Daily Topic for June 06, 2007
Note the two facts especially relevant to the frontier mission movement: missionaries bring the fragrant gospel of Jesus Christ, and that message brings both life…and death! As missionaries fan out around the world into every unreached people group, a sweet spiritual fragrance is released! Many people will be attracted to the marvelous, compelling gospel. Those who respond with faith and obedience will find new life in Christ. But to those who reject the message, there will be death.
O Father, send laborers to occupy those unreached people groups. May Your Word be quickly understood and taken to heart, and may multiplied millions find new life in Christ Jesus.
Water buffalo worked the rice fields for thousands of years while the Ogan people worshiped the spirits of trees and rivers. For another 1,000 years the water buffalo worked while one Ogan practiced Buddhism and his neighbor worshiped Hindu gods. Islam arrived 500 years ago and drove out the other religions. Now the water buffalo plows the fields while the Ogans pray to Allah.
European contact came about the same time as Islam. But today we can only count 30 followers of Christ among the Ogan people. How is it that 500 years of interaction with Christians brought so little harvest? Did the European peoples leave a bad image of Christianity? No doubt some have. Did the missionaries not care? I’m certain they did. But clearly the Ogan did not find Western Christianity attractive.
Perhaps the Ogan people need a new example of following Jesus. They follow a religion centered on submission to God/Allah. Perhaps they would benefit from seeing a follower of Jesus who practiced submission to the true God.
Learn more at joshuaproject.netPray for God to raise children who will go as His submitted servants so that the Ogan people can see living Christianity. Pray that followers of Christ will show the kindness of our Savior. Pray that Christian aid workers will win the affection of the Ogan people. Pray that Christian agriculturalists can teach improved farming techniques.-EF
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