As is well known, especially here in southern Ontario where I live, the G20 meeting of the top twenty countries by their economies will be meeting in Toronto in the last weekend of June. There has been much dissatisfaction across the country at the high cost of security which the latest I heard is estimated to be 1.2 billion dollars including the G8 conference in Huntsville. This of course is an extremely large amount for two conferences and I heard is also the largest amount on record even for one of these top international gatherings of this type. Part of the reason for this is probably that the main conference is being held in downtown Toronto the largest city of Canada instead of a remote location where they sometimes hold these things and which means less security costs. There have also been complaints that it will inconvenience many people on that weekend with the security restrictions even with some baseball games moved to another city and certaintly other measures with myself also being affected with having to miss a church service that I usually go to in downtown Toronto. But, from a biblical Christian viewpoint there is a greater concern. That is that the G20 represents in even a fuller way a one world economy and one world government than the more limited G7 or G8 did. This is because the G20 represents 20 countries from all over the world such as China and India as well as the leading developed countries in the G8. From a biblical Christian viewpoint these meetings and groups are preparing for the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea and the False Prophet who will be the devil's men to lead the world in the tribulation. So please pray that God would speak to some of the people that support these meetings to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and his death for our sins and ressurrection from the dead for their sufficiency or justification instead of their self will in planning world government even some of them think they are doing the world a service. Pray also that they trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and God that his Church of true Christians is God's world order for this age and that the Lord Jesus Himself will establish God's new order after His second coming at the end of the tribulation when He will set up His 1000 year then eternal kingdom on the renewed then new earth. Pray also that opponents of the G20 to realize that the new world order promoted by the G20 or G8 people is not something that will be stopped by man's efforts according to what we can see and also according to the Bible at least that some of these opponents of the new world order will also trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His order which is the true Church. These non-Christian opponents of the G20 include people against global government, against capitalism, for the environment, and for a more mystical, less industrialized world system etc. Pray this also for those indifferent to these type of meetings.
As a biblical Christian I personally am not against having a national broadcaster in Canada but I would pray and ask your prayers if you are also a biblical Christian that God would lead Prime Minister Stephen Harper to compel it to have more godly or sympathetic to Christian programming at least in a fair share. Now there seems to be few programs or news items that mention evangelical Christians or an evangelical Christian perspective. There seems to be a lot more programs or news items mentioning or being sympathetic to Islam. Not that it is my religion by any means but I also don't hear nearly as much material about Buddhism, Hinduism or Judaism as about Islam as it would still be nice from a biblical Christian viewpont to know what is going on with these religions to be able to reach out with the gospel of Jesus Christ to them better as also with Sikhs or New Age people. There is however some programming about evolution that is rather one-sided and doesn't mention much the weaknesses of it or the support both scientific or on a faith basis for young earth creationism that is really the only alternative to evolution. Pray that God would use the authorities in the Canadian government especially those who claim to be evangelical Christians to have more programming on the CBC representing or sympathetic to evangelical Christianity. The coverage of the recent episode with Muslim militants or western peace activists in the Free Gaza Flotilla that tried to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip was quite one-sided and didn't mention very much that the group sponsoring some of the Flotilla HIM I think has links to Hamas and other Muslim militants and that Israel keeps this blockade because without the blockade Hamas that controls the Gaza STrip would likely import more weapons by sea they would use against Israel or threaten to use. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem as in Psalm 122 and Geneses 12 so people and our nation can be blessed by the true Creator God the God of Israel that also manifested Himself bodily in the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ.
I just witnessed to some people today in Hamilton in southern Ontario with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ starting with things like How do you think you can have eternal life? Three people in a row responded with saying they are not religious. Up to now I haven't known quite how to respond to that but God by His Spirit gave me a good idea after reading Creation magazine lately. That is that belief in evolution is probably a main reason some people have a secular or even some non-Christian religious perspectives like the New Age movement, Buddhism and Hinduism or some native pantheistic religions. So if you are also a born again Christian I encourage you to say to people that say they are not religious that you share the gospel with then to say to them what is your opinion of evolution? I think this would be a good way to keep talking with these type of people about issues related to the meaning of life and maybe get back to the gospel. Pray that more people will realize this and apply it in their witnessing for the Lord Jesus Christ as there is a significant and growing number and percentage or secular or non-religious people in Canada.
There has just been a confirmation by a leading Canadian military officer that Canada will seek to live up to the Conservative's election promise that Canada will pull its military forces out of Afghanistan in 2011. Politically this is probably a fairly safe move because the other three main parties the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois if anything have an even stronger desire to remove our troops from Afghanistan. Although I personally think there was some justification for Canada to contribute some troops to Afghanistan at first after September 2001 and the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by Al Qaeda, I don't think Canada and the west are being very effective at getting a prompt victory there and would have to remain there a long time with a better strategy to have success at rooting out the Taliban or Al Qaeda. I think the west has been too compromising at permitting corruption such as the questionable election tactics of Afghan leader Hamed Karzai or the lack or effort to root out but the government complicity with those involved in the opium poppy harvest that is also used to support the Taliban in their fight against the West. I don't know if the Taliban and maybe Al Qaeda would get re-established in Afghanistan if the west pulled its troops out but I think they would have trouble getting organized enough to attack the west again soon and that they would have a lot less sympathy in the Muslim world to do that if the west pulled its troops out of Afghanistan and completes its pullout of troops from Iraq. I think based on the Bible - the word of God the remaining support of the west for Israel is something that should be maintained or strengthened. I also think many of the Pathan or Pushtuns even claim to be children of Israel from the 10 tribes that went into captivity and the west could use a better strategy if they fostered this identity to a greater support for Israel and the west instead of confronting their traditional values. Anyway pray for the authorities in Canada that they know and do God's will in this situation including weighing what would be best for the people of Afghanistan and would be best for the security of Canadians between a renewed terrorist threat from Afghanistan or the continued deaths of Canadian soldiers and significant funding for work in Afghanistan.
For more information, comments, advice or questions contact Doug Currie Contact Spirit and Truth Ministries
Prayer for Canada