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2nd Quarter April - June 1999 |
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I strongly believe that God has a comprehensive and complete plan for every one of us. The Lord said, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future" (Jer. 29:11) Paul also makes this clear in Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." God did not create us to merely exist, but to live a very significant and fruitful life. No matter how difficult our life is today, we have hope for a better future. As we live our life day to day, we need to remind ourselves that we are in the process of sowing and reaping. Whatever we sow today, we reap tomorrow. We either invest our life for a good cause or waste it. Our choices have tremendous eternal consequences. Wrong choices bring eternal loss. On the other hand, what is invested for Him and His Kingdom has significant gain. Since we are all important to God, none of us is left out of His larger plan. Paul affirms this in 1 Cor. 3:1-9 "... Some servants plow, some water, and some reap; but God gives the increase." Those of us who are on the front lines of winning souls for God's kingdom cannot be effective or win the battle against the enemy by ourselves. We need your earnest and prevailing intercession. To be World Christians, one of the key roles that many of us could play is to pray fervently. |
However, very few Christians take prayer seriously.
A survey done recently indicates that the average lay person spends four
minutes a day in prayer and the average pastor spends seven minutes.
There is no better time than now for all of us to be challenged and encouraged
to be involved in a meaningful prayer life. Someone said,
"You can do more than praying after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than praying until you have prayed." What is lacking in Christian ministry and churches in America today?
Million dollar sanctuaries are not uncommon, even in the smallest denominations.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that American churches alone
are spending more than half a billion dollars on television programs in
a single year. The US has more ordained ministers, more Christian
radio stations, and more hours of Gospel broadcasting than in all the countries
of
We all know what kind of Christians the devil is most afraid of. He is not frightened by theologians, powerful preachers, or Christian writers. That's |
what we have many of them. The devil is afraid of intercessors, Christian men and women who spend hours on their knees. That is why they are scarce. Because of our prayerlessness, our sermons are ineffective, and the standard of our moral life has hit rock bottom. Since the devil knows the outcome of prevailing and fervent prayer, he uses all the power he has to distract us from praying. He allows us to talk about prayer, and he even allows us to write books about prayer. But he doesn't want us to be intercessors who are engaged in fervent prayer, because he knows that prayer destroys his strongholds. When we pray, we are in the presence of the Holy God. When we are in the presence of God, He has the opportunity to talk to us, to give us direction and vision for our lives. Yes, many of us do pray. We pray for ourselves, for our families, and for our churches. However, our prayers are not wide enough to include the whole world. God is calling us today to be World intercessors who shed tears in our prayers for the 40 million people who are dying every year without knowing their Savior. By your prayers, you can accomplish greater things for God than you can imagine. You can do more to move the world for God on your knees than in any other way. We at Ethiopian Outreach ministry need you to be our prayer partners who intercede on our behalf. Your prayers are very essential in helping us as we seek to fulfill our role in world evangelization - reaching Ethiopians around the world for Christ. Your partnership with us to reach out to the unreached means so much to all of us here at EOM. We are eternally grateful that you support us with your prayers and finances. God bless you. |
| In our last issue of News & Views, brother Melese shared with us his unique experience ministering among Ethiopian students in India. In this issue, we will share excerpts from a letter from one of the students who is part of the Ethiopian Fellowship leadership team. You can feel from this letter what it means to have sound Biblical teaching. May we all strive to have good, sound Biblical foundation of faith so that we may stand strong when the storms of life come, and grow in the likeness of our Savior Jesus. | ||
| Dear Reverend Melese:
I was so delighted to hear about the growth and expansion of the ministry of EOM. It has warmed my heart to know that the ministry has grown in every aspect in order to reach fellow Ethiopians around the world. The way you share the gospel of Jesus Christ is practical and appealing for every Ethiopian, whether or not they live in Ethiopia. It does not matter if they students, professionals, or refugees. Indeed, you share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a unique way. This Gospel is the only hope that can deliver millions of Ethiopian captives from darkness and bring them to the marvelous light. When you were with us here in Pune, India and
taught us from the Scriptures, there was one thing that was emphasized
to me. It was that your ministry's sole purpose (and it should be
the purpose of every believer) is to lead people to the only WAY, TRUTH
and LIFE, and to continue to help them grow in the truth they know.
