Keeping with something that I started last year, I am posting the story of a martyr for Christ today. When we read these stories, we get a real since of how the world truly hates what we believe. And, it also gives us true, present day heros to look up to. It has always been my prayer that if something like what happens in these stories were to happen to me, that I would be bold enough to defend the Gospel no matter the cost. Today's story is of a man named Tapan who lived in the Southeast Asian country of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is dominated by the Muslim religion. The story of his witness comes from a journal kept by his sister in which she uses to talk to God. This story may not be suitable for young children, so I caution you as you read. I found this story at www.opendoorsusa.org.
January 12, 2005—Dear God, my friends tell me that older brothers are demanding and arrogant. That may be true, but I have never seen that in my brother, Tapan. Today for my birthday, he completely surprised me by giving me a brand-new necklace! If he made it himself, it must have taken him hours, because he’s terrible with small beads.
March 9—Dear God, I’m scared! Yesterday, a pastor from a church we know was beheaded. He was murder by 10 Muslims, seven of whom are still out on the streets. Because of this, Mother and I decided not to go to church this week, but Tapan still went. I tried to tell him to stay, but he wouldn’t listen to me! He said worshiping God was more important than his safety. I suppose this is true, but I was still too scared to go. But, I did pray for him the whole time that he was gone, and he has come back home safely!
June 18—Dear God, guess what Tapan got a job with a Christian organization. He is so excited. They are called Christian Life Bangladesh, and they do medical work to help prevent AIDS, and also share the “Jesus Film” with others and tell them about Christ. I am very excited for him, but also very scared. People say that the Muslim extremists in our village have a “hit list” and that if you work for a church or Christian group, that you are put on that list. I hope that does not happen to Tapan!
July 23—Oh God, please keep Tapan safe! Today, when I was walking by the madrassa (Islamic school), one of the boys told me that if my brother keeps showing the “Jesus Film” that they’re going to do something to him! I told Tapan this, but he just calmly replied, “God is protecting me. Every day that I am alive, it is because of His mercy, and if I am hurt or killed, it will be for His glory.” God, I wish that I could just hold onto my brother and tell him that he must stay at home, or hide somewhere. But I know that is not what you want him to be doing. Please help me to be able to let him go.
July 29—God, no! No, no, no, NO!! How could they Less than three hours ago, men broke into Tapan’s room. While Tapan and his friend Liplal were sleeping, they began to stab them over and over until they were practically hacked to death. As soon as we heard their cries, we tried to get into the room, but they had chained all of our doors and the neighbor’s doors closed. We could do nothing but bang on our doors and listen to Tapan and Liplal’s screams. One of the neighbors finally broke through their door and the murderers ran off. Someone got a car and we all piled in to drive them to the hospital, but—but it was too late. Tapan was dead by the time we arrived. And so now, I’m sitting in Tapan’s room, only…he’s gone.
October 26—Dear God, I have doubted You so much over these last few months. It has been so hard having Tapan gone. I want to blame You for his death. Sometimes I think to myself, “If only Tapan had not been a Christian, than he would not have been killed!” But then I think, “If Tapan had not been a Christian then he would have been dead in his sins. How much better is it that he was free from guilt and sin and now is alive in heaven.” Yes, I know that is true. But often times a message is harder to cling to than the real, fleshly body of Tapan.
July 29, 2006—Dear God, I still believe in You. One year ago today, Muslim men martyred my brother because he was a Christian. Because of that I have struggled with hatred, bitterness, and depression, but, I have also seen Your love, strength, and compassion. It would be easy to say “I do not believe in the Christian God anymore,” but it would not be better. I can honestly say that I have felt Your presence this year. You are not the God of easy answers, magical fixes, or painless lives, but You are the God who meets us in the middle of our trials. Thank you for being real to me, my mother, and our whole church as we mourn the death of my brother.
Matthew 5:10-12
"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
I pray that we all can have a faith in God as Tapan did.
Thanks for reading, and God Bless you all this week!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Dare to be Different
I am exceedingly troubled by the things I see going on around us in society. In North Carolina we have a constitutional amendment on our primary ballot. It is to define marriage as one man and one woman. This amendment of course is under strong attack. And is not just the homosexuals that are attacking it. There are others making claims that this amendment should not be voted for, for many other reasons. They say it will be bad for the economy, make domestic violence cases harder to prosecute, and affect child custody cases. All of these claims are to get people to look at things that have nothing to do with the amendment. They are slamming the churches that support it. But the saddest part are those that say that they are saved, and believe that God's word is inerrant that refuse to vote for it. They are allowing themselves to be swayed by opponents by either being afraid to stand on what they believe, or giving into the arguments which have nothing to do with the amendment and accept a worldly view of things.
