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.

Even before Necati Aydin gave his life for Christ on April 18, 2007, in Malatya, Turkey, he had already made great sacrifices to follow Jesus. One of the greatest of those was sacrificing his relationship with his Muslim family, who rejected Necati when he refused to return to Islam.

When his father died in 1999, Necati's brothers didn't even tell him for several days—a serious affront in Turkish culture—so that Necati was unable to be there for the funeral and burial.

After his own death, one of those brothers released a letter Necati had written to his family about his faith. The letter clearly shows the humble spirit and rock-solid faith of the man who would later lay down his very life for the Savior:

My beloved mom, my beloved dad, my beloved brothers and sisters:

First of all, I greet and kiss you in the exalted name of the Lord Jesus Christ. After so much confusion and conflict I have decided to live separated from you so that I may retain and live out my faith in Jesus Christ and keep this truth till the end. This decision was not made based on fear or on anything that I longed for or demanded, but was made after much conflict in myself. Therefore accuse no one else. Do not wear yourselves out by thinking about all of the possible theories. I have returned to where I belong. I have returned to Jesus and the fellowship of His church.

Just as you are my physical family, I also have a family in the Spirit. Do not be afraid or worried about my separation from you! Do not be sad and do not be depressed! For I have not been saved to lose something, but rather to gain something eternally. Therefore rejoice! I have gained this salvation through my faith in Jesus. Neither poverty, nor difficulty, neither illness, nor evil, neither death, nor a person can turn me away from this saving faith. The power I have to live and be saved—my spiritual arteries, so to speak—are bound to Jesus in faith. To live without Him means to deserve death and eternal separation.

From now on in our relationship I will love you, remain in contact with you, and pray for you, that you may also be saved. However, I do not want you to call us at the moment or contact us in another manner, but rather that you be patient and wait a little, to extinguish the feelings of your hatred, that you may plant love, tenderness, and understanding in its place, and most of all that you meet Jesus Christ, who is the "truth, way and life," that you believe on Him and thus gain eternal life.

I love you. May the Lord let you encounter His truth. Amen!

Rana Necati Aydin

Jesus said that "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37). Clearly, Necati Aydin loved Jesus more than he loved his own parents and family; yet out of that love grew his clear passion to see them reached with the gospel message and the love of Jesus.

Necati's powerful story is told in Faithful Until Death, available from VOM.

Join the Discussion: Have you ever had to sacrifice a relationship in order to follow the call of Christ on your life? Share your story in the comments below.

This month, VOM's newsletter focusses on writing letters to Christians imprisoned for their faith. From the earliest days of its ministry, VOM has encouraged readers to write letters to Christians imprisoned for their faith. Today you can write a letter to an imprisoned Christian using electronic tools at www.PrisonerAlert.com or VOM's new letter-writing kit.

But such letters are not new. In 1533, as John Frith awaited his execution in the infamous Tower of London, he received two letters from a close friend. The letters encouraged Frith to fight the good fight while cautioning that his writings should not cause dissention within the young Protestant movement.

Frith was part of the Reformation then sweeping Europe that challenged the Church's traditions and some of its doctrine. Among many points of contention, the Reformers opposed teachings that emphasized works-based salvation rather than the gospel's truth that man is saved by grace through faith in Christ.

Many Reformers had already paid the ultimate price for the bold stand that Frith was taking against the Church. He disagreed with the Church's views on Communion and hell, and for this he was sentenced to die as a "heretic."

Frith's close friend, William Tyndale, was also a hunted man because of his translation of the New Testament into English. At that time, the Church didn't think common people should read the Bible in their own language.

Tyndale, perhaps worried that his friend had become discouraged while awaiting his execution, wrote the following in his second letter to him:

Your cause is Christ's gospel, a light that must be fed with the blood of faith. The lamp must be dressed and snuffed daily, and that oil poured in every evening and morning, that the light go not out. Though we be sinners, yet is the cause right. If when we be buffeted for well doing, we suffer patiently and endure, that is acceptable to God; for to that end we are called. For Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps… For we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body; according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto him.

Whether Frith's faith had been wavering is not known, and some question whether he even received Tyndale's second letter. What is known is that he was betrayed by a sympathizer, offered a pardon if he would renounce his views—he refused—and burned at the stake on July 4, 1533. He was 30 years old.

His friend William Tyndale, also betrayed by a friend, was arrested a few years later and burned at the stake.

