Daily Topic for July 25, 2006
It has been observed that only when we share the gospel across cultural barriers can we fully comprehend the gospel message ourselves. When we see the truths of the gospel through the eyes of another culture, those truths come alive for us in a new way. Sharing our faith with another people group forces us to examine what in our worship must be universal and what is only cultural. Perhaps the confusion which pervades so many of our churches about the content of the gospel message is due to our failure to seriously share this message with other groups.
Pray that a frontier missions priority in our churches will result in our greater understanding of “every good thing we have in Christ.”
Why are there so few middle-aged Muong men in northern Vietnam? The reason is because the Muong people had eagerly supported North Vietnam’s efforts to unify their nation under communism during the Vietnam War that ended in 1975. Many Muong soldiers died in battle, leaving women without men to marry and children without fathers. Loneliness is a serious problem for the 45-60 age group. Muong villages also have a high percentage of disabled people, men who had never recovered from war wounds.
The Muongs speak a language so similar to Vietnamese that it can almost be considered a dialect of Vietnamese. French Catholic missionaries had planted seeds of faith among the Muongs prior to World War II. A couple of years after that war ended, North Vietnam’s newly established communist government closed all churches among the Muong people and required the teachings of communism in all village schools.
Few Muongs today understand the life-saving work of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace who died to free them from the power of eternal punishment. There are only about 3,000 believers among these one million people.
Learn more at joshuaproject.netPray that God will strengthen the underground church in Vietnam to reach out to the Muong people group. Pray that gospel radio broadcasts will continue to bear fruit among them. Pray for signs and wonders that will turn Muong hearts to Jesus.-WK
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