Daily Topic for April 05, 2009
This is a great example of the “not yet” verses of the Bible. God is a perfect judge, and He will govern with perfect righteousness. But for the time being, we still have to contend with injustice coming from man’s sinfulness and Satan’s deceit. Part of that injustice is that many still have not heard of their only way to become part of His kingdom. Does that concern you? If so, pray fervently for the unreached peoples this month!
Pray that the Lord will speed the day when His righteousness and justice will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. Pray that many will understand this Easter season that Jesus did come to take away the sins of the world.
Switzerland is as beautiful as it is diverse. Once the home of 16th century reformers John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, now approximately 3,500 Tibetans call Switzerland home, making it the third largest Tibetan community in the world. One result of Mao Zedong’s brutal legacy was not just communism, but the death and displacement of 1.2 million Tibetans. Of those that fled before the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army of Tibet in 1951, many ended up in Switzerland. Later, Tibetans exiled to other nations would move to Switzerland specifically to get an education.
The focal point of this Buddhist community in Western Europe is the Rikon Monastery, located 30km outside Zurich. It was founded in 1967, a result of joint efforts by the Dalai Lama and a Swiss engineering firm that was one of the first to employ Tibetan refugees. For more than 30 years, Rikon has regularly housed 10 resident monks and receives between 10-30 visitors a week at the Institute of Tibetan Studies, also located in the monastery.
One thing that both Tibetans still living in Tibet under Chinese rule, and those in exile have in common is the drive to preserve their culture and traditions for generations to come.
Learn more at joshuaproject.netWith your focused prayer towards the Tibetan community in Switzerland, the spirituality of the Tibetans and the Christian heritage of Switzerland can merge, creating a community of Tibetans worshipping the true and living God, within their culture and traditions.-MB
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