Through their blows, the persecutors and the persecuted came to know one another. This is an important gain for both of us, as we continue to walk through persecution. This is what it means when we Chinese say: “Out of blows, knowledge grows!”
There will always be conflicts for people who grow up in a traditional Chinese education, because a Chinese education is an atheistic education. But I never doubted the existence of God. The existence of God was as natural to me as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. It was as natural to me as getting up in the morning.
I am a subversive patriot because, despite the progress we have made as a nation, America is not my best hope for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." My ultimate allegiance is to a King who gave up his own life, liberty, and happiness to redeem us from the tyranny of sin.
After 30 years of economic reforms and rapid growth, Chinese house churches faced a powerful threat: secularization. At the same time, the government gradually began to raise the temperature on the fire of persecution. How will we remain faithful to the Lord as we face this double test? We are simultaneously tempted by money and persecuted by power.
Read MoreMy dear husband, I expected our marriage to include poverty, illness, and quarrels, but I never imagined we would be imprisoned together. If I had known that, I would have added a line to my wedding vows: “No matter if we are free or imprisoned, I will always always love you, cherish and respect you, believe in you, take care of you, and be loyal to you forever.”
Read MoreOld-timers in the Chinese house church often say: “Things loosen up and God’s way spreads; things tighten up and his servants are trained; all things are in God’s hands.”
Read MoreGod gave us a word from Psalm 8:2. It says, “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” By this, we knew that though we were all young and few in number, just like babies and infants, God would use us to testify to his own glory.
Read MoreGod’s hand is wonderful. Even in the midst of great and deep suffering and persecution, he revived his church. The revival of the Chinese church did not begin with reform and opening. It started during the Cultural Revolution.
Read MorePerhaps the Bible is right. Perhaps we really do have nothing to cling to on earth except for our home in heaven. If we believe any country, any land, or any earthly political system is the salvation that will save us from the entanglement and harm of sin, then we are believing a lie.
Read MorePray with me: may Chinese believers truly realize that they have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The king they serve is with them, is living, and his rule cannot be overcome.
Read MoreIn the United States our church is also facing many challenges, though perhaps not as severe as the physical danger you are frequently enduring. Our challenges often revolve around questions of compromise with the current culture to remain relevant, and how to hold to the truth of God’s Word as the only hope for salvation. When we are facing these challenges, we at times turn to the example of your churches.
Read MoreThe fact that I can preserve my faith in the Lord is an opportunity to bear witness to the eternal life of the Lord. I can keep serving the Lord, and for doing that, I face persecution, even being imprisoned, being sentenced and going through many other things. These marks of humiliation are still opportunities to testify to the eternal life, to manifest the eternal life.
Read MoreIn the Bible, there are a few key factors when emigration is pictured: faith, God’s glory, love, spreading the gospel, and the expansion of God’s kingdom.
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