STATORNICI IN CREDINTA LOR

Statornici in credinta lor

EVREI 11
33Prin credinţă au cucerit ei împărăţii, au făcut dreptate, au căpătat făgăduinţe, au astupat gurile leilor,
34au stins puterea focului, au scăpat de ascuţişul sabiei, s-au vindecat de boli, au fost viteji în războaie, au pus pe fugă oştirile vrăjmaşe.
35Femeile şi-au primit înapoi pe morţii lor înviaţi; unii, ca să dobândească o înviere mai bună, n-au vrut să primească izbăvirea, care li se dădea, şi au fost chinuiţi.
36Alţii au suferit batjocuri, bătăi, lanţuri şi închisoare;
37au fost ucişi cu pietre, tăiaţi în două cu ferestrăul, chinuiţi; au murit ucişi de sabie, au pribegit îmbrăcaţi cu cojoace şi în piei de capre, lipsiţi de toate, prigoniţi, munciţi, -
38ei, de care lumea nu era vrednică - au rătăcit prin pustiuri, prin munţi, prin peşteri şi prin crăpăturile pământului.
39Toţi aceştia, măcar că au fost lăudaţi pentru credinţa lor, totuşi n-au primit ce le fusese făgăduit;
40pentru că Dumnezeu avea în vedere ceva mai bun pentru noi, ca să n-ajungă ei la desăvârşire fără noi.

Hebrews 11
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.NKJ translation
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32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, uthough commended through their faith, udid not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, vthat apart from us they should not be made perfect. ESV translation

BELIEVE AND PRAY

Alexander Ogorodnikov (a believer in Jesus Christ) imprisoned in Soviet Gulag...his story! More info about Open Doors: www.OpenDoorsUSA.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4IpnQOJzP0&feature=channel

deathmetalhablo
GREAT GOD!!!
prilahoz
Amem!! Very beautiful!!!
robinspillman
Magnificent! God!

PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iih1y6OvbhY&feature=channel

supertrueThis is a wonderful opportunity! Everyone who reads this should get involved in this thoughtful and compassionate ministry. Many are in need, and this ministry is working towards fulfilment of the Great commission. May the LORD richly bless Open Doors and all those involved! ~JC

PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 13

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PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 12

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PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 11

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PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 10

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PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 9

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PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 8

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PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 7

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PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 6

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PERSECUTATI PENTRU CREDINTA LOR IN DUMNEZEUL ADEVARAT 13 SERII -EPISODUL NUMARUL 1

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Matei 10:18 Din pricina Mea, veţi fi duşi înaintea dregătorilor şi înaintea împăraţilor, ca să slujiţi ca mărturie înaintea lor şi înaintea Neamurilor. Marcu 13:9 Luaţi seama la voi înşivă. ...


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SAFE- SECURITY AND GOD'S PURPOSES

Is It Safe to Follow Jesus?

During my devotional time this morning, I was reading from Nehemiah 6. In this chapter, Nehemiah’s enemies sought to immobilize him with threats and fear. He was urged retreat to the safety of the temple. He refused, however, knowing that to do so would be a violation of what God had called him to do. He could not accomplish God’s purposes and be preoccupied with safety.

Safety; what a comforting thought for so many people. We yearn for it, especially in times like today when so much seems uncertain. We pursue it, hoping to achieve a rest that we know, deep down, we’ll never really find. But we are prepared to sacrifice even good things in order to possess it to some measure.

Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus once said, "The desire for safety stands against very great and noble enterprise." Seven years ago, before the advent of the blog, I wrote a commentary for the Persecution and Prayer Alert in which I addressed this issue in regards to what it means to follow Jesus. At the time, the world was still reeling from the events of 9/11. But as I read my words of April 10, 2002 again this morning, I was struck by how relevant they remained for today. And so I thought that perhaps it might be worthwhile updating what I had to say back then.