I was in New York City a few months ago and heard this story in a sermon. The pastor could not find the source, and I can’t find it either, but it is worth telling anyway.

The donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride. Everyone loved him. He walked into town and found a group of people by the well.

“I’ll show myself to them,” he thought.

But they didn’t even notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.

“Throw your garments down,” he said crossly. “Don’t you know who I am?”

They just looked at him in amazement. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to go away.

“Miserable heathens!” he muttered to himself. “I’ll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me.” But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the market place.

“The palm branches! Where are the palm branches?” he shouted. “Yesterday, you threw palm branches!”

Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.

“Foolish child,” she chided gently. “Don’t you realize that without Him, you are nothing but an ordinary donkey?”

After the pastor told this story, the entire congregation drew in their breath in unison. It was loud enough for me to hear as I drew in my own breath.

The story speaks for itself.

So often I find myself acting like this ordinary donkey. If I am not expecting praise, I offer it unduly. The Voice of the Martyrs tells story after story of martyrs who hold on to Christ in their time of terror. There is a tendency to place these martyrs on a pedestal. This donkey reminds me that even ordinary Christians can one day experience the same treatment as the millions of martyrs before them. Although a martyr’s story is incredible to hear, we must never forget that the credit only goes to God.

In my last blog post, “My First Bowl of Cereal,” I mentioned how some Christians recant their faith under severe persecution. This can happen to anyone who loses sight of God. Glorify God for the perseverance He provided to past, present and future martyrs.

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” — 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

I remember making my first bowl of cereal.

The cabinet with the dishes was so high. I pulled myself on top the counter and swung open the cabinet door, ducking so it wouldn’t hit me in the head. I jumped off the counter, gripping the bowl with both hands. Landing on both feet, I rushed over to the table and set the bowl down next to the box of Cheerios I had already pulled from the pantry. As I tipped the box over, the familiar sound of cereal falling into a glass bowl resonated throughout the room and my anticipation grew. I took the milk gallon out of the refrigerator and carefully, slowly poured the white cream over my O’s. With one spoon, I dunked each “O” to ensure each one was covered in milk. With a second spoon, I lavished one, then two overflowing spoons full of sugar over my cereal.

My mother had warned me against too much sugar. I ignored her warnings; I like my cereal sweet.

I was so excited. I lifted a large spoonful to my mouth. The next thing I remember, I was standing over the sink furiously spitting everything out. Sometimes in our rush to accomplish things, we end up with something we didn’t really want. Sometimes it takes accidentally eating salt to realize that not everything is sugar.

Those who support The Voice of the Martyrs are often awed when we hear of our brothers and sisters in Christ dying for their faith. It is heroic, and it is also tragic. They’re beheaded. They’re shot. They’re persecuted. But there is beauty in this tragedy. Those martyrs spend eternity in God’s presence, their death glorifies His name and their witness may win others for Christ.

But with the inspiring sugar of those stories, there are stories of bitter saltiness in the persecuted church. It’s time to see some salt.

In Kiangsi, China, two Christian girls, Chiu-Chin and Ho-Hsiu-Tzu, and their pastor, were sentenced to death. As on many such occasions in church history, the persecutors mocked and scorned them for being so foolish as to die for an unseen God. Then they promised the pastor that if he would shoot the girls they would release him. He accepted.

The girls waited patiently in their prison cells for the moment of their execution. They prayed quietly together. Soon guards came for them and led them out. A fellow-prisoner who watched the execution through the barred window of his prison cell, said that their faces were pale but beautiful beyond belief, infinitely sad but sweet. They were placed against a wall, and their pastor was brought forward by two guards. They placed him close in front of the girls and put a pistol into his hand.

The girls whispered to each other, then bowed respectfully to their pastor. One of them said:

Before being shot by you, we wish to thank you heartily for what you have meant to us. You baptized us, you taught us the way of eternal life, you gave us a holy communion with the same hand in which you now have a gun. May God reward you for all that you have done for us. You also taught us that Christians are sometimes weak and commit terrible sins, but they can be forgiven again. When you regret what you are about to do to us, do not despair like Judas, but repent like Peter. God bless you, and remember that our last thought of you was not one of indignation against your failure. Everyone passes through hours of darkness. We die with gratitude.

They bowed again to their pastor, closed their eyes, and stood silently waiting.

The pastor had obviously hardened his heart – he raised the pistol and shot them. No sooner had they fallen to the ground, then the communist guards put him against the wall for immediate execution. As they shot him, no one heard words of repentance, only the sound of screaming.

