WMCAS

The real test of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God but that God's character must be proven trustworthy in our munds.  Oswald Chambers.

WMCAS

1. Pray for wisdom for the various Committees and Organisations of our Church as they meet to finalise plans, programmes and budget for the year 2012

1. Pray for our 1^st LCEC meeting that God will grant us his wisdom, love and unity in decision making especially in preparing the church budget for 2012. He will unite us in a common vision of being His disciples, living a Godly life, loving one another and others, bringing glory to His name as a body of Christ.

1. Pray for our coming Pledge Sunday that we will give generously to the work of Our Lord Jesus in and through our Church. Pray for Mr. Phua Seng Tiong as he speaks on Pledge Sunday that God will challenge us to give cheerfully, wisdom and clarity for brother Yeang Boon as he presents the Church Budget.

MALAYSIA

1 Pray for the fear of the Lord to permeate every sphere. Pray for fair and clean elections; for rakyat to choose and vote wisely. Pray for righteous and moral leadership; for the right people to hold positions. Pray for the government to administer justice and show compassion, that it will not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the foreigner, the poor or the minorities, and that it will not plot evil against one another

• • KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 —Senior Christian leader Reverend Dr Eu Hong Seng said today his controversial Christmas Eve remarks about the country’s constitutional protection for Bumiputeras was something that “needed somebody to say it.” He told The Malaysian Insider today that he had nothing to fear despite the fierce reaction from various Malay groups and denials by the government that Christians or any minority group had been sidelined. (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/rev-eu-article-153-remarks-had-to-be-said/)
  • KAJANG, Dec 26 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin denied today the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had sidelined any group, after the Church and Malay rights group Perkasa clashed over whether Article 153 of the Constitution safeguarded the rights of all communities. The deputy prime minister told thousands at the government’s Christmas open house here that the Najib administration “does not look at your background, religion or race” in formulating policy. (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/muhyiddin-says-no-one-sidelined-under-bn/)

2 Against the spirit of corruption in all government and agencies; for transparency in all ministries; that all corrupt leaders, politicians, and government officials to be removed

• • Shares of the Tricubes Bhd behind the MyEmail email project plummeted today, after the company revealed yesterday that it suffered heavier losses than initially reported due to a typo... Tricubes is best known for its appointment by the federal government for the email project - then known as the 1Malaysia Email project - to provide Malaysians with a secure email account for correspondences and monetary transactions with the government. However, the project would cost 50 sen per correspondence, drawing brickbats because critics argued that there are already free alternatives. Despite that, its shares shot up from 5.5 sen to 32.5 sen over a week, after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced the appointment on April 19. The company was thrown into the spotlight again when it was awarded a contract to collect traffic summons for the Royal Malaysian Police on Nov 16, prompting another share spike. (http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/185226)
  • The emergence of invoices totaling millions of ringgit in relation to the purchase of the six naval patrol vessels raise the concern of kickbacks, echoing the Scorpene submarine deal. According to invoices leaked to Kita president Zaid Ibrahim, three 'agents' were paid a total of RM11.36 million for "technical assistance" in connection with the purchase from French arms dealer DCNS. "Why can't the navy determine what is required by the navy, instead of these consultants? Unless this is necessary to channel corruption money," he said when met in Tropicana today (23/12/11,http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/184881). Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today invited Kita president Zaid Ibrahim to meet with him so that he can answer queries on the purchase of six second-generation naval patrol vessels (26/12/11, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/185192).

WORLD

1 We pray for our brothers and sisters who face injustice and suffer for the name of Christ, may God's steadfast love hold them up and His consolations cheers their souls. Pray for Christians living in North Korea that they may worship freely without the threat of persecution. A day after authorities announced the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, several Christian organizations are calling for prayers for the nation’s persecuted Christians, one of many so-called dissident groups that have suffered under the North Korean regime. While Christianity has experienced immense growth throughout South Korea and other Asian countries, human rights groups estimate that there are 50,000 to 70,000 Christian prisoners in North Korea, which has routinely made the U.S. State Department’s list of “countries of particular concern” when it comes to religious freedom. (http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/12/19/north-korean-persecution-of-christians-expected-to-continue/)

2 Pray for religious freedom for the people in China (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010_5/168351.htm)

The constitution protects religious freedom for all citizens but, in practice, the government generally enforced other laws and policies that restrict religious freedom. The constitution states that Chinese citizens "enjoy freedom of religious belief" and "normal religious activities," but does not define "normal." It also bans the state, public organizations, and individuals from compelling citizens to believe in, or not believe in, any religion. Only religious groups belonging to one of the five state-sanctioned "patriotic religious associations" (Buddhist, Taoist, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant) are permitted to register and to hold worship services. Religious groups, such as Protestant groups unaffiliated with a patriotic religious association, or Catholics professing loyalty to the Vatican, are not permitted to register as legal entities. In some parts of the country, authorities charged religious believers unaffiliated with a patriotic religious association with various crimes, including "illegal religious activities" or "disrupting social stability." Proselytizing in public or unregistered places of worship is not permitted. Some religious and spiritual groups are outlawed. Tibetan Buddhists in China are not free to openly venerate the Dalai Lama and encounter severe government interference in religious practice (see Tibet section). Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members are discouraged from participating in religious activities.