Andrew is the one who saw this book offered by The Voice of the Martyrs and filled out the form to receive it. It came about a month ago, but we both were reading other books so I put it on the bookshelf. The other day I was browsing through a few books trying to figure out which one to read next when I decided to give Tortured for Christ a read. (USA residents can get a free copy at this link.)
I've really been amazed at how much these words from the late founder of VOM have spoken to me. From chapter 4 so far I've made note of these sentences.
On why he suffers more in the West than he did in Communist lands where he was tortured in prison for his faith, Richard Wurmbrand states:
"The Underground Church is a poor and suffering church, but it has few lukewarm members" (pg. 84).
Reflection time: how does this description compare to most American believers? Some think us still to be a Christian nation yet the culture has dominated us and influenced us way more than we have influenced the nation. When more than 70 out of 100 people claim to be Christians yet the nation is in the shape that it is ... um, well, we are poor and suffering spiritually and very lukewarm. Perhaps we've had life so good that our faith has been watered down and it's become ineffective.
"Whoever has known the spiritual beauty of the Underground Church cannot be satisfied anymore with the emptiness of some Western churches" (pg. 85).
Hmmm. Wouldn't you like to experience that kind of spiritual beauty? I would!
"The distinctive feature of the Underground Church is its earnestness in faith" (pg. 113).
Maybe this has something to do with the verse about the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold. It seems that trials strengthen our faith if we respond in the right manner.
"How underground Christians rejoice on those rare occasions when they meet a serious Christian from the West!" (pg. 114)
This statement really made me pause .. and think, "Would they believe that I am a serious western believer by the way I live my life? Would I stand true to Jesus despite persecutions?" To be honest, I am often scared that I am such a coward that I'd justify denying Christ if I were given a choice to denounce Him or die. :-/
Pastor Wurmbrand challenges western believers to reach across borders even into restricted nations. He said we don't need government permission to evangelize. As he asks, did the apostles ask permission from Nero? He encourages us to sustain the Underground Church and reach others by working with the Underground Church already there. (pg. 116)
Showing posts with label The Voice of the Marytrs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Voice of the Marytrs. Show all posts
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The Faith, Attentive Life, Called to Die (book reviews)
The Faith by Charles Colson and Harold Fickett is a book seeking to answer the questions about "what Christians believe, why they believe it and why it matters. The authors note
"Christians must see that the faith is more than a religion or even a relationship with Jesus; the faith is a complete view of the world and humankind's place in it. Christianity is a worldview that speaks to every area of life, and its foundational doctrines define its content. If we don't know what we believe -- even what Christianity is -- how can we live it and defend it? Our ignorance is crippling us."
Charles Colson argues that the truth "is the faith given once (Jude 3) and shared by all true Christians from the apostolic era to today."
This books covers topics such as God Is, He Has Spoken, Truth, The Invasion (God became flesh and invaded our world), God Above, God Beside, God Within, Exchanging Identities, Reconciliation, Be Holy - Transform the World, The Sanctity of Life, The Joy of Orthodoxy and more. I enjoyed the examples and stories shared including the Amish community in Nickel Mines, PA, Speratus from North Africa in AD 180, the Chinese house church movement, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jesus Amado Sarria, Theo van Gogh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Mohammed Bouyeri.
