The following article does not have a signed author, but comes out of the "Lesea Broadcasting" ministry.
" When we look at the world's problems, the seemingly perpetual suffering of innocents, it is easy to lose hope. The world is so broken that change seems impossible. We quickly forget that God is more powerful than any problem: "the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). The Lord's Prayer ends with the acknowledgement, "For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever." As Christians we are not to rely on human power. As we lay down our wills to seek God's will, we become vessels for God's strength and tool's in God's hands. As Paul writes, "Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow" (1Cor. 3:7).
God has not been idle. The explosion of faith in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, even in countries where persecution is severe, is clear evidence of God's hand at work. During the 20th century, the percentage of Africans who profess to be Christians grew from 10 % to nearly 50%. Also in that time, the number of Christians in Asia increased from 22 million, or 2.3%, to over 300 million, or 8.3%. In Latin America, committed, active Christians have grown exponentially in number and are affecting their countries with a vibrant, God-breathed faith. The false accusation that Christianity is just another part of Western culture is losing credibility fast. While the United States still sends the most missionaries to foreign lands, South Korea is now the second greatest sender of missionaries. If in-country missionaries are counted, India is second to the U.S., with multitudes of Indians sharing the gospel cross-culturally within their nation's own borders.
As Christians have prayed, we have seen God do mighty things, bringing down entrenched, seemingly permanent oppressive regimes and giving more people a voice in their own governments. Very few would have predicted the implosion of the USSR, which has ushered in unprecedented freedoms and opportunities for many of the countries in the former Soviet bloc. The fall of apartheid in South Africa, with an emphasis on reconciliation, was nothing short of a miracle, and the foothold that democracy is gaining in the Middle East is another development God is using to open doors. All these areas need continued prayer, but it is amazing to see what God has already done and is doing in these places that before seemed hopeless! In addition, the growing international focus on decreasing poverty, fighting disease and hunger, and pressuring governments to protect citizens' basic human rights has often been in line with God's agenda of caring for the oppressed and defending widows and orphans.
God has been moving powerfully to help Christians recognize the need for Christian unity and reconciliation. At the beginning of the last millennium, the church split into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in the Great Schism, leading to centuries of mistrust and animosity. But now those two churches are reaching toward reconciliation and the dissolving of their age-old ill will. Many Protestant denominations also have become more open to working with others across historic divisions.
Other examples of God's drawing people together across human barriers include the many interdenominational Christian aid agencies; the Alpha ministries, which have brought Christians of many denominations and non-Christians together for discussions about God; and even the crisis of faith in Europe, which has made European acutely aware of their need for unity. Also, between 1996 and 1999, a group of inspired Christians retraced the steps of the first Crusaders to apologize for the sufferings they caused Muslims, Jews, and Orthodox Christians, seeking reconciliation outside of the body of Christ. We have, of course, a long way to go, but God is bringing the realization that Christian unity does not mean agreeing on all the finer points of Christian doctrine. Instead we are united, both with each other and with God, when we seek God's will and His kingdom first.
Our God is always working - He neither slumbers or sleeps. As humans, we have resisted His love and His plan for the world since our creation, but in spite of the suffering caused by our rebellion, God is still committed to advancing His kingdom of love, peace, and justice. Jesus is the King of this kingdom, and through Jesus, God is reconciling "to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross" (Col. 1:20). The Kingdom is God's, and we are secure in God's power. "
By George Konig
10/28/2007
www.georgekonig.org
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