“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”
Philippians 1:29-30
The apostle Paul wrote these words to the church at Philippi from prison. He suffered greatly to boldly preach the gospel to nations deeply engrained in paganism and idol worship (2 Corinthians 11:16-33), and his experience was not singular. Paul told the Philippians that it had been granted to them to suffer for Jesus’ sake. It was a privilege for them to share in the sufferings of Christ. It was an honor for them to be counted with Jesus and despised for His name. Suffering for the name of Jesus is still very real in our age.
We are blessed immensely with near complete religious freedom in the United States. There is very little cost to follow Jesus where we live, but in our blessing, we must not forget those brothers and sisters who suffer so much for the sake of Jesus. We must remember that Jesus is the Savior of all the nations. Jesus is the truth for all races. In following after Him, many millions of Christians pay a high price, including imprisonment, labor camps, beatings, and death.
‘Open Doors’ is a long-standing and trustworthy ministry that carefully tracks and reports on persecuted Christians from all over the world. Each year ‘Open Doors’ publishes a compilation of statistics and ranks the countries of the world by persecution toward Christians. This list explains the struggle of Christians in each country and gives personal insight into their lives.
My prayer is that you will save this link on your phone or print this list of persecuted Christians by country. Please pray for these dear persecuted brothers and sisters in Jesus! Pull out the list at mealtime with your family, or alone during your devotional time. Let’s pray together day by day through the year for these suffering Christians. Read their stories and learn of their struggles. Pray for their courage, protection, wisdom, and provision. Pray for the good news of the salvation of Jesus Christ to spread powerfully in these difficult areas. Pray for missionaries to go to them. Pray for biblical churches to be formed. Pray that the governments and religious tone of these places will change through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord will hear and answer your prayers. May Jesus be glorified in all the world. The link is here: opendoors
May the Lord care for these suffering brothers and sisters,
Pastor Vic