Persecution Blog

Surrender for a Greater Reward

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” – Matthew 25:23 (ESV)

When the man of Matthew 25 left, he did not promise his servants a reward for increasing the talents he entrusted to them. He gave according to ability, then allowed them to respond through their care of those talents. Today we often use this passage to exhort Christians to devote their abilities to the One who gave them. “Use your talents for God,” I’ve heard many times. My response: why?

What gain is in forfeiting the opportunity to show others my abilities and knowledge? In the worldly sense, nothing. Living for Christ means surrendering the chance to be a person the world admires. If I truly follow Jesus, like He was, so I will be: mocked and disregarded, for obedience to Christ makes us the refuse of the world, not its victors. The lives of our persecuted brothers and sisters demonstrate the fact that the world hates us because of the One whom we obey. Their school records are destroyed, houses blown up, and families torn apart because they live faithfully for the King of kings, rather than cave under pressure from the world.

I do not want to feel the world’s pressure. I want to be accepted, appreciated, and loved. If I could use my talents to gain these things, why surrender them to Christ? Unlike the faithful servants in Matthew 25, I have His Word that promises good things will follow my surrender to Christ; however, I do not give only because of those promises. Not just because the things of Christ are better. Not just because He will grant me a place in heaven. Not just because He will give me what I so desire.

The greater reward of surrender to the Lord is knowing the Person of God, who owns our talents, which He has entrusted to us, and who deserves our devotion. As we come to know Him and wonder at His gracious, powerful, holy nature, we can come to full surrender. What could be greater than a relationship with the God who is perfect and loves so much that He give His everything for us?

J.G. Spires is a college student studying English and Broadcast Media on the east coast. She grew up in a Christian family and came into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while in middle school. Over the years, the Lord has developed in her a passion for His people and His Word. Her goal is to write for the edification of the Church and the evangelization of the lost. She loves being outside, writing fictional short stories and serving the Church.

TURKEY: How Will Coup Attempt Affect Church?

Imagine seeing three of your best friends murdered for their faith in Christ. Brother Gokhan experienced that loss, living in Malatya where three Christians—all part of his church—were murdered. Today Gokhan is a part of Sat-7 TURK, sharing the gospel across the nation via satellite television. He tells us that risk is a part of sharing the gospel in Turkey. “We need to be sacrifice people,” he says. But he reminds us that the power to endure persecution doesn’t come from us, it comes from God.

Listen this week to learn more about what recent political turmoil in Turkey means for the church and how you can be praying for our brothers and sisters in that nation.

 

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First Loved

“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 (ESV)

Why do I love Jesus? As we interns volunteered at a VOM Advance conference this past weekend, an idea struck me that has become one more reason why I love the Savior.

What does “first loved” that John discusses look like? During the first session of the conference, a story about Muslim who heard the gospel especially caught my attention. Not knowing Christian expressions like hallelujah, the man proclaimed, “Allahu akbar! [God is great]” He startled the congregation, as the Arabic phrase is used by suicide bombers just before detonation. But the Lord startled me with a thought: regardless of the man’s limited knowledge, Jesus knew and loved his heart.

Jesus knows the hearts of His people and the hearts hardened against Him. He is not threatened by human ferocity or resistance. Humans fight Him, curse Him, mock Him, hate Him, and butcher His children with actions and words, yet He loves us. The man who can forgive one who persecutes His children certain does love. Though I’d just get angry at evil people, Jesus is so merciful and loving that He woos them.

His mercy and forgiveness don’t come from a lack of caring for His children. In fact, out of the extravagance of His care does He deliver justice while showing mercy by being the payment for all who call on His Name.

At the conference, I realized that I love Jesus Christ because He loves sinners—not sin, but the people He created. From His broken body pours the precious substance all so desperately need: God's eternal love. As I love Him, I, a sinner, simply return what He has given me through the cross. The love I have for Jesus is a droplet from the deluge of His own love. That is how Jesus “first loved” me.

J.G. Spires is a college student studying English and Broadcast Media on the east coast. She grew up in a Christian family and came into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while in middle school. Over the years, the Lord has developed in her a passion for His people and His Word. Her goal is to write for the edification of the Church and the evangelization of the lost. She loves being outside, writing fictional short stories and serving the Church.

