LORD, REVEAL THE WAY OF THE CROSS
Georgia: A very religious nation, yet carnal in their way
of life. The truth of the complete mystery of the gospel is not present because
of the orthodox religion that exists very powerfully in the land. Since the
orthodox religion is official, the people compromise their faith. Traditional
orthodox believers cling so much to their religion and appear to be faithful to
what they have received over the years.
Most shocking event that was recorded in Georgia
was the conversion of 5,000 Muslims into orthodox Christianity. Nobody, knows
what really made it happen, but the belief is that perhaps “it was the
will of God.”
Evangelical Baptist Church of the Republic of Georgia: Aside from the orthodox believers, the Evangelical Baptists are
also a group of believers who are radical; they are not afraid to speak
out and stand up where others would not. They celebrate women as deacons,
presbyters, and currently have one female bishop with another one on the way
due to the tremendous effort of women in building the church and bringing it
back to life during the period of the Soviet Union.
Below is the statement of
the church leader: “In the 1930’s all the churches were closed down by
comrade Stalin and all the male leaders and male laymen were sent to Siberia.
All of them. And I think the Soviets made a dramatic mistake. If they wanted to
get rid of the Baptist Church in Georgia, they should not have sent the men;
they should have sent the women. Owing to the work of the women, the Church not
only survived, but it grew. When the Soviets came, there were twelve ethnic
Georgian Baptist churches. And when the Soviet Union collapsed there were a
couple of thousand churches. It was not because the
Soviets favoured the Baptists, but it was because of the energy the
women brought to the life of the Church. The Church survived owing to
the leadership provided by women. My grandmother was a sort of Bible woman in
Communist time who would go from a village to another and would stay overnight
and would speak to the people. The Communists.”
They stand for equal treatment of people regardless of their sexual
orientation and they are deeply engaged in the work of interfaith advocacy with
persecuted Muslims within Georgia as well as with Russian refugees: The
Georgian Evangelical Baptists are a group of believers that are full of good
works. They claim that being just a Christian is not enough! They came to this
conclusion, due to the experience they had with their once claimed enemies (The Chechenian
and Northern Caucasian people), who persecuted and tortured them by
kidnapping their men and women and selling them off in order to build their own
economy, because they were very poor. Though this affected the psyche of the
Georgians, and it led to accumulated hatred for them, YET, when they heard
that this same people where suffering and had become refugees in their land,
they took a courageous step to prove to them that they were Christians, and
offered a helping hand.
A country that had nothing raised half a million U.S dollar to help
their dying and helpless enemy through the effort of the Church leader. A
sudden persecution began in the country, and the Muslims suffered most of the
persecutions.
The Bishop of the Evangelical Baptist Church said
thus:
“What we found out was that Muslims were forbidden
to pray on Fridays, that orthodox police were stopping people who were not
wearing crosses and beating them, and the government organised the removal of a
Muslim minaret in a small village. In our part of the world, you can be Muslim
as long as nobody sees you. It is fine to have a place of worship, but as soon
as you put up a minaret you are the target of abuse and attack. The same is
true for various groups in our society that are sidelined by the majority
culture. The Orthodox Church says it is fine for you to be a part of the LGBT
community as long as nobody knows about you. So invisibility is the only way to
survive. But unless you are visible, we cannot possibly feel as a dignified
part of the wider society. This is how we found ourselves deeply engaged in
advocacy work for the Muslim community in Georgia.”
PRAYER
I see a land, where God can have a
great harvest of souls. If these people lay hold on the truth, and know the way
of the cross and the complete mystery of the gospel, they would run with it and
would be radical with it as well. But how can they hear without a preacher???
- Lord,
thank You for the nation of Georgia.
1 Corinthians 2:12 “Now we have received, not
the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the
things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in
the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Joel 2: 28 “And it shall come
to pass, afterwards, that I shall pour out my Spirit upon all flesh…”
- Lord,
let there be an outpouring of Your Spirit that will make known Your will
unto the people of Georgia.
- Father,
remember these people and show mercy unto them. Open the heavens unto them
and bring them to know the complete mystery of the gospel.
- Lord,
reveal the way of the cross to them.
- Send
kingdom labourers to Your harvest; Calvary labourers who have known the
mystery of the gospel.
- Ephesians
1: 9-10. Make known to them the mystery of your will.
Lord, we need a revival that is born through the power of the cross.
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