Greetings from East Asia! This is a fast developing city of 2.5 million people. Although officially known to be atheistic, most people here hold onto some form of belief – be it Buddhism, Islam or money. Less than 1% of the population are Christians. Below is a typical response I get when I talk to people here.
“You say Christians are people who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, that through his death and resurrection, they have obtained forgiveness of sin and eternal life. You say that this gift is called salvation and it is given by God. There is nothing that we can do to earn it and we only need to receive it by believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord. This seems too simplistic for us. And it is difficult for us to accept that Christianity is not a foreign religion but a relationship that God wants to have with all mankind. We have so many other questions that hinders us from believing, like – How do you know for sure that God created us? Why can’t we worship other gods? Is the Holy Spirit really able to help us believe despite our doubts? Notwithstanding all my questions, if your God is the true and living God, I want to believe.”
Would you pray and ask for the hearts of the people to be tender towards God? Ask that the Holy Spirit will help them to understand and put their faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. The day they believe, all of us will become one in the body of Christ. I look forward to that day.
RIPE FOR HARVEST
Because less than 1% of the population in this city are Christians, many are keen to find out more about Christ and His message.
