Historic

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, and in the Sermon on the Mount, He called those who make peace, "Blessed."  We can pursue peace through reaching out to people in a compassionate spirit.
Hebrews 12 states:
12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,
13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God...

We can be diligently at work in bringing about reconciliation.  As believers, this starts with developing a sense of compassion, a desire to bring about right relationships.  Certainly, within the body of Christ, we will have different point of views, but differences don't have to be divisive.  If our goals are shaped by a Kingdom mentality, then we can find productive ways to build up the Kingdom and see true heart change come about by the power of God.

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In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus is teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and addresses topics related to peace and persecution, topics that can be greatly on our minds as we consider what has just transpired in the talks between the United States and North Korea. Jesus said:
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

It was certainly a historic occasion, to be watching last night and see an American President shaking hands with the leader of North Korea.  The two leaders met for over a half-hour one-on-one last night before other representatives were invited in to craft a way forward in bringing North Korea into the family of civilized nations.

Here's what Fox News has reported:

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a document on Tuesday stating that Pyongyang would work toward "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula"— a historic concession, which was one of the requirements the U.S. sought at the summit in Singapore.

The President also stated that military exercises with South Korea would cease and that the North Koreans would destroy a missile testing site.  The Fox report also says:

The joint declaration states that the U.S. has committed to providing "security guarantees" to Pyongyang.

And, North Korea has apparently agreed to return the remains of POW's and MIA's who lost their lives in the Korean conflict.

The subject of human rights came up in a joint press conference after the meetings:

Reporters pressed Trump about human rights issues in the Hermit Kingdom, and the president acknowledged that the situation must improve.

Trump and Kim did not respond to a reporter who asked if they discussed Otto Warmbier.

Warmbier was an American student arrested in North Korean in January 2016 for stealing a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor. He was was sent home from North Korea in a coma and died soon after.

Trump later said that the meeting between the two leaders may not have happened if not for the death of Warmbier.

In perhaps a foreshadowing statement, Fox News reported:

“Otto did not die in vain,” Trump said as he discussed North Korea’s human rights record.

There is great concern over the plight of the persecuted church in North Korea.  An article at The Stream website featured a conversation with Vernon Brewer, the founder of the relief organization World Help.  He stated:

North Korea is the most concerning of the nations we are involved in — due to how Christians are being treated. For 17 years in a row, Open Doors has listed North Korea as the worst persecutor of Christians in the world.

Of the 300,000 North Korean Christians that the government recognizes, 70,000 of them are in forced labor camps. That’s almost 25 percent of Christians who are imprisoned. Most of them never come out. They could get a 50-year prison sentence for owning a Bible or simply being caught in a prayer meeting or worship service.

Brewer stated:

What would help us is to realize these people are our spiritual family. Someone asked me recently, How can we pray for the people of North Korea? I replied, ‘If your son or daughter were in one of those forced labor camps, how would you pray?’

The greatest thing we can do, especially in light of what may take place on Tuesday, is Christians across America should pray. Pray for peace. Pray for the negotiations, that human rights would be discussed. Pray for the people in these forced labor camps, that God would keep them safe. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

David Curry, President and CEO of Open Doors, was in Singapore and led an online prayer meeting last night - he, among others, has been outspoken about the need to address North Korean human rights abuses, specifically the treatment of Christians, and was concerned that the topic might not be introduced into the summit. Fox reported that the President acknowledged after the summit that the situation involving human rights needed to improve.  In a press release published at ReligionNews.com, Curry is quoted as saying:

Though we have few details of what was said, President Donald Trump’s decision to address North Korea’s human rights atrocities was diplomatically bold, and we are particularly glad to hear the president say he brought up the plight of the more than 300,000 Christians who face persecution and even death under the regime of Kim Jong Un.

He added, "I hold out hope that human rights and denuclearization in North Korea need not be mutually exclusive endeavors."

As we reflect on the events that have unfolded over the past 24 hours, I think there are some principles we can personalize.  One of those is that it's easy to posture, to stake out a position, but that may not contribute to solving problems.  We can be challenged to move from posturing to productive conversation.  Dialogue can produce a positive outcome.

We also have to be reminded to concentrate not only on problems but on finding solutions.  If the problems themselves dominate our thinking, we run the risk of not being able to move forward. Today you'll hear from Tina Marie Griffin of Counter Culture Mom, who shared with me that her intent in pointing out dangerous trends in entertainment culture is not just to make parents aware, but to equip them to respond.  I think we do ourselves a disservice when we are constantly consumed with the discouraging occurrences in culture, without responding Biblically and advocating for a solution.

We also must develop a long-term perspective.  The events of Singapore signify not the end of the race, but the beginning.  The doors are open, and now the hard work of bringing North Korea into the international community, which includes a reduction and ultimate elimination of human rights abuses and Christian persecution.  Again, we can consider how to open up avenues of conversation, and through relationship, seek to influence a positive outcome.