Remember The Children

J.G. Spires is a college student studying English and Broadcast Media on the East Coast. She served this summer as an intern at The Voice of the Martyrs. VOM Radio host Todd Nettleton recently traveled to the Middle East where he met bold Christians who are raising their children in a challenging environment. J. G. adapted part of Todd’s VOM Radio interview about his trip into a kidsofcourage.com blog post for children. The post (below) illustrates the realities of life for Christian children living in areas hostile to their faith.

Kids of Courage in the Middle East

Imagine being the only Christian at school. That’s the struggle many Christian children in the Middle East face. They have to go to Muslim schools because those are the only schools where they live. If they don’t go to school, they can’t get good jobs and often remain very poor. Their parents teach them about Jesus, but when they go to school, their teachers tell them about being a Muslim and make them say Islamic prayers and memorize verses from the Quran. This can be confusing for young children trying to learn who God really is.

Christian parents worry about what will happen to the children. They want their children to know about Jesus’ love, but in some places, it’s against the law to be a Christian. Sometimes Christian children are bullied and beaten up by their classmates because they aren’t Muslims. If they don’t do what their teachers tell them at school, the children get in trouble. When their parents ask the teachers not to force the children to study Islam, the parents may get in trouble. Please pray for Christian children and their parents who are surrounded by people who don’t want them to follow Jesus.

VOM’s Kids of Courage resources help parents and educators teach children ages 5 to 13 about persecuted Christians. The resources provide opportunities for children to serve and pray for their suffering brothers and sisters around the world.

The Cause for Conflict

There is no question that the New Testament writers believed Jesus to be the Lord. He alone is supreme and to Him alone we owe ultimate allegiance. What Jesus Christ teaches and commands has priority over all other teaching and authority, both in heaven and on earth. Contemporary followers of Jesus believe this as well.

Therefore, Christ’s command to preach and teach salvation in and through Him should be our highest priority. By obeying this mandate, Christ’s disciples can expect to face opposition. Teaching salvation through Christ alone is the most serious threat to the powers of darkness, directly confronting anything or anyone that would try to usurp Christ’s ultimate authority. Authorities and powers that submit to Christ’s authority (or at the very least don’t claim superiority over it) generally accommodate Christ’s mandate without interference. However, certain ideologies that control some human governments see freedom as a threat to their power. God’s people will seek to fulfill their calling whether governments concur with them or resist them. In reality, the resistance is against God rather than his people or the message. He is the One being rejected.

A common theme in the stories of faithful martyrs is that they die due to their allegiance to Jesus Christ. Those who are loyal to Him are seen as a threat to earthly kings and kingdoms. The early church father Tertullian testifies to this fact in The Apology: “It becomes evident that the crime laid to our charge consists not of any sinful conduct, but lies wholly in our name. If, indeed, any real crimes were clearly adducible against us, their very names would condemn us, if found applicable, so that distinct sentences would be pronounced against us in this wise: Let that murderer, or that … criminal, or whatever it be that we are charged with, be led to execution, be crucified, or be thrown to the beasts. Your sentences, however, import only that one has confessed himself a Christian. … Surely, surely, names are not things which deserve punishment by the sword, or the cross, or the beasts.”

While acknowledging the authority of governments, Christians look to a higher authority that ultimately requires us to obey God rather than man when the two are in conflict (Acts 5:29). The Christian continues to witness even if it is illegal to witness and will continue taking Bibles to believers even if Bibles are banned. It is a matter of priorities. God’s priorities.

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.

Image credit: "The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer" by Jean-Leon Gerome. Public domain.

 

Front Line Workers Need Your Prayer

“When you face persecution day in and day out, you get discouraged and you can withdraw. There is nowhere where it is easy to preach the gospel.”

–“Rajul,” a VOM-supported front-line worker

Front-line workers accept persecution as part of sharing about Jesus and planting churches. Many have been beaten and arrested for showing the Jesus film or distributing Christian literature.

You can encourage them in God’s work through prayer. Adopting a front-line worker is a promise to pray. You will receive a card with a worker’s name and photo. Your daily prayers will encourage and empower their local ministry.

Rajul oversees a network of more than 5,700 pastors who have shared the gospel in more than 20,000 villages across India. With your support, VOM provides training, evangelistic materials and transportation to better equip many dedicated to advancing God’s kingdom.

“To know so many people are praying for us, and that The Voice of the Martyrs gives us Bibles and support to help us advance the gospel, we are enormously encouraged.”

