Persecution Blog

What If We Are NOT Suffering For Jesus?

Many of us, when we encounter persecution in other countries, begin to wonder about our own freedom, security, and prosperity when others are suffering. How can we enjoy our freedom and painless Christian walk while others are suffering so much for Christ, we think? In some countries, some Christians enjoy freedom while others, in the same country, are being persecuted. We can only attribute this to God’s sovereignty and purpose. When it comes to suffering for the Lord, there is no randomness nor is it entirely the malevolent actions of evil men. God ordains suffering and if we are not suffering for Christ at the moment, it means that God has other plans for us.

Some are called to suffer for Christ, and do so representing all of us. This is true because we are a part of one body in Christ and when one part suffers we all suffer. Representative suffering is a new idea for most of us. In reality, it is a principle that was embedded in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament and was magnificently personified in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf on the cross.

Persecution is defined as something that is persistent and systematic and is administered in order to cause great harm. Most Christians are not suffering persecution in this manner. But, there may be evidences of the potential for persecution. There are at least three indicators that point toward future persecution. The first is when false information is disseminated as truth that supposedly represents all Christians. It creates a bias in the minds of the public against Christians and does not allow non-Christians to make a fair assessment of Christianity. The second is a little more personal. It takes the form of harassment, where periodically the lives of Christians are interrupted by arbitrary arrests or interrogations, only to be released and then after a period of time it is repeated. The third is discrimination. We are used to this term in connection to racism but there is a wider application of this indicator. It is when, for example, the people of a country are promised religious freedom of worship but they are not able to obtain permission to have a place to worship. They are unable to obtain the legal requirements to build a worship center or to meet in groups in homes.

However, we may not be suffering persecution because we are not fulfilling Christ’s mandate to witness in our cultures, no matter the restrictions or lack of restrictions. Because of fear or apathy we fail to articulate our faith so we do not get any negative kickback. This does not mean that we should prod or coax people into persecuting us. We are not to provoke our enemies. It means that in the process of doing what we are called to do to spread the gospel that we may suffer certain consequences that are meant to discourage or stop our witnessing.

However, if we are fulfilling our mandate and we are not suffering persecution then what can we do to support those who are being persecuted? There are a number of practical things we can do. We can:

• Become knowledgeable about persecution around the world.
• Actively promote the ministry to the persecuted Christians in your local church and community.
• Pray specifically for restricted and hostile nations.
• Contact your governmental representatives and senators and make them aware of the problem.

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.

Remembering Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand

Merv Knight read Richard Wurmbrand’s book, Tortured for Christ, and it changed the path of his entire life. Merv helped found VOM-Australia and worked side by side with Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand for decades. This week he gives us an inside look, with stories of what it was like to minister alongside Richard and Sabina but also what kind of people they were behind the scenes and the deep love for Christ that allowed them to endure persecution while still holding firmly to their faith. Merv will also share the stories of some of the persecuted Christians that have inspired his own faith during almost five decades of ministry with The Voice of the Martyrs.

After you listen to the interview, get a free copy of Richard’s book Tortured for Christ on our bookstore.

Laos: Christians "Possessed" by the Spirit of Christ

The following is excerpted from a recent report of persecution in Laos as published by Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom:

Atan Village, Nong District, Savannakhet Province

On August 31, 2015, Mr. Bounchen, chief of Atan village (also being referred as Ala village), and, Mr. Pousone, Atan village’s religious affairs official, sought to carry out the official verdict of the Atan village meeting that had handed down a death penalty to the first Christian family in the village. However, the Communist Party official stationed in the area stopped the village chief and the village religious affairs official from following through the verdict.

The incident started on April 20, 2015, when a family in Atan village, composing of Mr. Lahoie and six others family members, began embracing the Christian faith in accordance to their constitional guaranteed right. Then, in the middle of August 2015, the Atan village chief’s daughter became severely ill and died. The village chief blamed the Christians for the death of his daughter. He believed that her death was caused by angry village spirits who were oppressed by the Spirit of Jesus that the Christians brought into the village when they embraced the Christian faith.

