Tag: Voice of the Martyrs

Pray Beyond the Horizon

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“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” 

– Philippians 4:6 

THE NUMBER ONE THING PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS ASK FOR IS PRAYER.

When we pray we are speaking directly to God, He hears us and He listens.  We might not always recognize an answer to prayer, and it might not be the answer we were wanting, but God is outside of time and sees the completed picture.  Our whole live are laid before Him, He sees our entire lives, nothing comes as a surprise to Him.

“Through prayer we can reach into the future and with loving hands touch those beyond our reach.” ― Brother Andrew, founder of Open Doors.

HERE ARE SOME RESOURCES AND WAYS YOU CAN PRAY FOR THEM:

Voice of the Martyrs

With Voice of the Martyrs you can commit to pray for a Frontline Worker, someone who is working in a hostile nation.  https://secure.persecution.com/giftslip/frontlineworker.aspx

You can also sign up with your email to receive prayer requests from the persecuted. http://www.persecution.com/public/pray.aspx?clickfrom=%3d6d61696e5f6d656e75

Open Doors

Open Doors has a monthly prayer calendar to download and you can sign up for weekly prayer alerts.  https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

November 6, 2016 is the International Day of Prayer (IDOP).  Open Doors has a downloadable IDOP kit.  http://live.opendoorsusa.org/idop/

Release International

Release International has a prayer calendar and prayer points for you to download.  http://www.releaseinternational.org/pray/ 

Prayer Boards

In the class, I taught with my Mom, about persecution we made prayer boards. https://wordpress.com/page/heartsnotforgotten.com/628

We printed Prisoner Profiles from Voice of the Martyr’s and Release International

http://www.prisoneralert.com/

http://www.releaseinternational.org/prisoners-of-faith/

We included the Open Doors’ World Watch List Map and fact sheets on the boards, along with Scriptures and quotes.

World Watch List Map and Country Fact Sheets  https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/about-wwl-ranking/

“Never stop praying.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Sometimes we may feel like God can’t hear us when we pray or that He is not listening or answering our prayers.  He does hear us when we pray and He listens to our prayers.  He might not always answer our prayers the way we want or in the time we want.  We may not even recognize His answer as an answer, but He hears us and He cares for us.  He will never leave us or forsake us.

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

– Proverbs 15:29

He will never leave you.

God bless you,

Shae

 

 

Magnify

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Philippians 1:20 King James Version (KJV)

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

Every year my family goes to Winter Jam together. It’s a Christian concert with 10 bands for $10. http://2016.jamtour.com/about  This year we discovered a new band to us, We Are Messengers. We love their music!

The night before Winter Jam we were looking up the unfamiliar bands and artists, that would be performing, on YouTube.  After listening to We Are Messengers’ song I’m On Fire we were excited to see them.  They were one of the opening bands and they were just as good as we had hoped for.  Their music was uplifting and thought provoking.

A worship song is usually performed during intermission, and we knew from experience that we would probably like it.  When We Are Messengers came out, we were ready and my mom videoed the whole song. They sang an acoustic version of their song Magnify.  It was so beautiful.  After they performed, we were able to meet the lead singer Darren Mulligan, and share with him how much we loved Magnify.  He told us that song meant a lot to them.

I posted the video, my mom took, on YouTube.  At the end of the video it looks like I’m pouting.  I’m not, I’m just really focused because this song really spoke to me.

Here’s the link to our video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYOz_7KV-0w

We have been listening to the We Are Messengers’ album constantly for months.  My twin sister gave the CD to her guitar teacher so he could listen to Magnify and teach her how to play it on her guitar.  She’s getting really good at playing it.

My family has gone through so much change in the last year with illness, death, unemployment and moving.  When we went to Winter Jam, we thought my Dad was starting a new job the next week, he had been out of work six months after losing his job.  While we were in line, my Dad called and told my Mom the company he was supposed to start working for had just pulled their offer.  It was only a few days before his start date.

We were surrounded by so many people, it was hard to hear each other and the doors were about to open, so we didn’t get to really talk about until after the concert.  During the concert I felt so overwhelmed.  It felt like the storm we were going through was never going to end.

