Note: What follows is an edited post from 2013. May we always
remember our brothers and sisters who worship in closed or restricted
countries!
Today, Sunday,
November 1, 2015, is International Day for the Persecuted Church. Will you remember in prayer those who worship
the Lord in the face of great loss, great persecution? For more information on this day and general
information on the persecuted church see: http://www.idop.org/;
http://www.persecution.com/idop; http://www.persecution.com/.
“Whom having not seen, ye love;
in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory…” (1 Peter
1:8 KJV)
Peter’s words must have brought some comfort and
encouragement to the early Gentile Christians.
These Christians were facing extreme persecution under the Roman
government led by Emperor Nero. This
persecution has not ended, it continues on today.
The following passages from Hebrews should be encouraging to
every Christian, but especially encouraging to those enduring unimaginable
hardship due to the name of Jesus.
13 These all died in
faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and
were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such
things declare plainly that they seek a country.15 And truly, if they had
been mindful of that country from whence they came out , they might have had
opportunity to have returned . 16 But now they desire a
better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called
their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11: 13-16
KJV)
1 Wherefore seeing we
also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God. 3 For consider him that
endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and
faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet
resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
(Hebrews 12:1-4 KJV)
Currently throughout the world there are many countries
where to be a Christian is a death sentence or at least a guarantee to lose
home, employment, family, and so much more.
In the face of all this—men, women, and children demonstrate great faith
in their Savior—Jesus Christ.
At this point, in America we have it fairly easy—we can
worship freely and without fear. How has
that affected our faith? Do we have the
faith that would sustain us, even if that freedom was taken away? Some day, we may find ourselves in a very
similar situation to our brothers and sisters in Christ in places like North
Korea and China, to name two.
I believe we can learn much from our Christian brothers and
sisters in the persecuted church. They
know what it means to rejoice in the face of things that are not joyful. Learn about
them and from them. Remember to pray for
those who are suffering all because they refuse to turn from Jesus.
What about us…? What
would Peter say to us, to encourage us in our Christian walk? Do we love and believe in Jesus? Do we rejoice with joy unspeakable? May we be found faithful!
How will we respond one day when to claim the name of Jesus will
cost us everything? May we be found faithful!
Please join me in prayer:
Dear Father, we love You and
believe in You, even though we do not see You.
Open our eyes and hearts to Your presence among us. It is because of You that we can rejoice—rejoice
in all things and glory in Your name. We
lift up to You our brothers and sisters in Christ, who cannot worship freely
but worship knowing that it may cost them their lives; grant them Your peace
and love and protection. Lord, prepare us
who currently worship in safety and freedom to one day lose that
freedom—strengthen us to stand strong in our faith, counting the cost worth
it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
Praying for our brothers and sisters who cannot worship freely, yet hang onto their faith tenaciously. They are an inspiration! May we be as devoted as they to the Lord, our God.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, Thank you for your prayers! Yes, our persecuted brothers and sisters are an inspiration. It's humbling to know they are praying for us too! I pray that I'll be as devoted as they are to the Lord, and that I'll never deny my Savior and my Lord.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Hi Kim! What a good reminder of how blessed we are to live where we do. Just an accident of birth, and intention by God...but here I am in a country where I can publicly and privately worship as I please. I wonder if I would be so attentive if I lived in North Korea, where I could die for the same prayer?
ReplyDeleteWe should pray for our brothers and sisters who continue to live and pray lives of faith in places that put them in harms way. I hope to be continually inspired by their lives. Thank you for putting a spotlight on them!
Blessings,
Ceil
Hi Ceil! Thank you for stopping by and for your comment. Yes, it's a blessing to be able to worship in freedom. Persecution shows just how strong faith is--it "weeds" out those who don't have deep set convictions.
DeleteYour prayer direction, for our persecuted brothers and sister is a good one. Yes, I hope to be always inspired by their lives too.
Glad I could direct people's attention to this precious group of people!
Blessings,
Kim