“…a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12b).

As I meet with Christians who are suffering around the world, I am acutely reminded that our King has shaped us to partner together with others members of His Body.

In fact, at VOM, our belief is that we have family members who are suffering persecution because of their faith and that God has called us to stand with them. That is the heart of VOM's mission.

The international projects that enable us to “stand with them” always involve partnership. We pursue partnerships with indigenous leaders who are already faithfully ministering within their own context and ask them how we can join them in their ministry. We love to meet with these types of bold believers and to help them take the ministry God has gifted them with even further.

Last year, I met one of these faithful sisters in South Asia. This lovely lady has been ministering within her own culture since 1926. Many of those years she served former Muslims who chose to follow Christ—even though it cost them dearly! Nobody knows exactly how old she is (birthdays are not commonly celebrated where she lives), but her colleagues believe she is more than 100 years old. I had a difficult time communicating verbally with her because of her advanced age and the language barrier. But, I couldn’t help but reflect on how exciting it will be one day to sit with her in heaven and hear how God used her to enrich the lives of the countless people that she served. She has made incredible spiritual investments and I want to celebrate the harvest with her!

When we partner together, with all of our feeble individual strands, there is an incredible “Return on Investment” for our King and His Kingdom.

None of us are extraordinary. We are fragile, weak human beings. And we work with normal human beings overseas—there aren’t any supermen out in the field. But, in God’s economy, our weakness is made into strength—for His glory. As we join together on our knees, and as we show up each day ready to serve wherever our King has called us, we experience His power and the fruit of some very meaningful work!

Dr. Jason Peters serves in VOM’s International Ministries department, traveling frequently to meet with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. He lived overseas for five years and has ministered in 28 countries as diverse as Cuba, Nepal, Iraq and Indonesia. He and his wife, Kimberly, along with their five children, count it a great honor to serve with the persecuted church.

The following is excerpted from a letter written by German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer and circulated to a hundred or so of his former students during World War II:

...To be sure, God shall call you, and us, only at the hour that God has chosen. Until that hour, which lies in God’s hand alone, we shall all be protected even in greatest danger, and from our gratitude for such protection ever new readiness surely arises for the final call.

Bonhoeffer is honored on The Martyrs Wall at VOM headquarters in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Who can comprehend how those whom God takes so early are chosen? Does not the early death of young Christians always appear to us as if God were plundering his own best instruments in a time in which they are most needed? Yet the Lord makes no mistakes. Might God need our brothers for some hidden service on our behalf in the heavenly world? We should put an end to our human thoughts, which always wish to know more than they can, and cling to that which is certain. Whomever God calls home is someone God has loved. “For their souls were pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took them quickly from the midst of wickedness” (Wisdom of Solomon 4.)

...Death reveals that the world is not as it should be but that it stands in need of redemption. Christ alone is the conquering of death.

...Only in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ has death been drawn into God’s power, and it must now serve God’s own aims. It is not some fatalistic surrender but rather a living faith in Jesus Christ, who died and rose for us, that is able to cope profoundly with death.

In life with Jesus Christ, death as a general fate approaching us from without is confronted by death from within, one’s own death, the free death of daily dying with Jesus Christ. Those who live with Christ die daily to their own will. Christ in us gives us over to death so that he can live within us. Thus our inner ding grows to meet that death from without.  Christians receive their own death in this way and in this way our physical death very truly becomes not the end but rather the fulfillment of our life with Jesus Christ. Here we enter into community with the One who at his own death was able to say, “It is finished.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life on earth ended when he was hanged in Flossenburg Concentration Camp on April 9, 1945. To learn more about his life, ministry and death, read BONHOEFFER: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas.

The text of today's post is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, taken from a sermon he preached while serving as pastor of two German-speaking congregations in England prior to World War II. Bonhoeffer would eventually return to Germany, where he was both a pastor and an active worker against the Nazis. His life on earth ended when he was hanged in Flossenburg Concentration Camp on April 9, 1945. But as this sermon excerpt shows, Bonhoeffer had been thinking about death and what it means for a Christian for quite some time:

No one has yet believed in God and the kingdom of God, no one has yet heard about the realm of the resurrected, and not been homesick from that hour, waiting and looking forward joyfully to being released from bodily existence.

