Carpus was nailed to the stake, and as the flames took hold of him, he joyfully prayed, “Praise be to thee, O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, that thou didst deem me, a sinner, also worthy to die a martyr as you did!” Then he gave up his soul to heaven.

Fifteen-year-old Nadia Naira Masih is a committed Christian. Her normal practice when she lived at home was to pray and read her Bible early every morning. Although her parents haven’t seen her since February 2001, they assume that she continues this practice in the home of her captor.

It was Sunday, and the congregation of Grace Sonmin Church in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, had gathered for their weekly worship service. Even though their country was now free from oppressive Communist rule, radical Muslims still blatantly opposed the church. The oppression had simply changed hands from one terrorist authority to another.

He heard the decree from his window: “For the next thirty days, anyone who prays to anyone other than the king will be thrown to the lions.”

“Repeat these verses!” Zeba was ordered.

“Son, you can’t believe this Jesus is real,” said Chyrsanthes’ father.

After the Soviet Communists took over Romania, they hunted Germans as Nazi sympathizers. Anutza Moise decided to provide a hiding place to the very men who had hated her for being a Jew and a Christian. When she offered to help hide these men from the Communists, they couldn’t believe that her offer was genuine.

The pastor, his wife, and their six small children had just read Psalm 23 while eating breakfast. Suddenly, the police burst into his home to search the house and arrest him.