Flooding, Disaster & Emergency Relief in Thailand – September 15, 2010

September 15, 2010 By

Heavy rains came again yesterday and the flooding this morning was much more severe today than it was in my update two days ago. This morning, one whole apartment complex was surrounded with water 3 feet deep and the residents of that apartment had no way to get out and get food except by boat. This complex has two members of our church living there along with dozens of university students and is a stone’s throw away from the back of Baan Athitaan Church.

We called one of the members of our church after we saw the flooding and she said there were about 20 residents trapped inside the building with water over a foot on the first floor. None of them had eaten and they did not have a way to get out except with a small boat. So, several of us went out and bought enough food and water for 20 people and waded through knee deep water to get to the boat that then took the food over to the residents. Please pray for us during this time. This is the worst flooding I have seen in this area in my 9 years of living in Chiang Rai.  

Flooding in Thailand affects hundreds of thousands of people every year. It not only destroys lives but destroys houses, farmland and carries bacteria and parasites in the water that cause sickness to hundreds of thousands of people in Thailand. Floodwaters in Thailand are normally full of parasitic leeches, human waste and bacteria that causes skin infections and fungus.

Attached is a link of pictures that we took this morning and two days ago of flooding as a result of heavy rains over the past several weeks. All of these pictures were taken within a 15 kilometer radius of Baan Athitaan Church and most of them within 200 yards of the church.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24338&l=1691966a95&id=141698185871002

God has burdened our hearts to see if we can begin raising funds to help with some of these disasters that happen like this. When we look closely at Jesus’ mission statement and at the way He lived out the Gospel during His 3 years of public ministry, we find that He always expressed His love and devotion to God in compassionate ways that reached out to the downcast, the distressed, the hurting, the sick, the poor, those in bondage, and the needy.

As followers of Jesus, our love for God must be expressed in these same compassionate ways.

As I shared in my last update, this Saturday a group of about 14 people from Baan Athitaan Church are going on a mission trip to Huay Khu Village, a Hmong village about 3 hours from the city of Chiang Rai. We are going to help a small church in that village rebuild their church that was destroyed by strong winds just a few months ago. We had hoped to raise enough funds to replace this very weak bamboo structure with a more solid block structure and anticipated spending less than $2,000. That may not sound like much but to those of us who live in this part of the world that is a lot of money.

Our church took up a special offering and tried various ways to help raise these funds here and praise God, we have been able to raise a little over $500. That is not enough to put up a block structure that we had hoped, so we will be putting up a very similar bamboo structure on this trip. It simply reminds me of the truth that because the Christian population in countries like Thailand is so small we still desperately need resources from Christians from other parts of the world that have a heart for missions.

We would like to do so much more and need your partnership to make that happen. Would you please pray about making a donation to NTIM and mark it “For Disaster & Emergency Relief” so that we will be able to use that in the future for assistance with flooding victims, or even for help in rebuilding churches that have been destroyed from strong winds or flooding.

Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael for the Team

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Your donations to NTIM are making a huge impact in the lives of people. They help us connect people in need with people who care. To make a donation for “DISASTER & EMERGENCY RELIEF” please send checks to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 or make your donation online at www.gontim.org

“And if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night shall be like the noonday.” Isaiah 58:10 

Filed Under: Blogs, Michael Johnson

God’s Way To Change Our Words – Part 2 of 2 – September 5, 2010

September 5, 2010 By

Baan Athitaan Church
“30 Days To Taming Your Tongue” – Message 2 of 6
God’s Way to Change Our Words
Pastor Michael Johnson
Sept 5, 2010

The third truth about speech and words that is important that we understand is this: healthy speech requires healthy soil.

III. HEALTHY SPEECH REQUIRES HEALTHY SOIL.

The words of our mouths and our behavior are like the leaves and the fruit of a plant. They are above the surface of the ground and can be observed and seen by others. Our attitudes, motivations, and thoughts are below the surface and are hidden from others like the root of a plant. Some roots of bad speech are anger, bitterness, envy, pride, malice, and lack of self control. Those are issues related to the health of the root. However, there is another factor that has a tremendous effect on the root of a plant and that is the soil.

