Persecution Blog

The Prospect of Suffering for Christ

“How much is this going to cost me?”

That is not a bad question for Christians. We need to consider what carrying-out the mandate of Christ to be a witness for Christ in every nation, no matter the difficulties or restrictions, will cost us. We need to factor into our Christian life that sharing the gospel with others will most likely result in some opposition and rejection, not discounting that outright persecution and death may also be the consequence. Are we prepared to face any or all the prospective negative responses we may face?

The book The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer came into my possession very early in my Christian life. The full impact of what he wrote about did not really sink in until I became fully aware of the reality of persecution in the world. It was further accentuated by the fact that Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Nazis just two weeks before the camp was liberated by Allied soldiers. That fact is always on my mind even today as I live out my Christian life.

I am still bewildered over the death of the VOM volunteer in Nigeria who was killed for passing out our Newsletters. I had never met the man but I still feel the pain for his loss. What a cruel, unjust, insane world. That’s why we need to count the cost because it is entirely possible that the cost for us could be high. Christians in northern Nigeria know the cost of being believers.

At the end of the nineteenth century a missionary planned to return to Uganda after a furlough, even though the potential for further suffering was very real. It could be costly. Expressing joy in the prospect of returning, this missionary said: “The safest place to be is in God’s will and if Uganda is where God wants me, then I’ll be safe there” (By Their Blood, 472). Earlier in this same book is the story of Miss Searell, one of the first New Zealanders to go to China. It was a very dangerous time for foreigners in China and although illness could have been a reason to leave, she chose to remain. On June 28, 1900 she wrote to a friend that from a human standpoint, all missionaries are equally unsafe but from the point of view of those whose lives are hid in Christ, all are equally safe in God, their place of refuge. Two days later she was killed when her house was attacked by a Boxer mob (By Their Blood, 2nd edition, 27). She counted the cost and died for her faith.

In the final discourses of Jesus in John’s Gospel, Jesus clearly articulates that his disciples would also be hated, rejected, and would suffer just as he would. The Apostle Paul embraced this idea personally when he testified about his losses and gains. Ministry would be and was costly for him. He confessed that he wanted to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings—becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10). It would eventually cost him his 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.

 

Letter of Confession Questions

This month VOM launched an effort to get 1,000,000 Christians to "confess" to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. We are asking people to confess that they know what is happening to our Christian brothers and sisters inside North Korea, and to confess that they are praying for them as well as for the salvation of Kim and other North Korean leaders.

As our June newsletter has gone out all across the U.S., we've had many questions from our readers about this effort. Here are some key questions you may be asking, along with answers:

Q. Will this letter make things WORSE for North Korean Christians?

A. It is hard to imagine how things could be worse in a nation where all known Christians are arrested and imprisoned, along with their parents and children. VOM worked closely with experts on North Korea and ministry to North Korean Christians in formulating the letter. The reality is that North Korean Christians, should they hear of the campaign, will be encouraged that they are not forgotten and that Christian brothers and sisters around the world are standing with them in their trials and suffering.

What would you confess to Kim Jong Un?

Q. Will this change the way North Korea's government acts toward people of faith?

A. Yes, we believe it will. But only if enough people are willing to add their voice and get involved. In a recent “confession” penned by a western missionary, who was arrested in North Korea, the officials compelled him to state that North Korea is NOT persecuting Christians. In light of this and other acts we believe North Korea prides itself on believing it has fooled the world and when enough attention is brought to the truth, when the worldwide Body of Christ speaks out, change will occur.

Q. Will North Korean officials be given my personal information?

A. No. In order to maximize the impact and integrity of the Letters of Confession campaign, The Voice of the Martyrs is collecting the letters with names and addresses. However VOM will ONLY deliver them with your name, country of residence and date signed to the North Korean delegation to the United Nations.

Q. Is the United States government doing anything about persecution in North Korea?

A. In recent years the United States diplomatic efforts in regards to North Korea have focused primarily on the issue of nuclear disarmament rather than on the epidemic of human-rights violations within the country and the persecution of Christians there. It is vital for Americans to let their congressmen, senators and other US leaders know that religious freedom in North Korea is an important issue that Americans care about. Call, write or email your leaders and ask them to stand for persecuted Christians in North Korea.

