I am enjoying a beautiful spring afternoon in China, away from teaching, writing in solitude (one of my favorite things). And I am mindful that our Father is at work, not only in me, but also around the world, as He pours out the truth about Jesus' wonderful Grace. In China, it's our understanding that all of us, who are residents here, are under an especially watchful eye this week, as the government gauges and monitors suspicious or unwanted activity on Asia's number one social media, WeChat.1 Western social media and news sources are blocked routinely here, and from time to time there is a flexing of the bureaucratic muscle, which serves as a warning against proselytizing. It is difficult for many friends in America to grasp that on an average day, we literally cannot access the community communication programs that are so normal for them. They post to our "FB and Insta..." timelines, and complain that they don't hear back from us. We must not love them anymore. No, dear ones, we just live in the real world! I've been praying about telling the story of our being swept here late last August. And there are a few trusted and wise friends who continue to advise against me doing so. It is true that the law continues generally to work against faith. One example is a dear friend of our school coach was just released from two years in prison for a faith-related offense. Most of our school momas and babas (moms and dads) are believers. But one, who is not yet a believer, told me last fall, "The government has decided that Christians mean no harm" - including the ones born here. The broad general consensus now is that those who honor the law will be left alone, although there are no guarantees. Those who are straightforward with nothing to hide, and who have begun to build rapport with local officials are experiencing amazing tolerance. If you are reading this with a sense of political unbelief, don't worry; this calm and generous attitude is coming from the mega-metropolises to a province near you. Though this story is true with no fictional characters, I am compelled to maintain my own policy, "Harmless as a dove, wise as a serpent." Therefore, I am not broadcasting certain details which could incriminate the innocent (and you may have already noticed I'm softening some of my verbage). But those are not the things you're interested in, anyway! You want to know that Grace really does work, and that the Indwelling Life can be entirely relied upon in every culture and situation! And that just happens to be our story! My Mrs. of forty years calls it "Unconventional." She expects to sit down and write it with me, when we are not too busy living it. For us, it started about ten years ago. I often say we had reached a place in our lives, for which we were not prepared. Of course, this was true of...read more here
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1 WeChat is a mobile text and voice messaging communication service developed by Tencent in China, first released in January 2011.
Dan Camp (Georgia, USA) is a contributing writer, editor, and member of the Board of Directors/Advisory Board for
IOM America - Transformational Biblical Worldview & Exchange Life Development. He is a Colson Center CENTURION; a Grace lay-counselor; and business manager and chaplain of the Veritas Classical Schools in south-metro Atlanta.
Dan Camp gives his permission to all to share, use, and/or forward any portion of his articles. He would love to hear from you via email at [email protected]
All Scriptures, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible,� Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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