I was praying during the concert for God to give my family peace and direction.  I asked God to speak to me and give me comfort.

This is the part of the song that really stood out to me:

“My sight is incomplete and I made You look small,

I’ve been staring at my problems for way too long,

realign where my hope is set,

until you’re all that’s left …”

When I heard that it felt like God was telling me not to look at all the problems happening in my life, to just focus on him.

When I heard that I was reminded to fix my eyes on Jesus, not my temporary problems.

Our Homeschool Co-op class put together a book and service club focused on persecution, missions and helping refugees.  Last month we read Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand, the founder of the Voice of the Martyr’s. He spent a total of 14 years in a communist prison, with months of solitary confinement in his homeland Romania.  He was ransomed by the Norwegian Mission to the Jews and the Hebrew Christian Alliance and eventually came to the United States.  He didn’t want to leave the church in Romania at first but they told him to go and be a voice for the voiceless.

Our group read Philippians 1:20.

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.” (KJV)

We discussed how that scripture is reflected in Richard Wurmbrand’s life and legacy.  As we looked at the passage in different translations, we noticed that in the King James Version the word for “exalted” is “magnify.”  Magnify means to extol, praise, or glorify.

Christ was magnified in Richard Wurmbrand’s life.

“As communist atheists allowed no place for Jesus in their hearts, I decided I’d leave not the smallest place for Satan in mine.” – Richard Wurmbrand

In Richard Wurmbrand’s life he was arrested, beaten, and tortured for fourteen years, He still followed God even though it led him to prison, he sought God’s will for him while he was there.  In his book he shares how he and fellow Christians would tithe in prison.  They used the little food they received and gave it to the weakest.

“One great lesson arose from all the beatings, tortures, and butchery of the Communists: that the spirit is master of the body. We felt the torture, but it often seemed as something distant and far removed from the spirit which was lost in the glory of Christ and His presence with us. When we were given one slice of bread a week and dirty soup every day, we decided we would faithfully “tithe” even then. Every tenth week we took the slice of bread and gave it to weaker brethren as our “tithe” to the Master.” – Richard Wurmbrand in Tortured for Christ.

We all have problems and struggles in our lives, it’s easy to focus all of our time and energy on them. When we focus on our problems and struggles, it’s easy to forget that God has a plan and purpose for the pain and the heartache we feel. Our life here on earth is a moment of our eternal life with God.  The trials we are going through and the pain we feel here is temporary.

We Are Messengers’ song reminds me that when God is magnified in our lives he is greater than everything, from all our hopes and dreams to all of our heartache, problems, and trials.

Fix your thoughts on Jesus.

God Bless,

Shae

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Church: Modern Persecution – Lesson One

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For my homeschool co-op, I put together a class about persecution called “One Church: Modern Persecution.”  I chose the name One Church, because we are one body in Christ.

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but many.” – 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

I pulled most of the class from this blog.  My mom is helping me with it, I put it together and my mom teaches the class. I’m not teaching it because I am more comfortable writing than speaking.  I have been wanting to do a class on persecution but I am very shy, that is part of the reason why I started a blog.   Last semester, I took a speech class because I want to become more comfortable speaking to a group.

I had been thinking about creating a class for a while but I wasn’t sure where to start.  After I attended Mission ConneXtion, last year, the class began to come together.  I met a lot of great people and organizations, and got many resources I’m using in the class.  I met the Voice of the Martyr’s Area Coordinator for my area.   She shared with me many resources that I’m using in the class.  After talking with her I was really encouraged, and I appreciated the time she spent with me.

The goal of the class is to raise awareness about modern persecution and show other teens ways to get involved and help now.

We began our first class with an activity we found at Open Doors Youth, they are a great resource: http://www.opendoorsyouth.org/do-something/youth-leader-resources/youth-leader-resources/ We set out bowls of bright colored pompom cotton balls (instead of marshmallows), plates, and chop sticks.  The goal was to move as many cotton balls onto their plates with the chop sticks, before the time ran out.  Then we switched to moving dried rice which was more difficult.  Finally, we attempted to build card towers.   It was a great icebreaker and an effective way to demonstrate perseverance.