Q. What if I don’t agree with all the language of the Letter of Confession as it is currently written?

A. We invite anyone who desires to change or add text to the Letter of Confession to do so. Our primary goal is for Christians to take a stand. Feel free to copy and edit the Letter of Confession at will. We only ask that you remain respectful and your comments remain in line with the spirit of the Letter of Confession as it is written.

Q. How can I do more?

A. The Voice of the Martyrs has many ministry outreaches to North Korea and we continue to look for new ways to help bring the Gospel to this repressed nation. Through the Letter of Confession, we are encouraging Christian around the world to stand with our persecuted family in North Korea in prayer and by signing the letter. You can be a tremendous help by sharing the Letter of Confession with your Christian friends, Sunday school class, church and even with other churches in your community. These types of campaigns only work when enough people get involved to demonstrate our concern. North Korea has a 50+ year track record of killing and torturing our brothers and sisters. It is time for the Body of Christ to speak out in a united voice!

Image source: World Net Daily

Asia Bibi: Justice delayed is...

Two weeks ago today, our sister Asia Bibi was scheduled to finally have the appeal against her conviction for blasphemy and resulting death sentence heard by High Court in Lahore, Pakistan. The hearing didn’t happen. No reason for the delay was announced, and no new hearing date was set.

It was the fifth time her appeal has been scheduled to start…and the fifth time there has been a delay. The reasons for the delays have been varied: there have been sick judges and lawyers who couldn’t make it at the appointed hour.

The reality is that no judge wants to hear her case. If they uphold the conviction and death sentence, the world will rain down criticism on the injustice of putting to death a Christian wife and mother. But radical Muslims in Pakistan have announced that there will be a price to be paid by any judge who overturns the verdict and allows Asia Bibi to go free. For the judges, it is a no-win situation.

Now there is an added wrinkle: blasphemy charges were filed recently against the hosts of a popular morning TV show in Pakistan, who are Muslims but had the temerity to play a Sufi Muslim song during a wedding portrayed on their program. There are reports that the government wants to have those charges overturned before they will allow Asia Bibi’s case to go forward.

Every time one of these announced hearing dates comes and goes without any actual progress on her appeal my heart goes out to Asia Bibi, her husband and especially her daughters. Can you imagine the emotional roller coaster each of these days must be for them?

Imagine you are in prison. You know you are innocent. Finally the day comes when you will be able to stand before the judge and present your appeal, to prove your innocence. You imagine the joy you’ll feel when he announces that you are free. You picture yourself wrapping your arms around your daughters; you wonder how long you’ll hold them before you let go. You picture your husband’s smile as he wraps you in a hug. How many people will be waiting at the house when you arrive home? How wonderful it will be to sleep in your own bed!

And then the appointed day comes. Your freedom is so close you can smell and taste it. You rise from bed, hopeful that you’ve spent your last night in prison.

But nothing happens. The judge is sick. Or the lawyer can’t make it. Or, even more frustrating, no reason is given but your case is not called. You spend another night in prison; but now instead of imagining your freedom you’re haunted by the thought that you’ll never be free. You picture your daughters getting married without you there.

Each time her case has been announced and then delayed, I’ve pictured Asia Bibi going through these emotional ups and downs. I’ve thought of her daughters going to bed without a hug from their mom on the night they thought they’d bring her home; her husband wondering again if he’ll ever see his wife outside of prison walls.

On June 19^th, it will have been five years since Asia Bibi’s arrest. There is a legal maxim that justice delayed is justice denied. Justice for Asia Bibi has been delayed, and then delayed again four more times. As of today, no new hearing date has been announced. Who knows when her appeal might go forward?

There are two things we can do. The first is to pray for Asia Bibi and her family. As they ride the emotional roller coaster of this case, we can uphold and support them through our prayers. Secondly, we can have a voice. Write a letter to Asia at www.PrisonerAlert.com. Write a letter to Pakistani officials through the link ("Petition Official") on her page. Ask them to stop delaying justice for our sister.

