A New Birth into a Living Hope
1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death.
Have you ever found yourself in circumstances so desperate that you wonder how you’re even going to make it through to tomorrow, or a period of protracted suffering from which there’s no escape?
The Rohingya people are a Muslim minority of some 700,000 who live in the squalor of foreign funded camps in Myanmar (formerly Burma).
In 2017, a brutal military crackdown led to widespread atrocities including killings, rape and the burning of villages which the United Nations described as “a textbook case of ethnic cleansing”.
They are, without doubt, amongst the least and most forgotten people groups in the world. Both Myanmar and Bangladesh deny them citizenship, rendering them stateless and subject to systematic discrimination and abuse. There appears to be no possible end to their suffering.
The door’s recently opened to begin sharing these Fresh messages with them in their own unique language. You might ask ‘Berni, why would you even bother? You’re Christian, they’re Muslim’. Here’s why, because …
1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death.
Call me crazy, but that mercy, that hope – the certain hope of a new life through Jesus’ resurrection – is meant for them too. And not just for them … for you … too.
English philosopher and apologist G.K Chesterton once wrote that hope is the power of being cheerful amidst circumstances that we know to be desperate. Praise God, that hope is for the Rohingya. That hope is for you.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
Blessed by this devotion?
Share it with a friend!
Respond