‘Let’s witness and pray’
Yembiyembi believers in Papua New Guinea are exhorting others to pray for those who are persecuting them and to talk about Jesus everywhere they go.
A Bible teacher-in-training told his fellow teachers, “Think of how God chose Saul to be his mouthpiece to the Gentiles. Think of all the other people that had family members who were either killed or put in prison by Saul. Do you think they liked Saul getting all that grace from God? Do you think it was easy for them to forgive Saul and even pray for him? Man, wouldn’t we be the first to throw stones back at him for persecuting us?
"Think of the people that have persecuted us and still throw stones at us. Should we say, ‘Well, they are firewood, forget about them.’ Or should we pray for them and witness to them? If God can change Saul, He can change everyone in this village. Let’s witness and pray!”
The Yembiyembis realize the urgency of telling others about Jesus. One believer was in his garden with several older women from his clan. They had been afraid to go to the teaching. But he asked them, "Who is going to stand before God when you die? Just you, not anyone else. You have to make the decision now. God has given you these moments on earth to believe in the road God made for you.”
One of those women is now going to the teaching.
Another Bible teacher has decided that he needs to start teaching his own family. “I tried and I tried to talk with my dad before he died,” he said. “We prayed for him, and we started walking him through this talk from the beginning, but his thinking was locked on [our former beliefs]. … It’s so sad, but at least we told him the message and he had the chance to hear. That’s our job.” Some of his children have agreed to listen to the teaching and he is eager to help them understand the Gospel message.
Pray for these new believers who have such a burden to tell others about the Lord. Pray that they will clearly present the message to others.