Bible passage:
Parts of Lev 19: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
2 Cor 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Phil 3:20, 21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
God is the king of all nations. Anything that is beautiful in our culture or nation is from God. We then are to take care of our culture, pluck out that which is corrupt, and nurture that which is beautiful. In today's Bible passage, we read about Israel, the sojourner (foreign resident/ immigrant), and us with heavenly citizenship and a responsibility to be an ambassador even while we try to be in the world and not of it.
There are many problems that are surfacing in our country, state and even district. May God give the ministers, secretary and all those working there - the wisdom, the passion to serve, the love and sacrifice.
Prayer points:
Pray for God's blessing and guidance on the departments of home affairs: Border management, internal security, Jammu-Kashmir-and-Ladakh, Home, official languages, state. The ministry of foreign affairs takes care of foreign policy implementation, and managing certain governmental appointments.
Pray against separatist ideas that try to divide our country. Pray that all the states of our country will be well-cared for by the Center and that the states in turn are proud to be a part of India. Pray that God blesses the borders of our country and that there are no external attacks or internal insurgencies. Pray for Jammu and Kashmir.
Pray that the Center doesn't show partiality to any religion, caste, language, or region. Pray that opportunities are given to everyone.
Pray that the foreign policies of our country are pleasing to God. Pray that God would give wisdom to the officials to ensure the correct course of action.
Pray that God will give the officials the heart to decide in a godly manner, especially in the case of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal (our neighbors), and Ukraine.
Pray for God's loving touch upon the ministers, secretaries, and department staff.
If you can, try memorizing Lev 19:2.
Names:
Union Home Minister - Shri Amit Shah
Minister of State - Shri Nityanand Rai, Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra, Shri Nisith Pramanik
Minister of External Affairs - Dr. S. Jaishankar
Minister of State - V. Muraleedharan, Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
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