Saturday Song: Randy Stonehill, "China"

What a beautiful song this is. It's almost a prayer for the oppressed people in that communist land. Open evangelism is band there and the official state church doesn't preach the gospel. All they teach is moralism. Yet Christianity is growing in China, much to the frustration of the Communist Party.

Christian rocker, Randy Stonehill, recorded this prayerful song on his Equator album. Listen to Randy Stonehill's song here.

Persecution is nothing new in this world. From the murder of Abel to today's slaughter, faithful believers are targets for Satan's wrath. As Jesus said in Matthew 23:29-31 (BBE) that, "A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you put up buildings for housing the dead bodies of the prophets, and make fair the last resting-places of good men, and say, 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in the blood of the prophets.' So that you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who put the prophets to death."

Likewise, Stephen lashed out at the Sanhedrin when he said in Acts 7:52 (BBE), "Which of the prophets was not cruelly attacked by your fathers? and they put to death those who gave them the news of the coming of the Upright One; whom you have now given up and put to death;"

So, Why does God allow persecution? Paul, who suffered much from persecuters, wrote in Philippians 1:12 and 13 (BBE), "Now it is my purpose to make clear to you, brothers, that the cause of the good news has been helped by my experiences; So that it became clear through all the Praetorian, and to all the rest, that I was a prisoner on account of Christ;"

James also understood persecution. That's why he wrote in James 1:2 and 3 (BBE) that we must, "Let it be all joy to you, my brothers, when you undergo tests of every sort; Because you have the knowledge that the testing of your faith gives you the power of going on in hope;"

On Monday, I'll post about how we Christians must rediscover the scriptures.

How to be Free in Prison

Having one's freedom restricted is irksome to most people. After all, the whole point of a penitentiary is to make people penitent. But what if I said that some folks actually were freer in jail than those on the outside?

The Apostle Paul certainly spent plenty of time behind bars. In fact, we wouldn't have nearly the number of epistles if Paul were allowed to go free. He'd be too busy preaching to write much to the churches.

Paul was in prison when he wrote in Philippians 1:12 and 13 (BBE), "Now it is my purpose to make clear to you, brothers, that the cause of the good news has been helped by my experiences; So that it became clear through all the Praetorium, and to all the rest, that I was a prisoner on account of Christ; And most of the brothers in the Lord, taking heart because of my chains, are all the stronger to give the word of God without fear.

Paul didn't waste time pouting over his ill fortune either. He wrote in Philippians 4:21 and 22 (BBE), "Give words of love to every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their love. All the saints send their love to you, specially those who are of Caesar's house."

Quite a few people came to faith in Christ because Paul was thrown in prison. One notable example was in Philippi when Paul and Silas were put in the stocks. Instead of railing against their unfair and unjust treatment, they prayed and sang hymns. Because of this, no prisoner escaped when God sent an earthquake and the cell doors opened.

We read in Acts 16:29-31 (BBE), "And he (the guard) sent for lights and came rushing in and, shaking with fear, went down on his face before Paul and Silas, And took them out and said, 'Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation? And they said, 'Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation.'"

So we see from just these two examples that God uses jail time for saving souls. One mistake Christians make is to assume that they'll never suffer adversity. I hope to correct that error with my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? The Lord lets our faith be tested but he never forsakes us.

On Saturday, I'll post about how we are like half breeds in this world. We can sympathize with Cher but we also are new creations living in old bodies