Test yourselves!

I've been thinking lately about Martyrdom. I’m sure that many of us have heard the story of Pastor Saeed in prison for his faith right now in Iran. For those of you who don't know, here's the website: http://savesaeed.org/

     I started thinking about torture, and faith. Not to scare anyone, but if I was put in front of a stake to be burned, or tortured by some way/shape/form, how would I handle it? Would I recant my faith if they asked me to? I’d like to hope and pray that by God’s grace, if that day ever came, that I would be able to withstand the trial no matter the pain. It gets you thinking, that’s for sure! Is your faith strong enough? If you were put to the test, what would you do?
There was a true story I heard a couple years ago…

     A Pastor stood before his congregation one Sunday morning. Because of the persecution, they had to meet secretly. The congregation was just about to open the hymnals and sing, when 4 different people came in with guns, hoods on their heads, and wearing all black. Everyone screamed. The leader of the gunman said, “Recant your faith now, and we’ll let you go free. If you don’t recant your faith, we’ll shoot you. Choose now!” The majority of the congregation fled without a heartbeat; only the pastor, his family, the deacons, and a couple members of the church were left. With a deep breath they prayed silently. The leader of the gunmen walked to the front of the church, closed the doors, and took off his hood. He turned around and with a deep breath he said, “Let’s worship God!” This man wanted to see who the true believers of the church were.

     It made me think of what it would really be like to be held at gunpoint for my faith. The Bible
 tells us to test ourselves.
2^nd Corinthians 13:5-9, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you ^[e]fail the test? ⁶ But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test. ⁷ Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. ⁸ For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong; this we also pray for, that you be made complete…"
I hope this encourages you to keep up the faith! :)
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousnes' sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven..."

                                              ~Matthew 5:10~

Martyred

Martyred:

This last Sunday,
our pastor, “Kevin Swanson” announced to the congregation that there was a
martyr who died for his faith this last week.
To be honest, I didn’t think that
“Martyrdom” happened very often. I thought that…sure people would be put in
prison, or beaten, but…killed...for their faith? Wow! I pray that God will have
mercy on those that have wronged.
It’s sad, isn’t it? We have so much
in this world, and yet so little. We have hot water for showers, food to eat, a
roof over our heads, a bed to sleep in, blankets to keep us warm, a car to get
us from here to there, (most of the time) and so many other things. We have
money to go places, and see things. There are so many people in this world who
don’t have that kind of stuff. They are lucky if they just get to sleep in a
bed, and they are blessed if they get 2 meals a day. Can you imagine?
Some people that are poor, know that
they are blessed to be alive. Do we know?
I know that there’s no such thing
as, “What if?” but let’s play the game for just a minute. Imagine yourself as a
Missionary, or even someone who just wants people to know the Gospel. Would you be willing to teach the Bible, even
if you knew that it could kill you? If someone asked you to recant your faith
or be killed, which would you choose? If someone tortured you brutally until
you recanted your faith, would you give in?
What does it mean to be a “Martyr?”
Do you remember Steven in the Bible?
...he was stoned to death for his faith.

Let’s pray for:
those who are serving in other countries and states to bring the gospel to
those that need it. Let’s pray that God will have mercy on those people who
have done wrong. Let’s lift our cries up to the God who is in control of
everything, and has a purpose and a plan for everything.