SAUDI ARABIA: AUTHORITIES ARREST CHRISTIAN CONVERT. Five months after the daughter of a member of Saudi Arabia’s religious police was killed for writing online about her faith in Christ, Saudi authorities have reportedly arrested a 28-year-old Christian man for describing his conversion and criticizing the kingdom’s judiciary on his Website.
ERITREA: THREE MORE BELIEVERS DIE IN MILITARY CONFINEMENT CENTERS IN PAST FOUR MONTHS. Three Christians incarcerated in military prisons for their faith have died in the past four months in Eritrea, including the death on Friday (Jan. 16) of a 42-year-old man in solitary confinement, according to a Christian support organization.
As I read these stories—only a few of the thousands of such in the world today—I cringe when I think of the American Church mentality of comfortable Christianity. Sunday after Sunday in our comfortable padded chairs, our heated and/or air-conditioned buildings, and our brilliant use of technology’s bells and whistles, as we drive home from church, we lament that the old car we’re driving doesn’t have cruise control. While across the planet, millions of Christians are thrown into prison, beaten, tormented, starved and executed. Can we say we are willing to die for our faith, and yet complain that the worship music was too loud last Sunday or refuse to forgive the pastor for neglecting to thank us for helping clean the kitchen after the annual Missions banquet last month?
When I even think of the title of Joel Osteen’s book Your Best Life Now, I want to weep for the condition of the body of Christ in America. The real heroes of faith are not here; they are all over the world. They are dying for the cause of Christ, while we are not willing to die to our selfish interests.
The author of the book of Hebrews describes the real heroes of faith as “…[those who] experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword…men of whom the world was not worthy…and all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised…so that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (11:36-40).
ERITREA: THREE MORE BELIEVERS DIE IN MILITARY CONFINEMENT CENTERS IN PAST FOUR MONTHS. Three Christians incarcerated in military prisons for their faith have died in the past four months in Eritrea, including the death on Friday (Jan. 16) of a 42-year-old man in solitary confinement, according to a Christian support organization.
As I read these stories—only a few of the thousands of such in the world today—I cringe when I think of the American Church mentality of comfortable Christianity. Sunday after Sunday in our comfortable padded chairs, our heated and/or air-conditioned buildings, and our brilliant use of technology’s bells and whistles, as we drive home from church, we lament that the old car we’re driving doesn’t have cruise control. While across the planet, millions of Christians are thrown into prison, beaten, tormented, starved and executed. Can we say we are willing to die for our faith, and yet complain that the worship music was too loud last Sunday or refuse to forgive the pastor for neglecting to thank us for helping clean the kitchen after the annual Missions banquet last month?
When I even think of the title of Joel Osteen’s book Your Best Life Now, I want to weep for the condition of the body of Christ in America. The real heroes of faith are not here; they are all over the world. They are dying for the cause of Christ, while we are not willing to die to our selfish interests.
The author of the book of Hebrews describes the real heroes of faith as “…[those who] experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword…men of whom the world was not worthy…and all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised…so that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (11:36-40).
Greg,
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered how there could be so much inequity between the Christian "have's" and the "have not's" with the expectation that, in heaven we will somehow be together, united in a way that defies our understanding. The latter part of the passage you quoted gives a hint about how that is possible: "...that they, without us (and us, without them) should not be complete!"
Should we be ashamed of our petty complaints in comparison with those of our persecuted brethren whose lives are in danger every moment of every day? Yes. But should we be equally ashamed for experiencing freedom and affluence that we have in this country versus the oppression in Saudi Arabia or Eritrea? No. It is a gift from God. We just need to learn how to support our brethren through our lifting up of holy hands to bring their plight before the throne of grace. If they knew about how our affluence was robbing us of intimacy with a loving Father they would be doing the same on our behalf.
Guess what? They are praying for us. The 100 million Chinese Christians are very discerning about the condition of the American church. Thank God for their prayers.
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