Suffering & Security

Recently, a dear friend in this good work shared with us that it’s really on his heart to see us be talking about and guiding conversation towards suffering with local friends.  How on earth can we as Americans help to prepare local friends who trust in Jesus for the suffering, the opposition and persecution that may come for them?  We’ve listened to a testimony of a brother in the former USSR whose faithfulness inspired us all…

And last night one girl said to us “I think God is testing us…”  by giving us this season where the police may come after us if we have a Bible app on our phones or when family members may be taken away if the government questions something about their lives.  What an opportunity to reply for these several friends around our table to hear:  “I think religion should be tested.  First, we have to know if what we believe about God is really, truly true.  It should stand up to questioning if it is. (They are told insistently that they should not question Is lam but just believe it.  To show any doubt is not honorable.)  and Second, if what we believe, if we have chosen our religion because we are convinced that it is the truth of God, than we should be ready to live and to suffer for it….  God and eternity and truth simply matter more than comforts here, now.”

 

The girls kept commenting on religion being the way that we “pass God’s test.”  And again, we got to explain that we can never pass God’s test of holiness and perfect righteousness… but there is One who passes God’s test for us and gives us His perfect score.  One of the girls was crying as we shared about Jesus….

Please pray that these ladies would join together for a study through God’s word.  We’d like to talk about the main storyline of the Bible from Genesis/creation/sin through sacrifices and prophets and prophecy of Christ and then to the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.   Ask that the Father would give these young ladies boldness to be willing to meet weekly to study His Word.