I received a copy of “Voice of the Martyrs” in the mail yesterday. I read the first story in the magazine about Pastor Jon in the Middle East who has prepared his church for martyrdom. In fact, 20 al-Qaida fighters stormed his church and people were screaming—when Pastor Jon had a vision of heaven and yelled to his people, “God is welcoming us! Be at peace! We are going to heaven!” A hush fell over the church which unsettled the Islamists. They ransacked the church…but didn’t kill one person.
I haven’t been able to get this story out of my mind. The difference between the culture of that church and ours in the USA is night and day. Pastors here are afraid to ask people to be faithful. If families take their children out of church to play sports week after week, we say nothing. We’re afraid to rock the boat. Or if there is blatant sin in the church, we remain silent because we’re afraid we’ll be seen as intolerant. We have people who come to church every Sunday but never open their Bibles during the week. We expect nothing…and our people are completely unprepared.
Lives are at stake in both churches!! The physical lives are at stake in the Middle East and the spiritual lives of our children and their parents are at stake here in the US.
I had to ask myself…what am I willing to risk?
No comments:
Post a Comment