We read from Hebrews 13:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10, and Hebrews 11.  We discussed endurance, willpower, persecution, faith, and the difference between the mountain top and the valley. Most importantly, we talked about how God uses ordinary people, who make mistakes and aren’t perfect, to do His will.

From the Open Doors Lesson outline, we watched a movie clip from Lord of the Rings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjm1DRMEyUQ ,Samwise’s speech is strong example of not giving up and it was a unexpected surprise during a serious class.

Next, we shared about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man of great faith who didn’t give up.  We watched this video about his life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrNTVrtXPAU

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Pastor who spoke out against Hitler and the persecution of the Jews. His most well known book is “The Cost of Discipleship.”  He tried to organize the Protestant church to take a firm stand against the Nazis.  When that didn’t happen he helped Martin Niemoller form The Confessing Church, their goal was to oppose the German Christian church movement, supported by Nazis. He wanted the church to live out what it said it believed.  I’m reading an excellent biography about him, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas.

In 1937, The Confessing Church Seminary was closed by Himmler, a leading member of the Nazi party.  After the seminary was closed, Bonhoeffer traveled throughout Eastern Germany over the next two years, leading private seminaries.  In June 1939 he became concerned he would be asked to take an oath to Hitler, so he left Germany and went to the United States.  He felt guilty for seeking sanctuary there and not having the bravery to live what he preached.  Within a year he returned home to Germany.

Bonhoeffer then served as a messenger to the small German resistance.  He was involved in efforts to help Jews escape to Switzerland, this led to his arrest in April 1943.  Bonhoeffer spent 18 months in Telgel Military prison.  He continued to write while he was imprisoned, a guard smuggle out his writings.  Bonhoeffer was moved to the Gestapo’s high security prison, after the failed bomb plot in July 20, 1944.  Then he was transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp, and finally Flossenburg concentration camp.  He was then sentenced to death on April 8, 1945, three weeks before the war ended.  It is believed to have been under the direct order of Hitler.  He was hung along with Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and Hans Oster who were also conspirators.  Before his execution, Bonhoeffer asked an inmate to give a message to Bishop George Bell of Chichester, “This is the end – for me the beginning of life.”

The camp doctor who witnessed his execution wrote:

“I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer…kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God.  I was most deeply moved by the way this loveable man prayed, so devoted and so certain that God heard his prayer.  At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed.  His death ensued after a few seconds.  In the almost fifty years that I have worked as a doctor, I have hardly seen a man die so entirely submissive to God.”

We discussed these quotes:

“Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.” – Bonhoeffer

“Cheap grace is preaching for forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is Grace without discipleship, Grace without the cross, Grace without Jesus Christ.”  – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

What is cheap grace?  What is the cost of discipleship?  We asked them to think about how political Christians should be and to research what the Bible says about it.

Never Again Is Now

There is a story from WWII of a train carrying Jews to a concentration camp, the train passed a church and the cries of the Jews were disrupting the Christians singing, so those Christians sang louder.

Bonhoeffer spoke up for the Jews who were being persecuted.  He took a stand against the evil that was happening and he refused to sing louder, which led to his death.  The train is rolling now.  Will you sing louder or speak up for those who can’t?

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. – Proverbs 31: 8-9 (NIV)

At the end of class we passed out bright red folders we made including these handouts:

World Watch List Map: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/ 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Bio: http://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/dietrich-bonhoeffer.html

A list of some of Bonhoeffer’s quotes http://blog.biographyonline.net/2010/12/quotes-dietrich-bonhoeffer.html,

Brother Andrew bio:http://www.inspirationalchristians.org/brother-andrew/ and http://www.opendoorsusa.org/about-us/history/brother-andrews-story/

and Project Peal http://www.billionbibles.org/china/project-pearl.html. 

The next class will be about Brother Andrew and his organization Open Doors, China, and Project Pearl. Through this class I’m hoping to inspire other teens to speak up and act for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.