The soil represents our deepest values and beliefs that determine what we allow to take an important place in our hearts, including the respect and importance we give to the advice of other people that we respect and look up to.

Soil conditions have a tremendous effect on what kinds of plants will grow and how healthy they will be. The soil creates an environment in the heart in which encourages the growth of good or the growth of evil.

Jesus has always been concerned about the quality of soil in a person’s heart. He once told a parable about the importance of good soil. This parable is recorded in Luke 8:5-15.

The farmer scatters seed all over the ground. But the soil that was hard did not allow the plants to grow. In the soil that was dry and rocky, the plants do not last very long. If the soil was filled with weeds and thorns, the plants would survive but would be chocked and never grow to full maturity. It was only in the good soil that the plants grew to maturity and produced fruit.

Notice what Luke 8:15 says, “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”

The soil represents our deepest values and beliefs that determine what we allow to take an important place in our hearts.

In other words, God sows seeds of truth onto the soil of our hearts. Whether or not that truth takes root and grows into healthy plants depends on the condition of the soil of our heart.

What is the composition of the soil of your heart? Is it fertile and receptive to God’s truth? In this parable in Luke 8:12, Jesus identifies the devil as the one who seeks to take away the word of truth from our hearts.

I really think it is important to take just a moment and let’s look at the type of speech of the devil.

The word devil used in Luke 8 comes from the Greek word “diabolos” which is where we get our English word diabolic. The word diabolos is a word that refers to a person who makes hurtful accusations and says things that slander other people. The Bible uses this word 34 times as a title for Satan. Satan loves to use his words to make hurtful accusations and say things to slander and hurt other people. Do you have people around you that seem to always make hurtful accusations of others and say things to slander and hurt others? Be aware! They are using their words just like Satan uses his words.

Satan says, “It’s ok to raise suspicious of people’s integrity, honesty and faithfulness. It’s ok to exaggerate the truth just a little bit and make the story really good. It’s ok to tell little white lies, they won’t hurt anybody.”

God’s Word says just the opposite. God’s Word says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29

As I shared with you last week, “Moving toward spiritual maturity requires that we learn to speak the right words at the right time and for the right reason… and it also requires that we learn to leave unsaid the wrong thing at a tempting moment.”

“God’s way to change our words is to change our words from the inside out. In other words, God’s way to change our words is to change our heart, to change what we believe, and to change how we think.” Pastor Michael

In order to begin that process, we must embrace 4 truths about speech and our words.

Truth #1, Words sprout from the ground of our hearts. Truth #2, Healthy speech requires a healthy root. Truth #3, Healthy speech requires healthy soil. And lastly, Healthy soil requires removing the contamination.

IV. HEALTHY SOIL REQUIRES REMOVING THE CONTAMINATION.

This week as I prepared for this message today, I did some internet searches on how to clean contaminated soil, I learned some interesting things that relate to cleaning the soil of our hearts.

One of the articles that I found, said this, “The condition of your soil is one of the most important factors when it comes to how well or how poorly it can grow plants and crops. If the soil is low on nutrients then your plants’ growth will be stunted. … It’s difficult to clean polluted soil, but it can be done with patience and perseverance.” (How to Clean Polluted Soil by an eHow Contributor)

The article went on to say that the first thing you needed to do was to test the soil to see what contaminates where there so that you could know how to clean the soil.

As I read the article, God reminded me of the critical nature of us being willing to let the Holy Spirit test the soil of our hearts. Let’s look at what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:23-24.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the everlasting way.”

The Bible encourages us to open our hearts and ask God to search our thoughts and reveal areas in our heart that are contaminated. Do you want to remove the contamination in the soil of your heart? The first thing you need to do is to ask God to reveal areas in your thoughts and your attitudes, in your beliefs and in your values that need to be changed.

If you are serious about transforming your speech and words God’s way, then you need to take the time to test the soil for contamination. Ask God to show you the areas of your heart that He wants to clean up.