Whether we are young or old makes no difference.  What are twenty or thirty or fifty years in the sight of God?  And which of us knows how near he or she may already be to the goal?  That life only really begins when it ends here on earth, that all that is here is only the prologue before the curtain goes up—that is for young and old alike to think about.  Why are we so afraid when we think about death? ...Death is only dreadful for those who live in dread and fear of it.  Death is not wild and terrible, if only we can be still and hold fast to God’s Word.  Death is not bitter, if we have not become bitter ourselves. Death is grace, the greatest gift of grace that God gives to people who believe in him.  Death is mild, death is sweet and gentle; it beckons to us with heavenly power, if only we realize that it is the gateway to our homeland, the tabernacle of joy, the everlasting kingdom of peace. 

How do we know that dying is so dreadful?  Who knows whether, in our human fear and anguish we are only shivering and shuddering at the most glorious, heavenly, blessed event in the world?

Death is hell and night and cold, if it is not transformed by our faith.  But that is just what is so marvelous, that we can transform death.

Bonhoeffer is remembered on The Martyrs' Wall at VOM headquarters.

YOUR TURN: How does your faith in Christ change the way you look at death? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

To learn more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life, read BONHOEFFER: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas.

We all suffer—it is a part of life since the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Some suffer because of their testimony to their belief in Christ. As long as Christians are silent, there are few repercussions. A holy life may give away your secret, but if you are a silent Christian you may be able to escape rejection and hostility, if that is your goal. If you articulate that Jesus is Lord and not people (even yourself) then the likelihood of rejection is exponentially increased.

In the Western world, we think that because we have individual freedom (which is our highest priority as a culture), any attempt (even by God) to restrain evil is an infringement on freedom. In a culture of political correctness, anyone who deviates from mainstream political or moral positions is not well tolerated. The language of disdain becomes hostile.

For governments who insist on total and ultimate loyalty, Christians who can’t say “Caesar is Lord” are deemed rebellious and insubordinate because they know that their ultimate loyalty is to Jesus Christ as Lord. So they lash out at Christians, seeking to silence them through whatever means are necessary. Dead Christians, these governments think, are no longer a problem.

We will have to choose whether we believe in Jesus as the Lord and we will have to testify to that. Or, we can try to remain safe by being silent and be free from rejection, suffering, and, in some places, death. This is not to disregard that Christians must use discretion in when, where, and how they testify. Even Jesus escaped from hostile crowds and Paul made a swift and careful escape from a hostile city. We do not go looking for suffering or martyrdom but if the occasion arises and a choice has to be made, we will make the hard choice. We may experience beatings, harassment, or legal proceedings for our testimony but we have already decided that if that is the necessary consequence of loyalty to Christ, then we accept that.

In a culture of convenience, like the USA, the idea of suffering for anything is not part of our normal expectations. We go to great ends to end suffering, especially our own. To embrace suffering for Christ is almost a novel idea, but a necessary step to be God’s true servant in our culture.

[For further discussion on this topic see the class on Theology of Persecution and Suffering  found at www.vomclassroom.com.]

Your Turn: Do you struggle to embrace the idea that you may have to suffer for your Christian witness and testimony? What helps you to overcome that struggle?

Roy Stults, PhD, is the Online Workshop Coordinator and Educational Services Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University (BA and MA), Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Doctor of Missiology), and The University of Manchester (England) with a PhD (theology). A Vietnam veteran, Dr. Stults served as a missionary for 19 years and pastored U.S. churches for eight years. Prior to joining VOM, he was a Professor of Religion at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

"The Jesus Freaks Minute" airs on Christian radio stations nationwide. Each month VOM creates and sends out 12 radio spots sharing the story of a persecuted Christian or another believer totally sold-out for God. Some stories come from recent VOM headlines; others come from throughout Christian history. And some come from the pages of Scripture itself, like this one which will air in May:

[INTRO SONG LYRICS:]  What will people think when they hear that I’m a Jesus Freak? What will people do when they find that it’s true?   (:09)

[TOBYMAC:]  Hey, this is TobyMac with truth every Jesus Freak should hear from the Voice of the Martyrs:

[VOM:]  As Moses’ assistant, Joshua experienced slavery in Egypt and forty years in the wilderness.  A brilliant military strategist, he led the Israelites across the Jordan River conquering Jericho and much of the Promised Land.

His final inspiring speech still reminds us that we all have a choice to make:  “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

For more from VOM, go online to persecution.com.