The village chief summoned an official village meeting where all representatives of the households in the village were required to attend. During the village meeting, it was concluded that the Christians were possessed by an evil spirit–Spirit of Christ–who was held to be harmful to the village; and, thus, the Christians had to be killed to appease the village spirits. Therefore, the official village meeting handed down death penalty to Mr. Lahoie and his family on the account of their Christian faith.

The village officials, consisting of the village chief, the village religious affairs official, and village security force, thus sought the backing of the Community Party official in the area for the execution of Christians in Atan village. However, the Community Party official disapproved of the action.

On September 4, 2015, unable to get gain support to carry out the execution of Christians, the village officials, led by the Atan village chief, went into the house of the believing family and confiscated a pig and a goat worth USD 85 and USD 45 respectively. The total value of the pig and goat is equivalent to approximately 2 months of wages locally. The animals were slaughtered and eaten by the village officials. After the confiscation of the pig and goat, a Christian leader, Pastor Agom, from the Nong district aided the Christian family in Atan village by reporting the incident of their death penalty and the confiscation of their animals to the Nong District’s Religious Affairs Office. The Religioius Affairs Office has yet to bring actions against the Atan village officials who acted in violation of the law.

We are thankful that the Spirit of Christ is more powerful than the evil spirits that oppress, and thankful for the faithfulness of these new Christian believers. Please pray for Christians in Laos. Also watch for the November issue of VOM's free monthly newsletter, which focuses on stories like this one, where Christians are accused of "Angering the Gods."

India: Church Burned

In VOM's free monthly newsletter last February, we wrote about a church in India that was facing persecution.

The persecution has continued, and recently our staff received this video report on the church building being burned by radical Hindus.

 

Please pray for this church, and for all of our Christian brothers and sisters facing persecution in India. This year's VOM video for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, coming up on November 1, also focuses on a story from India.

A "Yellow Church" Dream

Recently I met with a worker in a restricted nation. He related the story of a Muslim woman who had an amazing dream that changed her life forever.

In her city, a prominent epicenter in a region dominated by Islam, there is a historic church known by its distinctive color. One evening, the Muslim woman said that Jesus appeared to her in a dream and told her, “Go to the ‘Yellow Church’ and I will show you what to do.”

She had never heard anything about a "Yellow Church" and was understandably stunned by the appearance of Jesus in her dream.

Bewildered, she eventually settled back to sleep, wondering what this bizarre dream meant.

The next day as she went about her business in this bustling, dusty, crowded metropolis, she overheard someone asking for directions. She was astonished to hear the direction-giver respond, "It is over there, near the ‘Yellow Church.’"

She decided to follow the person and was led to a place that was obviously the "Yellow Church."

She tentatively knocked on the locked door.

The guard answered, and was stunned to see a Muslim woman on their doorstep. He eventually let her in, told her not to touch anything, and went to find the pastor.

When the pastor greeted her, she asked him simply, "Why did Jesus tell me to come to the ‘Yellow Church?’"

He responded, "Have you read in the Quran that Jesus was a good teacher?"

"Yes, of course."

He continued, "Have you read that he was only a good man? That he was not the Son of God, but simply a messenger who is inferior in status to Muhammad?"

She said, "Yes, I have."

He asked, "Can you explain how a good man from centuries ago appeared in your dream last night and told you to come to this place?"

"I can't," she responded, "and that is why I am here to ask you. I don't understand."

He proceeded to tell her that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and that it was true. Jesus is all powerful, and he is still drawing people to himself today. He still works miracles, and he has a message of hope for her.

Today, if you watch this Muslim woman's home, you will see her quietly slip out her door early in the morning. You could follow her to the "Yellow Church," where she enters to pray on her own. A short time later, she will be joined by others who gather there to worship each week.

After the service, she will meet with her new female friends who pray with her, answer her questions and encourage her in her journey to faith in Isa al-Masih, Jesus the Messiah.

