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COMING FORTH AS GOLD
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” – Job 23:10
The most recent wave of persecution of house churches by the Chinese Government began in January 2004. Christians received sentences of up to three years, reports mission agency Open Doors. Brother Zhong from central China tells of his first imprisonment, which lasted 33 days:
“All of our house church leaders were arrested in a raid by the National Security Office while we were training them.
In prison, our heads were shaved, and we were interrogated for days. We were told that the other inmates were waiting for their chance to beat us up when we were sent to our cells. Up until then, every new prisoner had been beaten up. I entered my cell shaking with fear. It was a fearsome sight: sixteen other prisoners standing in two rows, fists ready.
My heart was beating hard, and I prayed rapidly for help. Suddenly the leader of the gang asked ‘Why are you here?’ ‘Because I am a Christian,’ I answered timidly, expecting the first blows. ‘You don’t beat people up?’ he asked. ‘No,’ I answered. The next question surprised me: ‘Can you sing?’ ‘Yes,’ I replied, wondering where this was heading. The gang leader told me to sing. The song ‘I Give Myself as a Seed’ came to mind, so I sang.
The words are:
“Who doesn’t have a brother or sister? Who doesn’t have a wife and child? Who doesn’t want to be with his family? Who doesn’t want to be among His relatives? But if the Lord calls me to carry His Cross, I would ignore Them all, even if they passed by my house.”
Tears ran down my cheeks as I sang. The Holy Spirit came in our midst, and half of the other prisoners were in tears when I finished. The leader stepped forward and clapped me on the shoulder. He then asked me to read the Gospel to them. They wanted to hear it every day.
One day, when we sang again, a guard came to ask what we were doing, and who was responsible. I stood up, and was punished. I had to take off my clothes and stand against the wall in a very uncomfortable position. The leader stood up, demanding the same punishment. The guard became very angry and stormed out of the cell. One of the other inmates became a Christian that day.
I was released soon afterwards, because my wife managed to pay my bail. My time in prison impaired my health, but the spiritual gain was worth far more. I am very grateful to God.”
The afflictions we face are refining us to become more like Jesus Christ. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that He is changing you into His likeness and the spiritual gain is worth far more than any pain.
“God loves us in good times and bad. But he is even more real in our lives when we are having tough times.” – Joe Gibbs
God’s Word: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” – 1 Peter 1:6-7
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2005, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN JOB