[YOUR TURN:] Have you heard The Jesus Freaks Minute on your Christian radio station? Have you heard stories of persecuted Christians? Contact your Christian radio station and encourage them to talk about the persecuted Body of Christ!

Some of the stories told in Jesus Freaks Minute radio spots are taken from the book, Jesus Freaks, by DC Talk with The Voice of the Martyrs. Order your copy online now.

All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
“He trusted  in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

     Psalm 22:7-8

I gave My back to those who struck Me,
And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

Bulldozed Chinese Church

     Isaiah 50:6

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

He shall see the labor of
His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

     Isaiah 53:5-12

"Our Lord commanded us to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy," Florea calmly told the prison guards. "I cannot work on this day."

The Romanian prisoners were forced to labor every day, but each Sabbath Florea refused. For his refusal, the guards routinely beat him so badly he lost the use of his arms and legs. He could only move his head.

Because he could no longer labor, Florea was forced to sit in his cell all day long. He had to rely on other prisoners to feed him. In spite of his situation, Florea was not downcast.

When other prisoners would complain about their situation, Florea would encourage them. "If the outlook is bad," he would say, "try the 'up-look.' When Stephen was stoned, he looked up and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This comforted Stephen's heart, and it will comfort yours too." He encouraged his fellow prisoners not to "look out" to their circumstances but to "look up" at Jesus.

One of Florea's fellow prisoners was Richard Wurmbrand, who was later released from the prison and found Florea's nine-year-old son. He told him what a blessing his father had been in prison.

The boy smiled and replied, "I would like to become a sufferer and encourager for Christ as my father has been."

A Christian is not privileged with a certain set of circumstances. Nice home. Perfect family. Good health. No, a Christian is a person with a certain attitude toward any and all circumstances. A person's attitude makes the difference, regardless of circumstances. A heavenly attitude focuses on God's presence amid trials. Fixating on our hardships distracts us from a heavenly outlook. We feel burdened. Depressed. Hopeless. In contrast, a godly "up-look" on our troubles brings confidence that God is at work. We relax in God's presence, waiting to see how he will work out our concerns. Are you undergoing a trial right now? Where are you focused? Ask God to redirect your energies so you can look beyond your troubles and feel his presence near you.

Excerpted from Extreme Devotion, a daily devotional written by The Voice of the Martyrs. Order your copy online.

It is hard to conceive that anyone would be against holy living. To be God-like in character, it would seem, would be a benefit to one's family and society. Who could you trust more than a truly God-like person? Of course, we are assuming that we would be like the living God who has revealed himself to us through his Word. Not all "gods" are righteous or trustworthy. The pantheon of gods from ancient times to the present day had no idea of righteousness, goodness, or fairness. Because we know and seek to emulate the character of the living God through Jesus Christ we know perfectly well what righteousness, goodness, and fairness means.

So what is the problem? The Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:12 that anyone who sought to live a holy life would be persecuted. That seems, on the surface, to be a rash statement. How could anyone persecute a holy person? The problem is not the holy person but the holy God. We represent a God the world rejects. We represent the God many in our society reject. The main reason is that what God represents, primarily in the sense of morality and ethics, appears to restrict the one thing that people of the world wants—autonomous individual freedom without restrictions. The only restrictions that are allowed are what a person decides for him or herself.

There are some further reasons why Christians seeking to live a holy life will be persecuted. They are derived from the desire to live one's life autonomous from God. The holy life is counter-cultural. Cultures by nature try to coerce people to follow its dictates and any deviation from what is culturally approved is subject to correction. Christians resist the "gods" of culture, the ultimate loyalties that everyone in culture bows down to. Power, success, and autonomous individual freedom for the West but it may be group conformity, respect for traditional religions, and total submission to the leader. Another reason is that the holy life causes people who are living the unholy life to feel that they are being judged. It exposes their sins and forces them to deal with aspects of their lives from which they wish to hide. The Holy Spirit is using the holy life to convict people of their sins and they are not happy about that.

It is possible and desirable for people to see the error of their ways and repent and be transformed. If they do not, they may react in a negative way to the holy life and lash out at the Christian. On the personal level, it can be anything from mild resistance to rejection. On the societal level, it may take the form of social disdain and ostracizing, the pressure to conform that may include various forms of coercion like prison, fines, or public humiliation. Governments may carry this resistance to the level of persecution.