Some people recant their faith, and not every Christian stands firm. At VOM we often talk about those who come through persecution triumphantly. But for every person like that, there are many who don’t, and God still works through those failures.

Sometimes we have to accidentally eat salt to realize that not everything is sugar. Sometimes we have to see failure in order to appreciate the great faith of those who overcome persecution. Pray for the people like the Chinese pastor, that even though they deny Christ, that they might embrace once more the forgiveness and love that God offers. Pray that every person that has denied Christ might become a Peter, that their testimonies be examples of God’s forgiveness.

The Voice of the Martyrs’ statement of faith and main purposes define the bedrock beliefs, mission and purpose of our organization.  Our newsletter and web articles are written and presented to inform Christians in the free world of the persecution and suffering of the church in more than 50 countries around the world. The mission VOM inherited from our founders, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, is to be A VOICE for these suffering saints. In our efforts to educate the church in North America about Christian persecution, researching the history of the church and of persecution plays an important part. 

While VOM is clearly evangelical in our statement of faith, we are an interdenominational ministry. VOM works in restricted nations with Christians from a wide array of denominational and theological backgrounds. The Christians in the US who read VOM’s newsletter or ask VOM staff to come and speak in their churches are also from a variety of denominations and Christian traditions.

It would be difficult—perhaps impossible—to quote any person, outside of Scriptural figures, who would receive universal approval among all Christians in the American Church today, or among the wide variety of VOM readers.  The Word of God is final authority in all matters of doctrine and practice, yet different denominations interpret and practice that Word in different ways. The church is divided on doctrine as well as Christian "personalities."  This is not a new issue for followers of Christ. Paul chastised the church in Corinth for the same thing:

…for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? (I Cor. 3:3-5)

The November 2010 issue of the VOM newsletter included a short article on Madame Jeanne Guyon.  It was part of a series we call “Hidden Stones” that seeks to educate VOM readers about the history of Christian persecution and bring to light some of our brothers and sisters who sacrificed much to follow Christ’s call. We want to honor these heroes of the faith, and we want to encourage our readers with their testimonies, just as we seek to encourage readers with the testimonies of today’s persecuted believers.

One of the challenges of telling the stories of past Christian martyrs is trying to explain and help our readers—living in the United States in 2010—understand the context in which past generations of Christians lived. While today we have numerous translations of the Bible and warehouses full of books to explain any theological question we may ask, Christians of earlier times didn’t have such luxuries. It is impossible to judge a Christian in such circumstances purely through the lens of 2010 American Christianity.

We have received several letters and online criticisms for printing a story about Madame Guyon. Some object to her being a Catholic, while others object to her being a “mystic” or her practice of “quietism” or some other of her beliefs or writings. Our article states:

Madame Guyon practiced a philosophy called “Quietism,” which teaches that spiritual perfection can be attained when self is lost in the contemplation of God.

There are those among our readers who object to the practice of “contemplation.” Perhaps a more charitable view would see Guyon, in her efforts to quiet herself and focus only on God, trying to live out the Apostle Paul’s teachings to Galatian believers:

2:20: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

5:24-25: Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Guyon believed in constant prayer, following Paul’s instructions to the Thessalonians: “Pray without ceasing” (I Thes. 5:17). Guyon wrote, in one of her poems, “There was a period when I chose, A time and place for prayer…But now I seek that constant prayer, An inward stillness known…”

“Mysticism” is also a misunderstood term. Looking it up in an American English dictionary might cause many Christians to have concerns that mystic practices are incompatible with Biblical Christianity. But according to D. D. Martin's write up in The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (2nd ed, Baker Academic), "Christian mysticism seeks to describe an experiential, direct, nonabstract, unmediated, loving knowing of God, a knowing or seeing so direct as to be called union with God" (p. 806).

Madame Guyon encouraged Bible reading and Holy living in a time and in a nation when both were ignored or disparaged. Her writings were published and widely read, and as a result of her living out her commitment to Christ in the way she understood that He wanted, she was disciplined by her church and eventually locked in prison. Guyon’s story is similar to many believers who were and are persecuted by "the organized church" in their nation. 

Guyon’s ideas influenced many: Catholics and deists from France, Protestants from England, Scotland, and Switzerland, German Pietists, John Wesley, Count Zinzendorf, George Fox, Jessie Penn-Lewis, Hudson Taylor, Watchman Nee and countless others.

