For it has been granted to you on behalf of
Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him… Philippians 1:29
When the process gets to persecution (mistreatment
following disinformation and discrimination), no one will do anything because,
‘You know they are bad people anyway,’” says Rev. Dr. Johan Candelin referring
to his three-step process of persecution model.
Once the first steps in the process occur, mistreatment can
be practiced without normal protective measures taking place. Persecution can
arise from the state, the police or military, extremist organizations,
paramilitary groups, anti-Christian sub-cultures and even representatives of
other religious groups. The irony is that in many parts of the world, the
accusations of the attackers turn the victims into the villains.
This stage is the end result and includes the “big three”:
torture, imprisonment and martyrdom which are most often the examples used for
persecution. A specific example would be the imprisonment of hundreds of
evangelical Christians in Eritrea without formal charges—many kept in metal
shipping containers.
In Iran, a Christian couple were detained and physically and
psychologically tortured for four days. The authorities even threatened to lock
up their four-year-old daughter in an “institution.” Twenty-eight-year-old Tina
Rad from Teheran was accused of “activities against the holy religion of
Islam,” because she was reading the Bible with Muslims. Her thirty-one-year-old
husband, Makan Arya, was accused of having endangered national security. Both
of them had only been Christians for three months. Muslim converts meet
together in small groups to talk about the gospel, to grow in the Christian
faith and to encourage one another. They have made a vast transition from Islam
to Christianity and they have a great need of training, security and a sense of
belonging. The Church tries to provide for this need and becomes the new
“family.”
When they were released, the threats started. “If you don’t
stop with your Jesus, next time we will charge you with apostasy,” Tina was
told. In Iran, this can mean the death penalty.
Jamaa Ait Bakrim in Morocco is also serving time for his
faith. Moroccan Christians and advocates question the harsh measures of the
Muslim state toward a man who dared speak openly about Jesus. An outspoken
Christian convert, Bakrim was sentenced to fifteen years prison for
“proselytizing” and destroying “the goods of others” in 2005 after burning two
defunct utility poles located in front of his private business in a small town
in south Morocco.
Advocates and Moroccan Christians said, however, that the
severity of his sentence in relation to his misdemeanor shows that authorities
were determined to put him behind bars because he persistently spoke about his
faith. “He became a Christian and didn’t keep it to himself,” said a Moroccan
Christian and host for Al Hayat Television who goes only by his first name, Rachid,
for security reasons. “He shared it with people around him. They will just
leave him in the prison so he dies spiritually and psychologically,” said
Rachid.
RESPONSE: Today I will do everything possible
to represent my persecuted brothers and sisters.
PRAYER: Pray for Christians experiencing
mistreatment and persecution around the world today.
Source: Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a
daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors
International. Used by permission.
This post was originally HERE
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