[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-story-to-learn-from-the-nations":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-story-to-learn-from-the-nations-surround":71},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":53,"date":54,"description":18,"extension":55,"image":56,"meta":57,"minRead":58,"navigation":59,"path":60,"postType":61,"publication":62,"publicationUrl":56,"seo":63,"stem":64,"topics":65,"__hash__":70},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fa-story-to-learn-from-the-nations.md","A Story to Learn from the Nations",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"Luke","Psalms","Revelation",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":49},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43,46],[16,17,18],"p",{},"A great missionary hymn reminds us that we have \"a story to tell to the nations.\" While that's certainly true, we also have a lot to learn from Christians who live in other nations.",[16,20,21],{},"Several years ago I decided that, as the Lord gave me opportunity, I would try to go on at least one mission trip each year. That decision has had a major impact on my life. Jesus said, \"Give, and it will be given to you\" (Luke 6:38). As most people who go on short-term mission trips will testify, you go to serve but end up on the receiving end of humbling acts of love. Missionary friends have invited me to come to their countries and teach, but in every case I have received more than I have given.",[16,23,24],{},"In Korea my hosts asked me to remove my shoes before I preached. Ever since, I've had a keener sense that whenever I preach I'm standing on holy ground.",[16,26,27],{},"In Japan people greet one another with a bow. This warm, respectful gesture helps me understand more deeply the biblical exhortation, \"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker\" (Psalm 95:6).",[16,29,30],{},"In Venezuela I was challenged to be bolder in presenting the gospel. A missionary preached to a crowd on the streets of Caracas, while a group of believers nearby sang enthusiastic songs of praise accompanied by guitars and maracas.",[16,32,33],{},"In Haiti a group of about 50 men sat for hours on plain wooden benches, taking notes eagerly while I spoke with the help of an interpreter. They were some of the most attentive students I've ever had the privilege to teach.",[16,35,36],{},"In a grass hut in Ethiopia, a dignified but weathered-looking old man in a tattered sport coat thanked God for our food and asked for a blessing on his American guests. After the prayer, his daughter served us a large pan of flat bread (made with coarse grain the family ground themselves) covered with a mixture of pea soup, melted butter, spices, and something resembling cottage cheese. The old man tore off a large chunk of bread with toppings, and smiled as he handed it to me. I can't say it was the tastiest food I have ever eaten, but I have never experienced more gracious hospitality.",[16,38,39],{},"In Austria I taught a class for Christians who had lived most of their lives behind the Iron Curtain. It was humbling to hear them tell how they had suffered under totalitarian regimes where atheism was the official state doctrine. The night before I flew back to America, a man named Alexander gave me a thank you gift: a coin engraved with the face of Lenin. Alexander told me that his country had minted the coin to celebrate the achievements of Communism, but to him, the coin represented Communism's failure. \"Take this coin with you,\" he said, \"and tell American Christians that we thank them for praying for our freedom.\"",[16,41,42],{},"God has used Mexican Christians to teach me about contentment, Canadian Christians to teach me about perseverance, and Arabic Christians to teach me about courage. He's also used these experiences to give me a glimpse of Heaven. When the apostle John viewed the throne room of God, he saw \"a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb\" (Revelation 7:9).",[16,44,45],{},"Someday God's people from all nations will stand before him in united worship. Until then, let's keep telling the story of Christ to the nations. And let's listen to God's people who share our faith although they do not share our culture.",[16,47,48],{},"We still have a lot to learn.",{"title":50,"searchDepth":51,"depth":51,"links":52},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","2001-07-01","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-story-to-learn-from-the-nations","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Fa-story-to-learn-from-the-nations",[66,67,68,69],"Biblical Theology","Discipleship","Christian Unity","Perseverance in Suffering","Fo6YdDjWJAOyAEPIzIfKMEm9MW4iiFFHRVWglQg74LY",[72,77],{"title":73,"path":74,"stem":75,"description":76,"children":-1},"A Song in the Night","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-song-in-the-night","articles\u002Fa-song-in-the-night","Did you ever toss and turn your way through a long, sleepless night when your troubles seemed overwhelming? Problems that seem manageable during the day somehow appear more depressing at night. We feel like crying out, \"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?\" Yet the same Psalm that asks those questions goes on to say, \"By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life\" (Psalm 42:5, 8). People who trust in God can find something to sing about 24 hours a day—even in the middle of a long, hard night.",{"title":78,"path":79,"stem":80,"description":81,"children":-1},"A Strange Sort of Joy","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-strange-sort-of-joy","articles\u002Fa-strange-sort-of-joy","A medical school student preparing to become a doctor refuses to receive training about how to perform abortions. As a result, he gets a lower grade in the class—the only time he earns anything less than an A."]