Why are we going to the Czech Republic?
First, that is where we feel God is leading us, but secondly, there is a tremendous need for the Gospel not only there, but in all of Europe. Imagine if we could raise up people from the most atheist nation in Europe and send them throughout Europe to proclaim the Good News of Jesus. The Joshua Project says 69.7% of the Czech people are not religious (don't believe or don't care about God). The article I have shared below is even more alarming. 91% of young people claim no religious affiliation. As you can see, the number is trending in the wrong direction. I recently read an article from Daily Mail in the UK. Click here to read the article. In many Evangelical circles, it has be said that Europe is a post-Christian society. These numbers definitely support Europe is heading in that direct very fast at the least, if they are not already there. Here are some key points from the article. •In the Czech Republic, 91 per cent of young people (16-29 years old) do not follow a religion •Majority of 16 to 29-year-olds across Europe are non-religious, study shows •Future of Christianity in Europe left in doubt as young people reject religion Help us change these numbers and partner with us today! www.worldoutreach.org/donations JP & Elizabeth Ott
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Matthew 22:37-39
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself." I added an extra love in the title because I didn't like the way two loves looked. I love this passage. It really shows how simple it is. Is it really simple to love though? I mean most of us will say we have the love God thing down. Loving our neighbor as ourself is a much more difficult task. First of all, who is our neighbor? Is it the person that lives next to us? If you look at the Greek, the word for neighbor is plēsion and it means everyone that is not you. Now that I have cleared that up, it's confession time. I'll admit in the past, I have had the urge to rear end someone with different political beliefs or fans of my favorites teams rivals. Thankfully I had enough control to not do it! In this current age of social media, most are freely speaking their opinions no matter how divisive they are. The most heartbreaking part is the church. To some, we can agree to disagree on doctrinal differences. Others just want to win an argument. We live in a "If you don't agree with me, my first response is anger!" kind of world. Where's the love? Why is it so hard to love? Why is it the ministries I see displaying the best examples of loving others are the ones that are getting attacked? People will say they are just exposing false teachers. However, if you read the Gospels, they are the ones that look like Jesus and the accusers are the ones that look a lot like the Pharisees. Maybe that's another blog though? Let's get back to the church though. The Center for Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary says there are 47,000 evangelical protestant denominations. Wow! A lot of these denominations work together, but many don't "play well together". Jesus said a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25). From my perspective, the church is the most divided thing on this planet! The only answer to reconcile is to love. I find it hard to believe that any group has perfect doctrine. Let's have humility when speaking to people who believe a little (or a lot) different than us. Let's seek God about areas to love others well. |
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Elizabeth & JP Ott are followers of Jesus living in Prague, Czech Republic as of Feb. 2018. ArchivesCategories |