by Carol Lee
There is nothing so brilliant as a star sparkling in a dark sky; the facets of a diamond are accentuated on the backdrop of a black velvet cloth; and the grace and beauty of Christ shine most brilliantly in a dark, sin-filled world. Jesus is the True Light who came into our dark world and dwelt among us. There is no darkness that can defeat His light (John 1). Is there any better response than that of the Wise Men or the shepherds who “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2: 10) or investigated “this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known” (Luke 2:15)? Second only to seeing it for ourselves is helping others to see it, too!
That was the blessing that Jacob, Pastor Henry, Tiondi and I had in Yumbe over the weekend along with our friend and co-worker, Onduga Charles– to encourage and equip the believers who are making every effort to shine like stars in the universe as they hold fast to the word of life “in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation“(Philippians 2:15) , and to earnestly plead, “come and see,” among those who have yet to be delivered “from the domain of darkness and transferred…to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1: 13-14)
On Saturday, we spent the day with the youth and congregants from the Zinzo church (Church of Uganda), and, through several facilitators, taught and exhorted them to know and understand and believe the Gospel more fervently for themselves, to trust that, through the Gospel (good news), God is mightily at work to save people out of darkness, and the Word is God is living and active and more powerful than any other source of information.
It’s a good thing we weren’t on the 3rd floor like Paul and no open windows! : )
Jacob taught on “One God, One Mediator“, who is Christ Jesus, helping the listeners to be more sure and grounded in what the Gospel is and what it accomplishes in our lives. I also taught on the “The Gospel that Saves Us and Keeps Us“: what it is and how it is fleshed out, bearing fruit in our lives that brings glory to God and speaks loudly to those who have yet to believe. Brother Jackson, who taught directly in Aringa, spoke about the differences between the Qur’an and the Bible and how knowing the power of God’s word can help embolden people in their witness to Muslim neighbors.
Jacob explaining “propitiation“–Jesus absorbing God’s wrath on our behalf!
In the evening, we transported the sound equipment to a local market place in Wolo where we hoped to draw a crowd and then announce to them some really great news: how they can be made clean before a Holy God–apart from “good deeds” which can never be enough to wipe out our bad record. I did my favorite thing, which was to mingle among the women, greet them in Aringa and use the little of the language I know to make a loving connection with them and hopefully break down barriers. The youth and other believers did what they love–singing Gospel songs and dancing with unbelievable energy. That is also a common language–everyone loves to dance; it was fun to be in the crowd engaging AND dancing with everyone. Jacob and Charles did what they love the most–preaching from on top of the Land Cruiser. Jacob’s message (with Charles interpreting in his passionate and animated way) was from John 10 where Jesus declares He is the Door! He preached from notes pasted on to his Bible–until the light became night and then he preached from his memory and heart! while Jacob was preaching, there were many from the team who were interceding. Our deepest prayer is that “eyes and hearts were opened” to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Back to Zinzo Church; setting up the screen for the Jesus Film (notice the supervisory role)
Once again, we packed things up and headed back to the Zinzo Church where (after much struggle) we were able to set up the screen and projector for the “Jesus film“. It was a part of the ALL NIGHT youth conference and their hope that Muslim neighbors in the area would be drawn to see and hear the story of Jesus Christ portrayed in the movie–to have their hearts opened to believe what they saw and heard.
We arrived back at our hotel at around 1:30 a.m. Exhausted! Dusty! Hungry! Thankfully, the hotel still had staff on hand to cook a small snack for us. The next morning, I awoke with a little bit of panic. It was already 7:30 a.m. and we were supposed to be ready by 8 a.m. to go to our next destination, Lodenga, for Sunday prayers!! That is one of the few times that I woke up earlier than Jacob–needless to say, he was worn to a frazzle. We hurried to get dressed and eat breakfast–which we would not have had to do as our hosts served us a “Hobbit’s Second Breakfast“.
