Gospel.com Blog

Some good news on the missionary front from Nepal: after serving 9 years in a Nepali prison, Manja Tamang, a Gospel for Asia native missionary, has been released! Manja was sent to prison in 2000 after being falsely accused of murder.

Here’s some of his story, from the Gospel for Asia website:

Manja’s saga began one day as he was out sharing the Gospel. As he walked along a river path, he saw a dead body and immediately contacted the police.

An anti-Christian extremist group who had opposed Manja’s ministry seized the opportunity to stop his work. They arranged for several false witnesses to testify against him, “framing” him for the murder. Manja was arrested, charged with the crime that he did not commit and beaten to near death.

Even though the widow of the deceased man testified to Manja’s innocence, the missionary was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His case was appealed all the way to the Nepali Supreme Court, where, citing the “evidence,” it was upheld.

According to the article, persecution of this sort was not uncommon under the Hindu government of the time. The political situation in Nepal is more open now and Christians have more freedom to worship openly, although challenges and dangers still remain.

It’s a cause for thanksgiving and rejoicing, and certainly the answer to many long years of prayer from around the world. Gospel for Asia has been tracking Manja’s case for years; to see the full story as it unfolded over the last decade, scroll to the bottom of the Gospel for Asia article and look through the list of archived stories, videos, and other information about Manja.

Ten years ago today, America reeled at the news of a massacre at Columbine High School. Much has been written since then about the issue of school violence and the best ways to prevent it. Here are a few articles on the topic that I think make for worthwhile reading a decade later:

• Why Teenagers Turn to Violence is a good overview of the many different responses to the oft-repeated question of “How could this happen?”
• Michael Spencer has an insightful post about the “Christian myths” that sprang up in the wake of Columbine, and challenging us to be more honest and careful before co-opting tragedies to fit a “culture war” narrative.
• Ron Hutchcraft has written a moving devotional encouraging us all to be aware of and reach out to the “outsiders” all around us—people who, for whatever reason, don’t fit in and are in desperate need of real human relationships.

Last Friday, a gunman opened fire at a civic center in Binghamton, New York, killing 13 people before taking his own life. It’s a terrible and senseless tragedy, and it prompts all-too-familiar questions about God, evil, and grief.

Over at Back to the Bible, Woodrow Kroll has written a reflection on Friday’s massacre. While mourning the terrible loss of life, Kroll points out tiny flickerings of God’s grace in the tragedy’s aftermath:

I am deeply saddened by the loss of 13 people, 13 men and women just trying either to become a U.S. citizen or to help others become a U.S. citizen. Now we are left with trying to piece together the questions, the motives, the senselessness of it all. Thirteen families are asking why? Why my family member? Why here? Why now? Why? And once again there are no easy answers. Rarely does God answer our “why” questions anyway.

But in the midst of this extreme sadness and tragedy, there are tiny droplets of God’s grace that we must not miss. We must appreciate that, in the midst of chaos, there is grace.

God’s grace was evident in the fact that there were 41 people in the American Civic Association building that day and a crazed maniac armed to the teeth with enough ammunition to kill all of them many times over managed only to take 13 people with him to eternity. A tragedy for those 13; a miracle for 28 others.

God’s grace was evident in the fact that, even though one of the first shots fired as the gunman walked through the front door hit the receptionist, she had presence of mind enough to play dead and ultimately make the 911 call that brought emergency help quickly.

Read the full article for the rest.

It’s a major accomplishment to have been doing anything on the internet for five years, and even more impressive if it involves blogging. And doubly so if it invovles religion as well.

A big congrats goes to GetReligion for crossing that five year mark this week!

GetReligion is a blog devoted to the tireless scrutiny of religion in the mainstream press. They expertly point it out when religion is written about and more importantly when it’s not. They’re spending this week highlighting favorite posts from the past year. You can check out Doulas LeBlanc’s picks today, but remember to check in and congratulate them throughout the week.

Last week, US Airways Flight 1549 lost both engines just minutes after takeoff. With just a few moments in which to act, the pilot managed to bring the plane down in the Hudson River with no loss of life.

The pilot’s skill saved the passengers on that plane—but it’s natural to wonder if God was watching out for the people on what has been termed the “miracle flight.” One passenger was shared her thoughts on her unlikely survival: “I was praising God. While I’m giving the captain his due justice, it was only by the grace of god that kept us alive.”

In that spirit, here are two short essays that reflect on the near-tragedy and draw spiritual conclusions and parallels from it:

• Miracle on the Hudson: at Out of Ur, Gordon MacDonald considers the teamwork, training, and discipline that saved the lives of the people on that plane. Does your church community exhibit those same traits?
• A Ron Hutchcraft devotional essay sees a compelling real-life illustration of the Gospel message in the crash and subsequent rescue efforts. Hutchcraft has a knack for seeing reflections of the Christian message in traumatic events.

