Dear friends,
I have been encouraged this week by reading “The Heart of Missionary Theology” by the late G. Christian Weiss, who was a missionary in Morocco before serving as General Director of Gospel Missionary Union and Director of Missions in Back to the Bible Broadcast, the same organization that began the radio broadcasts of “La Voix de l’Évangile” in 1955. Looking at 1 Timothy 2:1-8, Mr. Weiss writes: “In these unique verses we encounter the major cardinal doctrines of the entire Bible – the main essence of basic Christian teaching.”
The first of seven Christian doctrines mentioned or alluded to in this passage is universal prayer is asked of the Christian. Weiss writes: “Prayer is, in fact, an element of virtually all religions, but in a unique sense it is essential to Christianity. Here it is the personal petitions of individual believers, intercession and thanksgiving, all of which are included in the apostolic exhortation in this passage. All of these have a place in the experience of every true Christian.”
Last week one of our supporting churches – Tulsa Bible Church – had their annual Missions conference. It was encouraging to receive an email from friends there who told us that they were praying for those for whom I asked prayer in last week’s blog. In a couple of weeks, our home church will have its annual Missions conference. As we look forward to hearing how the Lord is working around the world, it is a good time to remember how the Bible reveals God’s love for all people and that all believers can share the gospel with those for whom Christ died.
You might think “I could never be a missionary” but, as I learned many years ago when I went for a weekend retreat at Word of Life in Schroon Lake, NY, each child of God can “be a missionary every day, tell the world that Jesus is the way.” To hear this “catchy” tune, please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=INRYoDFsXJI.
We might not go overseas, but we can go across the street and share the love of God with our neighbours. Before (and after) doing so, we can pray for unbelievers to come to the knowledge of the truth. As G. Christian Weiss writes: “… the believer is to pray for ‘all men.’ This is where true missionary vision and work begin. And it is the part of that mission in which any and every individual Christian may participate, no matter how limited he may be in other areas.”
I received an email a few days ago from Dr. Joseph Harvey in the Republic of Congo. He and his wife, Rebecca, have had the joy of helping many people in a variety of ministries there. There is a great need for French-speaking workers at the Pioneer Christian Hospital in Impfondo. If you would like to know more about this and other opportunities to serve the Lord, please visit: www.missiongo.org.
Thought for the weekend: “The true measure of God’s love is that He loves without measure.” – Author unknown
Steve