http://www.persecutionblog.com/2013/02/no-fear.html
VOM_MediaDev
February 1, 2013
Terrorists seek to create terror—to fill people with fear. In the
United States, we often hear about terrorism from the mouths of
politicians or policemen "fighting against terrorism" or trying to
prevent "terror attacks." Often terrorists create fear for a political
purpose.
Those who persecute our Christian brothers and sisters in hostile and
restricted nations around the world seek to create terror in believers
in order to stop the spread of the gospel. Blowing up churches in
Nigeria is designed to make Christians too fearful to go to church.
Arresting pastors in China is designed to make them afraid to continue
working in unregistered churches. Threatening to kill the children of
a pastor in FARC-controlled areas of Colombia is designed to make the
pastor too afraid to stay in that area.
But Christians have a clear scriptural mandate not to fear. When VOM's
founder, Richard Wurmbrand, was arrested in Communist Romania on
February 29th, 1948, he was reminded that he had been told that the
instruction, "Do not be afraid," appears in different forms in the
Bible 366 times, one for each day of the year, including leap day, the
day of his arrest.
It is easy to quote verses like II Timothy 1:7 ("God has not given us
a spirit of fear…") in a warm home with a full stomach. It is much
harder to live them out in a nation where enemies of the gospel are
arrayed in every direction, seeking to eliminate the gospel influence
from their land. Yet our persecuted brothers and sisters overcome this
fear to share the gospel, plant churches and worship together.
As you pray for persecuted Christians this weekend, one of the things
you can pray is that they will not be overcome by fear, but will
boldly go forward to the things Christ has called them to, in spite of
the risk or the danger. Will you join in that prayer?
YOUR TURN: What fears have you had to overcome to more faithfully
serve the Lord?
GOD JESUS SAVIOR