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"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'"
(Isaiah 6:8)
One week from today is Giving Tuesday. DFEA has a goal to raise $6,000 on this day. We would deeply appreciate you visiting dfea.com and making a financial donation so we can continue ministering to the persecuted church and many others in Jesus' name. Thank you for prayerfully considering what God would have you give.
Now back to my journal entries from our recent two-week mission trip to Asia:
M tried to take us to visit some of the people in the group our church has adopted, but they were afraid to bring white people to their church, since being seen with us could cause them to be persecuted. This was hard for me. It also reminded me of how many followers of Jesus around the world must be super cautious because of the very real threat of persecution. (If you are reading today's devotion and live in the USA, pause and take a moment now to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for allowing you to have the freedoms you have.)
We went to a church M had not visited before. At first, only one man came to greet us. He was very kind. Then, more from the church began to show up. It was so cool. They asked if they could sing for us, and we said, "For sure!" There were only like eight people, but it sounded like a 100-voice choir! It was so powerful. M said this church was started over 100 years ago by a German missionary who taught the children basic principles for life. He also built a well because the drinking water at the time was horrible. Then, he started sharing the Gospel, and people got saved. This missionary's approach was very effective 100 years ago, and it is still very effective today. When we follow Jesus' example of meeting needs and sharing the good news, God blesses us. It was difficult ministry at first, but God blessed the missionary's efforts, and this church was born. However, the church has grown very little over the years. M informed our team that this church did not do much evangelism in their community. When he said that, I knew immediately what I would preach on if given the opportunity to preach. M said that I need to preach on witnessing, and I told him that was my plan! Before I preached, they served us coffee, and it was good and right on time, because I was getting sleepy. Now I'm ready to share.
I preached for about 15 minutes on why we must witness. I read Matthew 4:19, where Jesus calls us to be fishers of men. We also looked at John 20:21, where Jesus tells the disciples that as the Father has sent Him, He is sending the disciples. I closed with Acts 1:8, where the Word clearly tells us that we are to be His witnesses. They were quiet, focused, and listened well. We then went outside, and they showed us the church property and their large well.
The reason we came here was that another church was frightened, and we surely understood that, but ultimately, God wanted us here. It is so neat being on mission with Jesus, pursuing the lost, and equipping the Church to do likewise.
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