In January, I had the opportunity to speak for a week to the ministry team on the ship, Logos Hope. It was an interesting mix of 400 workers from 51 different nations. They have the opportunity to anchor for several months in many Moslem countries around the world. Every day hundreds of people from Dubai come aboard the ship to visit and shop in the largest “floating bookshop” in the world. There they can obtain many different Christian books and have personal contacts with the Logos staff. These encounters are very valuable toward overcoming prejudices on both sides and in developing better understanding of other peoples for the first time.
During my trip, I also learned something of the customs of Arab countries. They mix together resin from myrrh and aromatic stones and burn it like incense sticks. They then stand directly over it with their Arabic robes and allow the aromatic smoke to permeate their clothing from the inside out. When Jesus was born, the wise men from the east brought frankincense and myrrh to Him and Paul encouraged us to be the fragrance of Christ to people everywhere. (2 Cor. 2:14-15). Unfortunately, through the Reformation many of these beautiful symbols have been lost and today we tend to associate them with the New Age or false religions.
On the ship I also met a descendant of the former king of China, Shaun Bao. Until the Revolution in 1911, his family possessed all of China. Every square meter of land and every inhabitant was their property. The part of the young king in the movie, “The Last Emperor”, was played by his great uncle and Shaun Bao would today actually have become the Emperor of China. Shaun Bao came to know Jesus in Christchurch, New Zealand, and in the last 20 years has founded dozens of churches in Peking. In doing so, he has built a truly rich kingdom. That reminded of something Billy Graham once said at the highpoint of his life when someone asked him if he were interested in becoming president of the United States. Supposedly he answered, “Never, I would not want to be demoted!”
As the result of my trip, it has become more important to me to pray for the Arab world, even though I have so little direct involvement there.
