Extreme TV Preacher

September 19, 2014
Posted by
VOM Media
Categories
Books, Devotional, Extreme Devotion, VOM Books

VIETNAM: BROTHER K’BE

This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 2 Timothy 2:8-9

The first time Brother K’Be’s children saw him on Vietnamese television, they were excited. Their excitement disappeared when they heard the announcer say that their father was a criminal. They claimed he was guilty of many “crimes” against the Vietnamese government.

Brother K’Be’s “crimes” were preaching the gospel at unregistered house-church meetings. The government put his face on TV to shame him and to warn others to watch out for him. They also played police interviews with him on TV and radio, but this only helped to spread the gospel message further. It gave him a platform to reach many others for Christ. Those who saw him on TV asked about his faith, and he was able to tell them about Christ.

ED_CoverHe explained, “They put my face on TV so people can identify me. My neighbors say, 'Why leave your family?’ I tell them that God will take care of that. I must go. The harvest is ready, and there are few workers.”

Seeing that the public shame was not deterring K’Be’s ministry, police have threatened to arrest him the next time he is caught preaching. “My wife rejoices that our names are in the Book of Life and that my face is a witness on television. The police are helping to spread the gospel. They can close the church, but not our witness.”

Believers may be nailed to a stake, chained in a prison cell, or locked in stockades. Believers may even die. Yet the gospel lives on. K’Be reminds us that the gospel is not about a church building, a meeting, or any one believer. A church building can be closed. A meeting may be disbanded. A believer can be imprisoned or killed. Is your understanding of Christianity tied to a certain pastor or church building or activity? Would your faith still thrive (as it does in restricted nations) if all of these outward forms were taken away? God’s Word would yet remain, despite these restrictions. Would you still find a way, like K’Be did, to live out your faith?

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.