plans, but I’m back in the saddle today (more or less).
I’ve got some things for this week, but I want to start off by asking everyone to take time to pray for Thailand. This southeast Asian country is undergoing another round of political turmoil. There are two main factions battling over an ousted Prime Minister, and the protests turned deadly today with 2 people being killed. I don’t have an opinion on which side is “right”, but I don’t want to see people hurt anymore.
Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles,” and Thais are some of the friendliest people you can ever know. I spent 2 months there in 91-92, and it was some of the formative experiences in my life. However, I know that behind the smiles is the bondage that over 95% of the people suffer as they hold to old forms of Buddhism and ancestor worship. Christianity has had a hard time getting a strong foothold there, but more and more there are Thais turning to Jesus.
There is a couple that were on the outreach team with me that stayed there, and continue to live there 18 years later. Please pray for all to be protected, especially God’s people, and that truth and righteousness will reign in the country.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 22, 2008 | Blog, Christianity, prayer, trials
I have a friend who is going through a crisis right now with her baby. My heart breaks for her as she asks for prayer and shares her family’s struggle in keeping strong. She has great faith and has been an admirable testimony through it all, and I know that all the prayers people are offering for her, and especially her own cries to the Lord, are offering a deep source of strength for her that she can’t fully realize at this time.
It got me thinking about our response to crisis times, and the long term effects of such times. I’ve had two events in the last 5 years that have been major upheavals in my life. Four years ago my mother succumbed to COPD (basically emphysema). Then two years ago I was laid off from a job when my contract wasn’t renewed, under some interesting circumstances (you can read all about it on this blog even…whee).
I know I relied heavily on the Lord for strength during those times. In one sense my mom’s death was easier, because she had taught us that death was a natural part of life and she didn’t fear it. We knew she didn’t want to suffer anymore, and in that way it was a blessing. Still, my father died when I was 5, so she was essentially both parents to me through my life, and it was still hard. God brought a lot of peace into the situation.
When I lost my job, that was a little incredible because there wasn’t a really good reason for it. There were lots of circumstances in the background that made it a difficult road, and I didn’t get a job right away. It took four months to start my current job from when I finished at the old clinic, and I spent three months at the job I was losing the way my contract was written (90 days notice). It was a real battle to go to work each day to a place I knew didn’t want me, but again, God moved in my life during that time, and He proved Himself extremely faithful.
So where is this babbling going?
In the short term, I really turned to Jesus and received strength, grace, whatever you want to call it. I spent time with Him, and I felt like the tree in Psalm 1, with roots planted by streams of water. Especially in the job situation, where I had reason to be very bitter and angry, I can say I had a supernatural enabling to walk in pretty good attitudes (hey – I wasn’t perfect).
Today as I was thinking about my friend’s trial, I thought about the long-term position I was in regarding my big crises. I was dealing with anger at my mom that she missed out on our new little girl, because she chose to smoke. I still deal with anger and bitterness over my former employers. A couple of people were gossiping about one of the doctors, and part of me didn’t want to hear at all, but part of me delighted in hearing about his problems since I left.
What happened to the good responses?
I can testify that it wasn’t God’s fault how my spirit, my response has darkened. It was fully my lack of endurance in seeking His will in all of these areas. As time passed and the busyness of life took over, I no longer spent time with Jesus regarding these events and attitudes. I focused on what was immediately in front of me, without fully submitting all of my life-past, present, and future-to Him.
I think my point in all this is that the Christian walk is a long-term marathon. I thought that the problems were over just because things had moved on. I stopped actively asking for His Word and light to help in those areas. Therefore a root of bitterness, starting small, was able to take hold. These events are affecting me years down the road. Now, the death of a parent is supposed to do that. The loss of a job is also one of the major life stressors someone can endure. Yet, with the grace that was given me during those times, it seems out of line that I reacted this way.
I don’t want to take God’s grace for granted anymore. I don’t want to let things from my past rule my present. I feel like I enjoyed His grace for a season and left it behind when things turned and started going “my way” again. How terrible to disregard such a gift.
Ugh. I didn’t mean to get so maudlin. But it is an important point I want to make: we keep going to the well of the Lord, whether good times or bad. We don’t stop when times get good. We turn to Him in the short term and when things go well, we leave Him in the long term.
