Daily Devotions: Prisoner of Faith

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

About every six months, I get an update on a Chinese Christian who has been imprisoned by the Communist regime in China since January 2008. Alimujiang Yimiti has been held without trial since January 2008. He has been accused of leading an unregistered house church and has been charged with breaching national security. If he is found guilty, he will be sentenced to death.

Alimujiang converted from Islam to Christianity which caused resentment in the local community. His enemies fabricated the charges against him, but to date there is still no substantial evidence to make the charges stick. However, the Chinese Communist authorities won’t release Alimujiang because they continue to persecute Christian leaders.

On April 20, his family was allowed to visit with him for the first time since his arrest in January 2008, according to China Aid Association. The family reported that Alimujiang was noticeably thinner but in good spirits.  Despite the horrendous conditions and injustice of the situation, Alimujiang and his family still hold dear to their Christian faith. God is their refuge and strength, as well as their ever present help in a time of trouble.

When we compare the hardships that we face with those of Alimujiang and his family, we should feel thankful to God for the religious freedom that we have in our respective countries. His faith is so much stronger than ours; his Christian beliefs have cost him everything.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, sometimes we take You for granted and put our faith to the side. Instead of placing You at the center of everything we do and praising You for everything we have, we serve ourselves first and leave You with what’s left over.

Remind us that there are Christians in the world like Alimujiang who suffer for the same faith. We pray for his family and for his freedom, in Your Holy Name. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

If you would like to read more about Alimujiang and other prisoners of faith, please click on the following link: http://www.prisoneralert.com/pprofiles/vp_prisoner_185_profile.html

2010 Devotions: Chinese Checkers - Isaiah 62 v 1

Isaiah 62:1     For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.

We hear a lot about religious terrorists and faith fanatics in the news, but how often do we hear or read about religious persecution and prisoners of faith? You will perhaps remember that I boycotted the Chinese Olympic Games because just miles from the glorious athletic stadiums, a Chinese Christian called Alimujiang Yimiti, had been arrested for distributing Bibles and leading a house church. Whilst the world was in awe of the athletic games, this good man was languishing in a Beijing cell for sharing the same Gospel that we believe in.

Well, after spending two years in prison, even although the Chinese Communist government had promised to be more tolerant of Christians in order to host the Olympics, Alimujiang has been sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment and hard labor. He was found guilty of ‘providing state secrets to overseas organizations;’ in other words, because the West had knowledge of his arrest and imprisonment through organizations like Voice of the Martyrs, he was unjustly and inhumanely imprisoned.

I will not keep silent about this. The Chinese Communist government is one of the most heinous, inhumane, and wicked authorities that has ever existed. Our Western leaders placate and appease them because we are financially indebted to China, but these militaristic monsters and religious persecutors should be exposed for what they are and excluded from the United Nations, the Olympic Games, and other international organizations and sports until they free the thousands of Christians like Alimujiang Yimiti.

I will continue to pray for his freedom, but I will also pray for the downfall of the cowardly Communist regime in China. I will not keep silent or remain quiet till China’s righteousness, through the courageous Christian Church, shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a blazing torch.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, our faith is so secure and cozy compared to that of Christians in other lands. We take so much for granted and forget that each day our brothers and sisters in the faith are being harassed, arrested, unjustly tried, and inhumanely imprisoned for the same beliefs that we profess to have. Liberate the souls Lord that are languishing in prison for You. Bring down the bad governments that bully, berate, and beat up Your people. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

4 Minute Daily Devotions: Prisoner for Christ

Our government is concerned about torturing terrorists over here, but what about human rights abuses taking place against Christians in China?

Click on Podcast version here

Deuteronomy 26:6     But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor.

Before last summer’s Olympics, I wrote to you about a Chinese Christian, Alimujiang Yimiti, who had been arrested in January 2007 for preaching the Gospel. He was one of the reasons that I boycotted the Games in China. I couldn’t stomach the fact that whilst the whole world was marveling at the Olympics, a Christian brother was languishing in a Chinese jail just because he was a preacher like me.

A couple of days ago, word came out that Yimiti was still in prison and is very, very sick. On March 31, Alimujiang was seen with his hands bound being roughly escorted by police and a prison doctor. He shouted, "I'm sick. Tell my lawyer to come quickly to see me."

I personally think that it is both despicable and deplorable that a fellow Christian is being maltreated in this way. In recent weeks, our own government has deplored the use of torture on terrorists. I wonder when the same leaders and politicians will make a similar stand against the human rights abuses that are going on in China today. It’s one thing to pose for the cameras and take a posture against human rights violations over here; it seems to me that because China holds a lot of our national debt, our government is afraid to speak out and do something about those atrocities over there.

I pray that Alimujiang gets better and that one day he is released back to his distraught family and Christian friends. It is important that we Western Christians, who tend to have a much easier life and greater freedom of religion, should never forget that our brothers and sisters in Christ are being harassed and hunted down, persecuted and imprisoned, tortured and even executed for the same beliefs that we often take for granted.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, today we pray for Alimujiang Yimiti and his family. We ask that You will heal him of his sickness and rescue him from his persecutors. We pray for his release back into his community and church. May we continually remind ourselves that if not for the grace of God and the land of our birth, we could have faced the same mistreatment for having the same faith. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.