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Giving To Help Japan
0 CommentsUpdate (Monday, March 21): To give to Covenant Life’s “Japan Disaster Relief Fund,” visit our Online Giving page and select the “Japan Disaster Relief” option under “Fund.” Monies collected by Covenant Life will be divided equally among the four ministries mentioned below.
Original post:
We will receive an offering this Sunday, March 20, to support ministries that are providing aid to the Japanese people in the aftermath of devastation from a 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11 and the ensuing tsunami.
The offering will be divided equally among four ministries:
Samaritan’s Purse
Asian Access
CRASH (Christian Relief Assistance Support and Help)
Michael Oh’s Ministry (Christ Bible Institute)
These four ministries were selected because they do ongoing work with and through local churches in Japan. In addition to or in lieu of contributing to the offering this Sunday, please feel the freedom to give directly to any of these ministries.
To give on Sunday, please write a separate check with “JAPAN” in the note.
Video of tsunami devastation and prayer by John Piper as posted on the Desiring God blog:
The power of moving water is greater than most of us can imagine. Nothing stands before it. We are driven to our knees:
Father in heaven, you are the absolute Sovereign over the shaking of the earth, the rising of the sea, and the raging of the waves. We tremble at your power and bow before your unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways. We cover our faces and kiss your omnipotent hand. We fall helpless to the floor in prayer and feel how fragile the very ground is beneath our knees.
O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.
And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.
Have you not encouraged us in this? Have we not heard a hundred times in your Word the riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience? Do you not a thousand times withhold your judgments, leading your rebellious world toward repentance? Yes, Lord. For your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.
Grant, O God, that the wicked will forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Grant us, your sinful creatures, to return to you, that you may have compassion. For surely you will abundantly pardon. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus, your beloved Son, will be saved.
May every heart-breaking loss—millions upon millions of losses—be healed by the wounded hands of the risen Christ. You are not unacquainted with your creatures’ pain. You did not spare your own Son, but gave him up for us all.
In Jesus you tasted loss. In Jesus you shared the overwhelming flood of our sorrows and suffering. In Jesus you are a sympathetic Priest in the midst of our pain.
Deal tenderly now, Father, with this fragile people. Woo them. Win them. Save them.
And may the floods they so much dread make blessings break upon their head.
O let them not judge you with feeble sense, but trust you for your grace. And so behind this providence, soon find a smiling face.
In Jesus’ merciful name, Amen.
Ways To Pray for Japan
Excerpted from a blog post by Tom Kim of Churches Helping Churches:
Endangered people. Pray for those that are stranded or stuck somewhere. Pray that search and rescue teams would reach them.
Relief workers. Pray for more workers. Pray for skilled workers. Pray for their strength and safety. Some are working in areas where there are still aftershocks and nuclear danger. Pray for their mental and emotional health.
Assessment teams are needed to successfully gather information regarding the status of churches and communities hit on the coast. This information will be the starting point for many organizations.
Japanese leaders. Pray for wisdom and discernment as they coordinate the country’s efforts.
Resources. Pray for food, water, blankets, gasoline, and other supplies to reach those in need. In Tokyo, some grocery stores were out of bread yesterday.
Energy rationing. The greater Tokyo area has begun energy rationing via rolling blackouts. This may be due to the shutting down of the two Fukushima nuclear plants. This is going to bring hardship on many people and obstruct communication.
Wisdom and discernment. Pray for guidance for all the aid organizations and churches as they consider how they can best serve people.
Faith. Pray that believers everywhere would trust in the Lord, especially during these times.
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