Persecution Blog

How Can I Keep From Singing?

I recently served as a leader at a Christian retreat for teenagers. Over the weekend, we were asked to take off our watches and shut off our phones so that we could focus our attention on what God had for us over that three-day period. Though it wasn’t as easy to do as I thought it would be, I was glad for the brief reprieve.

It was good not to have my attention pulled away by social media or news of political upheaval, financial crises, and terrorist attacks. Even so, I was keenly aware, that even if I didn’t hear of the latest attack over the weekend, Christians around the world were certainly facing difficulties at that moment. Christians in each of the countries where VOM works face innumerable problems with their families, their government, and those who declare themselves as enemies of Christ. How do they keep their faith in Christ during such tumultuous times?

One of the hymns that comes to mind as an answer is “How Can I Keep From Singing?” by Robert Lowry. The refrain:

No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?

Immediately following the retreat, I had the privilege of sitting down with Pastor Faisal, who has served in Pakistan for many years. While facing constant difficulties, he continues to follow Christ faithfully. 

Pastor Faisal shared that while on his way back from distributing VOM-sponsored Bibles to believers in rural villages, his team was attacked. While driving through a secluded area at night, six gunmen forced their second vehicle to stop.

The gunmen threatened to kill the driver and demanded valuables. They beat one of the passengers badly, and the Christians gave the gunmen all they had. When the robbers asked for more, the Christians offered them the Bibles they had in the van.

Instead of focusing on the fear of what might happen, the Christians in the van kept Psalm 23 in mind. When they had taken all they could, the robbers left. The Christians later learned this criminal gang is notorious for killing their victims.

My problems are not generally as severe as those faced by Pastor Faisal’s team. Mine might be more of distractions or annoyances. And yet, the example of Pastor Faisal and his team are enough to remind me that in those moments, I must continue to keep on singing, because Christ is the Lord of heaven and earth.

 “Ann Kay” is a writer for VOM. She learned about VOM five years ago when she read Tortured for Christ and began receiving the newsletter. She is passionate about reaching the world for Christ and sharing stories of the persecuted church.

“Is it right for you to be angry?”

The news this morning reported the death toll from the most recent attack in Baghdad has risen to 292 people. On July 2, ISIS targeted a Shia Muslim area during the Islamic month of Ramadan. An explosive-laden truck blew up outside a crowded shopping center. 

This was just one headline among many others, all seeming to contain some kind of death, violence or other tragedy, not only in the Middle East but in my own backyard. It’s easy to feel like the world is falling apart. Maybe if you’re like me, it’s also easy to feel angry. “How long Lord?” my heart cries out. It’s hard for me to fathom the darkness and depravity that people are capable of. In fact, anger, even rage, has been a consistent emotion and response from people in all the news stories I read or the posts I scroll through on social media. 

I recently read the account of Jonah in the Bible. After going through the ordeal with the whale, Jonah has finally been obedient to God and called a wicked nation, Nineveh, to repent and turn to the Lord. The people, in fact, do this and the Lord relents from bringing the planned destruction on them. Jonah became quite upset by this, because to him it seemed very wrong. (Jonah 4:1)

Jonah says, “Isn’t this what I said Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” To which God responds, “Is it right for you to be angry? “ (Jonah 4:2, 4)

Later Jonah goes outside the city to watch, maybe to see if the Lord will send calamity after all. God provides Jonah with a vine to give him shade from the heat. Then God causes the vine to wither and die and Jonah is left in the scorching heat, wishing he was dead and very angry. (Jonah 4:5-9)

God’s response to Jonah struck me:

“But the Lord said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:10-11)

VOM contacts deliver aid to Christians displaced from Mosul by the Islamic State.

Modern-day Nineveh is located in Iraq, near the city of Mosul. Mosul is Iraq’s second largest city and the first major city in Iraq to be taken over by ISIS in 2014. It was the place where so many of our brothers and sisters were killed for their faith or had to flee for their lives. Controlled by ISIS, Nineveh, again it seems, is an area where many people don’t know their right hand from their left.

And I, so like Jonah, want to let my heart respond in anger and outrage at ISIS, at radical Islam, at many of the other issues facing our nation and our world. But God’s response to Jonah challenges me otherwise. Instead, I’m asked to call people to repentance. And not repentance to a God who will bring calamity, but repentance to a God who is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. A love that I also don’t deserve. A love that saved me from the wickedness I would be just as capable of on my own. This is the gospel.

My persecuted family members continually challenge me by their example. They respond with love and forgiveness, even when it’s undeserved. When everything in us wants to respond in anger, and it seems justifiable to want destruction to fall on wicked people, we can be reminded of God’s gentle reprimand to Jonah. And we can trust that ultimately God is sovereign over it all.