A few things that I made note of include the following:
The Trinity "answers the deepest needs of the human heart, offering a depth of spirituality unknown in any other religion." The authors state, "The Creator God of Christianity is not a distant, unapproachable, judging God as in Islam. Neither is God so diffuse within creation as in Eastern religion that God cannot be found. The Father is close beside us in the Son, as we encounter this God in the person of Jesus: 'God with a human face,' as Pope Benedict likes to say. Further, through the power of the Holy Spirit this God comes to dwell within us -- God gives us His life. The Holy Spirit enables us to live out God's will with its heroic demands." (pg. 104)
Concerning time -- "As Christians we do not need to live oppressed by the ticking clock -- the tyranny of the urgent. Life's value doesn't depend upon where we are in time; whether we are young,middle aged or old. We see life, all of life and all of the time that God created for us, as a gift. The greatest time of our life, then, may occur at any point in our lives. Maybe the most important insight we'll ever have or the greatest contribution we'll ever make is in our dying words or in a youthful experience of learning. Maybe it will come during our most productive years. But the point is we are not restricted. Each moment of life is a gift open to the possibility of eternity, and so what we do now matters for eternity. The gift of time enables us to prepare ourselves for an everlasting relationship with God. This is what gives significance to every one of our actions." (pg. 109)
"In Beijing, an American journalist recently encountered one of China's foremost scholars, a man who had spent long years studying the West. His colleagues and he had investigated the reasons for the West's success and preeminence, examining our history, politics, economics and culture. Their first conclusion was the West's success was due to its more advanced military; later they believed it might have been the political system; or perhaps the economic system. But 'in the past twenty years,' one investigator said, 'we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West has been so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don't have any doubt about this.'" (pg. 215)
"The orthodox Christian faith is the one source that can renew culture because it relies on a wisdom far beyond humankind's own that can yet be known by reason. It constantly calls people to the practice of virtue and charity guided by this greater wisdom." (pg. 224)
"Chesterton explains why Christians are change agents. There are, he says, optimists and pessimists in the world. The optimists are always trying to do good things, and the pessimists are always wringing their hands in despair. But the Christian, he argues, is the only one with a balanced view -- a pessimist because he knows that this is a fallen world and things do need fixing, but an optimist because he knows that God is all powerful and in charge and that all things therefore can be fixed." (pg. 225)
"Christianity does not seek to impose, it proposes. The Gospel is the great proposal: Come to the wedding feast, one and all -- black, white, rich, poor, East, West, Muslim, Jew, Christian -- all are welcome, and it's never too late. God turns no man or woman away, not one. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Father brings us into His Kingdom. This is the promise He holds out to individuals and nations alike, a Kingdom not of eating and drinking or of marching armies and clashing swords, but a Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (pg. 225)
In closing, I want to make note of a verse that the Mr. Colson uses in his prison ministry. It was taken from Jesus' message in the Nazareth synagogue as he read from Isaiah's scroll: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Luke 4:18,19 & Isaiah 61:1,2).
The Attentive Life by Leighton Ford caused me to ponder many things. In defining attentiveness, he said it "may be just the opposite of ' fixing our attention.' Instead it involves a letting go of our usual need to control, an opening of ourselves to what we are being told or shown. Our instinct is to hold on." This book was one you had to read slowly and with care. Things that stood out to me include the following:
* This quote from French philosopher Emile Caillet's account of his own discovery of the Bible as "the book that understood me." (pg. 73)
* A prayer from the Bible,
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
in you I trust, O my God ...
Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long. (Psalm 25:1-2,4-5 NIV)
* This quote from Henri Nouwen about prayer
* Robert Llewelyn wrote about the "'constancy of God's love. No power in heaven or on earth - and that includes sin -- can stop God loving us.' When we fall into sin, said Julian, it may seem that God is angry with us, but actually we are often projecting our own disappointment onto God. The truth is that God is present with his forgiveness whether we choose to take it or not." (pg. 128)
* Something about Mother Teresa: '"We do our work for Jesus and with Jesus and to Jesus,' ... ' and that's what keeps it simple. It's not a matter of praying some times and working others. We pray the work.' She also told us how she and the other sisters sought to see Christ in the face of each one they served." (pg. 132)
* From Hwee Hwee Tan -- "That's the profound truth: you are what your mind looks at. You are what you contemplate." (pg. 199)
* "The destination is Christlikeness. The wonder is not only that we will be like him, but that when we are like him we will most truly be ourselves." (pg. 203)
* "Love is seeking us, the only Love that redeems time, that takes the fragments of what is past and the hope of what is coming and binds them together in the 'love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.' That love is reaching out even now, calling us to our heart's true home." (pg. 204)
* Paying attention to our tears
Called to Die by Steve Estes is a book I received from The Voice of the Martyrs and is the story of American linguist Chet Bitterman who died at the hands of a terrorist group in Colombia after being held hostage for many days. The terrorists wanted the linguistics missionaries to leave Colombia because they said the Westerners were trying to destroy the native cultures. When the linguistics institute refused to meet their demands, they killed Chet. I especially enjoyed the talk of called to missions (pg. 83-85-- instead of asking "why go?" it changed to "why not go?"), and the story of how Wycliffe Translators was born (p.89 "if your God is so great, why doesn't He speak our language?" -- from a bilingual Cakchiquel), and also the responses to Chet's murder (pg. 251 -- "The guerrillas had intended to oust the translators; instead, they entrenched them. Almost a decade of negative press gave way to supportive editorials. ... Strangers embraced Al in the streets, tearful and smiling. 'I saw you on television,' they would say. 'We're glad you stayed.'" In the US people stepped up to fill the ranks and applications for overseas service with Wycliffe Bible Translators doubled and this trend has continued.) What M-19 guerrillas meant for evil, God meant for good.
Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
"Christians must see that the faith is more than a religion or even a relationship with Jesus; the faith is a complete view of the world and humankind's place in it. Christianity is a worldview that speaks to every area of life, and its foundational doctrines define its content. If we don't know what we believe -- even what Christianity is -- how can we live it and defend it? Our ignorance is crippling us."
Charles Colson argues that the truth "is the faith given once (Jude 3) and shared by all true Christians from the apostolic era to today."
This books covers topics such as God Is, He Has Spoken, Truth, The Invasion (God became flesh and invaded our world), God Above, God Beside, God Within, Exchanging Identities, Reconciliation, Be Holy - Transform the World, The Sanctity of Life, The Joy of Orthodoxy and more. I enjoyed the examples and stories shared including the Amish community in Nickel Mines, PA, Speratus from North Africa in AD 180, the Chinese house church movement, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jesus Amado Sarria, Theo van Gogh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Mohammed Bouyeri.
A few things that I made note of include the following:
The Trinity "answers the deepest needs of the human heart, offering a depth of spirituality unknown in any other religion." The authors state, "The Creator God of Christianity is not a distant, unapproachable, judging God as in Islam. Neither is God so diffuse within creation as in Eastern religion that God cannot be found. The Father is close beside us in the Son, as we encounter this God in the person of Jesus: 'God with a human face,' as Pope Benedict likes to say. Further, through the power of the Holy Spirit this God comes to dwell within us -- God gives us His life. The Holy Spirit enables us to live out God's will with its heroic demands." (pg. 104)
Concerning time -- "As Christians we do not need to live oppressed by the ticking clock -- the tyranny of the urgent. Life's value doesn't depend upon where we are in time; whether we are young,middle aged or old. We see life, all of life and all of the time that God created for us, as a gift. The greatest time of our life, then, may occur at any point in our lives. Maybe the most important insight we'll ever have or the greatest contribution we'll ever make is in our dying words or in a youthful experience of learning. Maybe it will come during our most productive years. But the point is we are not restricted. Each moment of life is a gift open to the possibility of eternity, and so what we do now matters for eternity. The gift of time enables us to prepare ourselves for an everlasting relationship with God. This is what gives significance to every one of our actions." (pg. 109)
"In Beijing, an American journalist recently encountered one of China's foremost scholars, a man who had spent long years studying the West. His colleagues and he had investigated the reasons for the West's success and preeminence, examining our history, politics, economics and culture. Their first conclusion was the West's success was due to its more advanced military; later they believed it might have been the political system; or perhaps the economic system. But 'in the past twenty years,' one investigator said, 'we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West has been so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don't have any doubt about this.'" (pg. 215)
"The orthodox Christian faith is the one source that can renew culture because it relies on a wisdom far beyond humankind's own that can yet be known by reason. It constantly calls people to the practice of virtue and charity guided by this greater wisdom." (pg. 224)
"Chesterton explains why Christians are change agents. There are, he says, optimists and pessimists in the world. The optimists are always trying to do good things, and the pessimists are always wringing their hands in despair. But the Christian, he argues, is the only one with a balanced view -- a pessimist because he knows that this is a fallen world and things do need fixing, but an optimist because he knows that God is all powerful and in charge and that all things therefore can be fixed." (pg. 225)
"Christianity does not seek to impose, it proposes. The Gospel is the great proposal: Come to the wedding feast, one and all -- black, white, rich, poor, East, West, Muslim, Jew, Christian -- all are welcome, and it's never too late. God turns no man or woman away, not one. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Father brings us into His Kingdom. This is the promise He holds out to individuals and nations alike, a Kingdom not of eating and drinking or of marching armies and clashing swords, but a Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (pg. 225)
In closing, I want to make note of a verse that the Mr. Colson uses in his prison ministry. It was taken from Jesus' message in the Nazareth synagogue as he read from Isaiah's scroll: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Luke 4:18,19 & Isaiah 61:1,2).
