Understanding Integral Mission through God’s Sovereignty

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[“SHARE” OCT – DEC 2018 ] BACK TO THE BIBLE

Written by: Dr. Mok Chiu Yau (CEDAR China Programme Advisor)

 

When presented with so many suffering and adversities on earth, Christians usually respond with sympathy, expressed by charitable giving and voluntary services. But gradually, Christians may realise that the problem of suffering is too heavy and difficult to solve, therefore they think that the paramount thing is to evangelise people. The belief is that once a person (who suffers) knows Christ, he or she can have strength to persevere in the world’s suffering, be comforted by fellowship members, and eventually enters into heaven after death and never suffers. Yet, such belief  is a one-sided understanding of God’s mission to believers.

 

God’s mission to believers  is a holistic mission. We can understand it based on two biblical aspects. First, God’s mission is the foundation of our mission. Second, God’s mission is the mission of the Kingdom of God, meaning God exercising His sovereignty and transforming the heaven and earth. Believers should take obedience of and witness His sovereignty.

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Week 7: Shalom and Creation Care

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(This article[1] was extract from Live Just.ly, published by Micah Challenge in 2014.)

 

Written by: Ben Lowe, Jason Fileta, and Lisa Graham Mcminn

 

We hope to take this article published by Micah Challenge as the closing ePrayer article for the Lent season. Echoing to week 1’s article and the theme of “Reconciling with the Land”, let’s continue to look at the passage from Colossians chapter 1 and reflect together when we talk about shalom, we should not neglect caring for God’s creation.

 

When we think of the need for shalom in the world, it is easy to think first and mainly of human concerns such as the conflict in Syria, southern Sudan’s crisis, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

We rarely think of environmental issues such as pollution, animal suffering, deforestation, and a scarcity of water. But Jesus Christ is the Lord of all, and he is bringing peace and reconciliation to all levels of relationships through his blood shed on the cross:

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Week 1: Why Should We Reconcile with the Land?

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Lent refers to the 40 days period (excluding Sundays) preceding Easter, during which Christians would involve in practical exercises such as praying, fasting, penance, abstinence, almsgiving, and practising self-denial to reflect and adapt a sacrificial, minimalistic, and caring lifestyle.

 

In the past few years, CEDAR has promoted the same idea of simplistic-living through different events and articles, encouraging brothers and sisters to live our lives on the foundation of Christ’s salvation and rebuild our relationships with God, with ourselves, with each other, and with the environment.

 

We will continue the practice this year and focus on the mission to reconcile with the land. We are going to reflect on our commitment in “liberating the creation from its bondage to decay and bringing it into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21) through a 6-week ePrayer series, featuring CEDAR and its partners’ work examples.

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