In an entry on prayer, the Christian History Blog says this of Guyon:

…Madame Guyon, a French mystic of the 17th and 18th centuries who was condemned by the Catholic church for Quietism. At its extreme, Quietism advocates stoicism, passivity, and absorption of the self into the Divine. Guyon seems to have avoided these extremes, instead running afoul of church authorities for her Protestant-seeming emphasis on salvation by grace rather than works. The book that got her into trouble, A Short and Easy Method of Prayer, began with a harmless enough invitation: “Prayer is the application of the heart to GOD, and the internal exercise of love. St. Paul hath enjoined us to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess. v 17), and our Lord saith, ‘I say unto you all, watch and pray’ (Mark xiii. 33, 37): all therefore may, and all ought to practice prayer.” A bit further on she wrote, “Nothing is so easily obtained as the possession and enjoyment of GOD, for ‘in him we live, move, and have our being;’ and He is more desirous to give Himself into us, than we can be to receive Him.”

Guyon sounded somewhat Protestant, specifically Wesleyan, on the possibility of Christian perfection, but I found her overall message simple and straightforward: Anyone can pray, and the benefits are abundant.

Christian author Nancy Missler (who founded Koinonia House along with her husband, Dr. Chuck Missler) writes that:

It was in Jeanne Guyon's books and St. John of the Cross's books that I first heard the term "the dark night of the soul." Although I am neither a Catholic nor a mystic, God used these precious saints to let me know that I was not alone in what I was experiencing. Others before me had endured such a "night season" and had come out even stronger and closer to the Lord because of it.

VOM does not endorse or vouch for every word written or act performed by Madame Guyon. Only God knows a person’s heart, and only God can declare who truly is in fellowship with Him. But it seems clear that genuine Christians have been blessed and impacted by her life and writings.

While we may not agree about her understanding of Scripture or her teachings, perhaps we can agree that no one should be locked up by church authorities simply for practicing their faith differently, or even practicing a different faith.

Our purpose in publishing this article was to challenge American Christians to live for Christ, even if doing so costs them something. Our intent and desire was not to promote "quietism" or any form of "mysticism," just as previous articles about Anabaptists, Quakers, Non-conformists, Montanists and others have not been intended to promote their particular theological teachings, but rather their example of costly faithfulness to Christ.

We encourage our readers to learn about those believers who have gone before, especially those who have suffered for following Christ. As you study their lives and writings through the lens of Scripture, you may find things you disagree with; you may also find things that bless and challenge you greatly. Our hope is that you will be challenged in your own walk to study the Scriptures more deeply and live them out more boldly.

Some, who reject Guyon and her teachings completely, will denounce VOM for publishing this article.  Any offense was unintended. The purpose of the article was to highlight a chapter of persecution in the church’s history and to challenge readers to stand boldly for Christ. Those who become immersed in debate over the faults or merits of Guyon have missed the point completely.

Let us, therefore, forsake the vanity of the crowd and their false teachings and turn back to the word delivered to us from the beginning, "watching unto prayer" and continuing steadfast in fasting, beseeching fervently the all-seeing God "to lead us not into temptation, even as the Lord said, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

—Polycarp (69-156)

Learn more about Polycarp here.

The Christian Post has released the identity of the Korean victim who was murdered by the Taliban, as 42-year-old pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, who led the team of Korean volunteers on a humanitarian aid mission to Afghanistan.

Read the full coverage here.

The following words were proclaimed from the scaffold prior to the death of John Dick who was arrested for treason by the Anglican Church.  John Dick was a Covenanter and during the 1600's there was a struggle between the Anglican Church and the Covenanters.  As a result of his arrest, he was sentenced to death on March 5, 1684.  Here are John Dick's final words.

"I come here this day, and would not change my lot with the greatest in the world.  I lay down my life willingly and cheerfully for Christ and His cause and I heartily forgive all mine enemies.  I forgive all them who gave me my sentence, and them who were the chief cause of my taking; and I forgive him who is behind me [the executioner].  I advise you who are the Lord's people, to be sincere in the way of godliness, and you who know little or nothing of the power thereof, to come to Him and trust God, He will not disappoint you.  I say trust in the Lord, and He will support or strengthen you in whatever trouble of affliction you may meet with.  I remember, when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, Isaac said, "Here is the wood, and the fire, but where is the sacrifice?"

He looked up at the gallows, then out to the crowd, and continued, "Now blessed be the Lord, here is the sacrifice and free will offering.  Adieu, farewell all friends."