Shan Dai Advocacy

2 John

Babies are very dependant creatures. One aspect of this dependency involves their immobility. After several months of being carried it is time to learn to walk. In China, toddlers wear a form of harness that provides stability for taking their first shaky steps. A parent will hold tight to the straps as wobbly steps move toward confident ones. There is great joy when the skill of walking is mastered. John writes with this kind of excited parental joy when he hears of his spiritual children standing for truth and walking in love. With that joy concern follows; some will run off independent of God and will face pain when stumbling comes. We must walk on in obedience to God’s commandments, loving one another. God wants to save us from many terrible falls in life. Don’t wander off but stay on the path. “For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will not have fellowship with God” (2 John 1:9). Father, You desire Your children to walk in Your truth and love. We intercede today on behalf of the Shan Dai that now see You as their loving Father. New believers are taking those first wobbly steps of faith as Your Spirit leads them. God, may they have the strength to rid their hearts and homes of all things that would make them stumble. Holy Spirit, please lead them in wisdom. May they run the race of faith in confidence, teaching others that Jesus is the way to a life of love. We pray they trust You with each step.

1 John

Life, light and love; God knows what we need. And He is not only a God of knowledge but also a God of provision. Our Father can perfectly provide these requirements for His children for He Himself is Life, Light and Love. Try to picture yourself as a Shan Dai person who for the first time understands the truth of who God is. God not only is the Creator of life but He is Life. Jesus does more than light our path; He is the Light of the world. Our Father is the very best at loving for He is Love. This creating, light-bearing God loves us. God, thank You for revealing Yourself to us and Lord with gratitude we pray for You to be made known to the Shan Dai people. John lived in joyful fellowship with Jesus, who is Immanuel, God with us. It is His desire for our joy and fellowship to be complete in God too. The conclusion of John’s first letter gives assurance: “And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life. I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13). There is no need for us, or the Shan Dai, to live in doubt. God, we thank You that through Jesus we can live fully in the life, light and love that You make available to us.

2 Peter

The best way to get a tasty meal consistently is to follow the recipe. Dai people enjoy pork and in the open markets any imaginable part of a pig is available for eating. Le Mu Ma Piet—Pork and Peppers is a tasty option. The recipe is a simple one, and if followed, the result is a delicious meal, Dai-style.

Dai-Style Pork and Peppers
Thinly slice:
2 Tomatoes
2 Green Peppers (as hot as you like them)
Set these aside.
Combine in a small bowl:
1 teaspoon Corn Starch
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
Next prepare and mix together:
2 cups Pork—thinly sliced
One Onion—thinly sliced
1 Garlic clove—crushed
Add the pork combo to the soy sauce combo and mix well.
Heat:
1/3 cup Oil in a wok or frying pan.
Carefully add the pork and stir fry until done. Add the tomatoes and peppers, stirring until heated through. Serve over rice, eat with chop sticks, and pray for the Dai and Enjoy!

In Peter’s second letter he shares with us a recipe of 8 ingredients that when properly added one to another the outcome is amazingly life changing! Do you desire to know Christ in effective and useful ways? Here’s how:

Effective Life in Christ
Begin with: Faith (Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb. 11:6)
Now add: Goodness (For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth. Eph. 5:9)
Combine with: Knowledge (The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Prov. 1:7)
Add a good measure of: Self-control (…be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 1 Pet. 4:7)
Stir in: Perseverance (May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thess. 3:5)
Godliness is not an optional ingredient, do not leave it out. (…godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 1 Tim. 4:8)
Mix well with: Brotherly kindness (May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. Ruth 1:8)
Top it all with: Love (…love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Pet. 4:8)
“So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5; 8). By increasingly imitating Jesus, others will be able to taste and see that the Lord is good. Father God, You not only give us good food to eat but the recipe for how to live a life that is rich and full. We pray today for the Dai to incorporate this recipe from 2 Peter 1:5-8 into their lives. May it be a family favorite that is enjoyed and passed down from generation to generation. Thank You Father, that through Your Son we can live life effectively.

1 Peter

God, bless this monk and the many like him throughout the Shan world. Please open his eyes to see Your holiness. May someone soon communicate to him the truth of Peter’s letter: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ…” (1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV). Jesus, who is our atoning sacrifice, is the only way to a life of meaning and holiness. Peter went on to encourage us about the reality of suffering. God, as we and Shan Dai believers go through the refiner’s fire of suffering may our faith in You, which is of greater worth than any position or possession, be proven as genuine. Arouse us to the reality that if we truly follow You then we go by the way of suffering. Teach us to desire those things that will never fade away, and to pass down to the generations that follow not an empty way of life but one filled with hope. This monk will suffer if he chooses to rid himself of the familiarity and security of his status within the temple. But it is in suffering for righteousness that we are made complete. We are all urged to live life replacing our sinful desires with Your holy ones. Pious Buddhist monks seek to suppress desires in a hope to obtain holiness. Lord, let them see that apart from You there is no holiness.

James

“And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (James 3:18). Are you hungry for a harvest of goodness in your life? In order to rejoice in the harvest, we must not only sow in peace but be peacemakers as well. Peacemaking requires faithful Christ-likeness. James teaches that trials, when they are faced with joy, grow our character. No matter where you live, trials are a part of life. Our trails may be different from those of the Shan Dai, but trials there will be. This is good. Some would even say reason for rejoicing. Trials are situations that require wisdom to make the best choice and are the training grounds for goodness. Do you ever think the trial is too big to handle on your own? God knows; and He wants to handle it with you. Ask Him. What about too many trails coming at you? Stretch your faith muscles and persevere. Be aware of God and trust that He is in control. Being a peacemaker is not for the faint of heart. That is why not every life is experiencing goodness. Get ready, the next trial is coming. Rejoice! Instead of viewing it as an inconvenience, an interruption, or an attack from the evil one, see it as a workout session in goodness. The life of Shan Dai farmers is especially filled with trials. May they embrace the teaching from Your Word and live in peace both in and out of season. Lord of the harvest, may the harvest be plentiful; many Shan Dai peacemakers sowing peace and reaping goodness in You.

