Dear Friends and Supporters,
During the Easter weekend in early April, Zambia, like many other countries, had a wide range of community gatherings, Bible camps, youth meetings, and more. This year, the National Easter Youth Meeting of the Churches of Christ in Zambia took place here in Kalomo.
The young people from our community reported that over 2,500 participants were registered, and 55 of them professed their faith in Jesus and were baptized. Although one can be somewhat skeptical about such large events, we are very grateful that in a society that is very young – with an average age of around 16 or 17 years – many young people still have an interest in God. From history, we know that when people have more education and are better off economically, they often turn away from God – why do we need God when things are „good“ for us?
Usually, I report on school and agriculture, weather and harvest yields. But we also have regular Bible study sessions where we „cultivate the soil of our students‘ hearts.“ In the last term, we focused on the origins of the Bible, who is „behind it,“ and why we regard this book as the Word of God. What we read in our modern Bibles, was it the same at the beginning? Did Jesus really teach like that? Did Isaiah, Luke, Paul, and the others really write those words? To make an optical impression, I show pictures of ancient clay tablets, papyrus manuscripts, the famous Isaiah scroll, and finally, John 3:16 in 1,800 languages.
Unfortunately, there is a great deal of general ignorance regarding the formation of the Bible. After that, we spent a few weeks looking at the „development of the Church – of Christianity – throughout the centuries.“ How did the gospel come to Africa? Even today, Martin Luther’s „motto“ of „Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone“ is very important so that we can navigate through the almost uncountable number of philosophies, religions, and hundreds of Christian communities.
When we look around in modern society, we may sometimes lose courage because the disinterest in God is increasing, and – not surprisingly for us Christians – evil is also on the rise, and is now even partially enshrined in law. It is good to know that heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will not. In this knowledge, we can continue to live as children of God with joy and confidence because we know that HE has prepared eternal glory for us. Also, that the almighty God has come to us, taken death upon Himself – absolutely UNIQUE in the world of religions – to free us from the power of death.
Therefore, we wish you courage, confidence, and joy in living as children of God and radiating His grace into our surroundings.
Connected to you through HIM
Klaus