7) Security, Hardware, Bitlocker, and You
Do you work in a sensitive land? Do you value your digital security? We’re seeing more and more chatter describing difficulties with certain hardware forms of encryption. Some of us might be depending on our hardware to provide security for us, without even knowing that it’s not doing a very premium job. For an example of discussion on this, you could read…
https://www.howtogeek.com/fyi/you-cant-trust-bitlocker-to-encrypt-your-ssd-on-windows-10/
Microsoft provides a tool to check the status of our security. If this kind of thing is important to you (e.g., if you’re serving in a sensitive land), you might want to utilize this tool:
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/ADV180028
If these kinds of things are difficult for you, don’t feel alone. They’re difficult to many (most?) of us. The tech world has progressed so quickly, many of us are still catching up. I asked our I.T. guy at Team Expansion about this, and he agreed that it’s a difficult challenge. He pointed out to me that there are discussions ongoing regarding multiple levels of security issues, however, including questions about our phones, our online software applications, and much more. Still, he also pointed out that it’s very expensive for a foreign government (good guys or not so good guys) to carry out hardware searches. We think his point is good. There’s a certain amount of solace in knowing that, as long as you’re not perceived as too big of a target, you might not be prioritized as high in the decision to break into your apartment, steal your laptop, and hack your hard drive. : ) So be encouraged. : ) (Thanks for the help understanding this, Greg.)
8) Please Pray for India. No Really. Seriously. Please Pray.
Where else can we turn? Imagine a place with the highest number of poor, including 20 million or so orphans. Consider that roughly 40% of the population is malnourished. Ponder the fact that the same nation has the highest number of slaves. Then consider that nearly a million (900,000, more or less) die every year there from unclean water and/or pollution. That’s India. Please. Pray harder. For inspiration, go here:
9) Take This Self-Care and Lifestyle Balance Inventory
It will help you consider the physical, psychological, and spiritual methods for staying balanced and preventing burnout. Of course, if you flunk the test, you might feel more stress. So — please realize, it’s not a test. It’s a “self-inventory.” The goal isn’t to pass or fail but to consider your life. Try it at…
https://oc.intlservices.org/owncloud/index.php/s/OAlDCAFUc2ebM1n#pdfviewer
(Thanks for the tip, Jenny!)
10) The Red Cross Has Commented on World Disasters
There have been plenty, actually. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have recently begun calling on the international humanitarian sector to do more to respond to the needs of the world’s most vulnerable people. They documented 3,751 “natural hazards” for the past ten years. (Whoa — that’s more than one a day. No wonder people are stressed.) They determined that 84.2% of these had been triggered by bad weather. (Now might be a good time to download that weather app on your phone.) Some 134 million people needed assistance this year. Read the entire 8-chapter report at…
https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/world-disaster-report-2018/
(Thanks to Kelly and Michèle for pointing us to this resource.)
11) What Do We Do About the Internationals Living Among Us?
The IMB has helped us this past month with a new pair of videos at…
https://www.imb.org/2018/09/10/local-impacts-global-missions/
Dr. J.D. Payne is the spokesperson — and the message is clear. He does a fine job connecting local missions to global. It’s worth the watch. These are short, one-minute videos suitable for featuring in one of your upcoming sermons or worship services. They could really help reinforce your efforts to engage your church in serving internationals among us.
12) What Do You Mean by “Safe?”
In the USA, we’ve been hit by a series of shootings. It’s a very sensitive subject. The USA Today reported 307 mass shootings in the past 311 days, for example. Yikes. It leaves one with the question, what, exactly, does it mean to be safe? Amy Peterson wrote, “Dangerous Territory: My Misguided Quest to Save the World.” (Find it here:
https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Territory-Misguided-Quest-World-ebook/dp/B01MRCB54Y/
Rachel Jones did a quick take on it in Christianity Today at…
The whole thread helps us analyze, what exactly do we mean when we say, “Safe?” Rachel concludes, “Like Peterson discovered in Southeast Asia, we are never safe when we choose to follow God. But at the same time, there really is no safer choice.” Please pray today for someone you know who is serving in a difficult land.