Once you have done that you need to apply Proverbs 28:13-14. Let’s look at it.

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them finds mercy. Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.”

The first part of cleaning up the contamination in the soil of our hearts is confessing our sin. Confessing our sin is owning up to the fact that contamination exits in our heart and it is no one else’s fault but my own. I allowed this root of bitterness to come. I allowed this hardness to happen in my heart. I allowed this evil thought to come into my mind. It is my fault and I cannot blame anyone else.

The second part of cleaning up the contamination in the soil of our hearts is forsaking our sin. To forsake it means to dig the contamination out and throw it away and replace it with thoughts that are consistent with God’s Word and His ways.

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them finds mercy.”

As we allow God to identify the contamination in our hearts and as we then act on that contamination by confessing and forsaking our sin, the soil of our heart begins to improve. As the soil of our heart begin to improve, good thoughts and attitudes will take root and sprout into healthy, beautiful, and fruitful words. We will be experiencing God’s transforming power to change our words God’s Way.

“God’s way to change our words is to change our words from the inside out. God’s way to change our words is to change our heart, to change what we believe, and to change how we think.”

CLOSING COMMENTS

If we are to change our words God’s way, we must embrace the four truths I shared with you today. Truth #1, Words sprout from the ground of our hearts. Truth #2, Healthy speech requires a healthy root. Truth #3, Healthy speech requires healthy soil. And Truth #4, Healthy soil requires removing the contamination.

I am reminded of a prayer the Psalmist recorded in Psalm 19:14. Psalm 19:14 says, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Do you want the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart to be acceptable in God’s sight? Then we must continue to remove the contamination in the soil of our hearts.

Filed Under: Devotions, Michael Johnson

God’s Way To Change Our Words – Part 1 of 2 – September 5, 2010

September 5, 2010 By

Baan Athitaan Church
“30 Days To Taming Your Tongue” – Message 2 of 6
God’s Way to Change Our Words
Pastor Michael Johnson
Sept 5, 2010

INTRO:

When we look at a plant, the most visible parts of the plant are the leaves and the stem. These are the things that are above the surface. However, the leaves and stem are also connected to the root and soil that are under the surface and not seen but very real and very important.

That is why it is so important to understand the connection between our heart and our words. The words are like the stem and the leaves and are visible to all to see. Our heart is like the root that is below the surface and its health in many ways is dependent upon the soil surrounding our heart.

As we look at God’s way to change our words from the inside out, we must embrace 4 truths about speech and our words.

4 TRUTHS ABOUT SPEECH AND OUR WORDS

The first truth about speech and words is this: words sprout from the ground of our hearts.

I. WORDS SPROUT FROM THE GROUND OF OUR HEARTS.

The first passage of Scripture that I want us to look at this morning is found in Matthew 15:18-20.

“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man….”

Kind and encouraging words come out of the mouth of a heart that is kind and encouraging.

Gossip and words that hurt peoples name and reputation come out of the mouth of a heart that is angry and has roots of bitterness.

When a person enters into a personal relationship with Jesus, the root of his or her heart is given a new inclination, a new desire. The old nature and bad inclinations are still there and must be brought under the submission of God. However, now there is a new nature in the heart that is at work and that new nature wants to produce healthy and helpful words from a good and healthy heart. This can be done but we must recognize that this is a growth process and growth takes time. One of the most important things that you can begin to do is to begin doing what I call “storing up” good in our hearts. Notice what our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 12:35.

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” Matthew 12:35

To “store up” means to collect, accumulate, or stock something as a reserve for future use; to lay up or put away. In the words of Mary Kassian, “When we speak, particularly in unplanned situations of being irritated, tired, sensitive, or stressed, we reach down into the pantry of our hearts and bring out what has been stored up over time.” P. 45.

The first truth about speech and words is this: words sprout from the ground of our hearts. The second truth about speech and words is this: Healthy speech requires a healthy root.

