DEVELOPING NATIONS NEEDS INVESTMENT AND NOT CHARITY - BAN K-MOON

A measure of any society is how well it looks after its least fortunate.

The same is true of the international community.

Now is not the time to turn our backs, but to increase our support.

The past two decades saw spectacular progress among emerging economies.

The LDCs are poised to be the next wave of development achievement.

Let me emphasize again, ladies and gentlemen: I am not arguing for charity, but investment.

The returns can be profound – not just for the people living in LDCs, but for all people -- for the global economy.

Success for the LDCs is ultimately success for all.

Let us try our best to make this world harmonious, balanced, and better for all.

WE GIVE THANKS

Thanksgiving Day is a very unique day set aside to express our nation's thanks to our God. George Washington acknowledge this when he said "it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits"

How thankful are we really are? Instead of complaining and murmuring, we should be thankful for everything. We should be thankful for people whom God positioned on our path to help us to midwife our miracles. Anxiety, worries, ungratefulness and lack of faith are part of the tools in the enemy's arsenal to to keep us from seeing the bigness of our God. We worry about the economy, we worry about our marriage/relationships, job, our finance, our health and even our look.

There is a story about Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy in an overcrowded and flea-infested the Nazi concentration camp. They had been able to miraculously smuggle a Bible into the camp, and in that Bible they had read that in all things there were to give thanks, and that God can use anything for good. Corrie’s sister Betsy decided that this meant thanking God for the fleas! This was too much for Corrie, who said she could do no such thing. Betsy insisted, so Corrie gave in and prayed to God, thanking Him even for the fleas. Over the next several months a wonderful, but curious, thing happened. They found that the guards never entered their barracks. This meant that women were not assaulted. It also meant that they were able to do the unthinkable, which was to hold open Bible studies and prayer meetings in the heart of a Nazi concentration camp. Through this, countless numbers of women came to faith in Christ. Only at the end did they discover why the guards had left them alone and would not enter into their barracks. It was because of the fleas.

Pause a moment and look around you. Can you see what God has done for you? There is a song that came to my mind.

"Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessing see what God has done.... and it will surprise you what the Lord has done"
Paul in his letter to the Philippians wrote in Chapter 4 and verse 6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"

Lord, we thank you for our great country United States Of America, Thank you Lord for your protection and preservation for every family. Thank you Lord for peace, and joy, and revival fire blowing across our land. Thank you Lord for the President and all our elected officials. Grant us more grace in the years ahead in Jesus name (Amen).

IS HIV/AIDS REAL?

When looking at HIV/AIDS by race and ethnicity alone, black have more illness (blacks represent 13 per cent of the US population and account for 45 per cent of new HIV infections and 45 per cent of people living with HIV. Statistic show that blacks continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Let's put our faith together to bring change to the African/American community!

To find more about change in African/America community, visit us today at Bethel Of Praise Ministries, 631 New York Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203 or call (718) 221-1187