Christian devotion: A Hundred Thousand - Acts 18:13

Acts 18:13       "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law."

According to a spokesman for the Vatican, up to 100,000 Christians are killed each year around the world. Many of them come into conflict with local, regional, or national laws that impact their right to be Christians. If this is true, then it means that courageous men and women are still being martyred globally, for the faith that we commonly share. That is a very sobering thought, especially in our part of the world where freedom to worship is dearly held as a Constitutional Right, as well as a religious one.

In the Apostle Paul’s time, Christians were usually arrested for breaking local laws. In today’s passage, the Jews of Achaia drum up charges against Paul for not following the proscribed religious and political rules about worship. They try to get him charged with sedition, but providentially, the proconsul threw their charges out of his court. He knew that they were trying to manipulate him to do what they wanted – to stop Paul’s ministry by having him incarcerated. Gallio, however, rejected the charges and appears to have made his decision based upon what we practice today: the separation of Church and State.

As Christianity wanes in Western society, there may come a time when Christ’s followers will find that their biblical beliefs come into conflict with civil law. If that moment ever occurs, the question which we as Christians will be faced with is this: do we follow the Law or the Lord?

Questions for personal reflection

What do I think about the Vatican statement? How do my Christian beliefs differ from those who are being persecuted and martyred for Christ in other places?

Prayers:          Lord Jesus, remind us about the true cost of our faith and the conflicts that other Christians are facing each day around the world. Keep us from sustaining a cozy faith that doesn’t inconvenience us; instead grant us the courage to hold onto and live a real faith that may be constantly challenged by those around us. 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 ask a question or comment about today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest rural drawings called “Covered Bridge.” If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/8779456370_b02c5109a2_b.jpg

Daily devotions: Same Kind of Suffering? - 1 Peter 5:9

1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Sometimes I wonder if we as Western Christians really do know about the sufferings of  our brothers and sisters throughout the world. Compared to 99% of the Earth’s population, we live in the lap of luxury. All we need to do is turn the tap on to get cold running water. Our stores are filled with goods and groceries. We can practically go anywhere we want to across our land. These blessings we take for granted.

However, billions of people on this planet have limited access to water which is usually not clean. If there are any stores, most of them have depleted shelves. And as for going anywhere they want, billions of people are trapped in areas of poverty and oppression, enslaved from the moment they were born to the very second that they die.

This morning I want to tell you about a brave brother in our faith who is suffering in Iran. His name is Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34 year old Christian pastor who has been in prison since October of 2009. He was arrested for objecting to the Iranian policy that all children, including his own 8 & 9 year old sons, would be required to study the Quran at school. Youcef protested that the constitution of Iran allows for the freedom of religion. Originally he was charged with protesting, but then the local secret police and Iranian revolutionary court amended the charges to apostasy and evangelism. He was sentenced to death in November 2010.

Yesterday, the appeals court upheld that Youcef was guilty of these charges and should be sentenced to death. His family is being cared for by relatives. His execution may take place today because the Iranian government does not want an international outcry, which may bring unrest among the Iranian people. If Youcef is executed, he will be the first Christian in twenty years to be hanged for his faith.

So now we are aware of the suffering of one of our brothers. How does our faith then, compare to Youcef’s? Are we really Christians who are ready to give all for The Way? Or are we just spiritual people, stumbling along in our own way?

Prayer:                 Lord Jesus, we say that we love You because it’s easy to think, say, and do that. If our circumstances were different, if our lifestyles were more restricted, if our faith was being persecuted, would we still love You? The blessings that we experience and often take for granted are gifts from God. Forgive us for being ungrateful and pardon us for being ignorant about what’s happening to real Christians around the world.

We pray for Youcef and his family. We ask for mercy and clemency. We hope for a way to be found for Youcef to be set free and to return to his family Allow him to be a pastor of Your people again. 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.

If you would like more information about Youcef Nadarkhani and other Christians who are in prison for their faith, please visit the following website at www.prisoneralert.com

Peace Prize devotion: Prisoner for Peace

Psalm 118: 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. 