Brooke Parks serves on the staff of VOM as the leader for women’s ministry and student outreach. She has worked in 16 different countries and is passionate about helping expand God’s kingdom throughout the world.

Trusting God’s Perspective

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9 (ESV)

How can I help? I wondered while scrolling through pages of prayer requests for health, conversions, Bibles, spiritual growth, as well as praises for healing and bravery during persecution. The quantity of needs is overwhelming.

Countries desperate for encouragement and assistance are often too dangerous for someone like me to enter. I am powerless against governments and militant opposition. I am not a doctor, lawyer, or representative who can help. I am not rich. I have no experience or wisdom to share. All I have is compassion and love to give out of gratitude for what my Savior has given for me. What can I do for suffering followers of Jesus?

As overwhelming as the amount of needs seems, God is never overcome. Because my perspective is worldly, I feel trapped by inability. But providing for God’s people is a responsibility He Himself has promised to fulfill. Replacing “I” in the above sentences with “God” shifts perspective to the correct, eternal one: God is powerful against governments and militant opposition. God is our Healer, Judge, and Mediator. He owns the universe. He has experience and wisdom to share and has shown us what compassion and love are. What can He not do for His precious children?

If I lean on my limited understanding and knowledge, I’ll be overwhelmed, fearful, and disappointed because I cannot make a difference. If I trust His infinite wisdom, I can do all things through Christ, for He gives strength and perspective. With His perspective, no longer does a simple prayer seem like a weak effort to combat a great need, for the Lord uses the simple in mighty ways.

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.

Tender Grace

“But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews 2:9 (ESV)

Every day of this internship, I encounter stories beautifully marked by God’s grace. God is pruning hearts, ripping out roots of bitterness and despair, and nurturing buds of compassion and hope. He is working for His children’s good. I had managed to hold in tears…until one Monday.

That day, I couldn’t stop myself. I found a journal entry written last September after my aunt lost her long battle to cancer. Although losing her still hurts at times, what finally made me cry was a reminder about our “gracious God who knew this would happen and died to save her.” God knew my precious aunt’s body would betray her, so two thousand years ago, He took on a body and suffered to provide her with life that no disease or scheme of man can destroy. In His great love, He endured the cross so that she would have eternal peace.

In the lives of persecuted Christians is the same reality. Though we have pain, we have hope, for Jesus, who has conquered death, is with us. Aware of our hurts, He has provided the means of hope and strength: He has given Himself.

The only thing that explains my aunt’s bubbly joy, gentle strength, and constant sweetness even while in pain is the presence of Christ. He was with her during her cancer. He is with us in trials and suffering, working a plan that is not easy to understand but is always good. And the tender grace in His plan make me cry with joy.

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.

A Promise To Act

“When he calls to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” Psalm 91:15

In the bottom drawer of my dresser, carefully folded and organized by type, are stacks of clothes to mend. One blouse just needs its sleeves hemmed. Somehow, I can never find the time to fix the clothes. I am so busy staying up late to study for finals or rushing off to work at six in the morning that I struggle to make time for the little things I know need help.

In the timeline of eternity, the life of a human is a minute speck. Nevertheless, the Being who sustains all space and time not only knows about the smallest problems of one human, but also promises His children that He will take care of them. My “when I have to, I’ll do that” allows me to push away responsibility indefinitely. God’s “when he calls to Me, I will answer” is His commitment to His people. My “I will” is often a reason to forget. His “I will” is a promise to act.

God does rescue. He does answer, though not always as we expect. God has no bottom drawer stuffed with projects to complete at some later date. He is at work now, providing Bibles to those who long for His Word, safe passage to those who escape death, joy and peace to those who suffer, and grace to those who at times doubt Him. When I cannot understand what Christ Jesus is doing and when it seems that He has forgotten His people, in His promises I trust, for He will not go back on His word.

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.

Empty but Filled by Grace

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor 12:10 (ESV)

I am on a journey that startles me sometimes and amazes me always, a journey of trust in Jesus Christ. This summer, Christ has led me to The Voice of The Martyrs, where I will serve as an intern for the next several weeks. These approaching months of the internship at VOM will test my ability, intellectual stamina, and faith as Christ works within me to continually draw me nearer to Him. Although I worry that I am ill-equipped for the incoming tasks, Jesus constantly reminds me that He is all I need. In my weakness, He is strong.

Through the examples of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who face persecution, I am growing to understand the beauty of emptiness. How can having nothing be good? How can losing a job, a house, family members, perhaps even hope, be a good thing, let alone a beautiful one? The Holy Spirit uses emptiness to reveal Christ by taking away distractions that distort our perceptions of His strength, goodness, and beauty. When we are broken and empty, we can be healed and filled all the more by Jesus Christ, who is abundant and perfect in our weakness.

