“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share
with me in my affliction” (Phil. 4:13-14).
Hey Gang: Do you have any idea
what it is like to live in a country that is doing all in its power to remove
all facets of Christ from their country?
Today we are praying for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhari in Iran and Asia Bibi
in Pakistan who have been sentenced to death.
Why, because they were once Muslim but found Christ as their Savior and
Lord. The charge: “apostasy”.
In the past several years, we
have been involved with Voice of Martyrs, a ministry to the persecuted
church. We have truly learned what Paul
meant when he wrote, “I can do all
things through Him who strengthens me”.
Working in the mail room eight
hours a day for two weeks is very hard work but the amazing thing is at 78 and
74 years of age when our bodies tend to tire more quickly, God has given us the
strength to fulfill the responsibilities that we choose to accept.
We received the monthly bulletin
from VOM yesterday and Tom White, the presidents wrote in his editorial the tremendous work that they are
doing in the areas where the persecution is the greatest. Tom wrote, “This past year, we have been
privileged to share in the distress of many in the persecuted church which have
suffered the same kind of attacks and oppression suffered by the disciples”.
In many cases when a person rejects
Islam and chooses to follow Yeshua as Lord, they are not only rejected by their
family but endure tremendous persecution from the community. There are many tragic stories about
individuals who have endured years of persecution but stand firm in the faith. Their battle cry is “I will not come down from the wall”.
Over
100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death
for their faith, with millions more facing discrimination and
alienation. Every five minutes some place
in the world a Christian is martyred. We
are truly blessed to live in a country where we can freely worship and give
praise to Abba Father. Could that
change? Yes, the news is filled with
Satan’s attacks on our freedom to worship Jesus.
Soooo, as you spend time in
prayer remember the millions who live under the dark clouds of tyranny, that
this very day may lose their lives for their Lord. The one thing that we have learned about
these dear saints, is they will not back down and deny their
Lord. Pastor Youcef and Asia could walk
out of their prison cells today if they rejected Jesus as Lord and vow to be
good Muslim’s. What would your answer be
if you were placed in their shoes?
Blessings,
Gramps
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