“Throw a Christian in the river, and he will come up with a fish in his mouth. I have not known a Christian, who remained faithful through adversities and inner struggles, who did not come out of them enriched.”–Pastor Richard Wurmbrand
To Think About: What did Pastor Wurmbrand mean by that statement?
In Malaysia it is against the law for Christians to witness about Jesus to Muslims.
A Christian from Malaysia who used to be a Muslim shared the following testimony with workers from The Voice of the Martyrs.
When I was very sick, a Christian prayed for me and I was healed! I started going to prayer meetings and searching the Internet to learn more about Jesus. My wife and son and I quietly went to church. But the pastor asked us to leave because he was afraid the church would get in trouble with the government for allowing Muslims to visit. The same thing happened to us at another church.
My wife was disappointed with the Christians. Then my father-in-law found out we were Christians. He threatened to report us to the authorities if we didn’t return to Islam. My wife said she would be a Muslim. I said I would not.
The authorities asked my son what I taught him. He answered, “Daddy teaches me about Jesus and that Jesus stays in our heart and is God.” The court divorced me from my wife and she was awarded custody of my son and all our property.
I slept in the train station for two weeks. Luke 9:58 comforted me. Jesus is becoming so real to me. God is a good God.
To Think About: Read Luke 9:58. Why do you think this was a comfort to the Malaysian Christian?
A Christian in Laos recently sent the following testimony to VOM.
When I was 11 years old, my job was taking care of my family’s water buffalos. On the way home one day, someone scared the buffalo I was riding, and it jumped and ran away. I fell off and got injured. I could not walk for a long time, and I had other problems and illnesses.
Later I met a man who knew about Jesus. He helped me ask Jesus into my life! Little by little, I began to heal.
There were only a few Christians in our village, and the other villagers hated us. The non-Christians decided to burn down all the Christians’ houses. After the fire, we were very poor. But we were able to save our family’s rice crop. Even many non-Christians came to us and asked us for some of our rice, and we gave it to them.
Because of our generosity, the villagers hated us less. Some of them became Christians! It was amazing how God brought glory to himself through the tragedy.
To Think About: What might have happened if the Christian family refused to share rice with their enemies?
A Christian martyr is one who: chooses to suffer death rather than deny Christ or his work, sacrifice something very important to further the kingdom of God, endures great suffering for Christian witness.
Can you think of people who have made the choice to suffer and sacrifice for God in those ways?
“A Christian cannot be careful enough in choosing which public events he will attend, what he will watch on TV, or what book he will read. The Christians’ joys are yet to come. We are not in a hurry to get all the possible pleasures out of life.”—Pastor Richard Wurmbrand.
To Think About: What did Pastor Wurmbrand mean when he said, “The Christians’ joys are yet to come.”
