A Country A Month

I recently started receiving material in the mail from Voice of the Martyrs, an organization that supports persecuted churches in restricted and hostile nations all over the world. (click to see what the difference is between the two!) As I've probably said before on this blog, one of the Scriptures the Lord has laid heavy on my heart is Philippians 3:7-11:

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (emphasis mine)

Remember Vibia Perpetua? She had this mindset, one of complete denial of self and of flesh, counting everything as loss, esteeming an intimate relationship with her Creator much more important and significant than anything in this temporal life. So with the Lord's guidance I've been trying doing the same thing by "daily dying", in the things say and don't say, do and don't do, watch and don't watch...you get the point! May not seem to be big things to most people, but I want to be a good steward of what God's doing in my life right now so He can continue using and growing me later! But anyways, back to Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). It's so incredibly mind-blowing to me that there are people across the world, believers to be specific, who are taking this Scripture to heart in ways I can hardly imagine. When Christians in these persecuted nations read I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, they mean it!! These people quite literally "share in the sufferings of Christ" through consistent persecution, and since refusal to denounce the name of Christ is, in many of these restricted nations, a death sentence, there are some who even "become like him in his death." 

I have a heart to share Christ with the world, but aside from sharing Him currently where I'm at, what else can I do? Think, think, think...ah! I can pray. (novel concept, huh?) One of the materials I received from VOM was a map showing all of the restricted and hostile nations in the world. I posted the map on the wall in my room and have decided to pray for a country a week. Last week I prayed for Columbia. For their government, for their economy, for the churches, pastors, believers, unbelievers, persecutors, children, parents, and more. This week I'll be praying for Chiapas, Mexico. Praying is the least I can do! I'd love to support financially, but I'm not in a position to do so. However, I realize that my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and my prayers will be heard by the One Who's able to control all that is going on in these countries--for His glory!! If we aren't careful, we can forget the power that can be found in prayer. The Bible clearly tells us this in James 5: 

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (emphasis mine)

and this in Philippians 4:

 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (emphasis mine)

So let me get this straight. There are Christians, who I'll probably never see until heaven, all over the world who are suffering, under intense persecution (think beaten, tortured, abused, jailed, chained, etc.) boldly sharing the unwanted but needed truth of the gospel in places that I'll probably never go.They are desperately in need of support. Now add this: my God says that the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective, and that I should present all my requests before Him. With all that being said, I don't plan on missing out on the great opportunity of lifting up these saints in prayer any longer! Not when God has promised to hear and respond! (This isn't to say their persecution will all out stop; it's clear in the Word that believers will face sufferings in this life! But God always knows how to provide for and look out for His own.) 


So anyways, I definitely encourage you guys to check out the VOM website and request some of their free material. It's always a good thing to see a world outside of our own (especially if the most we've seen of the world has been limited to the luxuries America offers!). There are believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ, people saved by grace through faith just like us, who are suffering persecutions for this very same faith - persecutions that we may never, ever experience! We should desire to edify these saints in whatever way we can, and it can all begin with interceding for them in prayer.

"My Life: Perpetua" ~ The Origins

Who knew that coming up with a title for this blog would be so difficult!! In addition to some ideas of my own, I asked several people what it should be, yet I still couldn't seem to decide on anything!! Alas, how frustrating. After taking a break from the back-breaking, mind-numbing (okay, maybe not that serious!) labor of trying to think up an amazing and catchy title, I began to think about women of faith who I look up to and respect because of their walk with God and testimony before Him. The first one who came to mind was Elisabeth Elliot. An amazing woman, but I wanted to think of someone else. That's when the Lord brought to my remembrance a young woman by the name of Vibia Perpetua.

Vibia Perpetua was a young woman who lived during the years of the early church, thought to be only in her early 20s. She had it all: upper class status, marriage to a high ranking man, a newborn baby, her whole life ahead of her! But this young woman had Someone in her life who made all of these seemingly significant details of none effect; that Someone was Jesus. She met her Savior and Lover of her soul, her King and her Lord, the One who showed her where real life is found. And when she found that new life in Christ, she gave her very life boldly proclaiming it, becoming a martyr who was viciously slain for refusing to deny Jesus Christ.

Whoa!! Let's back up here. So Perpetua was young? check. Married? check. Mother? check. High status? check. And a Christian? big check. One of my initial thoughts when reviewing all these details was that surely it wasn't necessary for her to..you know..die.. I mean, really God? She accepted You into her life; You gave her a husband, a child, she was prospering, and she had soo many years to live (well, apparently not...)! She could have told her persecuters that she'd settle down with all the "Jesus talk," and then continue living the way she was before. But at what cost would it have been?
This young woman, in her mere 20-some years on earth, realized something that what I (even after being saved for nearly ten years) am only now truly learning to do--to count as loss all things we hold dear for the sake of Christ and His cross!

So many times we--well, I'll speak for myself, I--will look at people like Perpetua and think things like, 'Wow, she's one of those rare few that God uses to really show a big, extreme faith!!' (emphasis on rare few and extreme). But isn't that what God desires of all of us who claim Him as Lord and Savior? I think about the passage in Mark 8, when Jesus basically tells His disciples, "Hey, if you're trying to follow Me, then you're going to have to deny yourselves!! 'Cause if you're trying to hold on to this temporal life, you're sure to lose life eternal, but if you proclaim Me and My good news, you'll surely save it!" Jesus goes on to explain the consequences for those who choose to deny Him before man here on earth.

Vibia Perpetua understood this, and was brutally martyred for her bold proclamation of the gospel. But it shouldn't be something we consider rare or extreme; God desires to use each and every one of us. We should be living sacrifices for Him (Rom.12.1)! No, not all of us may be called to literally be tortured and to die for Jesus. But if it came to that, would we be willing? Are we grateful enough for Jesus' sacrifice on the cross that we allow our own flesh to die daily, thus allowing ourselves to become fully consumed with Him in order to be continual testimonies of His redemption and grace? When I look at Perpetua, I realize that I don't desire a mediocre Christian life, one content to get spiritually fat, without exercising any spiritual muscle. I want to have a passion, a zeal for my Savior that's so great that I take Him at His Word, counting all things as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ! This is how I want my faith to be: perpetua (Latin)-unbroken, perpetual, lasting, and continuous in Him.