The theme of suffering for living a holy life is discussed further in the www.vomclassroom.com class titled Theology of Persecution and Suffering in Module 3. For those who want a deeper understanding of the issues of persecution and suffering, this is a great place to find material that will aid your journey to the deeper life.

Roy Stults, PhD, is the Online Workshop Coordinator and Educational Services Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University (BA and MA), Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Doctor of Missiology), and The University of Manchester (England) with a PhD (theology). A Vietnam veteran, Dr. Stults served as a missionary for 19 years and pastored U.S. churches for eight years. Prior to joining VOM, he was a Professor of Religion at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

As we meet with our family members around the world, we often celebrate with them as they share miraculous accounts of God’s direct intervention in their lives. A specialized team of four women from VOM just returned from two weeks in Nigeria. These women offered listening ears, hours of prayer and profound words of encouragement to a dozen widows of Christian martyrs.

During one of their sessions, a widowed sister shared that one year after her husband’s death, she was seriously contemplating abandoning her faith. She had three young children at the time and life was extremely difficult for her. Every day was a long struggle to provide for her family and to try to guide them spiritually. Then a friend came to visit, bringing with her a ray of hope in the midst of this widow’s darkness.

During their time together, her friend turned to Revelation 6, and read, “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed” (Rev.  6:9-11).

These words pierced this widow’s heart like a dart. She felt a strong confirmation that her husband did not die in vain and that he was now part of a communion of martyrs sheltered under the altar of Almighty God.

It is a deep honor and a gift to be able to serve as one of many “voices” for the sisters and brothers we serve. We learn more from their example each day. We can’t leave any of our family members behind. And, in the process of serving them, we are able to draw strength from their victories, and to learn from their examples. Please pray that God will help us, and the family members that we serve, to keep our eyes fixed on the distant horizon, knowing that God is with us and that we too will find “rest” at His altar.

Dr. Jason Peters serves in VOM’s International Ministries department, traveling frequently to meet with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. He lived overseas for five years and has ministered in 28 countries as diverse as Cuba, Nepal, Iraq and Indonesia. He and his wife, Kimberly, along with their five children, count it a great honor to serve with the persecuted church. Dr. Peters will be one of the speakers at VOM's regional conference in Colorado Springs, CO on April 6.

Perhaps one of the biggest stumbling blocks in our prayer life and our relationship with Christ is disappointment. We are disappointed in our spiritual life, job, country, church, and perhaps even our family.

If we get to the heart of the issue, our disappointment is directed not at these areas of our lives but at God. We may ask: How could he allow this (circumstance) to happen? Why isn’t he helping me overcome these sin issues in my life? Why isn’t he rewarding me for my hard work? Why isn’t he bringing about revival in our nation? Why isn’t he working in our children’s hearts?  

The apostle Paul had every "right" to be disappointed in God. Paul was given a dramatic salvation experience and was launched into ministry. People were coming to Christ; religious and government officials were being convicted. It couldn’t get any better than that, could it? It did. Paul was thrown in jail. There he wrote several letters, which today are cornerstones of the Christian faith.

Yet Paul saw his chains not as a disappointment or a setback, but as an opportunity. He wrote to Timothy, advising him not to be ashamed of him, and used Onesiphorus as an example of one who was "not ashamed" of his chains." He invited Timothy to share in his sufferings through God’s power. Then earlier in his letter to the Philippians, he tells them that his imprisonment has furthered the gospel not frustrated it (1:12-14). And more so, his bonds have emboldened believers to preach without fear.

As we pray for the persecuted church, let us first evaluate our relationship with Christ. Spend some time alone with God, asking him to reveal any areas of your life where you are disappointed in him. If we allow ourselves to be honest, have we accused him of being indifferent toward our trials? Are we viewing our current sufferings as an obstacle for the gospel or an opportunity? Agree with him that your disappointment ultimately is sin. Thank him that he uses all things for his good purposes, and then stand on what’s true about him: Jesus is the chief cornerstone (Matthew 21:42); the earth is his and all it contains (Psalm 24:1); and he is the "ruler over the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5).

Then start praying for your persecuted family who is inviting you to fellowship in their sufferings according to God’s power.

Your turn: Do you struggle with disappointment in your prayer life? Are there other areas that hinder you from being consistent in prayer? How do you overcome these challenges to pray consistently for the persecuted church and for other needs? Please share in the comment section below.

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