Vatican retaliates after multitudes abandon Catholic Church for the uplifting message of Christian (Protestant) churches in tiny Rwanda

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

Today I’d like to report on what’s been happening in the African nation of Rwanda. The short version is that 6,000 evangelical churches have been forced to close their doors because of the actions of the government. The oppression began shortly after the president, a Roman Catholic, returned from a visit to the Vatican. While many Catholics had been leaving the church, the evangelical churches were growing. The president’s visit to Rome was apparently to address this “problem.” In this tiny nation the size of Maryland, 13 million people compete for limited resources. The genocide in 1994 left thousands of children as orphans and most of the population in what we would consider extreme poverty. This is why the recent edicts from the government have been so devastating to evangelical Christians.

In order to be legal, churches must be on property no smaller than ½ acre and must be owned outright. Land is so expensive that most churches can’t afford this. They have been told that their parking lots must be paved. One pastor that I know and support old me that He is the only one in his church that owns a car, but that doesn’t matter. Churches have been forced to install ceilings (no more exposed rafters or trusses), sound insulation, modern plumbing fixtures meeting the new code requirements, and a host of additional regulations clearly designed to shut down all non-Catholic churches. They can’t meet in homes because that has been declared illegal. Believers there are crying out for help. Most churches don’t have the resources to comply or fight the regulations. The war is on.

 AS I SEE IT

Vatican City

Try to put yourself in their shoes (which many don’t even have). What do they do? What can they do? They are in a situation that only God can solve. Since I learned of what’s going on there, I have been praying for God to move in a way that brings great glory to Him and unites the Christian community as never before. I am praying that what was meant for evil, God will use for good, making the churches even stronger than before. In short, I am praying that the whole scheme will backfire in a huge way.

One possibility is that God will redistribute His unlimited resources in such a way that these churches receive the money they need to comply, and that they will be so much nicer than they were that more and more people are attracted to them. If that’s not God’s plan (This didn’t catch Him by surprise), then He can use whatever means He chooses to reverse the situation. God will not be mocked, nor will His purposes be thwarted. He will have the last word, and it’s our privilege and responsibility to pray God’s will into existence, not only for believers in Rwanda, but those facing persecution all around the world. If you weren’t sure about Roman Catholicism, this should tell you all you need to know.

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