Hello Dear Church,
Around the world every day, Christians around the world are persecuted for their faith. People just like you and I who are persecuted simply because they have called Jesus their Lord. They are not of this world. This reality was brought home to me a few years ago. At the seminary where I am doing my PhD, I was leaving class late around 9:30, and a dear brother from a part of the world where Christians are persecuted asked me where I was staying that night. I surprised him when I said, “Oh, it’s only an hour and a half away, I’ll just drive home tonight.”
He shook his head with a chuckle, “Oh, in my country, we can’t drive at night! It’s dangerous because unbelievers will attack us at night when we’re driving on the road and kill us. At night, we have to stay put.”
This was brought back to me this week when Jonathan Leeman interviewed some Afghani pastors on Pastors’ Talk and when some of us had the opportunity to talk to a missions partner of ours’ in a dangerous country. Every day our brothers and sisters are being persecuted around the world. And there are a few things you and I can do to help.
First, we should pray. I try every day to pray for the persecuted church in one country. I often pray for believers in Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Iran, China, and elsewhere. The Voice of the Martyrs is a great ministry that can help you know which countries you should pray for. We should pray for believers there that the persecution would be lifted, but, more importantly, that they would know Christ better through their suffering, that their suffering would sanctify them, that their witness would be effective in bringing many into the kingdom.
Second, we should be informed. We should learn more about the persecuted church. Again, check out Voice of the Martyrs. Or, try Wikipedia. Most nations that persecute Christians have a note about their humans rights abuses on wikipedia. Try reading some books about the persecuted church: Martyr’s Voice, Brother Andrew, or, my personal favorite, The Insanity of God.
Finally, engage with college students. College students from virtually every country in the world come to colleges and universities in the United States. Many of these come from countries where Christians are persecuted. We should always be on the lookout to have college students over, to welcome in foreign college students, to be a welcome place. We should pray that God would bring many of these to our church so we can minister to them, and send them back to their home country with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Christians, our brothers and sisters are being persecuted around the globe. These are our own flesh and blood. We should love them and do everything to lift them up to the Lord. They go through atrocities which most of us will never be able to fathom. And we can trust, that on one day, Jesus will wipe away every tear from their eye and death will be no more, and there will be no mourning or crying (Rev 21:1-4).
So until that day, keep praying, keep learning, and keep engaging.
In Christ,
Pastor Matt