As noted in an earlier post the Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry dedicated to raising awareness for the persecuted church, is calling Christians to pray for the Church in China as our attention is drawn there due to the Olympics.  They have been issuing Olympic prayer bands that people can wear as a daily reminder.  President Bush was presented with one.  My wife, Connie, received the following info in an e-mail today:

Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan, known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize, was arrested by Chinese police just two days before the Olympics began. Pastor Bike was the inspiration for the recent partnership between The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association to create the Olympic Prayer Band.

I’m enjoying the Olympic coverage.  I’ve swallowed the Michael Phelps hype and have been watching eagerly to see if he will break the medal record set by Mark Spitz in ‘72.  I’m enjoying the swimming and look forward to the track and field events to come.

I’ve also enjoyed the coverage given to the history and culture of China .  It’s so foreign that it feels as if the reports are coming from another plant.  All this China emphasis sent me to Wikipedia to read about Chairman Mao whose picture dominates Tienamen Square.  All I could come away with after reading of his barbaric rule was how much the people of China have suffered.  Along with the people of the former Soviet Union, both nations experienced great hardship as millions and millions have died under Communism.  I know one critique of skeptics against Christianity is the charge of persecution by Christians in the Crusades and in the Inquisition.  While there is no defense for such actions, there is NO, repeat NO comparison to the death tolls that have arisen under atheistic communism.  Mao and Stalin starved millions and millions of their own people to death.  Their worldview allowed them to do so with no remorse.  Their people have suffered.  The recent events in the nation of Georgia have underscored the painful past.

The people of China need the gospel.  As we keep hearing, one-fifth of the world’s population lives there.  That’s incredible.  The underground church needs the freedom of worship and ministry.  Let’s keep praying for the church in China.

Once again the Olympics are upon us!  I love the Olympics.  Maybe because I was an old track and field guy (that’s  what you do when you have no hand/eye coordination- you run).    For two weeks I’ll be following the events in China.  Can Michael Phelps beat the record of 7 swimming golds set by Mark Spitz?  (I’m old enough to remember him- a joke back in that day was, “How does Mark Spitz fill a swimming pool?  The answer:  Mark Spitz.”)  Can Ryan Hall be a legitimate marathon medalist for the USA after a long drought?

Connie ordered some Olympic prayer bands from the organization “Voice of the Martyrs” that are to serve as a reminder for us to pray for the persecuted church in China while our attention is on that land during the Olympic games.   Let’s remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are right now suffering for their faith in China.

As an aside, I’ve always been irritated by eschatological debates on whether Christians will go through “the Great Tribulation”.  I’m sure our brothers and sisters in Rwanda, the Sudan, Islamic nations, and China find comfort in knowing they’ll miss it (note heavy use of sarcasm).