LORD JESUS CHRIST, we thank you for Ivy's ministry to Dr. Bill and for the beautiful way that she represents the Body of Christ through her ministry to him and his apostolic work with frontline shepherds. AMEN

MY MAKER, help Ivy Bray as she handles administrative details of ministry events, travel and outreach for the rest of 2007 and 2008. Meet every need for the Brays as they are having to cover new expenses in their ministry of developing frontline shepherds, missions and charities. Help Bill and Ivy to be sensitive to divine encounters today in London and onboard trains. AMEN and AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12: 10).

PHYSICIAN, we thank you for the health, strength and finances that you are providing to the Bray Family Missionaries day by day on this mission, and for enabling them to make this "Let Muslims See the Love of Jesus" outreach to the Islamic world. We thank you for their many contacts through indigenous missions. AMEN

PHYSICIAN, send forth your angels before Dr. Bill and Ivy so that they will have favor and many divine connections with apostolic leaders in Europe. Help them during these first two days in London to make good connections with local hosts and indigenous leaders from all over the world. AMEN AND AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

BREAD OF LIFE, thank you for answering prayers for Bill and Ivy to go today on the Let Muslims See the Love of Jesus Mission. Thank you for providing Dr. Bill with a new laptop so that he can create and write as he interviews native missionaries and travels. AMEN

OVERCOMER, give safety and blessing and rest to Bill and Ivy as they travel to Atlanta, Chicago and London today. Open their eyes and hearts to divine appointments all along the way. May this trip be a turning point in their global ministry. AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

JEHOVAH NISSI, we thank you for the churches and leaders of Columbus that are so supportive of us despite so many pressures and commitments here at home and many strong denominational barriers. We particularly thank you for men like Don Wilhite, Rich Martindale, Chuck Hasty and Jimmy Blanton. AMEN

REFINER, comfort and protect our pastors and church leaders as they face so many decisions and demands. May they have the grace to do the right thing always. We also pray that you will comfort and protect our children, extended families, prayer partners and the network of supporting churches. Strengthen all bonds of love and fellowship with the Brays as they depart on their mission to Let Muslims See the Love of Jesus. AMEN and AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: 'That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong' (2 Corinthians 12:10).

JEHOVAH JIREH, we thank you Lord for the way you are so faithful to provide every need as the Bray's pack and prepare for the LET MUSLIMS SEE JESUS short-term mission that leaves on Wednesday for Europe. AMEN.

PROPHET MIGHTY IN WORD AND DEED, give great favor to Dr. Bill and Ivy as they present their needs and speak forth your creative word over churches and missions in Columbus, Georgia and around the world. Open the windows of heaven to bless their appeals for $10,000 to finance this mission. Protect the Brays from backbiters and evil gossips and surround them with your glory and love. AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "This is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).

MIGHTY ONE...Use Dr. Bill and Ray Moore today to development the Christian Schools and home schooling movements in the USA and around the world. AMEN

JEHOVAH-JIREH, my provider, we thank you for giving us a new lap-top computer with Vista software big enough for power point, data base and editorial needs on mission trips. AMEN

PURIFIER AND REWARDER, may the new computer be built today and shipped in time for arrival on Friday or Saturday for use on the Let Muslims See Jesus Mission leaving next week. Help Bill as he finalizes editorial work with Ray Moore today on the Exodus Mandate Strategy Report and with Ivy on the next issue of Christ's Missionary Call for May. AMEN and AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:35,40)

JEHOVAH-SHALOM, we thank you for Christian schools and family homeschoolers who are training up a generation of God-fearing young people to live righteously and preserve our first amendment freedoms of speech and religion. AMEN and AMEN

SCEPTER, we pray for Dr. Bill Bray and Ivy as they consult with E. Ray Moore this week for three intensive days of labor on the Exodus Mandate program of Frontline Ministries. Help the Brays to do this as clear channels of your grace and use Dr. Moore to help prevent tragedies like the massacres at Virginia Tech and Columbine. AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:35,40).

