The Scripture reading for today's devotional was Philippians 1:27b-28a where apostle Paul encouraged the saints in Philippi to ''...stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you."

This verse proved to be a much needed encouragement to us as we faced some difficulties in our work today.

We had prepared a full program for the gospel meeting this afternoon complete with songs, personal testimony, short skid, and gospel message. However, only 17 adults came to the meeting other than the STM members. The three seekers left the meeting before the beginning of the message. This was somewhat disappointing to some STM members.

Our local co-workers had done a good job promoting the event. They had designed a beautiful flyer. Over 100 email invitations were sent out. There were numerous follow-up phone calls made. Our team members also made many personal invitations during our one on one evangelism times in the train station and many promised to come. But at the end, few showed up.

We were left to ask the question, why?

As we planned this STM trip to Copenhagen, we knew we would come here to support the brothers and sisters faithfully laboring in the local field. But in our hearts, we were also hoping for many visible signs of "harvest". It is our human nature to desire and see instant results. But God had taught us a good lessen in patience and perseverance.

We learned that as we are proclaiming the Gospel to the world, the enemy is also working hard to block it. In fact, a few people told us later on that they were coming to the meeting but were unable to find the door. Some people were just blocked by the worldly attractions for the weekend. Satan would like nothing better than to find ways to discourage God's people and lead us to lose faith in God's power.

But God's words reminded us to "…stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you."

Even though we did not see the immediate results of people turning away from Satan's camp, we must continue to believe that God is in control. We must continue to believe that God has already defeated His enemy. It is only a matter of time for us to see His name be glorified in all the earth! It is also just a matter of time for those who belong to His flock to return to His fold. What God wants of us is to be faithful servants. We must continue to proclaim the Gospel regardless of the current situation and the immediate response.

When we concluded the meeting this afternoon, we had a good prayer session together with the local Christians afterwards. We could sense the Spirit of God working among them and urging them to continue on and keep bringing the Gospel to their friends and relatives.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. We had never planned nor were prepared for shocks as such. Yet, it was by eye witnessing the spiritual condition of the people here in Copenhagen and getting a first hand experience that our hearts started to ache with the real agony of our co-worker in Christ here. We could now identify with the pain and disappointments that they may have felt many times before. We were now more keenly aware of the overwhelming challenges they are facing. Without this experience, we would never have understood what our co-workers were going through in their uniquely difficult spiritual journeys. Thanks to the Lord for opening our eyes in this way, now we arrived at a more accurate understanding as to how we should actually share their burdens by persistent prayers and support.

Please pray for:

1. The spiritual condition in Denmark and Europe. Indeed all of Europe is very harsh to the Gospel. We should raise up prayer warriors for this vast field. There are too many obstacles for people to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. God's people must pray harder for the patient preparation work to clear the obstacles and cultivate good spiritual soil.

2. Continue to pray for the local Christians as they have to face this situation all the time. Pray that they will gain more support from fellow believers near and far.

3. We will be worshiping at the Chinese Church in Copenhagen tomorrow morning. Pray that we will have good fellowship together and that the messages are encouraging for them.

4. Continue to pray for seekers who may come to the Sunday worship services. We have invited many. May God open doors for them and call them back to Him.

Serving together in Christ,
COCM STM Copenhagen 2006 Team