The Attentive Life by Leighton Ford caused me to ponder many things. In defining attentiveness, he said it "may be just the opposite of ' fixing our attention.' Instead it involves a letting go of our usual need to control, an opening of ourselves to what we are being told or shown. Our instinct is to hold on." This book was one you had to read slowly and with care. Things that stood out to me include the following:
* This quote from French philosopher Emile Caillet's account of his own discovery of the Bible as "the book that understood me." (pg. 73)
* A prayer from the Bible,
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
in you I trust, O my God ...
Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long. (Psalm 25:1-2,4-5 NIV)
* This quote from Henri Nouwen about prayer
Prayer can only become unceasing prayer when all our thoughts -- beautiful or ugly, high or low, proud or shameful, sorrowful or joyful -- can be thought and expressed in the presence of God ... This requires that we turn all our thoughts into conversation. The main question, therefore, is not so much what we think, but to whom we present our thoughts ... Prayer is an outward, careful attentiveness to the One who invites us to unceasing conversation. (pg. 93)
* Robert Llewelyn wrote about the "'constancy of God's love. No power in heaven or on earth - and that includes sin -- can stop God loving us.' When we fall into sin, said Julian, it may seem that God is angry with us, but actually we are often projecting our own disappointment onto God. The truth is that God is present with his forgiveness whether we choose to take it or not." (pg. 128)
* Something about Mother Teresa: '"We do our work for Jesus and with Jesus and to Jesus,' ... ' and that's what keeps it simple. It's not a matter of praying some times and working others. We pray the work.' She also told us how she and the other sisters sought to see Christ in the face of each one they served." (pg. 132)
* From Hwee Hwee Tan -- "That's the profound truth: you are what your mind looks at. You are what you contemplate." (pg. 199)
* "The destination is Christlikeness. The wonder is not only that we will be like him, but that when we are like him we will most truly be ourselves." (pg. 203)
* "Love is seeking us, the only Love that redeems time, that takes the fragments of what is past and the hope of what is coming and binds them together in the 'love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.' That love is reaching out even now, calling us to our heart's true home." (pg. 204)
* Paying attention to our tears
The old spiritual teachers used to say that it is very important to pay attention to our tears. Athanasius prized ' the gift of tears" as the outward sign of God's puncturing of our heart. Deborah Smith Douglas recalls hearing a wise priest say that we should be grateful for whatever breaks our heart: "Reflecting on God's promise to write 'upon' our hearts, rather than 'within' them, he suggested that our own hearts are so hard that all God can do is write upon the surface (Jeremiah 31:33). It is only when our hearts break, that they break open: then the word of God can enter deeply, like a seed in a harrowed field."
We should prize the gift of tears? What a hard saying that is. Yet I concur with Leon Blum: "Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist, and into them enters suffering in order that they may have existence." Looking back, I know there are in me "places of the heart" that have opened to God's presence, or to welcome the hurt of others, places that I might never have explored had it not been for the dark passages I have come through. In a very strange and mysterious way the light shone in and opened up the darkness. So when tears come, instead of avoiding them I am trying to learn to pay attention, to pause and ask: What makes these tears come? (pg. 145)
Called to Die by Steve Estes is a book I received from The Voice of the Martyrs and is the story of American linguist Chet Bitterman who died at the hands of a terrorist group in Colombia after being held hostage for many days. The terrorists wanted the linguistics missionaries to leave Colombia because they said the Westerners were trying to destroy the native cultures. When the linguistics institute refused to meet their demands, they killed Chet. I especially enjoyed the talk of called to missions (pg. 83-85-- instead of asking "why go?" it changed to "why not go?"), and the story of how Wycliffe Translators was born (p.89 "if your God is so great, why doesn't He speak our language?" -- from a bilingual Cakchiquel), and also the responses to Chet's murder (pg. 251 -- "The guerrillas had intended to oust the translators; instead, they entrenched them. Almost a decade of negative press gave way to supportive editorials. ... Strangers embraced Al in the streets, tearful and smiling. 'I saw you on television,' they would say. 'We're glad you stayed.'" In the US people stepped up to fill the ranks and applications for overseas service with Wycliffe Bible Translators doubled and this trend has continued.) What M-19 guerrillas meant for evil, God meant for good.
Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Monday, June 16, 2008
The Heavenly Man
The Heavenly Man is "the remarkable true story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun" with Paul Hattaway. What a challenging book of how God is working in the lives of Christians in China to take the message of salvation to this land that wanted to stamp out religion. "By 1958 the government had closed all visible churches. Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, told foreign visitors, 'Christianity in China has been confined to the history section of the museum. It is dead and buried.' In the 1970s a visiting Christian delegation from the United States reported, 'There is not a single Christian left in China.'" How wrong they were!
God breathed life into China and the Church there has grown into "a force tens of millions strong today [and] is a sign not only of God's existence but also of His matchless power."
This book was incredible! It read like the Book of Acts ...something Western Christians often cannot grasp with our minds that God still works this way. After spending time in the West, Brother Yun remarked that there seems to be something missing from our churches. "In the West many Christians have an abundance of material possessions, yet they live in a backslidden state. They have silver and gold, but they don't rise up and walk in Jesus' name. In China we have no possessions to hold us down, so there's nothing preventing us from moving out for the Lord." Because of persecution, Brother Yun says, "It's almost impossible for the church in China to go to sleep in its present situation. There's always something to keep us on the run, and it's very difficult to sleep while you're running. If persecution stops, I fear we'll become complacent and fall asleep."
To wake up sleeping Western churches, Brother Yun says to return to the Word of God because the "truth will make you free." Also missing is obedience to the Word. "You can never really know the Scriptures until you're ready to be changed by them." He claims that "all genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning. When God truly moves in your heart you cannot remain silent."
He recounts offerings in China where if the leader announced someone was planning to travel to a mission field the next day, the people would empty their pockets of everything for this missionary's travel expenses. This money wasn't simply all they had in their pockets, but often it was all that they possessed period.
Other interesting things besides Yun's 74-day fast without food or water, his miraculous escape from a maximum security prison, and the way God used him to lead others to Christ while imprisoned in China 3 times and Myanmar once:
* Yun said he never was much for singing, but once he accepted Jesus as Lord, he became a singer. (Psalm 40:3 "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD." Is this why most Christians love to sing praises to the Lord?) Many times in the book, Yun shared songs he sang while in prison or with fellow believers in the house churches. This story was particularly enjoyable to me:
* Although the local Chinese believers take care of the families of those in prison for Christ, they are often extremely poor and cannot adequately provide. After seeing how his own family suffered while he was in prison, Yun "made a commitment to the Lord that [he] would not allow the families of any other imprisoned Christians in China to suffer similar deprivation." He has done all he can to raise support for families of those in prison for the gospel's sake. (Voice of the Martyrs has a "Family of the Martyrs" fund that helps with these types of expenses as well. I really appreciate the ministry of VOM .... see www.persecution.com.)
* "When we arrive at the end of our own strength it is not defeat, but the start of tapping into God's boundless resources. It is when we are weak that we are strong in God." (page 194)
* "In China, Christians are persecuted with beatings and imprisonments. In the West, Christians are persecuted by the words of other Christians." (page 308)
* Yun: "We are absolutely nothing. We have nothing to be proud about. We have no abilities and nothing to offer God. The fact that He chooses to use us is only due to His grace. It has nothing to do with us. If God should choose to raise up others for His purpose and never use us again we would have nothing to complain about." (p. 345)
* Deling, wife: "When I was younger I saw God as a mighty healer who did something for me, but after all these years of valleys and painful trials, Jesus has become an ever-present friend who is with me all the time. He has gone from being a historical God to being a living God to me today. I've fallen short many times during these trials and testings, but he has always been faithful. Whenever I've asked him to help me He always has. Jesus is everything and we are nothing." (p. 346)
To see Brother Yun's current involvement, check out www.backtojerusalem.com. The Chinese Christians are obeying God and are making plans for 100,000 of them to witness to the more than 2 billion people who live west and south of China in what is often referred to as the 10/40 window. They said Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist governments cannot do anything worse to them than what their own government did. If they are killed, they will be with Christ which is far better. They are learning Arabic and English now so they can go forth bringing precious souls into the family of God.
God breathed life into China and the Church there has grown into "a force tens of millions strong today [and] is a sign not only of God's existence but also of His matchless power."