Hebrews

Jesus is superior to any religious system the world has ever known. So why would people who know the truth choose to reverse their course and turn from the One True Way? The letter to the Hebrews addresses this question and exhorts readers to reevaluate the basis of faith. Dai believers today, like Christians throughout human history, have been tempted to reject faith in God and return to their familiar yet unsafe ways. God, help Shan Dai brothers and sisters to have faith like those in Hebrews 11, for it is impossible to please You without faith. Faith starts by believing that God exists and this is a huge step for the Shan Dai as they do not have a Judeo-Christian background. Then we need to believe that God rewards those that earnestly seek Him. How earnest is our seeking? There comes a time when believers must grow up and go on to maturity. This requires a persistent pursuit to enter into Christ’s rest as well as running faithfully. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish” (Hebrews 12:1-2a). Jesus is the Way with the firm foundation; let us run on His solidness staying clear of our collapsing systems that lead to sure destruction. Lead us on Lord, we pray.

Philemon

God desires His children to experience grace and peace in our relationships. To do this requires trust, and to really love God’s people we must value forgiveness the way that He does. “I always thank God when I pray for you (________________) because I keep hearing of your trust in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people” (Philemon 1:4-5). Can people say that about us? After Paul addresses Philemon he makes a specific request and his friend needs to make a decision: offer forgiveness or not. Forgiveness is the very beginning point of new life in Christ. Asking for and giving forgiveness continues on, sometimes 7×70 times in any given day. Paul did not force Philemon to forgive and neither will God force us, but peace will not come when grace does not proceed. The Shan Dai community in general does not have a proud heritage of forgiveness. “Saving face” rather than saving grace is what they most commonly experience. Yet they, and all people, are asked to make a choice: receive forgiveness from Christ and forgive others or live life bitterly without reconciliation. As we choose to live a lifestyle of worship and verbally communicate to others how God through Christ Jesus has forgiven us, over and over again we are reminded of God’s precious grace. Our Father, where would we be if You were not forgiving? We pray for a fuller understanding of Your goodness as we both receive and offer forgiveness. Bless the Shan Dai nation to be a nation of reconciliation by the way of the cross.

Titus

“Sai”, a middle-aged Shan Dai man, was selling Dai rice taffy in the market. Eager for business, he offered a Chinese man a sample to taste. Rudely, the man spat it out; not on the ground, which is acceptable behavior in China, but all over the day’s inventory, proclaiming loudly that he did not like it. Sai later mentioned the event while teaching Dai believers. The group was anticipating the story to end in a fight. But Sai said, “Because Jesus has changed me, I did not punch the guy out.” In a very unassuming way, the small Dai church learned the meaning of kindness in action. Paul, in writing to Titus, reminds, “Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us. But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:3-5). In a society where rudeness, anger and aggressive behavior rule, kindness needs to be taught, for it just does not naturally happen. We thank God for the godly leadership Sai provides for the Shan Dai in rural southwest China. Father, we all need to remain aware of the ways You have changed us. Lord, may kindness, mercy and compassion become ever-growing traits in Your children, we pray.

2 Timothy

Bring to mind a person who has influenced your life for good. Imagine that in his last days your mentor writes you a letter. This treasured letter reminds you of his non-compromising lifestyle, words of encouragement, and his challenge to live wise and courageously. Paul invested in the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Just before his death, chained in a Roman prison, he wrote his last letter. It was not to his congressman demanding fair treatment, but to his faithful apprentice. Paul urged Timothy to pass God’s teachings on to reliable men. He gave courage and reminded him of the importance of living in love and self-discipline. He warns that godlessness, although rampant, is not an option for the workman approved by God. Paul’s final written words were about the Scripture that he cherished. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Kingdom of God is the destination, the Bible is the guidebook, and faithful workers are used to connect God’s goodness to others on the path. Father, thank You for Your God-breathed Word. Please guide us to boldly use it to teach in righteousness. Lord, may the Shan Dai have Your Scripture in their language, so they too can be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1 Timothy

Back in the days when bookstores were not overflowing with volumes on “How to Live the Christian Life”, Paul wrote to Timothy offering advice, guidelines and prayers for living in God’s family. We pray today for God’s grace to be extended to young Dai pastors, men like Timothy, without years of seminary training, but men who possess a desire for living out and teaching others the essential principles of godly living. Father, as the Shan Dai church is established, we pray for pastors to be able to learn from others how to deal effectively with people both inside and outside the church. Please aid them further by providing the Dai Bible translation of Paul’s instructions from You. The same encouraging words Paul wrote to his dear son in the faith, we pray for Shan Dai pastors: “…run from all evil things, and follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for what we believe. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses… obey his commands with all purity” (1 Timothy 6:11, 12, 14). In praying for Dai pastors, may God bring your pastor to mind as well. Praise God for the leader He has placed over you. Pray for godly wisdom and strength for your pastor to lead in ways that glorify God and grow His Church to spiritual maturity. When we can earnestly pray for our own headship, God will honor our prayers for pastors in far away places too.