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God bless,

Shae

Prayers, Letters & Encouragement

Hearts Not Forgotten3 Comments

 Hebrews 13:3 New International Version (NIV)

3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

There are an estimated 100 hundred million Christians facing persecution in the world.  Christians all around the world are imprisoned for their faith in Jesus.  According to Open Doors USA each month 332 Christians are killed, 214 Churches and Christian properties are destroyed and 772 acts of violence are committed against Christians.  For more information click here.

When I first learned about persecution I went to the Voice of the Martyrs website. I was looking for a way to help. I initially thought that would mean going overseas or giving money. I’m not old enough for relief work and I only make a little bit of money babysitting sometimes.  Most of the time, I am babysitting my little sister and my mom usually pays me in books and lattes.  So, I wasn’t sure how I could do anything to help without going overseas.  Right away. I learned there is much I can do. I can write to Christians imprisoned for their faith around the world, to encourage them and let them know they are not forgotten.  Often the prisoners don’t receive the letters, but the letters let the prison officials know there is an audience and the world is aware of their political prisoners.  You can also write letters and emails to government officials on behalf of the prisoners.

Prisoner Alert is a ministry under Voice of the Martyrs. With Prisoner Alert you can be alerted when Christians are arrested and  receive prayer requests and updates. They share information about Christians who are imprisoned so you can pray and write for them.  Before Prisoner Alert posts about a prisoner they get permission from their family and church.  You can also purchase a Prisoner Letter Writing Kit from Voice of the Martyrs that has eight prisoner profiles and self mailers. In the beginning, you might not be sure what to say, Prisoner Alert has suggested phrases you can use.  I’m excited, I got my first kit and I am writing the letters now.

With Open Doors letter writing you send in the letters you write to Open Doors and they will translate and deliver the letters to persecuted Christians. You can write letters of encouragement to children in orphanages and families who have loved ones who are imprisoned or who have been killed.  While writing letters to prisoners can offer encouragement to them and communicating with government officials can help, the most important and powerful thing we can do is pray. Starting with Paul the Apostle, through stories of modern persecution we see the same threads of connection.  Through the power of prayer people are healed, they are comforted during unimaginable trials, they are continually walking with God and keeping their eyes fixed on Him.  There are so many things we can pray for them: hope, strength, comfort, boldness in witnessing to their persecutor and fellow prisoners and to forgive their persecutors.  They are never alone, He is always there.  You can have prayer alerts and request sent to your email from Open Doors and Voice of the Martyrs.

Keep in Touch

This is a new blog.  Please sign up with your email at the bottom of the page to receive fresh posts directly to your inbox.  Leave your comments, I want to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading and God bless you!

Shae

“Our prayers can go where we cannot…there are no borders, no prison walls, no closed doors that are closed to us when we pray.”     -Brother Andrew- Founder of Open Doors

I’m Only Fifteen! How Can I Help?

Hearts Not Forgotten2 Comments

“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”  Hebrews 13:3 NIV 

A New World

This weekend I went to Mission Connexion for my first time. A few days before I was looking for some kind of conference I could attend, but I found nothing. I went to the Voice of the Martyrs website to see if they were doing anything in my area.  I had been wanting to go to one of their conferences, but there were none anywhere close to me.  I felt frustrated and disappointed.  Then I checked under local events and saw they were going to be at Mission Connexion in Portland, Oregon in two days.  Only two days away!  I couldn’t believe it! I was so excited, I was even more excited when I found out that Don Richardson was going to be there. He is a missionary who went with his wife Carol and their seven month old son and spent 15 years living with a stone age tribe in Papua, the Sawi tribe were cannibals and headhunters.  He wrote about their experiences in Peace Child.  To learn more about Don Richardson’s life I went on Youtube and found interviews with him, this is my favorite clip.

I went to Mission Connexion not knowing what to expect.  Most conferences are geared more toward college students or adults. I’m only fifteen, how can I help? I wasn’t sure if I would just be an observer.  I was surprised at how I was welcomed and included. I could feel God’s hand guiding me as I met so many people who shared their time and stories with me.  Here are some of the highlights:

My first impression was Book Heaven!  All of the books I’m on the hunt for were there, plus so many more.  I was able to get a few and took pictures of many I plan to read in the future.  Now I know how much is available from YWAM Publishing about my favorite topics.

