VOMRadio

For Christians in Syria and other Middle East nations, human logic is clear: get out! Go someplace safe! In spite of such advice, Tom and JoAnn Doyle tell us many Christians are choosing to STAY and serve the Lord and witness for Christ. These bold brothers and sisters are standing in the fire of war and persecution, and they are finding—just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did—that God is standing with them. Listen to the story of Jamila, a 12-year-old girl healed from cancer after a Christian man prayed for her in Jesus’ name, leading to hundreds of Druze people coming to faith in Christ. That’s just one of the stories in Tom Doyle’s new book, Standing in the Fire. You’ll be encouraged as you hear what God is doing in the Middle East, and challenged as Tom and JoAnn give insights into how we, Christians in free nations, can emulate the lessons offered by our brothers and sisters standing in the fire. Order “Standing In The Fire” by Tom Doyle (affiliate link http://amzn.to/2ni1lX).

From the first days after his arrest in Sudan, Petr Jasek repeatedly said, “God is the One who holds the key to my cell.” Jasek, a Czech citizen, is VOM’s Africa regional director and he was just released after 14 months in prison in Sudan. In this third and final part of our conversation with Petr, he shares about how he stopped praying to be released from prison and simply focused on fulfilling the Lord’s purpose for him inside prison walls. Listen as Petr shares what it was like to hear the judge announce that he was sentenced to life in prison, and the verse he read from Psalms moments before he found out God would be using the key and opening Petr’s cell door. Petr will also share—from his personal experience—how we should pray for Christians in prison, and for their families who sometimes suffer more than the prisoners. You will be challenged to think about what it means to wait on the Lord as you hear Petr share how, after 445 days, God set this captive free. (Listen to all three parts of our conversation with Petr to hear the full story of God’s work in his life during his time in prison.)

What verse of Scripture would you grab onto if you were locked in prison for your faith? Petr Jasek, a Czech national and VOM’s Africa regional director, was released last month after 445 days in prison in Sudan. Listen as he shares the verse that became a theme for him during those long months in prison. It was not a verse about setting captives free. Instead, it was a verse about the holiness of God. It became a theme for Petr; he would use it to guide his prayers and recite it over and over each day throughout his imprisonment. Meditating on God’s holiness provided strength for Petr as his radical Muslim cellmates began to pressure, persecute and torture him. Listen also for the story of the opportunity God provided that encouraged Petr as he began to lose hope after four months in prison. Petr’s story challenges each of us to think about how we deal with hardship or opposition, and reminds us to seek God’s plan and His will, even when we’re uncomfortable or suffering. (Listen also to the first part of our conversation with Petr in last week’s episode: Prisoner Set Free.)

Petr Jasek, a Czech national and VOM’s Africa regional director, spent 445 days in a Sudanese prison. Days after returning home, Petr sat down with VOM Radio to share his story and thank the thousands of people who prayed for him and his co-defendants during his long months in prison. Listen in as Petr shares about going to the airport to leave Sudan in December of 2015, and the point when he knew that what he faced was much more than a routine security screening. He’ll share how he kept praying as he was questioned, and how he found out that his cell mates were members of ISIS. Your faith will be encouraged as you hear how God had been preparing Petr—even years before his arrest—to remain faithful even during months in prison.

What would you do if a group of angry young men came streaming into your Sunday School class this Sunday, faces masked and swinging clubs as they came? Aaron Miller helps lead VOM’s work in South Asia, including the nation of India, where he previously served full-time as a gospel worker. Listen in as Aaron shares what happened when he found himself at a Christian gathering in India that was attacked by radical Hindus. It was a small taste of persecution that was a part of God’s preparation for Aaron to serve persecuted Christians in India and other South Asian nations. It was also a blessing. Even as he was being slapped and kicked, Aaron says God gave him a sense of His presence, His blessing. Listen this week to have your faith inspired, and hear specific ways to pray for the nation of India and our spiritual family there.

Selena grew up in the home of a pastor in the Middle East. Today she’s working among Muslim people in the US—including refugees from the Middle East. Selena has seen firsthand that Muslims who choose to follow Christ face persecution, even in the United States. Selena will share how Christians in Lebanon have responded as their country has been flooded with refugees, and encourage American Christians with how we can respond to Muslims and refugees that we encounter here in the US. Finally, she’ll equip us to pray for the church in Lebanon, and for outreach ministries to Muslims right here in the US.

There are 2.8 billion unreached people on earth; they will live their entire lives without ever hearing the gospel message of Jesus’ love for them. Andrew Scott wants to motivate and mobilize Christians around the world to GO to those billions and reach them for Christ. Andrew is the President and CEO of Operation Mobilization – USA, and the author of a book called SCATTER: Go Therefore and Take Your Job With You. Andrew wants to see more American Christians understand that people from every vocational background—doctors, businessmen, engineers, artists—are called to share His glory with the nations. Listen to his advice for those feeling a call to live and represent Christ among those 2.8 billion unreached people, and pray that the Lord of the harvest (Luke 10:2) will send out more workers—and maybe even send you. Visit OM’s web site http://www.omusa.org/, or the Scatter Global site https://www.scatterglobal.com/ to learn more about getting involved with God’s work around the world. Order your copy of SCATTER: Go Therefore and Take Your Job With You http://amzn.to/2kUhUru (affiliate link).

“Enfu” is the Chinese word for “blessing.” When we went to China to secretly interview a Chinese house church pastor, he suggested Enfu as his pseudonym. Every time Pastor Enfu and his congregation meet together, it is illegal. Listen this week as he shares the challenges of being a pastor in a nation cracking down on the church. Some of the challenges will seem obvious. Others will be ones that Christians in free nations may have never thought of, like handling church finances when the church doesn’t legally exist. How does his church train new leaders? How do they prepare Christians to stand strong in the face of persecution? We’ll hear answers to those questions, and Enfu will share with us specific ways to pray for Chinese Christians—and encourage us with the fact that they are praying for the church in America as well. You’ll be encouraged as you come with us to China this week to meet “Pastor Blessing.”

Come with us on a visit to China and join in a conversation with one of VOM’s Bible smuggling partners. He is working alongside others to deliver Bibles into every province of China, but that work comes with great risk. All the workers know they could face arrest, interrogation and three years of imprisonment for their Bible-delivery work. Yet they are not intimidated! Listen as our brother shares about growing up in a family of persecuted Christians. He’ll tell us the story of his first arrest, and the thoughts on his heart as he went through that testing and ministry. He’ll also help explain the differences between registered and unregistered churches in China, and equip you to pray for that nation and our spiritual family there.

Listen in this week as we converse with two ministry leaders. First, we’ll share the second half of our conversation with Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With a Mission (YWAM). Listen as he talks about getting the Scriptures into every remaining language on earth (www.EndBiblePovertyNow.org) and about the legacy words that are driving him forward with the ministry of YWAM all over the world. Then we’ll hear from Charles Morris, President of Haven Ministries (www.HavenMinistries.org). Charles has just returned from northern Iraq, including villages recently liberated from ISIS control. What’s left of those villages? What challenges await Christians hoping to return to the homes ISIS kicked them out of? Listen in as Charles answers those questions and advises us on specific ways to pray for Christians and non-Christians in Iraq right now.