Football to the Rest of the World

These Acehnese boys are playing sepak bola (foot ball) in their neighborhood street. Boys grow up playing soccer like boys in America grow up playing baseball or basketball. It is many boys’ cherished dream in Indonesia to grow up to be a professional soccer player. It is a dream only realized by the very few.

But even those who never become professional soccer players still get good exercise, learn how to work with a team, and learn how to show good sportsmanship. These are all good things. The Apostle Paul commended this type of discipline, but recommended something even better.

“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:7-8, ESV).

While every boy on Sumatra knows how to train for soccer, very few know the skill of training for godliness.

Pray for the truths of God’s Word to be broadly proclaimed on Sumatra so that people can discover the value of godliness.

Pray for discipleship with new believers on Sumatra to succeed in building up true godliness among all peoples of Sumatra.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to give young boys on Sumatra the desire to be holy that is as strong as their desire to be a professional soccer player.

Balancing Act

Okay, so you have 50 pineapples that you want to carry to market. You only have a bicycle for transportation. Your basket on the back will allow you to carry 25, so you make two trips, right? No, that would be silly. Instead you take plastic string and tie the other 25 to the handlebars of your bike. Problem solved!

Sumatrans are amazingly good at putting more stuff on a bike or motorcycle than you’d think would be humanly possible. Indonesians have astoundingly good balance. They have also learned to make do with what they have. They have a high risk tolerance in order to keep from duplicating effort.

It’s not that big a deal if you take a risk and lose 50 pineapples, but millions of Sumatrans are taking the risk that their good works will be enough to balance their sin. While they have astoundingly good balance, this balancing of the sin debt through good works will never work. It is an eternal wreck waiting to happen.

Pray for Sumatrans to see that only Jesus can pay for their sin debt.

Pray for Sumatrans to realize that taking risks in some areas is good, but in the matter of eternal destinations it is disastrous.

Pray for believers on Sumatra to carry the Gospel to those who need to hear.

Weighed in the Scales

This Kerinci man is leaning against a scale used to weigh rice and other produce to determine how much the buyer will pay to the grower for his crop. This scale is very important to the people of this village as most earn their livelihood as farmers.

Many Kerinci believe in another type of scale. This scale balances the amount of good works they do against the sins they commit. It is their hope that their good deeds outweigh their bad so that God will receive them into heaven. Most people who follow this belief admit that they will likely have to spend some time in hell to pay for their sins.

Proverbs 20:23 shares that dishonest scales are hated by the Lord. The scale that many Kerinci people are trusting with their eternal destiny is a dishonest scale. It over values the worth of good deeds, and underestimates the debt incurred with even the smallest of sins. All who trust in such a scale will meet with judgment and destruction at the end.

The only thing that can balance the scales of God’s just wrath against sinful mankind is the great blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Only His imputed righteousness can tip the scales in man’s favor. The Good News of what Jesus has done is little known among the Kerinci.

Pray for workers to go and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the Kerinci so that their sins may not just be balanced, but be completely forgiven.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring deep conviction to the hearts of Kerinci people regarding the true wages of sin.

Pray that long-held traditions and beliefs will not keep the Kerinci from hearing and accepting the Gospel as God’s way, truth, and life.

Pray for multiplied groups of Kerinci believers gathered around God’s throne in heaven at the end of this age.