The Voice of the Martyrs continues to collect signatures on Asia’s behalf at www.CallForMercy.com. Our goal when the site was launched was a million signatures. We are almost to 700,000 right now. If you haven’t signed the online petition, please do so. Even if you already signed, invite your friends to add their voices to yours. These voices are more important than ever to try to get the Pakistani courts to move the appeal forward.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Justice for our sister Asia Bibi has been delayed long enough.

Todd Nettleton has served with The Voice of the Martyrs for 16 years. He’s travelled to more than 20 restricted and hostile nations and interviewed hundreds of believers who’ve faced persecution for their Christian witness. As VOM’s principle media spokesperson, Todd has done more than 2,000 interviews with media outlets ranging from Moody Radio to the BBC and Los Angeles Times. He is the principle author of Restricted Nations: North Korea and was part of the writing team for four other VOM books.

Washing Bottles

It’s 9:59 p.m., and I’m still in the kitchen, washing baby bottles. I have just cleaned up dinner and packed lunches for the next day after getting my two little ones to bed.  A basketful of laundry, needing to be folded, waits for me in the living room.

I look at the clock and sigh. I wish I were already in bed. If my husband were here, I’d already be done, because he would be sharing half the work. But he’s not. He’s in the middle of a two week-trip to the Middle East, where he’s meeting with persecuted Christians and some of our partners who help us meet the needs of suffering believers.  He’s not up late cleaning the kitchen, but he’s usually up late on these nights, crying, praying and just listening to people.

Most people assume that his life as an international worker for The Voice of the Martyrs is glamorous, jetting from place to place. He and any of our workers would tell you it’s not. It’s about being perpetually tired, with missed nights of sleep due to travel, then an 8-, 10- or 12-hour time difference adjustment on arrival and having to adjust backwards just after finding your rhythm in the new time when you get home. It’s missed family time, missed milestones in the kids’ lives, having to say no to service opportunities at church knowing you’ll be gone.

But he relishes sitting with people and listening to their stories, working with local believers and helping them think through how VOM can best help them to reach others for Christ. When he gets home and I pick him up from the airport, he often spends the entire hour-long drive sharing the things he’s learned and been challenged by through our brothers and sisters there. And as soon as he gets home, he puts priority on spending time with me and the kids.

As for me and the other wives of our international workers (who all happen to be men right now), sometimes people around the office refer to us as the VOM widows. We go to parties and Bible studies alone. We single parent. We figure out how to fix the water heater when it breaks—or at least figure out who can help us fix it.

I stay up late managing our household, but I can’t really let myself entertain the idea of complaining. I spent the day working on a story about Meriam Ibrahim, a mom of two young children, like me. Except she’s not able to wash her dishes late at night, or anytime, because she’s in prison. Up until the time she gave birth, she was shackled in her prison cell. Can you imagine how good that felt on pregnancy-swollen ankles, while chasing after your toddler? When given the opportunity to get out of prison, she told the judge she could never deny Jesus.

I’m not shackled in some Sudanese prison cell. Nor am I rejected by my family members, like so many of our brothers and sisters who choose to follow Christ. So this is my act of service: to wash bottles late at night, giving thanks that I’m counted worthy to be a daughter of Jesus Christ.

While I wash, I think about the many who are suffering, and I pray for them. I think about the people who my husband is meeting, and I pray for them. And I pray for my kids, hoping that they’ll see the choices of their parents and learn the stories of their persecuted family members far away and that by these examples, they’ll chose to follow the One for whom all these sacrifices, large and small, are worthy.

Dory P. has worked with VOM for seven years. She grew up in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Between Dory, her husband, three-year-old son and infant daughter, the family shares seven passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.

Sudan Christian Meriam Ibrahim Added to PrisonerAlert

On May 15, 2014, a Khartoum court sentenced 27-year-old Sudanese Christian Dr. Meriam Yahia Ibrahim to death. She was found guilty of both apostasy and adultery. Initially, Meriam was charged with adultery because of her marriage to a Christian man, and the apostasy charge was added upon Meriam's insistence that she was a Christian.

VOM has added Meriam to www.PrisonerAlert.com and is encouraging Christians from around the world to write letters of encouragement to her.

