"I am a Christian." ~ Extreme Devotion

The twenty-year-old Bible student was asleep when he was awakened by shouts of “Allah-u-Ahkar!” (Allah is Almighty!) Radical Muslims entered his room and beat him nearly unconscious. As Dominggus fought to escape, a sickle came down on the back of his neck, nearly severing his head. The attackers left him in a growing pool of his own blood, assuming he would soon die.

Dominggus said that his spirit left his body and was carried by angels to heaven, and he witnessed his own corpse lying motionless on the ground. He no longer felt fear or pain, but rather peace as he awaited his new life with Christ. Then he heard, “It is not time for you to serve me here.”

The next voices Dominggus heard were those of Indonesian emergency medical workers. Since they did not know whether he was Christian or Muslim, they were discussing where to take his body.

Dominggus prayed to God for strength to speak. Finally, the words “I am a Christian” came out. One can only imagine the look on the workers’ faces as the “dead” student answered their question.

Today, Dominggus has fully recovered. His physical scars remain, but his spirit has a renewed faith and a message of forgiveness. Dominggus stated he is closer to God, and now, he is actively praying for his Muslim neighbors—even those who attacked him.

[i]In an uncertain new world of violence and threats, Christians are commanded to face the future without fear. Fear only aggravates a bad situation without alleviating any pressure. We can confidently face the future’s uncertainties on earth because we know our eternal destination is secure. We know our heavenly future is eternity with Christ, as Dominggus so clearly saw. After all, we are much more than just earthly bodies that our enemies may maim and even kill. Your life will go on far after your body is destroyed. Your true future is what happens in eternity, not what happens here on earth. What fears do you have about the future? Can you entrust them to God and face the future without fear?[/i]

“Hurry, get into the closet. Do not make a sound unless you hear my voice. Do you understand?” Rose heard the two small voices of her preschool children say, “Yes, Mommy,” then she bolted out the door and headed toward her daughter’s school, praying that it was not too late.

At the proclamation of Sharia, or Islamic law, by the Nigerian government, pockets of violence broke out against Christian groups because they had opposed the laws. Rose’s oldest daughter was still at school during the rioting, and Rose was sure she would not be safe there. When she arrived at the school, her daughter had been taken to a military base for safety. Eventually, Rose found her, and they returned home where the two younger children were waiting safely.

The following day, when her husband left for a Christian gathering, it was the last time she saw him alive. Roughly 260 churches were destroyed during these riots, and more than 460 Christians were killed.

In the months since her husband’s murder, Rose has drawn comfort from the book of Acts. She said, “The same God that allowed Stephen to be stoned also allowed Peter to escape from prison. God has been faithful, and his grace has been sufficient.” Today Rose continues to work in the church where her martyred husband pastored, and she busily raises her three children.

[i]It has been said God will never lead us where his grace cannot keep us. We must realize that sometimes his plan does not include a miraculous deliverance from illness, death, or oppression. Yet his grace is sufficient, and he has not abandoned us. We must trust that God would not lead us to a place of ministry or work without an adequate measure of his grace to make it. Sometimes his plan involves simply seeing us through an ordeal instead of delivering us from it. Have you come to a point where you are willing to entirely rely on him? You’ll likely never say that God’s grace is all you need until his grace is all you have.[/i]

Angela Cazacu was just an ordinary woman living in Romania during World War II when the Nazis invaded. All too quickly, life for Jews and Christians became a living terror. Angela kept busy stealing Jewish children from the ghettos and smuggling food and clothing to female Christian prisoners in the prisons around her city.

Later, when the Nazis were driven out of her country and the Soviet army invaded, Angela was still busy spreading the message of God’s love by handing out Russian Bibles and New Testaments in train stations full of Soviet soldiers.

When Pastor Richard Wurmbrand was a prisoner in the Tirgul-Ocna jail in the winter of 1951, he was severely ill. His skeletal body shivered from the constant cold of the worst winter on record. Each prisoner was allowed only one blanket, and food was scarce because no one was able to get to the prison through the heavy snow.

It was during this bleak moment when Pastor Wurmbrand received a package containing desperately needed food and warm clothing that the pastor gladly shared with others. The package that he thought must have been delivered by an angel probably saved his life.

Once again, Sister Angela (meaning “angel” in Romanian) was busily going about her Father’s business. Ordinary? Maybe. But God delights in using ordinary people as his angels of mercy.

[i]Years ago, in response to the increasing news coverage of random acts of violence, a bumper sticker began to appear that suggested practicing “random acts of kindness.” An act of kindness or mercy to a stranger may be as seemingly insignificant as giving up a prime parking place at a shopping center or taking the time to make eye contact with the clerk at the store. However, God can use you to transform even the most ordinary act of kindness into a powerful gift of grace in someone else’s life. Ask God to help you commit a random act of kindness in his name today. You may never know it, but you might be someone’s “angel.”[/i]