Dear Friend of the Persecuted Church—

            Have you ever found yourself wishing that you could believe something, just because it would make life easier to believe it? 

Perhaps as a kid you wanted to believe in Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny; those would be such fun.  Perhaps, even as an adult, you have tried to believe that you could afford a new car or computer, in spite of a monthly budget that says otherwise!

Sometimes cold, hard reality forces us to acknowledge truth that can be painful.  As kids, we learn there is no Santa Clause; as adults, we realize that living within a budget means we can’t have everything we want; as Christians, it means that the eternal is unimaginably more important than the temporal.

            That may mean that we must sacrifice our reputations to share the gospel, or give up luxuries and comforts to share the love of Christ and support mission work.  But imagine what sticking to the truth means for believers in persecution!  They are, quite literally, held captive by the truth of Jesus Christ, constrained by eternal reality to endure physical suffering.

            When a Christian, at the point of a gun, is told to recant or die, there is no way around his choice.  In that moment, there is an easy lie and a painful truth.  Sticking with that painful truth cannot be easy, but its result is eternal glory.

            The families left behind must make that choice, too.  While they may not face death, they certainly face hunger, cold, mockery, and violence.  With no place to turn, their choice is no less difficult.  A mother’s dedication to her faith in Jesus Christ could mean that she does not know how she is going to feed her children, or how she is going to protect them.  And yet, I have seen these mothers and these children, clinging faithfully to the truth, refusing to let go and take the easy lie.

            Their firmness is a testimony to the truth that they live for, and a chance for you and I to be the channels of God’s faithfulness.  Your prayers are a huge part of being that channel!

Yours for the Body of Christ,

Gabriel J. Waddell
Executive Director

P.S.  This is the last week for you to RSVP for “Of Whom the World was not Worthy” on November 8.  For more information, click here!

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