At Lodenga we were given the privilege of hearing the story of the church’s beginnings and how difficult it has been for them (in the past and present) to stand firm in their faith amidst opposition, persecution, and the strategies of members of the Islamic faith to aggressively take over schools and churches in that region. It burgeoned great respect in our hearts for these faithful people. As with every church we have visited in Yumbe District, the older generation fears for the faith of the younger one as there is an active tactic to undermine the faith of the youth and convert them to the Islamic religion through earthly means, whether it be with money or marriage to their sons or other such drawing cards. The struggles are real and the desperation of the current believers is palpable. Their cry is for others to come along side of them and to “strengthen what remains“.
While Christians persevere in their efforts, Muslims from Arabia and Pakistan and other Islamic countries are pouring money into the region, building Mosques, supporting Muslim businesses, and paying bride prices for Christian girls to be married into Muslim families. Christians, already outnumbered, are under great pressure to rise to this challenge. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” At times, we can doubt the power of Jesus’ light. The darkness seems oppressive and overpowering. BUT GOD! is at work and we are convinced that His light will reach to every ordained corner of the world.
Lord!! Let the light of Your love shine brightly in these dark corners of the world. Fill your people with the light of your truth and grace. Let Your light overcome the darkness. Open eyes, open hearts so that those held captive by lies (that we can come into Your presence without a Mediator) may see your grace and beauty and believe in You and believe in what You have done for them.
“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1: 9-17
“O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light.“
“O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace.”
Jacob and I wish you a very blessed Christmas celebration with Jesus Christ, Himself, at the very center of it all! He is the Light of the World and through Him–by His light–WE are the light of the world. May our lives, individually and corporately, reflect the light of the Son so that darkness will be dispelled.
Would you please pray about and consider partnering with RAU financially so that we can continue to be an answer to Jesus’ appeal to “pray for the Lord of the Harvest to thrust forth laborers”? As Jacob says often, day time is here when we must work and a time is coming when no one will be able to do the work of sowing, weeding and harvesting. WORK WITH US in this eternally consequential present moment! Thank you so much to those of you who are already doing so. As the Body of Christ we are interconnected in physical and spiritual ways. We will only see the work God has done in and through us in the ages to come!
As we approach the final month of 2024, we invite you to partner with Reaching Africa’s Unreached (RAU) in our mission and vision. However, I must emphasize that supporting RAU should not divert your giving from your local church or other Christ-exalting mission work.
Please join in with us in our quest to bring over 20,000+ Africa Study Bibles here to RAU. They would be resources primarily to church leaders.
Above all, we request your prayers. Please pray that we will be good stewards, filled with God’s wisdom as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your consideration and partnership!
www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.org
“What we do now in the Lord and for Him will echo throughout eternity for His praise and honor….all else is dust in the wind!” (Jacob Lee)
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“It is our conviction that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16) and we have been entrusted to proclaim it passionately and rightly. Our dependence is upon the Holy Spirit for the power to preach, teach, live and endure all things for the sake of the elect. (1 Timothy 2:10). As Christians, we are called to lay down our lives so that the Gospel will be preached to all. As ones who are confident in God’s sovereignty and passionate for His glory we seek to reach the many that have never heard of the Savior and His work of reconciliation. We understand that this work cannot be accomplished in our own strength but only through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. The means He uses in His people are cross-centered living, sacrificial and loving service, Bible-soaked preaching/teaching, fervent intercessory prayer, and Christ-likeness.” (From Reaching Africa’s Unreached Mission & Vision Statement)
Checks also may be written out to “RAU” and sent to our secretary Beth and she will deposit them into RAU’s account : Lifegate-RAU, 395 Lifegate Ln., Seguin, TX. 78155
Mission & Vision Statements: https://reachingafricasunreached.org/about/
Mercy Ministries: https://reachingafricasunreached.org/agriculture-project/
Blog Posts: www.ReachingAfricasUnreached.org
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RAU is in partnership with ABWE
Our ABWE Personal Donation Page: https://give.abwe.org/worker/2125
Our RAU/ABWE Uganda Ministry Operations/Projects Page: https://give.abwe.org/projects/rau-uganda-short-term-teams
Carol and I are grateful to be Associate Missionaries with ABWE. Video Interview: What does it mean to be an Associate Missionary with ABWE?
Reaching Africa's Unreached 