PRINCE OF PEACE...We thank you for providing Governor's Green in Colonial Williamsburg as the base for Dr. Bill and Ivy's Silver Anniversary Week August 5-10. We thank you for family and friends who will join them there. AMEN

ROCK OF MY SALVATION...Guide in all the preparations for the Vows Renewal Ceremony on Sunday, August 5, and for the whole week of fun and inspiration that will follow in the historic Jamestown triangle where Christian freedom of religion began in America. Help Ivy and her team as they plan the week to have something for everyone and enable all those to come who should be there. AMEN and AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:35,40).

SON OF MARY - Thank you for using Dr. Bill and Ivy today as a couple to lead a class discussion using the text of Raising Respectful Kids and for giving the Brays an increasing ministry helping families live according to your teachings on training children through Exodus Mandate. AMEN and AMEN!

SEED OF THE WOMAN - Anoint and use Dr. Bray's writing skills to create at least one best-selling book a year that addresses an urgent, current need. Provide a publisher for his next "Family Bookshelf" guide for young men on making critical life-choices about career, church and marriage. Empower Dr. Bray to finish the book and provide him with a laptop computer to write the manuscript while he is traveling on the Bray's next mission. We ask this in confidence of your power to answer prayer. AMEN and AMEN!

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:35,40).

JEHOVAH-ROHI, JEHOVAH SHAMMAH - We always can depend upon you to guide us to the place of your presense, we are your people and called by your name. Hallelujah! AMEN

SON OF DAVID, SENT OF THE FATHER - We look to you to show Dr. Bray and Ivy when and where to move and provide a buyer for their cottage in Columbus if and when you want them to move. Could it be, dear Lord, that you want the Brays to continue to base their global outreach mission from Columbus indefinitely? Show Dr. Bray your way to go. AMEN and AMEN

SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK: 'Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice...Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD you God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this' (Deuteronomy 24:17-18).

SPIRIT OF COUNSEL AND POWER - We thank you for hearing our prayers and opening doors for us to go overseas to strategize and plan with missionaries in Muslim lands about ways to better present the love of Jesus in word and deed, seeking Peace on Purpose for you sake. AMEN

ROSE OF SHARON - Release at least $10,000 for the ministry, travel and all expenses on the Let Muslims See Jesus Mission.You know our needs Lord, let us not be ashamed in the presence of our adversaries. In the name of Jesus, AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice...Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this (Deuteronomy 24:17-18).

*SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION, thank you for guiding us in cutting costs, simplifying our lives, losing weight, and lightening our load of cares so that we can follow you more effectively. AMEN and AMEN

MY SHEPHERD, grant synchronicity and prosperity to the missions we are serving. May they be ready, willing and able to use the Brays effectively and may we be fully equipped to respond. Provide the equipment and tools we need this month, especially computers and software. May the missions have the seed they need and the faith to share with us and to invest in their own growth and development. AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: 'Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice...Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this' (Deuteronomy 24:17-18).

Bill?s Blog for Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Coming face-to-face with the challenges of choosing a more frugal, simple and sacrificial lifestyle.

TODAY, we confirmed the dreaded prediction. The Firestone dealer repeated what the Dodge service department told us on Saturday?that we needed to do $900 in repairs on our dowdy old 2003 Caravan. The warranty has expired and so the big repair bills are starting to come in now?yet we still owe $7000 on that ?old? car.

The worst news is that instead of repairing my smelly old car today, I could have been driving a powerful, spanking new 8-cylinder Dodge Magnum SRT8 with a 425 horsepower Hemi engine. This long, long, black pearl diamond is the day dream of every man-in-midlife crisis. And I confess that I am no exception. You turn heads everywhere you go with it and that 420 lb/ft torque just tears up the road.

The snout of the Magnum looks like a clinched fist about to strike, even when it is merely parked in the driveway. It looks more like the Batmobile than a car. And did I mention that it is long ? very long? It looks like a low station wagon with a hatchback trunk just perfect for all our books and the literature table. It?s the kind of car that would serve us well on long missionary trips!

On the test drive I imagined myself cruising interstate highways all over the USA in that car ? speaking in churches of course and promoting world evangelism!

