In the News

It seems appropriate that it's Tuesday and that Thailand is making headlines today (see previous post). My bat radar is always tuned for mentions of Bangkok anywhere so when my Twitter-feed mentioned a blast in Bangkok, I was alarmed.

I know the above is in Thai (with English subtitles) but I'll summarize further: an Iranian attempted to throw a grenade at a taxi and ended up blowing his own legs off and injuring four Thais. If you read this article, you'll get a much better summary than this.

However, my point in posting this video is to serve as a reminder to myself and others that any work done in Bangkok needs to be SOAKED in prayer; I mean, absolutely drenched. Yes, God is SOVEREIGN over this attack and will use it to bring Himself glory. However, God wants us to pester Him. He wants us to ask Him for the things we desire. If we desire for Him to be made famous in Bangkok, why not persistently pray for that to be so? I struggle to be a persistent petitioner. I spend a lot of time talking about God and forget that talking to God is more important. What happened today in Bangkok was an important reminder of the fragility of the state of things in Bangkok. All it takes is a bomb and a bomber to disrupt lives and destroy peace. I praise God for that reminder.

Will you pray with me for this city?

Pray that God uses His people to direct the attention of the Thai people to Christ and to His power to save and restore broken lives. It's ironic (sad irony) that one of the grenades that the Iranian man threw blasted off his own legs. That's the destructive power of sin. We lash out in anger or bitterness and end up destroying ourselves.

Pray for the Iranian man who lost both his legs and for the Thais who were injured as a result of the explosions. Pray for the Church in Thailand and for the missionaries there that they can use this as a bridge to the gospel. Pray for new Christians in Thailand like Preem that they are not discouraged by the attack but rather emboldened to be courageous in telling their friends about Jesus.

For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations;

let no rebel rise in defiance. Psalm 66:7

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18