It seems that anything with a Christian meaning or even undertone is seen as taboo today. And it seems like we are always under attack for believing the way that we do. Whether it is a malicious attempt towards us, or a subtle ignoring of what we believe, we are labeled as ignorant, or holier than thou. I know of many who claim to be believers that try to play with the world. They do not take a stand on what they believe for fear of the repercussions they would face from those around them that they believe are friends. They do not want to be seen as different. Or, they see nothing wrong with the worldly lifestyle that contradicts what we learn in the Bible. However, that is not what the scripture teaches about those that choose to follow God.
Genesis 6:5-9
"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God."
Noah was different. Out of all the people on earth at this time, he was the only one who was faithful to God. He did not compromise himself over wanting to fit in with the others in the world. Later in this story we see where he built an ark for him, his family, and the animals to survive a great flood. You can probably imagine what people were saying about him as he did this. But he did not care. He wanted to please God and God alone.
Daniel 1:8-9
"But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials..."
Daniel made a stand. In the midst of imprisonment in a foreign land, he choose to honor God at whatever the cost. No matter what the consequences were, he was going to be faithful. Even the commander who liked Daniel tried to get him to do as every other person imprisoned did. But Daniel held true, and was blessed greatly by God. He faced trials again when he was later thrown in the lions den for refusing to submit to the King as a god. And once again, God rewarded his faith. Daniel chose to be different.
2 Corinthians 11:23-27
"Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure."
Paul suffered for the Gospel. Paul started out as a pharisee. After his conversion, he did not let anything come between him and sharing the Gospel of Christ. He was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, in danger around any corner, yet he choose to follow Christ no matter the consequences. He did not care what people thought about him or did to him. He dared to be different.
Now this is just a sampling of individuals in the bible that choose to stand on their faith inspite of what people may have said, believed, or done to them. They were not ashamed of what they believed. They did not sit back and hope that no one would ask what they thought. They were courageous. They defended their faith against all odds. There was no doubt in what they believed, as is in the case of people today. They say the believe, but their actions contradict it.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
"Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
When we receive salvation we are made to be different. A change happens to us that causes us to want to do away with all that we were before. We no longer have a part in the world in a spiritual since. They do not want us. They are always against what we believe. It is not us as a person, it is the message of the One in which we stand.
John 15:18-19
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."
We need not be ashamed of who we are. We have the honor of being claimed sons of God. It is our job to spread the teachings of Jesus regardless of the consequences. We must take a stand on our beliefs no matter what some body else thinks. Why? Because we are different.
I choose to be different. How about you?
Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!
It seems that anything with a Christian meaning or even undertone is seen as taboo today. And it seems like we are always under attack for believing the way that we do. Whether it is a malicious attempt towards us, or a subtle ignoring of what we believe, we are labeled as ignorant, or holier than thou. I know of many who claim to be believers that try to play with the world. They do not take a stand on what they believe for fear of the repercussions they would face from those around them that they believe are friends. They do not want to be seen as different. Or, they see nothing wrong with the worldly lifestyle that contradicts what we learn in the Bible. However, that is not what the scripture teaches about those that choose to follow God.
Genesis 6:5-9
"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God."
Noah was different. Out of all the people on earth at this time, he was the only one who was faithful to God. He did not compromise himself over wanting to fit in with the others in the world. Later in this story we see where he built an ark for him, his family, and the animals to survive a great flood. You can probably imagine what people were saying about him as he did this. But he did not care. He wanted to please God and God alone.
Daniel 1:8-9
"But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials..."
Daniel made a stand. In the midst of imprisonment in a foreign land, he choose to honor God at whatever the cost. No matter what the consequences were, he was going to be faithful. Even the commander who liked Daniel tried to get him to do as every other person imprisoned did. But Daniel held true, and was blessed greatly by God. He faced trials again when he was later thrown in the lions den for refusing to submit to the King as a god. And once again, God rewarded his faith. Daniel chose to be different.
2 Corinthians 11:23-27
"Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure."
Paul suffered for the Gospel. Paul started out as a pharisee. After his conversion, he did not let anything come between him and sharing the Gospel of Christ. He was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, in danger around any corner, yet he choose to follow Christ no matter the consequences. He did not care what people thought about him or did to him. He dared to be different.
Now this is just a sampling of individuals in the bible that choose to stand on their faith inspite of what people may have said, believed, or done to them. They were not ashamed of what they believed. They did not sit back and hope that no one would ask what they thought. They were courageous. They defended their faith against all odds. There was no doubt in what they believed, as is in the case of people today. They say the believe, but their actions contradict it.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
"Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
When we receive salvation we are made to be different. A change happens to us that causes us to want to do away with all that we were before. We no longer have a part in the world in a spiritual since. They do not want us. They are always against what we believe. It is not us as a person, it is the message of the One in which we stand.
John 15:18-19
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."
We need not be ashamed of who we are. We have the honor of being claimed sons of God. It is our job to spread the teachings of Jesus regardless of the consequences. We must take a stand on our beliefs no matter what some body else thinks. Why? Because we are different.
I choose to be different. How about you?
Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!
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