II. HEALTHY SPEECH REQUIRES A HEALTHY ROOT.

I have always liked to plant things and help them to grow. When I was a young boy, I planted several grape vines and over several years they blossomed and grew healthy and strong and began to produce lots of good grapes. When the grapes would ripen, we would go pick them and give them to my mother and my mother would make the best grape jelly you have ever tasted.

Every summer when I was a boy, I would plant a garden. I would plant okra, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, watermelon and lots of things. I remember one Summer planting some pumpkins. I had bought some pumpkin seeds and then planted them in the garden. The plants began to grow and get really big and before long small pumpkins began to grow off of the vines. The pumkins in America get really bright orange and grow really big. I remember going out to the garden one day and seeing the vines looking really bad. I thought the problem was insects so I put some insecticide on them hoping it would kill the insects and the vines would get better. After only a few days, instead of getting better, the pumpkin vine just died. Later I found out that it wasn’t insects at all, but the problem was what they called “root rot.”

Root rot is one of the most common and devastating horticultural diseases. It is caused by a variety of fungi that infest the soil and attack the roots of plants and trees. Root rot is almost always fatal and kills the plants.

Our heart is our first priority. Jesus accused a group of religious leaders in His day called the Pharisees with appearing clean on the outside but full of greed and selfishness on the inside. He told them that cleaning the inside of the cup ought to have been their first priority. Notice Jesus words in Matthew 23:26.

“First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

The implication Jesus was making was that when the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts are clean and pure, then the words that come out of our mouths will also be clean and pure.

In other words, healthy speech, requires a healthy root.

Filed Under: Blogs, Devotions, Michael Johnson

Why Do People Need A Good Word From You? – Aug 29, 2010

August 29, 2010 By

“30 Days To Taming Your Tongue” – Message 1 of 6
Why Do People Need A Good Word From You?
Pastor Michael Johnson
Aug 29, 2010

INTRO:

The tongue is a small but very powerful member of our body. As you have heard me say before, to the doctor, the tongue is a 2 ounce slab of mucous membrane enclosing a complex array of muscles and nerves that enable the body to chew, taste, and swallow. To the mother, the tongue is a tool that enables her to softly sing her baby to sleep. To the father, the tongue is a tool that enables him to calm the fears of his son who has just seen a spider or just awakened from a nightmare. To the attorney, the tongue is a tool to be used in a courtroom to defend the truth. To the pastor, the tongue is a tool to be used to help encourage troubled hearts to find peace, love, and forgiveness in their relationships with Christ and with their fellow man.

Notice what James 3:8-10 says, “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God, from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”

James says no one can tame the tongue and we all know this to be true but we also know that through Jesus Christ, all things are possible. Today as I share this first message of 6 on Taming Your Tongue, I want to begin by helping you see the big picture of and answer the question, “why do people need a good word from you?” There are 4 reasons why people need a good word from you.

4 REASONS WHY PEOPLE NEED A GOOD WORD FROM YOU

The first reason is because their lives are broken and hurting.

I. BECAUSE THEIR LIVES ARE BROKEN AND HURTING

There is an old saying that I have always liked, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Many times we have set out to make something that is working, work a little better, only to end up breaking it where it won’t work at all.
Yet, when our lives and our hearts are broken, they need fixing.

The beauty of the Bible is seen in God’s overwhelming joy in salvaging our broken lives. Ultimately sin is to blame for all life’s brokenness. The beauty of the Bible is that God teaches us how to get on with a broken life and how to help others get on with a broken life. One of the key ways you help others with their broken lives is through hearing a good word from you.

It is never too late to find God’s healing for our brokenness. God desperately wants to work His work in each of our lives even if we believe it is too late. But God also wants to use your words as a part of that healing process.

Notice what Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.” Isaiah 50:4

The words that come out of your mouths are intended by God to refresh and help others. We live in a world that is filled with pain, violence, and trouble. We all experience various aspects of discouragement, despair, and depression. We all have experienced fatigue, failure, frustrations, and fears. We all have hidden hurts from our past many of them as far back as our childhood. We carry wounds, battle scars, emotional garbage that affects how we deal with things today. We need the strength that can come through a good word from others.