Here?s how it happened. Just as the Dodge repair people gave me the bad news about the needed repairs to the Caravan, a nice born-again Christian salesman just happen to be standing by to offer me the ?last? of their 2006 Magnums for a weekend test drive! All I had to do was sign for it and drive off the lot ? no obligation while my old clunker was jacked up for new struts and shocks.

Guy readers will know that this Hemi Magnam is the biggest muscle car on the road right now. Driving it I felt a bridegroom on his honeymoon?you know the one King Solomon describes emerging from the bedroom after his first night!

?You can trade in your old car,? he sneered condescendingly at the van, ?for this new car, with a new warranty, at zero percent interest. We?ll pay off your loan and you can just leave you old car here.

?The payments won?t affect your budget; they will remain almost the same! Why what you?ll save in repair bills the first year will mean you?re ahead of the game.

?It?s not often that you can buy a new car without interest,? he repeated for effect.

It was indeed an incredible offer.

So I drove it home and enjoyed the car for the weekend. Drove it to church on Easter but Ivy wanted to park it on the street rather than in the lot for some reason. Took it out for one of those amazing freeway drives (it went from a standstill to 80MPH in just a few seconds) and even glided around Flat Rock Lake, enjoying every dangerous curve at break neck speeds.

I went to bed Sunday night telling Ivy that this was God?s grace; ?a wonderful gift to us at a time when we really need a new car.? In my mind, I had already bought the car.

However, Monday morning I woke up just as sure that the Lord was telling me I couldn?t accept this impossibly ?wonderful? offer. Why?

For starters, it would mean another five years of slavery to a debt we can?t afford now; and by the end of three years I knew that it would look and feel as bad as our old car does now. I have been on this treadmill for a long time; always financing new cars.

While this glamorous car cost no more than our current budget to buy, the truth is we can afford the payments on our current car... and there was no telling what the maintenance and fuel costs would be for a premium, high performance car.

Looking at the street modifications, I knew a lot of flash on this car was definitely not ?standard? including the duel exhaust system, extra battery and racing tires. How could I drive that car and still wake up every morning to face a world in need.

Finally, and this is important: it was just too much car. In my heart I knew that it didn?t glorify the Lord at all. Instead, it gratified the worst kind of ambition and haughtiness in my ego?feelings the Holy Spirit usually keeps well in check. Driving this car make me feel arrogant. It was not a hope giver to those who looked upon it, but an object of envy. Even driving it for two days, I felt the coveting eyes of many. I woke up knowing that God was not pleased with this car.

The bottom line is this. All Christians in America need to be cutting back on our lavish lifestyles... our oversized cars and homes... endless vacations...fashion slavery... entertainment and gluttonous diets. We need to choose a more frugal, simpler and sacrificial lifestyle in order to get the Gospel out to those who have still not seen the love of Jesus.

Time is shorter than we think. Christ is coming back for us soon. We have to use more of what He has given us to preach the Kingdom to Muslims, Hindus and the next generation of kids right here in the USA and Europe. We are losing this generation to secular schools and the culture. There isn?t time to wait. Christian schools, home schoolers and the poor in our churches need financial help to take their kids out of government schools. In Africa, over 6000 are dying of aids daily; 20 million orphans need our help to grow up with the knowledge of God. African churches just cannot cope with this crisis unless we dig deeper.

So, I can drive my old car a little longer in order to get out of debt. On Monday morning God said clearly, ?Bill, if you choose to wait, I?ll provide you with the car you really need debt-free. Put me first and keep your ego, greed and lust under control.?

RIGHTEOUS JUDGE...Thank you for calling the Brays to meet with indigenous leaders at an important Muslim world summit during their Let Muslims See Jesus Mission to UK next month. AMEN and AMEN

SON OF GOD...we ask you to supply every need for the Let Muslims See Jesus Mission and continue to firm up the itinerary and more appointments with local leaders in the UK. AMEN and AMEN

SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK: 'Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice...Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord you God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this' (Deuteronomy 24:17-18).