–“Rajul”

Sign up online to adopt a front-line worker by committing to pray for them for one year.

VOM Interns Share Their Experience

Julia and Sam are two of the college students who served as interns this summer at VOM. Listen in as they share some of their experiences, and what they’ve learned—both professionally and spiritually—during their two months of service. How will they be different when they go back to their college campuses? What have their duties been at VOM, and what did they learn about VOM’s ministry that surprised them?

We’ll also share details about VOM’s intern program for next year, and how to apply if God is nudging you toward service as an intern at VOM.

 

Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the VOM Radio podcast on iTunes or Google Play Music.

Six Themes of an I Am N Christian

What does it mean to be an I Am N Christian in the Middle East right now? How should their stories inspire us as Western Christians? I have had the privilege of meeting and hearing the incredible stories of some of these sisters and brothers during recent visits to Iraq and neighboring countries where The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is serving them in their time of great need. There are six themes that emerge from the testimonies of these Christians that every Christian can benefit from. These are themes that we have witnessed repeatedly in hundreds of interviews with persecuted Christians.

When Islamic State (ISIS) militants moved into northern Iraq, they began identifying Christian-owned homes and businesses. Families would find the Arabic letter “N” (ﻥ) painted on their buildings. This single letter, the first letter of the word used in the Quran to identify Christians, conveyed the powerful accusation that the occupants were followers of Jesus.

Our Christian brothers and sisters were tagged in this way and given the choice of either converting to Islam or standing for Christ and losing everything they owned. In the Iraqi city of Mosul (Nineveh, in the time of the Old Testament) more than 100,000 Christians were displaced, abducted or killed in less than one week. That happened more than a year ago, and none of the displaced believers have been able to return to their homes.

I have seen firsthand the way these followers of Jesus live out their faith. When we wrote the book I Am N, we organized it around six themes that capture the essence of their faith and inspire us to stand strong for Christ no matter where we live. God is faithful. He has not abandoned them, and neither should we.

What does it mean to say I Am N?

Standing with our persecuted family members is one of the greatest privileges any Christian can have. Boldly saying I Am N is a commitment to place ourselves alongside our sisters and brothers and to say, “I am not willing to let them suffer in silence. I am not willing to let them serve alone.”

We are all part of the body of Christ. When one suffers, we all suffer. I appreciate the way that Ray Vanderlaan describes it. He asks us to imagine slamming our finger with a hammer while trying to hang a picture. We would never respond, “I’m not suffering, only my finger is suffering!” In the same way, we often view ourselves as detached from our suffering family members.

As we have traveled around the world meeting with our persecuted family members, we have seen six themes that mark their lives. These themes are universal, biblical themes that we must embrace in order to experience spiritual maturity

(Listen or watch as VOM’s Dr. Jason Peters discusses these themes with Dr. Ed Stetzer on The Exchange)

Sacrifice

We will count the cost of discipleship and willingly pay the price because Christ is worth it.

The Apostle Paul directed Christians to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). Jesus Christ is worth any sacrifice!

Courage

We will not become paralyzed by fear because God has empowered us to embrace risk.

Richard Wurmbrand said, “Jesus never feared or hated any man.” We are called to live courageously, confident that our God is ultimately in control. “Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:24).

Joy

We will rejoice in the midst of our suffering in this world because of our eternal hope in Christ.

In Acts 20:24, we read, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Joy is one of the most surprising themes we witness when we sit with Christians who have been persecuted, but it is almost always present!

Perseverance

We will stand firm, resisting any opposition. By God’s strength, we endure and overcome.

Scripture reminds us that “tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:3b–5).

Forgiveness

We will allow the Holy Spirit to work supernaturally in our hearts as we obey Christ by loving our enemies and forgiving others as we have been forgiven.

“Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’” (Luke 23:34a). Jesus demonstrated forgiveness — even as He died. Remarkably, by God’s grace, many martyrs supernaturally demonstrate forgiveness today — even as they or their loved ones die.

Faithfulness

We will not allow adversity to cause us to be unfaithful to God’s Word or disobedient to His purposes.

In Revelation 2:10, we read, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” The faithfulness of our sisters and brothers who are enduring incredible persecution right now is a model for us.