This true story represents hundreds of stories around the Islamic world. You can read about the phenomenon of Jesus revealing himself in dreams in Tom Doyle's fantastic book Dreams and Visions. 

You can also listen to Tom share more remarkable interventions in person on VOM Radio .

We should not be discouraged. God's Kingdom continues to advance in the most difficult places in the world!

Pray today for the openness to follow Jesus to whatever destination he leads you to. You may be surprised to find that he has someone waiting for you there…

Dr. Jason Peters serves as Associate Vice President of Connection for The Voice of the Martyrs and travels frequently to meet with our persecuted sisters and brothers. He has ministered in 40 countries as diverse as Cuba, India, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Nigeria. Jason ministered as a military chaplain for more than 18 years, with assignments at the Pentagon, the US Air Force Academy and as a faculty member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, where he directed Crisis and Trauma training. Jason and his wife Kimberly lived overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.

 

Go Behind the Scenes on IDOP Video Shoot

Ramsey Tripp has been involved in making short films that help thousands of churches pray for our persecuted family each November on the International Day of Pray for the Persecuted Church.

But making films inside hostile and restricted nations isn’t easy. Behind each film is a story of how God put things together, sometimes even when it seemed the entire shoot would be blocked.

God has opened locked doors for our film-making team. They have told stories of persecuted Christians from all over the world. Their work has blessed tens of thousands of Christians, but these stories also change the storytellers.

Tripp says making the IDOP films has literally changed his life.

Listen to this week's episode of VOM Radio to hear how.

 

You can also listen to every episode of VOM Radio as a podcast. Watch this year's IDOP video, about Suta, at www.Persecution.com/IDOP. 

 

Helping Front-Line Workers in Inner Mongolia

VOM workers recently returned from a visit to Inner Mongolia, where they met Christians working and serving in spite of persecution. Watch to find out more about the Christians of that region, and how the VOM purchase of a van expanded the reach of the ministry of a bold front-line worker.

 

You can give online to support pastors like this one through VOM's Front-Line Ministries Fund.

VOM Featured in Moody Radio Interview

VOM's Todd Nettleton was a guest on yesterday's episode of In The Market With Janet Parshall, aired nationally on the Moody Broadcast Network.

Janet and Todd discussed what God is doing in Iraq, how New Testaments are being delivered in North Korea and the ways Christians worship in Afghanistan in order to avoid detection by radical Muslims.

Finally, they pointed listeners to the upcoming International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

Please click here to listen to this interview (a new window will open; Nettleton's interview begins at about the 27:00 mark). We are thankful to Janet and to Moody Radio and all our media friends who help VOM share the stories of our persecuted family.

Pray for Muslim convert, "Michael"

VOM workers met “Michael,” a Christian convert from Islam, during a recent VOM-sponsored event. He was very well known as a Muslim, and after accepting Christ and beginning to challenge other Muslims about their faith, his father repeatedly threatened him. During the event, Michael stood at the podium for about 20 minutes, “singing to God and testifying of His goodness.” On the day of the event, Michael’s wife also placed her faith in Christ. Pray for Michael and other Christian converts from Islam who face persecution for their faith.

 

This request is one of those posted each week on www.iCommitToPray.com. We invite you to visit that site to add your prayers to those other believers are offering up on behalf of Michael and his family.

You can also register on the site to receive new prayer requests each week by email. This is a great way to know how to pray for specific persecuted Christians around the world, as well as a source of fresh prayer requests to share with your Sunday School class, Bible study group or church congregation.

Planting Gospel Seeds in Central Asia

"Brother Jay" has just returned from Central Asia, where he shared fellowship with Christians facing persecution while trying to reach Muslims with the gospel message. Jay shares the challenges these believers face--including the challenge of connecting with other believers and even just meeting together for worship. Jay tells us how the example of these believers challenges his own faith, and how he prepares to travel into dangerous places where Christians are laying down their lives for Christ.

You'll be able to pray more effectively for believers in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and other nations in Central Asia after hearing Brother Jay this week on VOM Radio.

 

You can also access all episodes of VOM Radio as a podcast.