The first function of our mission trip to South Asia was to train a group of pastors. Many of them brought their families and some people from their church. There were eight people who decided to follow Jesus in baptism. I am not sure if they came to Christ at the conference or if they were already believers when they arrived, but had not been baptized. The people the pastors and I are praying over are the believers to be baptized.
This is a huge step in their life. It's not like what happens here in the States where we have a nice baptismal service in the midst of Sunday worship and then a nice lunch with family and friends afterward to celebrate.
If and when these believes are baptized, they will be persecuted. They will miss out on educational opportunities for their children, they can lose their homes and jobs, they could be removed from their extended family, and they could be ostracized and attacked by their neighbors. They will probably have to travel some distance to find water suitable for baptism and then they will face a life of pain and difficulty.
Why would they choose to do that? Because like Moses they have their hearts set on something greater and more significant that this life's comforts. Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
1 comment:
I'll be praying for these people.
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