What an honorable task you have! It gives me great joy and fills
me with gratitude to the Lord and to you that we have you, a man of God
who is committed to sacrificially sharing the way of life with his brothers
and sisters.
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my heart that what you deliver is what
you have received from the Lord through the Holy Spirit. The truths you taught us at the meetings in Pune an din Delhi got glued to our hearts and minds. That is why we still contemplate and mediate on them, trying to apply them to our lives so we may grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. ... The practical examples of what the Lord has done in your life, and in the lives of the thousands of Ethiopians who have been touched as a result of your ministry's efforts, bring the message of the Gospel close to my heart. ... It is not only your way of teaching that has made a great impact but also your different ways of delivering the message. The cassettes, the printed material like the tracts, booklets, books and Bible study materials (especially Yahiwot Mestawot - it sure is the mirror of life!); the twice a week radio programs; and now the videos, can't be missed by any Ethiopian willing to take the time to read, listen or watch. Be strong in the Lord and His mightily power. I say this because I am certain the devil fiercely fights those who attack his kingdom and who, by the power of God, bring souls out of bondage. The enemy may try to discourage you or frustrate you by putting obstacles in your way, but I point you to our Savior's promise to be with us all the time. Be reminded of Jesus' encouragement to be strong in Him. We all stand with you in the fight, praying for you regularly. |
More than ever, what Ethiopian
believers and nonbelievers need is teachers like you who dig in the Word
of God and feed us the kind of spiritual diet that will cause us to grow
properly. Today, there are so many who teach the Bible in a distorted
and misleading way. My heart aches whenever I think if the lack of
genuine Gospels teachers like you. I want to take time to encourage
and uplift the teachers that are able, knowledgeable, and wise, and have
a life that is a testimony.
I thank God for giving you to us to be a spiritual father who feeds God's Word. I also want to thank God our Father for the vision He has given you to rescue those who are unable to escape from the darkness of this world. We love you Gashea (title given to an older brother) Melese in the love of Jesus. We miss you a lot. ... Please pray for us that we may have the courage, wisdom and knowledge from the Lord to share the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ with those around us. As the Scripture teaches us, we are ambassadors of Jesus in India. I love you in Christ, Your son,
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ur Sympathy and
prayers go to Sossena Maybury in the death of her father Mr. Tefera Feyissa.
Mr. Feyissa went to be with the Lord on April 14, 1999 in Toronto, Canada.
He is survived by his wife, five daughters and a grandson. Sossena
recently joined the ministry of EOM as secretary. If you wish to
express your sympathy, her address is 299 Coventry at Waterford, York Pa
17402.
n aggressive outreach
program is underway, to be launched in the most Ethiopian populated cities
in the United States. There are an estimated thirty thousand plus
Ethiopians who live in the three eastern states of Maryland, the District
of Columbia and Virginia. The Lord put the burden on our hearts to
share the message of the Gospel with these Ethiopians. However, we
need your help to produce the materials that we are preparing so that they
appeal in both content and form to those who receive them. We estimate
about $3,900 to reach one third of these thirty thousand plus Ethiopians.
Pray with us, fellow servants of God, that the Lord will provide the resources
to prepare the materials. We also need many prayer warriors for this
project, that many may be touched and would commit their lives to the Lord.
Pray that the devil may not put any obstacle to hinder the dissemination
of the message of the Gospel. Pray with thanksgiving for the brother
who will volunteer to direct the distribution of the Gospel message from
Washington, D.C. Please contact our office if you feel led by the
Holy Spirit to financially contribute and/or be part of this life saving
mission.
he new product
catalog of EOM has helped hundreds of Ethiopians to become familiar with
the many materials produced with the dual purpose of introducing Jesus
Christ to nonbelievers and helping followers of Christ to grow in their
faith. As a result of this product catalog distribution, more orders
and requests for the materials have been received in the past two months. 
everend Melese
will be ministering at Ethiopian churches on the west coast. In May
and June, he will be in Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; and
in Houston, Texas. And Lord willing, in late July and early August,
he will be ministering to Ethiopian refugee believers in Yemen, Djibouti,
and Beirut, Lebanon. Please join brother Melese with your prayers
in the battle for winning souls for Jesus.