Let’s give thanks that the passengers and crew of Flight 1549 survived, and find inspiration in their story.

Image by Twitter user Janis Krums

What are Christians to make of the latest round of violence in the Middle East? Since Israel launched its offensive against Gaza, the world is once again watching as the all-too-familiar images of violence flash across TV screens. And the well-worn debates are once again dominating editorial pages and websites: who’s the villain in this situation? To what extent is it even possible to identify “good” and “bad” guys? And most importantly, is there any way to break the cycle of violence for good?

Those are big questions that will no doubt occupy the attention of world leaders and diplomats for many years to come. But for Christians trying to sort out the situation, here are two resources that might be helpful:

• Mart De Haan has posted an interesting essay about Israel, Gaza, and good or bad faith. He wonders what effect this latest conflict has on the faiths of both Christians and Muslims, and he offers some thoughts about “good” and “bad” faith, based on Hebrews 11. It’s a refreshing essay in that it avoids the trap of knee-jerk politics and tries to explore the way that we spiritually process events like this.
• Mission Network News is, as always, on the story. They’ve posted moving stories about the plight of Christians in the Gaza Strip and the effect of the violence on efforts to preach the Gospel message

Keep an eye on both of those sites for more news and reflections as the conflict burns on. And pray—for those affected by the violence, but also for world leaders trying to bring about a just and peaceful resolution to the ongoing cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine.

Mission Network News reports on the recent turmoil in Mumbai. It seems that despite the uncertainty, Christian organizations are committed to preaching the gospel as a message of peace:

Gypsy Meadows with Worldwide Christian Schools says their team in the region is safe, but they are rattled. “There’s a palpable and real fear factor in the hearts and minds of the common man in Mumbai, so that rumors and stray and small incidents, practically anything, seems to unsettle the average Mumbai resident.”

Their schools continue to operate, but the tension in the region is likely to push change on the government levels. “They ask for prayer for the city, particularly that the Christians of the city will be able to reach out with the Gospel, which is the message of peace and hope.”

In the face of investigations and terror warnings, Meadows says, “We could pray that Christians can be influential in reforming and reshaping a stronger and healthier government in India. That would do so much for creating a better environment for India as a whole, as a place that we can continue to reach out to.”

Read the whole article, or head over to their main page to listen to their daily audio coverage of the latest headlines and news.

Without Mission Network News I’d be largely ignorant of the impact of missions in the world. They’re an organization that consistently works to keep evangelical Christians informed of missions related news.

Their purpose:

Mission Network News is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world. In doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission.

And their reasoning:

We have found that many Christians are highly interested in missions, but they’re not getting the information they need to motivate them to get involved. MNN is committed to providing the most current, relevant and compelling mission news available. Our radio network, satellite links, and internet affiliates enable us to reach millions with mission news within hours of the event!

I went through today and read over what’s been going on in the past week. There are—of course—many things to pray about, but also many things to offer praise about. Here are a few recent news items worth reading:

Anti-blasphemy resolution impact brought to forefront

Financial crisis brings Wall Street to God

Proclaimer brings hope to Rwanda

Bible translation team issues call for help in Asia

Iran feeling the tensions between faith and religious freedoms

The massive cyclone destruction in Myanmar has occupied world attention in recent weeks—but the earthquake that struck central China has wreaked havoc and left a horrifying body count as well. Mission Network News has a story up about Christian ministry efforts to bring aid to the quake victims:

Baptist Global Response’s Jeff Palmer says they’re partnering with the Southern Baptists in an emergency response. A needs assessment is ongoing. “The first thing we’re going to do is get water, food and shelter to those who are in need. That in and of itself, people coming from halfway across the world, is a testimony to the people who are there. It’s the love of Christ that compels us, and we are commanded to help those who are in need.”

Even as Christian relief teams are being assembled, Palmer says, “Prayer is the strategy that we want to mobilize, first and foremost–praying for those who are in suffering, those who’ve lost family members, those already responding to the effort, [and] also pray for wisdom and knowledge of how to respond.”

Another story includes quotes by an International Aid representative who says that they’re standing by to help as well. If and when we learn of other Gospel.com ministries working in the area, we’ll post an update here on the blog. In the meantime, the ongoing relief efforts are certainly something to add to your prayers this week.

We’ve updated yesterday’s list of ministries affected by the California fires with several new ministries that have staff in the threatened areas. Keep an eye on that post, as we’ll continue to update it as we hear from ministries in the San Diego area.