In the February 2002 edition of SIM Now, Pep Philpott, executive director for SIM Canada, mulled over the question why, as missionary agencies, we tend to evacuate our staff when things get "hot" in our countries of service. This became most obvious in the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001, when many missionaries were evacuated from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Such evacuations of missionary staff are, by no means, unique. Just a cursory search on Google finds evacuation of missionaries from Sudan, Madagascar, and Afghanistan since the beginning of 2009.

In his deliberations, Mr. Philpott rightfully observed that evacuation decisions are often taken out of the hands of the missionaries by government orders, the church's advice, or circumstances beyond their control. But he noted, "The question would not go away. Could it really be a reasonable supposition that God intends suffering for our national brethren, but not for the missionary? Would the purposes of God consistently suffer if the missionary remained in a situation of conflict?"

It was Mr. Philpott’s next paragraph that I found most intriguing. "After mulling over these weighty issues I came to this conclusion: I have an appalling theology of suffering. In fact, it is hardly a theology because it cannot be supported by Scripture. For me, and I suspect for my generation, comfort and security are seen as our birthright. We strive ardently to hold on to them, hardly considering the Biblical requirement to release them for the sake of the Gospel. It's as if our motto is, 'We came to serve, not to suffer.' "

Over the years since joining The Voice of the Martyrs, I have received a number of emails from all over the world. Occasionally, I get emails from those who are either thinking of ministering in another culture or who have loved ones who are planning to do so. But the primary reason they write me is not so that I can pray for them or help equip them for ministry in a restricted nation. Usually the purpose of the message is to ascertain whether it is "safe" to minister there.

Usually, the answer is "Yes, for the most part." Usually foreigners are much safer in restricted societies than the national believers who do not have the luxury of evacuation. The worst thing that can usually happen to a foreigner missionary is that they will be expelled from the country. There are rare (and tragic) exceptions, but this is generally true.

But I continue to be disconcerted by the question, "Is it safe?" When is it ever safe to follow Jesus? Did Jesus promise a safe road? Is the call of God only to be followed if "to pastures green, He leadeth me"? Rather, did He not say, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24)? The path of Christ is the path of the cross. Yet, how many of us are like Peter, who upon hearing that Jesus was going to follow this path, took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you" (Matthew 16:22). Jesus replied, that such a mentality reflected the attitude of this world, rather than the mind of God (16:23).

Recently I received an email from the father of a 17-year-old girl who was reading our book Jesus Freaks. He had just refused to allow his daughter to go on a mission trip over spring break to Mexico. He wrote,

“Due to the increasing violence in Mexico as a result of the local drug cartel turf wars we decided to pull her out of this trip in fear of her safety. She was not concerned about being tortured or killed and wanted desperately to go on this trip. Your book seems to send a message to impressionable young people that common sense and rational thought should not play a role in their Christian life and that their personal safety is secondary to their beliefs. This is a very slippery slope especially for young impressionable teens.”

Here was how I responded,

“Thank you for your email. I understand your concern about your daughter. As a father, I would probably feel the same even though I don’t think I would have made the same decision you did. You see, as you note, in our material we do indeed point out that believers regardless of their age or where they live should be prepared to suffer and die for their faith. We do this because this, we are convinced, is the clear teaching of the Bible and of Jesus, in particular, when He said that anyone who would follow Him must take up their cross and follow Him. If they were not prepared to sacrifice even their own lives for Him, He said, they were not worthy of Him. This is not a slippery slope; it is the reality that most Christians live with on a daily basis in the world today, including young people and even children. There is a cost to follow Him and yes, the Bible does suggest that personal safety must take a back seat to their loyalty to Christ and His call to fulfill the purposes of God. This kind of priority was exemplified by Jesus Himself and which He calls us to repeatedly in the New Testament. We would not be faithful to scripture if we were to teach anything else.”

You see, to the mind of God, suffering is not the worst thing that can happen to His people. Disobedience is.