This book was incredible! It read like the Book of Acts ...something Western Christians often cannot grasp with our minds that God still works this way. After spending time in the West, Brother Yun remarked that there seems to be something missing from our churches. "In the West many Christians have an abundance of material possessions, yet they live in a backslidden state. They have silver and gold, but they don't rise up and walk in Jesus' name. In China we have no possessions to hold us down, so there's nothing preventing us from moving out for the Lord." Because of persecution, Brother Yun says, "It's almost impossible for the church in China to go to sleep in its present situation. There's always something to keep us on the run, and it's very difficult to sleep while you're running. If persecution stops, I fear we'll become complacent and fall asleep."
To wake up sleeping Western churches, Brother Yun says to return to the Word of God because the "truth will make you free." Also missing is obedience to the Word. "You can never really know the Scriptures until you're ready to be changed by them." He claims that "all genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning. When God truly moves in your heart you cannot remain silent."
He recounts offerings in China where if the leader announced someone was planning to travel to a mission field the next day, the people would empty their pockets of everything for this missionary's travel expenses. This money wasn't simply all they had in their pockets, but often it was all that they possessed period.
Other interesting things besides Yun's 74-day fast without food or water, his miraculous escape from a maximum security prison, and the way God used him to lead others to Christ while imprisoned in China 3 times and Myanmar once:
* Yun said he never was much for singing, but once he accepted Jesus as Lord, he became a singer. (Psalm 40:3 "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD." Is this why most Christians love to sing praises to the Lord?) Many times in the book, Yun shared songs he sang while in prison or with fellow believers in the house churches. This story was particularly enjoyable to me:
When I first shared at Gao Village, the Lord gave me Scripture songs to sing before the people. They wrote down the words so they could remember them.
One of the songs was taken from the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus tells us if someone strikes us on the right cheek, we should turn our other cheek to him as well. Another song taught how we are to rejoice greatly when we are persecuted for the sake of the gospel. Yet another song explained how we should never be like Judas and deny our Master.
After so many people came to Jesus at once, it caught the attention of the authorities. All the Christians in Gao Village were arrested and taken to the police station. The officers demanded to know, "Who brought the name of Jesus to you? How did you all come to believe in this superstition?"
The believers were filled with overwhelming joy. The only thing they would say was, "We won't be like Judas! We won't betray our Lord Jesus!"
The officers started to beat them and they rejoiced even more. They said, "Please, sir, hit us on the other side of the face as well!" The Christians were laughing and rejoicing.
The officers grew tired of beating them and finally said, "You Christians are all crazy!" After a final warning, they sent them all home. (page 41)
* Although the local Chinese believers take care of the families of those in prison for Christ, they are often extremely poor and cannot adequately provide. After seeing how his own family suffered while he was in prison, Yun "made a commitment to the Lord that [he] would not allow the families of any other imprisoned Christians in China to suffer similar deprivation." He has done all he can to raise support for families of those in prison for the gospel's sake. (Voice of the Martyrs has a "Family of the Martyrs" fund that helps with these types of expenses as well. I really appreciate the ministry of VOM .... see www.persecution.com.)
* "When we arrive at the end of our own strength it is not defeat, but the start of tapping into God's boundless resources. It is when we are weak that we are strong in God." (page 194)
* "In China, Christians are persecuted with beatings and imprisonments. In the West, Christians are persecuted by the words of other Christians." (page 308)
* Yun: "We are absolutely nothing. We have nothing to be proud about. We have no abilities and nothing to offer God. The fact that He chooses to use us is only due to His grace. It has nothing to do with us. If God should choose to raise up others for His purpose and never use us again we would have nothing to complain about." (p. 345)
* Deling, wife: "When I was younger I saw God as a mighty healer who did something for me, but after all these years of valleys and painful trials, Jesus has become an ever-present friend who is with me all the time. He has gone from being a historical God to being a living God to me today. I've fallen short many times during these trials and testings, but he has always been faithful. Whenever I've asked him to help me He always has. Jesus is everything and we are nothing." (p. 346)
To see Brother Yun's current involvement, check out www.backtojerusalem.com. The Chinese Christians are obeying God and are making plans for 100,000 of them to witness to the more than 2 billion people who live west and south of China in what is often referred to as the 10/40 window. They said Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist governments cannot do anything worse to them than what their own government did. If they are killed, they will be with Christ which is far better. They are learning Arabic and English now so they can go forth bringing precious souls into the family of God.
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