Why do people need a good word from you? Because their lives are broken and hurting and the words that come out of your mouth can strengthen those who lack strength. Your words can encourage someone who is ready to give up.

The second reason people need a good word from you is because God is not finished shaping them.

II. BECAUSE GOD IS NOT FINISHED SHAPING THEM

Notice what Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

Most of us love this verse and have memorized it by heart…..but we often forget that this verse applies to other people too. God did not just give this verse to encourage your heart, He also gave this verse to other people. As we continue to grow in Christ like character we continue to become less focused on ourselves and begin to become more focused on other people and how we can be used of God to help them.

I am reminded of a passage in Philippians 2:3-4 that says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves, do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Why do people need a good word from you? Because God is not finished shaping them. The third reason is because your words have the power to help them.

III. BECAUSE YOUR WORDS HAVE THE POWER TO HELP THEM

Let’s briefly look at two Proverbs that talk about how words have the power to help others. Let’s first notice Proverbs 25:11, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.”

Let’s also read Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Words… Are…. Powerful.

Words have the power to heal broken hearts and make dreams come true. Words have the power to make someone feel better about themself. Words also have the power to break hearts and to crush hope and dreams. Words have the power to tear someone down completely and cause them to feel completely worthless.

Job 6:25 says, “How forcible are right words!”
This is just one of the reasons why I have always strived to keep roots of bitterness and hate out of my heart and out of my mind. When hate or a root of bitterness moves into your heart or mind, rest assured no good will ever come from it. It’ll simply grow and grow and then it will come flying out of your mouth and really hurt someone.

We’d all do well to begin paying closer attention to our words and thinking more before we speak sot that the words coming out of our mouths are consistent with helping others feel like God wants them to feel and helping others do what God wants them to do.

One of the reasons God has put people in your life is so that you can grow in your ability to help others and encourage others. God wants you to be able to not only help those who are easy to encourage but God wants you to be able to control your tongue and say good words to those who may be a little harder to love.

The third reason why people need a good word from you is because your words have the power to help them. The fourth reason is because God wants you to join Him in His work of building others up.

IV. BECAUSE GOD WANTS YOU TO JOIN HIM IN HIS WORK OF BUILDING OTHERS UP

One of the most important verses you could ever memorize and apply to your life is found in Ephesians 4:29. If you have not memorized this verse, please do it today. Notice what it says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29

Written or spoken, words are continuously propelling us through life. They lift us up, drag us down, wound us deeply or heal our hearts. Words have the power to break confidences, build life time friendships or start wars.

Words can make or break us, both as individuals and as a society.

The words you speak can have a profound effect on the people that hear them. Are you encouraging or discouraging? Are you building up your children, your spouse, your friend or even the stranger you pass on the street? Or are you tearing down your own family with words of criticism, bitterness and judgment?

What have you been saying lately?

In the Bible, James compares the human tongue to a horse. We have mastered controlling this tremendous, spirited animal with a small piece of metal, yet we are far from controlling the words that fall from our lips.

In preparation to sharing this message today, I read through the introduction of the devotional guide that we will be using and read something that really stood out to me that I would like to share with you. The author of 30 Days to Taming the Tongue, wrote this,

“Words are the vehicle through which we communicate our thoughts; the tongue is the driver. As such, it takes us to our destiny. Moving in spiritual maturity requires that we learn to speak the right words in the right season and for the right reason.” P.9

I think she is right but I would like to add something else to that as well that reflects the kind of spiritual maturity that God wants us to have in our lives. Here is how I would say it.

“Moving toward spiritual maturity requires that we learn to speak the right words at the right time and for the right reason… and it also requires that we learn to leave unsaid the wrong thing at a tempting moment.”

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”

CLOSING COMMENTS

This morning I have tried to help you see a Biblical answer to the question “Why do people need a good word from you?”

I have shared with you 4 Biblical reasons why people need a good word from you.

As we begin these next 30 days, let’s begin them with a commitment to taming our tongue and giving a good word to people who need it.