Open Doors

When I talked with the representative from Open Doors I told him about this blog and how I want to help our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. He suggested that when I meet new immigrants I talk with them and find out their stories.  He also suggested I visit churches with refugees and volunteer to teach Sunday school.  He said there is a need and he thought I would be embraced. My sisters and I are all wearing rubber barbed wire bracelets they gave us.  They are great conversation starters, whenever someone asks us about them we can share about the persecuted church.  I want to plan a secret church youth event and the bracelets would be a great reminder to give to the other teens that go.  I’ll post more about that as it develops.

Voice of the Martyrs

At Voice of the Martyrs the representative shared with me many materials I had seen on the website including two DVDs I have been wanting to watch –Underground Reality Vietnam and Underground Reality Columbia. I am going to share them with my friends and family.  She also gave us bracelets that say “Pray for China” another great conversation starter. The Special Issue 2015 newsletter she gave us included a great pullout “I Commit to Pray for My Persecuted Family” map.  The back suggests 10 Ways to Pray.  Follow the link and you can read people’s stories and join with others in prayer there.

Prayer is a powerful way for us to intercede for them.

Colossians 1:9-12 New International Version (NIV)

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[a] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

Keep in Touch

This is a new blog.  Sign up with your email at the bottom of the page to automatically receive updates.  Leave a comment .  I want to hear your thoughts.  I’ll share more about the wonderful people I met and what else I learned in my next post.

Where His Path Led Me

Hearts Not Forgotten11 Comments

My name is Shae.  I am a Christian homeschooler. I live in the Pacific Northwest.

Last year I read a book that left a huge impression on me called Safely Home by Randy Alcorn of Eternal Perspective Ministries at http://www.epm.org.  I  had read another one of his books called Deadline that I had really enjoyed.  Safely Home is about the underground church in China and the persecution Christians face.  That book opened my eyes to what it means to be a Christian in other countries.  I  could not stop thinking about it, so I read everything I could find about persecution.

I knew that Christians in other countries did not have freedom like we do in the West, but I was shocked when I found out they are arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and killed for their faith.  I started praying about it, asking God to show me how I could help.  I helped my mom’s friend with her garage sale, she told me I could have any books I wanted.  I found a book called The Narrow Road written by Brother Andrew founder of Open Doors.   His story inspired me and showed me how God can use one person to make a difference.  I’ve heard many times at church and Bible studies that God uses imperfect people in His plan.  I know that He can use me.  Soon after I finished that book I was at a store and saw two books I had been looking for Tortured for Christ and Jesus Freak.

Tortured for Christ was written by Richard Wurmbrand, the founder of Voice of the Martyrs.  In his book he wrote about his fourteen years captive in a Romanian prison.  He was tortured and spent three years in solitary confinement.   His wife Sabina, also spent three years in a prison labor camp.  There is so much I learned from their story.  One thing he clearly illustrated is how we are all one church.  If one part suffers, the whole body suffers.  I went on Voice of the Martyrs at http://www.persecution.com/.  I was surprised about how widespread modern persecution is.

Next was Jesus Freak.  I had seen Tobymac and Newsboys in concert many times.  I love their music!  I had no idea DC Talk was involved with this book.  It is a collection of personal stories of people who risked their lives for their faith in Jesus Christ.  My hunger grew.  The day I finished that book a friend of my mom’s unexpectedly sent over a book for me, Hearts of Fire by Voice of the Martyrs .  She had heard I was interested in learning about the persecuted church.  God kept sending me books, I could feel it.  I just kept following the path of books.  My heart for my brothers and sisters in Christ continued to grow.

I want to use this blog to collect and share information about our brothers and sisters who are suffering for the name of Christ.  Sitting here in my cozy home with my family, my heart is heavy for them.

They have found the treasure and given up everything for it.   I continually lift them up in my prayers.
Matthew 13:44
[ The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl ] “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (NIV)

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