North Korea

Isaiah 60-62:5
Various selections: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.  And nations shall come to our light, and kings to the brightness of your rising."  "The sun shall no more be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory."  "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all those who mourn in Zion- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.  The shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of any generations."  Sometimes it's just best to let the Lord speak.

Psalm 72
So, I'm not sure if David is asking that he would be prosperous during his day, or if he is saying that he wants God to be famous in all these ways.  The wording is a little tricky.

Proverbs 24:11-12
The things that we say are judged by the one who truly knows our heart.

Philippians 1:27-2:18
Paul is talking about how to live in light of belonging to Christ.  He says, "to live is Christ and to die is gain."  I like that.  To live- that means right now, day to day, our lives should be all about Christ.  And to die- we know that when we die, it will be amazing to spend eternity with our Savior... so much to gain!  Then he goes on to give some advice on how to live as Christ.  We should think of others first, like Christ did to the point of dying for us.  We should obey His words and work to know Him more.  We should be glad and rejoice in the life we have been given because it's all for God's glory.

Korea, North-
I have been reading about these countries for 271 days now, but the information about this one breaks my heart.  I cannot imagine what it must be like to live there.  Such a dark place.  The economy is in rapid decline because the government puts a lot of money into becoming a nuclear power.  There is a large black market for drugs, cigarettes, and counterfeit money that is not so successful internationally any more, but is growing within the country.  Food shortages are a huge problem.  Much of the country is literally starving to death.  People with families become desperate to provide food for them and resort to things that get them punished if caught.  The dictator of this country is called "Dear Leader" and is completely dedicated to the ideology of Juche, which means self-reliance.  The religion that goes along with this is called Cheondogyo.  "Dear Leader" has filled the country with statues of his late father to push the idea of his trinity of father, son, and Juche spirit.  I cannot tell you how much this appalls me.  Christians face harsh persecution and it is believed there are 100,000 in prison right now.  Possessing a Bible, saying God or Jesus, and meeting with believers are all punishable by death.  Those who try to leave the country face harsh penalties if caught, and must even live in hiding once they have reached China for fear of being sent back.  Pray hard.