This summer, emptiness for me means being far from my physical and spiritual comfort zones, far from family and friends, and far from a comfortable portrayal of obedience to Jesus. I may feel weak and unsure of my ability, but in my weakness and uncertainty, to Jesus Christ alone do I cling with confidence.

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.

Against All Odds: Amazing Tenacity

Those who work with persecuted Christians realize we have a lot to learn from them. One of the lessons recently impressed on my mind by the underground church in China is their tenacity to carry out the task of global evangelism. At a recent gathering of mission leaders, mission teachers, and missionaries I heard a presentation by a Korean missionary who works with the underground church in China to prepare missionaries who will be sent out by the Chinese underground church. His main role is to help train Chinese missionaries who will be sent cross-culturally within China and also into neighboring countries in Asia and beyond. He said that there is no shortage of candidates from the underground churches desiring to go out as missionaries.

Some of the motivation to go out as missionaries stems from missionary movements within the Chinese underground church.  The “Back to Jerusalem” missionary movement, which began in the 1980s, is a movement to send missionaries to all the Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim people who live between China and Jerusalem, for example. Similar indigenous missionary movements continue to inspire and motivate Chinese Christians to serve as missionaries and have so for a century.

As the Korean missionary spoke, I was struck by the profundity of it—that in spite of being under restrictions, harassed, and sometimes persecuted, the underground church is looking beyond its borders to carry the gospel cross-culturally. It is recruiting, training and sending out missionaries. Apparently this is not new. Scott W. Sunquist, Dean of the School of Intercultural Studies and Professor of World Christianity at Fuller Seminary, wrote that even though the early Jesus movement [the early church] was fragmented and persecuted, it managed to retain its zeal for missions.

An article titled “The Chinese Church: The Next Superpower in World Mission?” by Kevin Xiyi Yao reports that Operation World lists 20,000 cross-cultural missionaries from mainland China. This is probably a very conservative figure since it is hard to gather all the information from the underground church. The article also reports that a survey done by a Korean missiologist reveals that 90% of urban and rural ministers in China are concerned about missions. Over 40% of believers in urban churches are preparing to participate in mission. The writer says: “Chinese Christians have ample experience of persecution and suffering, and they are more ready to endure harsh conditions.” I would doubt whether the countries these missionaries are going to will welcome them with open arms. Their experience helps prepare them for difficult assignments.

As the missionary movement slowly dies in the West, those persecuted Christians with just about everything going against them (from the Western viewpoint) are picking up the mantle and seeking to fulfill God’s mandate—against all odds. How ready are we to accept the difficult assignment? Does our present situation make this prospect unlikely? What are we going to do about it?

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 Sufficiency

NIGERIA: ROSE

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

“Hurry, get into the closet. Do not make a sound unless you hear my voice. Do you understand?” Rose heard the two small voices of her preschool children say, “Yes, Mommy,” then she bolted out the door and headed toward her daughter’s school, praying that it was not too late.

At the proclamation of Sharia, or Islamic law, by the Nigerian government, pockets of violence broke out against Christian groups because they had opposed the laws. Rose’s oldest daughter was still at school during the rioting, and Rose was sure she would not be safe there. When she arrived at the school, her daughter had been taken to a military base for safety. Eventually, Rose found her, and they returned home where the two younger children were waiting safely.

The following day, when her husband left for a Christian gathering, it was the last time she saw him alive. Roughly 260 churches were destroyed during these riots, and more than 460 Christians were killed.

In the months since her husband’s murder, Rose has drawn comfort from the book of Acts. She said, “The same God that allowed Stephen to be stoned also allowed Peter to escape from prison. God has been faithful, and his grace has been sufficient.” Today Rose continues to work in the church where her martyred husband pastored, and she busily raises her three children.

It has been said God will never lead us where his grace cannot keep us. We must realize that sometimes his plan does not include a miraculous deliverance from illness, death, or oppression. Yet his grace is sufficient, and he has not abandoned us. We must trust that God would not lead us to a place of ministry or work without an adequate measure of his grace to make it. Sometimes his plan involves simply seeing us through an ordeal instead of delivering us from it. Have you come to a point where you are willing to entirely rely on him? You’ll likely never say that God’s grace is all you need until his grace is all you have.

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. Daily devotional readings are also available in the PRAY TODAY app for your smartphone or tablet.

