It seems to me like the international attention and reports have opened a small window for Christian pastor Youcef. Youcef is the Christ follower set to be executed because he would not convert to Islam in Iran. The supreme court has ordered a re-trial. This looks to me like a "face-saving" maneuver. Whatever it is, I am thankful that God has seen fit to spare His life. Read an article about it HERE.
Read a letter from Pastor Youcef in prison in Iran.
Showing posts with label Islam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islam. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Pastor To Be Executed
I saw a headline that caught my attention. A Christian pastor in Iran has been arrested, tried and is set to be executed. What was his crime? Being a Christian and refusing to renounce Christ. You can read the article in this Fox News Report
Tertullian once said, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." When Christ followers are killed for no other reason than being a Christ follower the end result is the opposite of the murderers' intent. The murderers' intend for this to be a warning to others who might consider Christ and want to follow Him. It seems logical to think that, but history proves otherwise. In 2000 years, where the persecution is most extreme the gospel spreads the fastest.
Thankfully we live in a free country. We face some religious challenges, but nothing like they do in other parts of the world. As people of freedom and followers of Christ we should pray for our brothers and sisters who face serious threats each day simply for their relationship with Jesus. We should also pray for our "enemies". We should ask God to use the life of those persecuted to reach many with the gospel of Christ.
Friday, March 28, 2008
A Dangerous Gospel
I recently heard this true story about a mission trip to a Muslim country. It was told by John Meador, pastor of First Baptist Euless. I heard him tell this at a conference so my version is going to be coming to you third hand. I was taking notes, but couldn’t remember the name of the person the story is about – but it’s more about the Lord anyway.
John had a young college student in his church. This student was small but on was a collegiate wrestler. Although he was only 125 pounds he had a tendency to speak the truth wherever and whenever. One time this young man went with a group on a short term mission trip to a Muslim country. One day he went with his interpreter to a small Muslim village and began preaching and sharing the gospel. He began speaking to a group of about 70 men who were leaders in that village. He began to present the gospel and at one point the men in the crowd began to ask him questions. One man asked him who Jesus was. The college student replied, “Jesus is God in the flesh, the Son of the living God, the one and only true God.” The men of the Muslim village then asked him who Allah was. The brave evangelist said, “He is a demon and Mohammed is a false prophet.” It was at this moment that the interpreter encouraged the young man that they needed to leave. They could sense the growing hostility of the crowd and departed unscathed.
The next day the young man felt compelled to return back to the village. He wanted to return because he didn’t get to finish his gospel presentation to the people. As he and the interpreter entered the village they saw a group of about 30 women. He asked them if he could share with them about Jesus Christ. The women said, “No. we don’t need to hear your message, we are ready to embrace your God.” The young man was confused and asked the women, “How can you be ready to receive my God if you haven’t listened to all of my message?” The women replied, “We heard you yesterday and we know it must be true because those men were not able to kill you. Your God must have protected you and your message must be true. We want to know your God.”
John had a young college student in his church. This student was small but on was a collegiate wrestler. Although he was only 125 pounds he had a tendency to speak the truth wherever and whenever. One time this young man went with a group on a short term mission trip to a Muslim country. One day he went with his interpreter to a small Muslim village and began preaching and sharing the gospel. He began speaking to a group of about 70 men who were leaders in that village. He began to present the gospel and at one point the men in the crowd began to ask him questions. One man asked him who Jesus was. The college student replied, “Jesus is God in the flesh, the Son of the living God, the one and only true God.” The men of the Muslim village then asked him who Allah was. The brave evangelist said, “He is a demon and Mohammed is a false prophet.” It was at this moment that the interpreter encouraged the young man that they needed to leave. They could sense the growing hostility of the crowd and departed unscathed.
The next day the young man felt compelled to return back to the village. He wanted to return because he didn’t get to finish his gospel presentation to the people. As he and the interpreter entered the village they saw a group of about 30 women. He asked them if he could share with them about Jesus Christ. The women said, “No. we don’t need to hear your message, we are ready to embrace your God.” The young man was confused and asked the women, “How can you be ready to receive my God if you haven’t listened to all of my message?” The women replied, “We heard you yesterday and we know it must be true because those men were not able to kill you. Your God must have protected you and your message must be true. We want to know your God.”
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