In three days time, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded. Instead of going to a major political leader, the prize will be awarded to a humble winner. His name is Liu Xiaobo and at the moment he is languishing in a Chinese prison. The Communist Chinese government is absolutely livid about this choice and will not attend the ceremony. The Chinese have also persuaded 19 allied nations to boycott the Peace Prize award in Norway.

Liu Xiaobo has been in prison for two years. His crime was to publicly advocate for many freedoms and civil rights that we in the West take for granted. Among those precious protested rights was that of religious freedom. Despite announcing to the world years before the Beijing Olympics that it was going to release religious prisoners and allow people to worship whatever religion they freely chose, the Chinese government has never fulfilled those assurances. When Liu Xiaobo protested before the Games, he was quickly arrested, speedily put on trial, and sentenced to eleven years for being a dissident. Now the Chinese government is embarrassed because the world knows of its false claims.

For many years I have advocated for the religious rights of the Chinese people through my sermons and writings. I feel that the Christians in that land are presently the bravest souls in Christendom. What they endure from the oppressive authorities is something unheard of here in the West. We are so casually cozy in our faith that we find it very difficult to understand or even accept what is going on. Chinese Christians, especially those who meet in unregulated house church groups, face prejudice, intimidation, and harassment on a regular basis. Despite these challenges, the Chinese church is growing immensely and one day Communism will be overthrown, just as it was in Eastern Europe during the 1990s. My personal hope is that I live long enough to see this; I also hope that Liu Xiaobo and his family get to see that liberating moment in their lifetimes too.

When the psalmist writes of not putting our trust in princes, he is referring to whatever branch of government presides over a particular country. Princes and governments can be frivolous and ambivalent with the rights of their people. Our unalienable rights as human beings, however, come from God, so no matter what rights are denied by authoritarian governments or totalitarian dictators, freedom and liberty, especially of conscience, speech, and faith, will always be given to us by God and not from capricious governments.

On Friday, I will say a prayer for Liu Xiaobo and his family. He deserves this award and I hope that it will bring about his early release.

Prayer:                        Lord God, we thank You for our unalienable rights which come from You. We pray for freedom to be experienced throughout the world. We know that many people suffer at the hands of their leaders and the caprice of oppressive governments. Help us to trust in You and to joyfully experience the freedom of faith that You have bestowed and blessed us with. In Christ’s Holy Name, we 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.

Today’s image is one of John’s 2010 Winter Wildlife drawings. It features a grey wolf in winter. If you would like to see a larger version of this please click on the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/5191026618_86fe27d279_b.jpg

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

Daily Devotions: Li Ying - Mark 13 v 9

Mark 13:9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.”

We really lead a comfortable Christianity over here in the West. We complain about school textbooks, cold sanctuaries, and long sermons. We come and go to church as we please, and we pick and choose what we want to believe in and where we want to go. Everything is handed to us on a plate. No wonder then that the rest of the world calls our faith “Canteen Christianity.” We just stand in line at worship and wholly expect to be fed and nourished, with either a lifestyle latte or sweet dessert of a sermon to finish things off.

Meanwhile people like Li Ying, a pastor’s daughter from China, have been languishing in prison since April 2001. Her crime? Writing and distributing a monthly church newsletter. She has six more years of hard labor to complete, before her unjust sentence from the monstrous Chinese Communist regime is over. Talk about a real Christian! We really have no idea what Christianity is all about.

Instead of ourselves, let’s pray for Li Ying. Compared to what she is going through right now, we’re living like royalty.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, forgive us for being whiners and complainers instead of winners and champions for our faith. We remember Li Ying this day and ask that You protect throughout her time of unjust imprisonment. We pray that You will sustain her spirit and her family. We ask that she will remain faithful to You despite her sufferings and that when she is finally released, she may be welcomed and embraced by Your Church in China and throughout the world. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

If you would like to read more information on Li Ying and other Christian prisoners in China, please visit this link online: Li Ying

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.