Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Hebrews 13:13
I recently read a book titled 'The Heavenly Man' by Brother Yun, a brother from China. Wow, it was an amazing book! He truly is an encouragement to me. The things he went through for the sake of the gospel is amazing! It has really brought a soberness to my spiritual life. Here is a link to his book:
-Brother Yun-
Shortly after I finished 'The Heavenly Man', my Dad, brother, sister and I were able to attend a Voice of the Martyrs conference! That conference was so challenging and just help strengthen my burden for the persecuted church all over the world! It is truly amazing what these dear brothers and sisters endure for the sake of Christ. They suffer beatings, sickness, starvation, ridicule and sometimes death. This is happening everyday all over the world. Wow, it has really made me think about my personal relationship with Jesus. Am I willing to die for my faith? Is this really a conviction of mine or am I just lukewarm? I praise the LORD for showing me these things over the past month and a half! It has brought me so much closer to Himself. Such a loving Saviour He is! He has so much love, patience and forgiveness for us. Are we we willing to take up our cross daily and follow Him? Are we willing to deny ourselves and lay aside our flesh and the things that God is not pleased with and obey His Word? Are we fully surrendered to CHRIST?! It is a life or death decision.... In the last days, there will be those whom Jesus knows and those He doesn't. Please consider where you stand with the Lord!
One of the speakers at the VOM conference was Pastor John Stone (Shi Weihan). His testimony is amazing. He was arrested in China for printing Bibles and was in prison for 3 years. He endured torture and persecution of all kinds. But, he held fast to his profession and did not give in! He now resides in Texas and represents ChinaAid http://www.chinaaid.org/. Below is video of Pastor Shi's testimony. It was such a joy to meet him and his sweet daughter Lily. What a blessing it was to get a chance to talk with her and hear more about China! Praise the lord for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Meeting Lily at the conference
Also, at the conference, we received a book by Randy Alcorn titled: Safely Home. It is a very well written story about the underground church in China. I was really blessed and challenged by this book. I would encourage anyone to read this! It really gives you a clear picture into the lives of the Chinese Christians today.
For more information on the persecuted church, visit http://www.persecution.com/. Also, you can visit prisoner alert to see different fellow Christians who are in prison and whom you can be praying for as well as write a letter of encouragement! :http://www.prisoneralert.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