Filed Under: Blogs, Michael Johnson

Penetrating the Darkness – July 25, 2010

July 30, 2010 By

Sunday July 25 was a day that Nong Aye, Nong Waat, Nong Pee, Nong Gung, Nong Tat, Nong Wut, Nong Pon, and Nong Yaa will remember for the rest of their lives. It was the day that they said publically that they belong to Jesus and that He is Lord of their lives.

It was also a very special day for our church to reflect on what it means to be a church family and to welcome others from our community and support them in their decision to follow the commands of Jesus.

For those of you who follow our ministry closely, you know well that we live in a part of the world where there has been Satanic strongholds keeping people in darkness for thousands of years. Much like most of these people who were baptized this past Sunday, God is moving in a way that we have never seen before reaching down into families where there has never been even 1 Christian believer in the family and through the power of the gospel of our Lord Jesus, God is changing lives.

God is moving and we are pleading with you to keep praying. Please remember to pray for Baan Athitaan Church and all the teaching and discipleship ministry that goes on every week here in Northern Thailand. You have heard me say on many occasions, one of the most significant things that I do while serving as God has shaped and gifted me is to faithfully, boldly, gently, and clearly teach God’s truth every Sunday morning to our church family that is made up of over 22 different people groups from all over the 10-40 Window.

Reaching, Teaching, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving People in God’s World through acts of love and compassionate is what NTIM and our ministry team is all about.

Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael for the team

Pictures of our baptismal celebration on July 25, 2010

Filed Under: Blogs, Michael Johnson

Alabama Team from SMBC helping reach out in Thailand – July 12, 2010

July 11, 2010 By

God is using English in mighty ways to build bridges to the hearts of people in Asia. A team of 8 from our home church in Birmingham, Alabama have come to help us reach out to the nations through many avenues. They have already helped host some HIV/AIDS training, host a part for Baan Oon Rak children’s home and will be blessing some of the street kids at Open Doors on Tuesday.

Another very significant avenue of reaching out this week is through doing what we call “English Fun Days.” On Monday and Wednesday, we will be going into two junior high schools and putting on an English program for two schools. This is a part of our strategy at Grace Language School to reach out and bless our community and build bridges to hearts that God can use to draw people to Him.

Pray for a special touch from God. Pray for the team as they work with our team to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this part of the world.

Please also pray that God would send us laborers to help in the fields to follow up with these precious people. We are in desperate need of four people who would commit for 2 years to come and serve with us as teachers at Grace Language School and help us follow up and really make a long term impact in this part of the world.

Your Servant to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael

Filed Under: Blogs, Michael Johnson

Training HIV/AIDS Workers in Thailand – July 10, 2010

July 10, 2010 By

When we look closely at Jesus’ mission statement and at the way He lived out the Gospel during His 3 years of public ministry, we find that He always expressed His love and devotion to God in compassionate ways that reached out to the downcast, the distressed, the hurting, the sick, the poor, those in bondage, and the needy.

Jesus said in His mission statement, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19

As followers of Jesus, our love for God must be expressed in these same compassionate ways. Many of you know that our ministry is involved in many things including ministering to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. There are over 21,000 Thai people that die from AIDS every year and we have an opportunity to express the love of Jesus.

SIM & E3Partners have developed something similar to the Evangecube but is directed more at educating people about HIV/AIDS and then using it as a bridge to share the gospel. Chris Horton, who is a good friend of mine from my home church in Birmingham, AL and also serves with E3Partners, provided some awesome training for a small group of HIV/AIDS workers yesterday.

Please also pray with us that God would continue to use us as his hands and feet to share the love and message of our Savior and continue to become better equipped to bless the communities in Northern Thailand.

Please also pray that God would send us laborers to help in the fields to follow up with these precious people in our various ministries here at NTIM.

We are in need of 2 very important things: resources in people and resources in donations.

