Power at the Border

In the 34th Psalm, we can read words of hope that can encourage our hearts and direct us as we seek to minister to those who are seemingly without hope. That Psalm contains these words:
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

Verse 4 in this passage relates the words of Psalmist, who said, "I sought the Lord," and related the results of His seeking God: "He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears."  There is fear today, and we can experience freedom from it as we seek the Lord ourselves and help others to seek Him. As verse 6 tells us, a poor man "cried out" to God, he was heard and saved. If we are faithful to speak to those who are without Christ, who may have poverty of soul or possessions, they can know the saving grace of Jesus.

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We are called to be bringers of hope, and that may place Christians in the midst of difficult, even seemingly hopeless situations. Romans 15 can encourage us, when it says:
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

There has been much concern about our southern border - not only the mass numbers of people who are attempting to enter this country, but those who are involved in criminal behavior and those who wish to do our nation harm.  As a country, we have to address this situation.  As a Church, we can also see opportunities for ministry.  And, there is ministry that is occurring. 

Last month, Franklin Graham tweeted out:

Over 58,450 people heard the Gospel on the #GodLovesYou Frontera Tour and thousands made a decision to trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. I’m grateful to all the churches and volunteers that made the #FronteraTour possible. All glory to God!

Prior to the tour, Graham shared with FoxNews.com the concept of the 10-city evangelistic tour:

"Everyone along the border is overwhelmed — the churches, the law enforcement agencies, the residents, those there trying to help, as well as the people coming into our country," said Graham.

"There are a lot of hungry hearts and hurting people, so I’m coming to the border to tell everyone about God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and how He can make a difference in our lives if we put our faith and our trust in Him."

And, on Good Friday, an evangelistic outreach from Tony Suarez brought hope to the cities of El Paso and McAllen, Texas.  A CBN.com article related:

Suarez said the first wave of evangelistic outreach in El Paso was remarkable.

“Our street evangelism team set out to reach everyone, everywhere!” the preacher told CBN News. “From bars to city parks to those we could get to come to the tent — when it was all set and done, God gave us a harvest of over 3,000 souls that had an experience with God, in some form or fashion.”

Suarez spoke of raising up a "prayer army," and said, “These men have handed out Bibles to migrants, border patrol agents [and] they have preached in parks and ministered to people in restaurants.”

And, a Texas ministry has been training church leaders in evangelism on the other side of the border, according to The Baptist Paper, which reported that:

More than 200 pastors and church leaders gathered in Querétaro, Mexico, to receive training in discipleship, pastoral leadership, church planting and evangelism this past year. 

It was sponsored by River Ministry and Mexico Missions, which, according to the article, "seeks to connect affiliated churches to specific mission projects along the Texas/Mexico border and the interior of Mexico." The article added: "Mission projects tend to focus on three priorities — evangelism, leadership development and family —and current areas of ministry on the Mexican side of the border..."

So, regardless of your position on the immigration issue, there are people who need ministry.  Certainly the rule of law should be enforced and people should play by the rules - believers in Christ can and should support that. In the midst of what is clear human suffering and even criminal enterprises, there are clearly people who need to be redeemed. There are those that possess hope for a new life in our country who need to know the hope that is possible in a heavenly country, through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  

Ministry happens when we see beyond the headlines or the political implications and recognize that there are people involved.  People who need that hope - we can consider how we can be bringers of hope to those who are lacking it.  There is hopelessness in our communities, and we can be diligent to shine the light of Christ.