Being Christ to Our Enemies

Having experienced the presence and forgiveness of God prepares a person to forgive others and be a gracious influence in their lives. Gracia Burnham, along with her husband Martin, were abducted and held by Marxist guerillas in the Philippines. They were in captivity for a year. Martin lost his life in a rescue attempt by government forces. Gracia described Martin’s attitude and spirit during those days in the following terms:

“Martin gave evidence of what I might term the Jesus Syndrome: to walk through the midst of a cruel situation with poise and self-control, saying only what would edify and build-up. He was able somehow to bless those who meant us harm—not just a verbal pleasantry (the quick “God bless you…”) but in real and practical terms that left a lasting impact” (To Fly Again).

The point is clear that, as Christians, we cannot love the systems that perpetuate pain and evil but we can love our persecutors, as persons with eternal souls. We may not be able to change the system but we can be used to win that person to Christ and remove them from the domination of the evil system in which they are caught. Richard Wurmbrand writes that the Christians who have been in Communist prisons don’t have the smell of bitterness against Communists like the three Hebrew children who were delivered from the fiery furnace did not have the smell of fire or smoke in them (Tortured for Christ, 63). In spite of the rise of Islamic extremism, Communists are still the main persecutors of  Christians in the world.

Such a spirit or attitude is so radically different than what the world experiences that it can be used by God to bring them around to considering Christ. The life transformed by Christ and is Christ-like is a powerful tool for winning people to Christ. Richard Wurmbrand said that “to believe in Christ is not such a great thing. To become like him is truly great” (In God’s Underground, 135).

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.

Grace To Live in Evil Times

A part of Christian eschatology is the conviction and belief that evil will intensify in the last days (Cullmann, “Eschatology and Mission in the New Testament,” Theology and the Christian Mission, 46). This began at the Day of Pentecost when the church was born and continues until today. There have been times of relative peace and times of the intense manifestation of evil, but there is little doubt in the minds of many that the situation in the world is not getting better. It seems especially intense at the moment.

The good news of the kingdom preached by Jesus came in the middle of what was called ‘the present age.’ It is to be contrasted to the age to come. Jesus agreed with the apocalyptic thinkers of his time that evil will dominate this age. It will become so intensely evil that at the end complete chaos will reign. The conflict motif which is found in the Olivet Discourse and which characterized both Christ’s mission and the mission of his disciples will not be resolved until the age to come (Ladd, Presence, 327). If the kingdom was not present there would be no conflict; there would only be the total domination of powers of evil. But the kingdom is present and it resists Satan and his kingdom and it will do so until the age to come is ushered in.

There is a mentality in the Western world that things are going to gradually get better and better, and the fact that, in reality, there is more religious persecution today than ever, it is difficult for the Western church to accept the idea that things will gradually get worse, but it will be more evident as the present age draws to an end. There will be false messiahs (Lesslie Newbigin believes this will be in the realm of “messianic politics”) where deluded persons claim to be the messiah and have an agenda that ultimately represents the move away from God and toward evil. This will cause great suffering in the church but it also the occasion for the Spirit’s witness, which is to be given to all nations (Newbigin, The Open Secret, 38-39). The calling of the faithful is to proclaim that the “reign of God had conquered the power of evil.” As they proclaim this, the Holy Spirit will use the occasion of the faithful who endure their rejection as an occasion to witness to the nations (Newbigin, 39). Newbigin summarizes he scenario of the end times as follows: “The scenario leads on into a still more dreadful crisis where evil enthrones itself in the very city of holiness (Mark 13:14-33), and through the dissolution of the natural order itself (13:24-31) will come to the final triumph of God, which will be an act of pure sovereign power and grace. In his own time an in his own way God will fulfill his purpose. Therefore, those to whom the secret has been disclosed must be ready and watchful, faithful to the commission they have received (13:32-37).” (Newbigin, The Open, 39).

G.E. Ladd notes that Jesus in his Olivet Discourse said unmistakably that his disciples would be vulnerable to the “demonic evil that plagues this age.” The conflict would intensify and “would reach a convulsive end in the appearance of the Antichrist at the end of the age” (Th Last Things, 58). So the trials and persecution the church endures today which is the result of increasing conflict between the two kingdoms was recognized as being the normal outcome of such a conflict (65). Society will devolve to the point where the state or government begins to malfunction. It will no long be an instrument of law and order but will become a totalitarian system that “defies God and demands the worship of men.” People will no longer punished for doing evil but will suffer for doing good. “This is the demonic state” (comments on 2 Thessalonians, Last, 68). The deification of the state is an example of the ‘principle of lawlessness’ inherent in and the cause of social disintegration. The state, which was ordained by God to stand as a defense against the powers of chaos, will break down completely, allowing chaos free reign.

This sounds bleak and hopeless, except for the Kingdom of God from which God rules in our hearts grants us grace to live through these evil times and maintain our faith. Tribulation and distress will not separate us from the love and grace of God. Glory to God!

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.