MIND OF THE LORD, thank you for creating the modern miracle of computers and database accounting programs to help speed up the work of the Son's Great Commission through all the mission agencies which Dr. Bill and Ivy are consulting and helping to grow. AMEN

SIGN, provide a professional tough-book portable computer with latest sofware to Dr. Bray and Ivy for their editorial work, slide shows and powerpoints. Please provide it now so they can program and train on it before their next overseas mission late this month and next. Supply funds and guide also in the purchase of database software and computers for Exodus Mandate, CIS and all the other small mission agencies Dr. Bray is helping to develop and expand. AMEN and AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: 'Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice...Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this' (Deuteronomy 24:17-18).

FIRST BEGOTTEN OF THE DEAD - Thank you for Body of Christ which is born of your power over death. Thank you for calling us out from the world of sin and rebellion into that body. Risen Jesus, you are Lord over death this day and always in our ministries. AMEN

STRONG ROCK and risen Lord, please open many "key doors" for the Brays to walk through this month in Europe and in Columbus. May the Bray Family be invited to come and share the vision of missions growth by many local pastors and leaders. May at least 30 church groups add the Brays as a regular support line item in their global missions budgets. AMEN

SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).

SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING...Thank you for making it so clear to us in Scripture that education and training children is the job of Christian parents, churches and missions. Forgive us for so often neglecting this in our families and missions work both here at home and overseas. AMEN and AMEN

TRIED STONE AND SURE FOUNDATION...empower Dr. Bray and Ivy for the first three weeks of April as they consult with E. Ray Moore on Phase I of a growth plan for Exodus Mandate. May this help to rapidly expand the Christian school and homeschooling movements in the USA, Europe and developing nations. AMEN and AMEN

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY: "Now when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said 'Truly this man was the Son of God'" (Mark 15:39).

MAUNDY THURSDAY SCRIPTURE: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?" (John 11:25-26).

RESURRECTION AND LIFE -- We thank you for accepting the cup of suffering that the Father gave you in order to bring us forgiveness. Thank you for yielding to His will that we might be saved and have eternal life. AMEN

SHILOH -- We pray for special donors to cover the bills and expenses still outstanding from the first quarter; we thank you for those who have already given to cover phone and travel expenses. May all the rest of the money that is needed come in quickly. Let our faith be faith in you and not in ourselves. AMEN and AMEN

STREAMS ON THE DRY GROUND - We thank you for the handful of people on the Bray Support Team that are capable of giving $1,000 to $10,000 gifts. AMEN

TRUE LIGHT - Impress on those who can do so to give largely to "Phase I" Emergency Aid to the Philippines up to the $15,000 still needed in Bicol. We ask also that you will raise up donors and friends who will cover increased expenses in Columbus for computers, office furniture, software and equipment. AMEN and AMEN

Scripture of the week: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sin, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).

SPIRIT WHO GOES OUT FROM THE FATHER - We thank you for calling out and gathering together friends who pray for the Bray Family Missionaries daily. AMEN

ADVOCATE - We ask you to please attract a new stream of regular Faith Partnres to the Bray Family support team, both individuals and church groups, who will welcome the Brays as their missionaries. Lord, multiply the number of Prayer Partners to 500, Support Team Members to 300, and Supporting Churches to 30. We ask all this in Jesus' name, AMEN.

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).

BREATH OF THE ALMIGHTY, we thank you for the ability to print and mail our monthly CALL TO PRAYER and missionary newsletter. AMEN

UPHOLDER OF ALL THINGS, cause Bray Family Prayer Partners to have receptive hearts to eagerly open, study, and prayerfully respond to the first edition of Bill's new CHRIST'S MISSIONARY CALL newsletter that is now arriving in homes. Bless and increase the number of our readers for this publication and all our publications. AMEN and AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).

JESUS, LORD OF THE HARVEST...Thank you for blessing us with a harvest as we go forth sowing precious seed through email, face to face encounters, literature, meetings, preaching and teaching. We know that those who go out sowing seed will doubtless come back again, bringing in the harvest! AMEN.

TESTATOR...Continue to use Dr. Bray as he advises and consults with church and mission leaders, and use him over the next decade to bring in a greater harvest than what has come in during the whole last 40 years. Lead him to divine appointments with the right people and supporters he needs at this point in the Bray Family Missionary ministry. May his end be greater than the beginning and all this for your glory King Jesus! Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. AMEN and AMEN

VERSE OF THE WEEK: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).