Your Servant to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael

Filed Under: Blogs, Michael Johnson

Prayer for English Camp in Thailand – July 2, 2010

July 2, 2010 By

God is using English to reach the hearts of young people. In just a couple of hours, we begin a 3 day camp called “Let Freedom Ring English Camp” where we will have lots of fun, make lots of new friends, and build bridges to the hearts of lost people. We have a great team from Florence, Mississippi here to help us. They have been busy all week getting ready for this very important weekend. In just a couple of hours from now, we will be registering somewhere between 50 to 60 high school and university students for this camp.

Pray for a special touch from God. Pray for us to love these campers like Jesus loves them. Pray that God would help us to be His hands and His feet. Pray for them that their eyes and hearts will be opened to message of our great and mighty Savior and King. We have already seen two students give their hearts to Jesus this week and we are seeing God to do some amazing things.

Please also pray that God would send us laborers to help in the fields to follow up with these precious people. We are in desperate need of four people who would commit for 2 years to come and serve with us as teachers at Grace Language School and help us follow up and really make a long term impact in this part of the world.

Your Servant to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael

Filed Under: Blogs, Michael Johnson

Two More Chinese Give Their Hearts to Jesus – June 30, 2010

June 30, 2010 By

God is at work all around us! We stand amazed at how God is giving NTIM and the various ministries it supports so many opportunities to reach the nations for Jesus.

Just moments ago, two more Chinese students gave their hearts to Jesus! Wow. Go GOD!!!! God had been working in their hearts for quite some time but today was the day that God had chosen to write their names in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Today is the day that the Angels in heaven are rejoicing over these two sinners who have given their hearts to Jesus.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for our team. God is listening to those prayers and opening doors that no man could ever open. Please pray that God would send us either an ethnic Chinese or someone who is fluent in Chinese to help us. We urgently need someone who loves Jesus, loves the Chinese, speaks English well, has the heart of a shepherd, and will work as a team player to bring the Chinese into the larger church family of God. We need someone to come and serve alongside Pastor Michael and lead our Chinese ministry to the next level of impact and discipleship.

There are over 500 Chinese students from Yunnan Province that study at Rajabhat University here in Chiang Rai. That does not include the hundreds of Chinese students that study at Mae Fah Luang University just up the highway from us. God has used us to lead many to faith in our Lord Jesus over the past 2 years but we are really in need of someone to help shepherd their hearts and disciple them in their heart language. Keep Praying!!!!

We also just want to thank all of our financial supporters. It is through your donations to NTIM that make it possible for us to join God in this great task of taking the message of our great Savior to the nations in this part of the world.

Filed Under: Blogs, Michael Johnson

STRONG WINDS DESTROY HMONG VILLAGE CHURCH IN NORTHERN THAILAND – UPDATE – June 22, 2010

June 22, 2010 By

In just about 30 minutes, a team of us from the Northern Thailand Baptist Convetion and Baan Athitaan Church will be driving about 3 hours to do a follow up visit on the church that was destroyed by strong winds 2 months ago. We are in the prelimary stages of evaluating the feasibility of asking a team from the USA to come and help us put up a more permanant structure for this church. This is not a “Huge” project and only expect to spend in the neighborhood of $3,000 to $6,000 and take less than a week to accomplish once we get out of the rainy season. However it will make a “HUGE” difference in the lives of the people in this village. We are targeting the last week of September or 1st week on October to do the construction if the feasibility evaluation goes well today. Keep us in your prayers as we seek to follow God’s leadership and to expand the kingdom of God in Northern Thailand for the glory of God.

Below is the orginal prayer request we sent out on April 29, 2010
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STRONG WINDS DESTROY THE BAMBOO CHURCH BUILDING at Huay Khum Village Tuesday night, April 27. If you will watch this video at the link below you will see the bamboo church structure in the background.

Please pray as we seek to respond to this urgent need. We received a phone call last night from the Huay Khum church and …just sent a team of 4 young men from Baan Athitan Church out this morning to evaluate the damage and determine a response plan. This is the home village of two of our key young leaders in our ministry.

Filed Under: Blogs, Michael Johnson
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