Blessed Friday. How many Bible verses do you have memorized? A couple? Maybe 10? How about full books? Several books of the Bible at that? What could just be an exercise for our brains is the only way for many Christians to keep the Bible in their lives. 

In today’s edition, we have 3 stories to help us better understand how diverse the Christian experience around the world truly is.

In today’s edition: 

• 3 things Christians in Morocco taught Steven

• What have you built your hope on?

• How to pray for those having a very different Christmas

🇲🇦 “We are not Arabs. We are Amazighs.”

Greetings from Morocco! Well, I’m not actually in Morocco right now, but I was there earlier this year producing our latest episode of Neighborhoods & Nations.

And while enjoying eating large delicious meals with lots of carbs (mainly meat with couscous and a side of khobz, plus 3 other types of bread) with our Moroccan brothers and sisters, I learned a few new things:

When you’re trying to communicate with someone whose language you don’t speak, just smile and say, “Messi!” Everyone loves Messi. Now you have something in common. Works every time.

The oldest university in the world is located in Fes, Morocco and it’s a Muslim university. You can see a photo I took of it above (blueish, greenish tiled roof). Fes is a notoriously easy city to get lost in and get lost we most certainly did.

And finally, even though today Morocco’s population is 99% Sunni Muslim, history tells us that there’s more to this country than this one religion. In fact, before Islam entered this region, Morocco was home to many Christians. Many of whom were not Arab, but Amazigh.

This last point was what brought us to Morocco in the first place. How does a country that was once home to a thriving Christian community become 99% Sunni Muslim in just a few centuries?

We explored this and so much more in our latest episode. Would you check it out and let us know what you think?

— Steven Morales

🪨 What is your hope built on?

A little while ago, I read a book called Back to the Jerusalem of the East: The Underground House Church of North Korea. It’s interesting to learn about how North Korea—the most isolated country—was once a hub for Christianity, and how even in the midst of isolation and persecution today, North Koreans are hearing the gospel.

In the book, one missionary said, “When it came time to pray or meet, the Scriptures would be pulled out of the secret hiding place with the utmost care. After some time, there would be no need to pull out the Scripture because every word would have been memorized.”

Here’s the thing: the punishment for possessing a Bible in North Korea is imprisonment in a labor camp, most likely leading to death. Furthermore, meeting together with other believers is also a crime. Quoting Scripture, singing a worship song, talking about the gospel, and even praying is illegal.  

Yet, persecution has caused North Korean believers to have a correct perspective of the sanctity of the Scriptures and how the Word of God sustains us, especially during hardships.

Another North Korean believer said, “My family kept our Bible. For three years, I memorized as much as I could. My father said I would need it, because one day our Bible may be found. Persecution of Christians came so bad that my father disposed of our Bible…I had remembered the book of Mark and First Timothy, as well as many Psalms. They would be my only hope for years.”

Will you pray with us for God to bring his Word to those in isolated and persecuted areas of the world, and that we may give him praise for his gift of the Scriptures?

— Selah Lipsey

🇾🇪 Christmas in Yemen is…different, to say the least.

Many churches around the world have started celebrating the Christmas season and remembering the goodness of God as he sent his Son Jesus to the world to be our Savior. 

Yet some countries like Yemen face religious persecution, and their Christmas season looks different compared to the experience of other believers around the world. Yemeni believers have to meet in secret and in smaller groups due to opposition from the Islamic government. Sharing the gospel, praying in public, and owning a Bible can lead to persecution. 

Additionally, there are great physical needs. Due to the ongoing civil war since 2014, Yemen has one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, causing a lack of food and health services. Eighty percent of the Yemen population needs emergency aid — the greatest number in any country.

How to Pray: As we hope to see more people in Yemen come to know and place their faith in Jesus this Christmas season, we can pray for Yemeni believers to be bold in their witness.

Pray that all in Yemen learn that salvation comes through Christ alone. As Yemeni believers share the gospel and hope to gather together as the church, we can pray for their safety.

Lastly, we can pray for God to meet both their spiritual and physical needs and to comfort them in their suffering.

📍 Attention Worthy

• Make Jesus known around the world this holiday season. Through the end of the year, Radical will double every gift received to enable 10,000 gospel leaders in the hardest to reach countries of the world. Join us in making Jesus known today!

• There’s something worse than death—a needed reminder from Kevin DeYoung on how the doctrine of hell can help prevent drifting in the church’s mission and in the Christian life in general.

• Why should a missionary join a local church? Here are 10 reasons from Vincent Kajuma, a pastor in Mauritius.

THIS WEEK’S COLLABORATORS:

Selah Lipsey, Steven Morales, Jairo Namnún, Camille Suazo

MAKE YOUR LIFE COUNT!