Above: Remote Russian village ————- In his book, The Insanity of Obedience, Nik Ripken (2014, pp. 279-287) tells about meeting Dmitri in the former USSR. Born of Christian parents, Dmitri found himself and his family living under communism in an area where the nearest church was a three-day walk away. He […]
3164) “What Church?” Read More »
From: II Maccabees (Apocrypha), chapter 6 In this chapter King Antiochus is persecuting the Jews in Jerusalem, commanding them to forsake their faith, or face torture and death (approx. 170 B.C.). An elderly scribe named Eleazar refuses to abandon his faith, and he faces death with courage and faith. The Oxford Annotated Bible tells
3042) The Martyrdom of Eleazar Read More »
Image above: Chaos and death in the streets of Rome during the plague. ******************* Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you
3029) Something Strange? (2/2) Read More »
Above painting: St. Peter’s Crucifixion, by Caravaggio (1571-1610), Rome, Italy ******************************** The New Testament book of I Peter was written to encourage Christians in the early church who were suffering severe persecution. I Peter 4:12 says: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange
3028) Something Strange? (1/2) Read More »
By Yassir Eric (1972- ) (pictured above) and Jayson Casper; from September/October Christianity Today magazine. Yassir Eric is the presiding bishop of the Anglican Church’s Ekkios non-geographical diocese. ************************************ When I was 16, a new student named Zakariya showed up at school. His forehead bore fan-shaped scars that identified him as a member
3001) Answered Prayers for an Enemy Read More »
From the Standing Strong Through the Storm daily devotion, August 30, 2018, at: http://www.oopendoorsusa.org ***************************** Prior to her Christian husband being released from prison in Iran, Maheen, feared that she might be arrested too. So she seriously prayed, “Dear Lord, I am not ready to go to a solitary confinement because of my Christian faith. It
2962) “You Can’t Evangelize Me” Read More »
Photo above is of All Saints Christian Church in Peshawa, Pakistan; the site of a 2013 suicide bombing which killed 85 and wounded 140. ***************************************** Nadia was raised in a strict Muslim home in Pakistan. She remembers even as an eleven-year old being curious about the Christian church in her neighborhood. She knew better
2694) Counting the Cost Read More »
In 1942 farmer and Baptist minister Clarence Jordan (1912-1969) started Koinonia Farms, an integrated farm cooperative near Americus, Georgia. Any kind of integration was a threat to many people in the heavily segregated Deep South of the middle years of the 20th century, and the Ku Klux Klan was an ever present threat to those
2671) Who is Being Realistic? Read More »
Long before there was a war in Vietnam, there were Christian missionaries proclaiming the Gospel to the Vietnamese. The Christian population of Vietnam was never very large, and it has been severely persecuted since the end of the Vietnam war, but those who have persisted have grown strong in the faith. Hien Pham was
2663) “No More God for Me” Read More »
Before baptizing someone, a native missionary in Nepal asks the above seven questions. They consider the cost. *************************** (…continued) Jesus comes to different people in different ways at different stages in their lives. In Luke 14:31-33 Jesus told the people there gathered to “consider the cost” before becoming his disciple. They were perhaps
2371) Considering the Cost (b) Read More »
