Shifting Sands of Salvation

The strange thing about the growth of the church throughout history is how it shifts from place to place. Salvation is rock solid, but the activity of God among people groups seems to shift around like sand in the wind. Jesus said the Spirit blows where he will like the wind. We can never predict where he may choose to work next, but when he starts to work, it is wonderful to behold.

The church in the Turkic world is a great example. Since 2007 the church in Turkey has grown by 100%. In 2007 two Turkish brothers and one German brother were brutally slaughtered by extremists. This year as the church solemnly remembered the deaths of these three men, the church also recognized that the number of believers in Turkey has increased from 3000 to 6000. The great sacrifice of these men has not gone unnoticed nor has the great act of forgiveness by the widows who went before the national Turkish press and openly forgave their husbands' murderers.

The shifting sands of salvation are also blowing wildly in Europe among Muslim refugees. The numbers of people coming to faith in the Messiah is extraordinary. Many have escaped oppression and war and the darkness of false religion so that they can hear the gospel and respond freely. God is sovereign over times and nations and we see this again and again as the sands shift here and there under his wind.