Presbyterian Blogs: 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

Presbyterian Blogs: 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