I Am N (David C. Cook, March 2016) will introduce you to inspirational Christians facing Islamic extremists. We can stand alongside these brothers and sisters, who remain joyful and blessed by their relationship with Christ despite having lost everything they own. The joy they have in Christ is something the extremists cannot take away from them. These Christians are our family members — part of the body of Christ. We will not let them suffer in silence. We will not let them serve alone.

Are you willing to say I Am N?

Dr. Jason Peters serves as Associate Vice President of Connection for The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). As a global voice for our persecuted family members, Dr. Peters travels frequently to meet face-to-face with persecuted believers around the world, leads VOM’s outreach initiatives, including media development, special events, public relations, and oversees hundreds of speakers and representatives. Peters was Executive Editor of I Am N: Stories of Christians Facing Islamic Extremism and Host/Producer of the I Am N video curriculum (David C Cook, March 2016). He has ministered in 40 countries, as diverse as Sudan, Cuba, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Bangladesh and Nigeria. Jason and his wife Kimberly ministered overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.

VOM Funds Church Training in Niger

The Voice of the Martyrs recently sponsored 12 conferences in eight regions in Niger, giving 120 churches training and resources to respond to persecution and spread the gospel.

Niger, which is 94 percent Muslim and less than 1 percent Christian, has recently seen an increase in persecution. The conferences, part of a church mobilization program, were conducted in June and addressed equipping church leaders to face persecution, women’s discipleship, strategies for church leadership and ministry, training trainers on story telling for evangelism, educating Christian youth on how to live as Christ followers in an Islamic society, and how to develop discipleship curriculum for local churches.

The conferences took place in Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey, Tahoua, Tillabéri and Zinder. In Zinder, the first city attacked January 16 and 17, 2015, 66 pastors and their wives traveled more than 600 miles to attend the conferences.

On Jan. 16, following the publication of a cartoon on the cover of a satirical French magazine that depicted the Prophet Muhammad crying, Muslim protests erupted in French-speaking Niger. Ten people were killed, more than 170 were injured and more than 70 churches were destroyed, along with several Christian schools and organizations.

Following the June conferences, attendees said the conferences had a positive influence on them. Many shared that the training will improve their church planting and evangelism efforts, as well as how they respond to further persecution. The conferences helped them better understand how to be the church in an Islamic country.

Some conferences were delayed by everything from presidential elections to attacks by Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. Event organizers also overcame issues of security and transportation to ensure the conferences took place.

In Niger, VOM has provided transportation to pastors and aid distribution to churches. We also assisted pastors and churches affected by the January 2015 attacks by providing emergency aid and replacing motorcycles for pastors and church equipment lost in fires.

You can support training for pastors and other Christian workers on the front-lines of some of the most difficult nations on earth.

This story first appeared on www.Persecution.com. 

Vessels of God's Mercy

“By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3b-4 (ESV)

Forgiveness isn’t a natural response. That idea stood out to me as we interns went through the I-Am-N material. When someone hurts me or I witness wrongdoing, my initial reaction is anger. I want the injurer to realize the pain he has caused. Wouldn’t that be just? An eye for an eye, a life for a life — justice. But because our lives belong to Christ, because we are His children, we are not the ones attacked. When Christians are persecuted, Christ is the target.

Pain we feel is real, sometimes unbearable, but we only experience traces of the actual hurt. Christ Jesus receives the full impact, for in sin His precious creation acts against Him. As a man, Jesus sacrificed everything for mankind’s sin. In the midst of physical pain, He also endured the emotional and spiritual weight of His Father’s apparent absence. He was the innocent Lamb slaughtered not for His own salvation. He, of all people, had a right to demand justice.

Jesus satisfied the wrath of God, which was directed toward sinful man, by completing justice’s demands. But His action also displayed the most magnificent array of mercy as He took our deserved punishment. His sacrifice established a foundation for forgiveness, a policy of mercy for those who would accept His offer of life.

What astounds me when I read about persecuted believers is that through them God works to spread news of His forgiveness. He has paid the price to justify us and made forgiveness possible. He also enables us to be like Him, vessels of God’s mercy to share the light of His goodness with those in darkness.

J.G. Spires is a college student studying English and Broadcast Media on the east coast. She grew up in a Christian family and came into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while in middle school. Over the years, the Lord has developed in her a passion for His people and His Word. Her goal is to write for the edification of the Church and the evangelization of the lost. She loves being outside, writing fictional short stories and serving the Church.