Under Sudanese law, because Meriam’s father was Muslim, she is considered Muslim. Though she explained to the court that she was raised by a Christian mother and never practiced Islam, in the court's eyes, her marriage to a Christian was void and she was guilty of adultery. The court later added the charge of apostasy, or leaving the Islamic faith, when Meriam continued to insist she was a Christian.

Before sentencing, the judge gave Meriam three days to recant her Christian faith; but when the court reconvened on Thursday, May 15, she remained resolute. “I am a Christian,” she said.

She was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and to death by hanging for apostasy. At the time of sentencing, Meriam was eight months pregnant with her second child. Application of her sentence of 100 lashes will be a carried out after she has recovered from giving birth. And her death sentence is delayed for two years after the birth of her child, to give her time to nurse her infant. Her daughter, Maya, was born in the prison on May 27.

Meriam’s 20-month-old son, Martin, has been with her in prison since her arrest on Feb. 17. Because Meriam’s husband, Daniel Wani, is a Christian, the Sudanese government sees him as an unfit father.

Daniel Wani emigrated to the U.S. from Sudan in 1998 and became a U.S. citizen in 2005. He met Miriam at church on a visit to Sudan, and the two were married in December 2011. Daniel, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and is wheelchair-bound, went to Sudan last summer to arrange for his wife and son to move to his home in New Hampshire.

In the interim, someone claiming to be Meriam’s brother alerted authorities to her possible apostasy. In court, Meriam testified that she was born in Darfur and raised by an Ethiopian mother, a Christian. Her father left the family when she was 6. She denied knowing any of the people claiming to be her relatives.

On May 28, the Sudanese embassy to the U.S. issued a statement on the case: “This case remains a legal issue and not a religious or a political one. It is unwise and dangerous to politicize the issue at hand to spur religious tension between the two peaceful faiths with similar foundations. Notably, it is important to emphasize that freedom of choice is the cornerstone of both Islam and Christianity.”

The Sudanese government also denied earlier reports that Meriam would be released.

If Meriam is put to death, she will be the first person to be executed for apostasy in Sudan since Shariah law was introduced in the criminal code in 1991.

Her case is under appeal.

“obeDIEnce”

“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” (Galatians 2:20).

One of the most inspiring conversations I’ve ever had was with a Vietnamese pastor. This experienced leader shared several nuggets which revealed insights into his ability to boldly follow Christ for many years in an incredibly restricted context.

As we talked after dinner, I asked him how we can learn to stand strong for God. He quickly pointed to his watch, and said: “If this watch is on my arm, I have to take care of it and protect it.”

Picture him beginning to unlatch his watch, and then continuing: “But if I give it to you, then you have to take care of it and protect it.”

With a smile, he concluded: “If we give our lives to God we don’t have to worry about it. He is the One who will take care of us.”

Take a minute to reread his statement and let that concept settle in…

It’s a profound insight.

If I am willing to give my life to God, then I can serve Him, and others, in absolute freedom. I can release my ambitions, my comfort, my desires…MY everything!

Paul reminded that Galatians that obedience involves death to self. I have seen obedience spelled with an emphasis on the critically important, three-letter word that it contains:  “obeDIEnce.”

Are we willing to “die” to ourselves, so that we can “live” for Jesus? That is the path to true life that produces fruit which will outlast our temporal lives! As Jesus said in John 12:24: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

How can we get involved in this type of “fruit” production? What kind of difference can we make from our homes? My brother from Vietnam has an encouraging response for us all.  He says, “When you pray in America, you are working in Vietnam.”

Learn more about life as a Christian in Vietnam, and watch a 2:40 trailer to see how a group of teenager’s lives were radically changed by their visit: “Underground Reality: Vietnam”

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 35 countries as diverse as Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Iraq, Nigeria, and Indonesia. He and his wife, Kimberly, along with their five children, count it a great honor to serve with the persecuted church.

“What’s wrong with you people?”

I am borrowing a phrase from Glenn Penner to describe the attitude of non-Christians toward Christians in the ancient world. They remembered the lifestyle of Christians before they started following Christ and their previous lives seemed normal, by pagan standards. Now things were different—very different, strange!—and ancient pagans couldn’t figure out what is going on, so they may have asked the question: “What is wrong with you people?”