13) We’re Grateful For…
…a $50 gift from a long-time friend of Brigada and great fan of the Jesus Film. Thank you and God bless!
Want to partner with Brigada so that all may hear in order to hasten the coming of Jesus? Just click “Donate” at www.brigada.org, or mail a check payable to Team Expansion (Brigada), 13711 Willow Reed Drive, Louisville, KY 40299. Team Expansion is a 501(c)3 incorporation so, for USA citizens, your gift to Christ by writing a check to Team Expansion is tax-deductible. Thank you, in advance, for your partnership!
14) The Last Bit: Try the Prayer Cycle to Bump Up Your Prayer Life
We asked a friend named Betty, who is a strong advocate of prayer, to help us think of some ways disciples could pray in a more robust and rigorous way. One of her recommendations was to use the prayer cycle. The kind of prayer cycle she’s describing can be found in locations like these:
http://moredisciples.com/2016/01/try-using-this-prayer-wheel-to-bump-up-your-prayer-life/
It’s simple, really. Divide an hour (or whatever time you have available) into smaller, bite-sized increments, each with a different topic. Then focus on just that increment’s topic for the appointed time. If the prayer cycle has 12 divisions and you have one hour available, invest five minutes on each increment’s topic. You can learn more on this by taking part in a Zume training course. The prayer cycle is covered (and is practiced for real) in Session 2. Here’s the outline the Zume Course recommends:
PRAISE: Start your prayer hour by praising the Lord. Praise Him for things that are on your mind right now. Praise Him for one special thing He has done in your life in the past week. Praise Him for His goodness to your family.
WAIT: Spend time waiting on the Lord. Be silent and let Him pull together reflections for you.
CONFESS: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything in your life that might be displeasing to Him. Ask Him to point out attitudes that are wrong, as well as specific acts for which you have not yet made a prayer of confession. Now confess that to the Lord so that you might be cleansed.
READ THE WORD: Spend time reading in the Psalms, in the prophets, and passages on prayer located in the New Testament.
ASK: Make requests on behalf of yourself.
INTERCESSION: Make requests on behalf of others.
PRAY THE WORD: Pray specific passages. Scriptural prayers as well as a number of psalms lend themselves well to this purpose.
THANK: Give thanks to the Lord for the things in your life, on behalf of your family, and on behalf of your church.
SING: Sing songs of praise or worship or another hymn or spiritual song.
MEDITATE: Ask the Lord to speak to you. Have a pen and paper ready to record impressions He gives you.
LISTEN: Spend time merging the things you have read, things you have prayed and things you have sung and see how the Lord brings them all together to speak to you.
PRAISE: Praise the Lord for the time you have had to spend with Him and the impressions He has given you. Praise Him for His glorious attributes.
Good luck implementing the prayer cycle in YOUR life! (And thanks for suggesting we talk about the prayer cycle, Betty!)
15) Closing Stuff
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Copyright — This issue of _Brigada Today_ is Copyrighted 2018. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials, including those available on the Brigada website, provided that such redistribution is to those who will help the Good News of Jesus Christ to reach the unreached. To copy or reproduce Brigada Today for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted.
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2018/10/28 — Brigada Today
Compiled/Edited by Doug Lucas and Tina McCormick, Team Expansion
Brigada online has more graphics and links at https://brigada.org
In this issue…
1) Only Two Weeks Until Momentum (the Missions Course) Launches!
2) Do you want to use your professional skills in a way that advances
3) Love Means Obedience / Amor Significa Obediencia by Curtis Sergeant
4) The Fastest-Growing Foreign Language Spoken in the USA: Surprised?
5) Got Time to Listen to an Old Radio Show? Preserving Bible Times?
6) Free Audio Resources about Patronage
7) New Book Tells the Story of A. B. Simpson and the C&MA
8) TESOL Training in Chiang Mai
9) “Great Commission Kids”
10) Who Do We Know with Legal Connections?
11) Finally, a Prayer Network with No Spam, No Ads!
12) Wondering How to Pray for Third-Culture Kids (MK’s)? Try This:
13) We’re Grateful for…
14) Let’s Pray for Yemen Like Never Before
15) Closing Stuff
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