Day 22 -The Body of Christ

“If an Afghan man comes to Christ, but his wife does not, chances are he will not last.  If an Afghan woman comes to Christ, even if her husband does not, chances are she will hold on.  If a man and his wife both convert, they will never turn back.”  These are the words of the Afghan martyr, Zia Nodrat, who was killed in May, 1988 for not recanting his faith.  In keeping with how the gospel has taken root in many other places, the process has been slow, but if Zia were alive today he would be rejoicing in hope.  By faith we have great reason to rejoice in what God is doing among the Afghan and Pakistani Pashtuns.

 In 1988 the Body of Christ among the Pashtuns consisted of a small handful of disconnected men.  Today, it is beginning to look more like a body.  Instead of a handful of scattered men, there is now a handful of believing families who are reaching out to extended family members and working slowly and wisely to bring others in.  Some are even sharing outside their extended family, especially where avenues exist for finding the more open-minded.  Women are sharing wisdom with their neighbors.  Instead of a few completely ‘secret’ believers, there are now a few Pashtuns whose godly character is being noticed by their neighbors, family and friends.  The yeast has been added to the dough.

 

Pray for: 

• Pashtun disciples to obey the Word, be filled with the Spirit, and visibly transformed.
• Many disconnected seekers and believers to trust each other and bond with other members of the body.
• Realistic expectations for those doing the slow work of finding and teaching Pashtun disciples.

 

Deuteronomy 10:22 When your ancestors went to live in Egypt there were only 70 of them.  But the Lord has blessed you, and now there are more of you than there are stars in the sky. CEV