Korie and I had the honor ofspending this past week in the Middle East where I was invited to preachseveral times at a church and then a conference.  The church where I shared was the largestevangelical church in the area, a truly multi-ethnic and multi-class churchthat warmed our hearts.  In reflecting onmy time of ministry there, several things come to mind:

The sobering effect ofinconvenience.  The church where Iserved is not in a region of persecution…yet.However, their nation has sent a resounding message that they considerthe church of Jesus Christ to be a nuisance.It’s almost impossible to purchase land as a church.  And right before I got up to preach (whereservices were held at a hotel) I was told that Muslim informers would be in theaudience.  These words sobered me in away that I’ve never been before.

A looming persecution.  While Christians have not been killed in thisregion, their close proximity to recent acts of violence against believersadded a weight and seriousness to the current events.  As the pastor of the church got up to prayfor those twenty-one Christians who went proclaiming Jesus to their deaths, Ifelt an intensity in the room that could only be blamed on our nearness to theatrocity.  In the states we are moved bysuch violence, but like reading about American slavery, one is only grieved toa certain point, whose emotions are held at bay by the boundary ofdistance.  

A Universal Gospel.  God was with me in the preaching moment.  Many hands went up in response to the gospel.  As I talked with these tear stained individualsat the end of the services I was struck by how universal the gospel actuallyis.  I spent time listening to salvationstories from Australians, Iranians, Jordanians, South Africans and many more.    Some had been shunned by their familiesbecause of their decision to follow Jesus.Others were still calculating the risk involved, weighing whether or notto yield their lives to Christ and chance everything.  My prayers go with them.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Yourkingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  I feel beyond privileged to have played asmall role in the coming of God’s kingdom in this section of his vineyard.