Thankfully these are heart attitudes that aren’t huge. I haven’t lost my faith or anything near it. But He deserves better from me, and I’m not happy with where my heart is in these areas.
Here’s to the short and the long of it.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 22, 2008 | Blog, Christianity, prayer, trials
I have a friend who is going through a crisis right now with her baby. My heart breaks for her as she asks for prayer and shares her family’s struggle in keeping strong. She has great faith and has been an admirable testimony through it all, and I know that all the prayers people are offering for her, and especially her own cries to the Lord, are offering a deep source of strength for her that she can’t fully realize at this time.
It got me thinking about our response to crisis times, and the long term effects of such times. I’ve had two events in the last 5 years that have been major upheavals in my life. Four years ago my mother succumbed to COPD (basically emphysema). Then two years ago I was laid off from a job when my contract wasn’t renewed, under some interesting circumstances (you can read all about it on this blog even…whee).
I know I relied heavily on the Lord for strength during those times. In one sense my mom’s death was easier, because she had taught us that death was a natural part of life and she didn’t fear it. We knew she didn’t want to suffer anymore, and in that way it was a blessing. Still, my father died when I was 5, so she was essentially both parents to me through my life, and it was still hard. God brought a lot of peace into the situation.
When I lost my job, that was a little incredible because there wasn’t a really good reason for it. There were lots of circumstances in the background that made it a difficult road, and I didn’t get a job right away. It took four months to start my current job from when I finished at the old clinic, and I spent three months at the job I was losing the way my contract was written (90 days notice). It was a real battle to go to work each day to a place I knew didn’t want me, but again, God moved in my life during that time, and He proved Himself extremely faithful.
So where is this babbling going?
In the short term, I really turned to Jesus and received strength, grace, whatever you want to call it. I spent time with Him, and I felt like the tree in Psalm 1, with roots planted by streams of water. Especially in the job situation, where I had reason to be very bitter and angry, I can say I had a supernatural enabling to walk in pretty good attitudes (hey – I wasn’t perfect).
Today as I was thinking about my friend’s trial, I thought about the long-term position I was in regarding my big crises. I was dealing with anger at my mom that she missed out on our new little girl, because she chose to smoke. I still deal with anger and bitterness over my former employers. A couple of people were gossiping about one of the doctors, and part of me didn’t want to hear at all, but part of me delighted in hearing about his problems since I left.
What happened to the good responses?
I can testify that it wasn’t God’s fault how my spirit, my response has darkened. It was fully my lack of endurance in seeking His will in all of these areas. As time passed and the busyness of life took over, I no longer spent time with Jesus regarding these events and attitudes. I focused on what was immediately in front of me, without fully submitting all of my life-past, present, and future-to Him.
I think my point in all this is that the Christian walk is a long-term marathon. I thought that the problems were over just because things had moved on. I stopped actively asking for His Word and light to help in those areas. Therefore a root of bitterness, starting small, was able to take hold. These events are affecting me years down the road. Now, the death of a parent is supposed to do that. The loss of a job is also one of the major life stressors someone can endure. Yet, with the grace that was given me during those times, it seems out of line that I reacted this way.
I don’t want to take God’s grace for granted anymore. I don’t want to let things from my past rule my present. I feel like I enjoyed His grace for a season and left it behind when things turned and started going “my way” again. How terrible to disregard such a gift.
Ugh. I didn’t mean to get so maudlin. But it is an important point I want to make: we keep going to the well of the Lord, whether good times or bad. We don’t stop when times get good. We turn to Him in the short term and when things go well, we leave Him in the long term.
Thankfully these are heart attitudes that aren’t huge. I haven’t lost my faith or anything near it. But He deserves better from me, and I’m not happy with where my heart is in these areas.
Here’s to the short and the long of it.
by Jason Joyner | Oct 23, 2008 | Blog, praise, prayer
Hey there friends! I don’t make personal appeals here, but I would appreciate prayer for the next couple of weeks. As I’ve posted, my wife is pregnant and her C-section date is set for 10/29. We are very excited to be adding a little girl to our family! Of course we want Baby to be healthy, and the C-section always makes things more complicated.
Beccy needs strength to finish out well. She’s been fighting an inner ear infection and vertigo the last couple of weeks. She’s ready to have this baby!
Thanks to all of you. I am planning to have pictures up by 10/30, so please check back then! Bless you guys!
