Saturday December 10, 2011

Read Matthew 10:32-33

 

Yousef Nadarkhani may be executed before you read this. This Iranian pastor sits in a jail on death row because he loves Jesus and refuses to deny Christ. He refuses to sign any papers abdicating his faith and he refuses to turn to any other religion.  Yousef is not ashamed of Christ. As the authorities pressure Yousef and threaten him, he remains strong in Christ.

 

A female believer imprisoned for her faith stated these words, ‘A lady prison guard tortured me and cut off my hair... They [prisoners and staff] hated me... They wanted me to die without any medical help.’ Yet she would not deny Christ. She was not ashamed to own Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.

 

From Burma we read this account. ‘When the troops saw them [believers], they shot several rounds of bullets into the sanctuary. The 49 year-old father-of-four, Jangma Awng Li, decided to speak to the troops as he is fluent in Burmese. He was beaten in his head with a rifle butt, and injured his forehead when he hit a concrete wall. He and four other men were handcuffed and detained by the soldiers.’ Yet they were not ashamed of Christ and did not deny Him.

 

In Orissa, India, Christians are merciless beaten almost daily even as police and guards circle and turn their backs to violent atrocities and even cold blooded murder of Christians. Yet they do not deny Christ. They do not feel ashamed or embarrassed to own Jesus and to proclaim His name. They do not turn away from Christ in the hour of temptation and pressure. They stand firm.

 

I’ve often wondered why the world hates followers of Jesus - followers who profess peace, love for enemies and good works towards all mankind. Apart from the obvious (the world is following satan and is in his complete control. See 1 John 5:19, the hatred springs up because Jesus demands total allegiance. When a person becomes a follower of Jesus he is no longer a slave to tradition or false religion or the mob mentality or the old ways. That change of allegiance threatens the world and rears up in anger and violence.

 

Yet it is that very allegiance to Christ that causes believers to stand strong in the face of the storm. It is that God given and God driven allegiance that allows believers to react in love, to avoid retaliation and to continue praying for one’s persecutors. It is that allegiance that stops a true believer from denying Christ.

 

One day, when this world is done, when time has ended and Jesus sits on His majestic throne the world with all its persecutors and angry atheists will be  punished and dealt with. Then Jesus will call to Himself all those who owned Him in this life. All the suffering, all the pain, all the rejection and persecution will end as the glorious heavens are opened up and the faithful are welcomed home with arms open wide.

 

Log on to compassdirect.org and pray for the persecuted believers. Make a habit of logging on every 2 or 3 days and praying for the persecuted believers.

 

Prayer:

¨ Pray that God would bless the Glenvale Combined carols evening tomorrow night.

¨ Pray that many from the community would come and hear the true meaning of Christmas.

¨ Praise God that through the witness of song and drama, J.A.M. (Jesus and Me) will be presenting the truth of Christmas.