I was recently struck by 1 Peter 2:12 where it says that Christians would be slandered for being evil doers. Since Christians, I thought, were dedicated to doing good, how could we be accused of doing evil? I recognize we live in a convoluted world where evil is called good and good evil, but calling Christians evil seems to push the category. You may think: “Once I was disobedient to God and committed all kinds of sins and evil, but now I have changed—transformed by the grace of God. Now I try to do good, so how could you think I am doing evil?” We may want to ask pagans: “What’s wrong with you people? What is causing you to skew the criteria for good and evil? How can you think that way?”

In 1 Peter, Peter lays out a beauti ful passage on the positive side of holiness. Christians are a holy nation, a holy priesthood who stands before God mediating on behalf of the lost. In 1 Peter 2:11 he spells out the “negative” side of holiness (what we won’t do). We abstain from fleshly lusts, evil behavior, idol worship, and anything unholy (that would be offensive to God). That should silence our critics, right? In fact, it is our abstinence that generates the slander. By not participating in immoral social activities and practices in culture, by not sacrificing to the gods who they think watch over and protect pagan society, we become (in their view) anti-social, haters of mankind, and social misfits who somehow threatened the welfare of society.

Ancient Greek and Roman culture, generally tolerant of various religions, could not tolerate Christian ethical and moral behavior, so they spoke maliciously against them. These Christians were transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, while their compatriots remained in darkness. The newly transformed Christian reluctance to continue to practice a sinful life is interpreted by the criteria of pagan culture as being insolent, rebellious, uncooperative, and even judgmental. At a certain point Christians can be seen as a dangerous element, a threat to the peace and order of society, of ridiculing the pagan practices so dear to the members of culture.

Peter said that the Christian should not be surprised by this. The Christians in the early church were on the precipice of a new and difficult day. That day came, and many Christians died as a result. Our convoluted world has a limit to how long they will peacefully tolerate us. Peter’s advice is that we live such a good life that our accusers will be ashamed and may actually glorify God in the day He comes to visit us. That is a statement of hope, that those who accuse, hate, and persecute may be converted as a result of the witness of our actions. That is truly our prayer.

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.

Extreme Endurance in Turkmenistan

TURKMENISTAN: SHAGELDY ATAKOV

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3

“Break him morally or destroy him physically!” The Turkmenistan bureaucrats had no more patience for this street preacher.

Shageldy Atakov was offered his freedom under President Saparmurat Niyazov’s December 23, 2000, amnesty, provided he would swear the oath of allegiance to the president and recite the Muslim creed. Shageldy refused the amnesty again.

Shageldy had been threatened by state officials before to stop preaching. He was arrested in December 1998 and sentenced to two years in jail, but a prosecutor appealed the verdict as “too lenient.” He was then sentenced to two additional years in prison. Shageldy was in such pain from the harsh beatings that he asked his children not to touch him.

In February 2000, his wife and five children had been forcibly taken from their home and exiled to remote Kaakhka where they remained under “village arrest.”

When his family visited him in early February of 2001, Shageldy said his farewells. His wife noticed that “during the visit he was bruised and battered, his kidneys and liver hurt, and he was suffering from jaundice. He could barely walk and frequently lost consciousness.” He did not expect to survive much longer.

Despite this, Shegeldy was still not broken. He would not give in, and though release was within his reach, he would not accept it if it meant forsaking his allegiance to Christ.

Humans can live for many weeks without food, yet we cannot survive many days without water. In the same way, our spirits need spiritual nourishment as well. We may go several days, months, and even years without companionship- our spirits can survive despite the loneliness. We may do without peace, enduring illness upon lingering illness-our spirits, though discouraged, will survive. If we try to endure long without the hope of Jesus Christ, however, our souls diminish. We cannot live without hope, God’s precious gift to his children. If you are feeling as though you cannot go on, ask God to encourage and motivate you. You will endure all things with a strong hope in Jesus Christ.

This is one of the readings from the book, Extreme Devotion, available from VOM’s online bookstore. You can also receive devotional thoughts daily via email. Sign up here.