Wednesday, July 15, 2009

a good book on a road trip

On long road trips John and I enjoy reading aloud together; usually he drives and I read to us. For this summer's trip the car air conditioner is repaired. . .and it's been great reading aloud without the competition of road noise!
Now with 2,500 miles of road behind us, we've almost finished Tortured For Christ by Richard Wurmbrand; the author, a Romanian pastor, was imprisoned for 14 years in a communist jail- he experienced solitary confinement, physical torture, hunger and cold, brainwashing. . .all this because of his fervent belief in Jesus Christ and his public witness to the gospel.
So, I've been thinking alot lately about Christ's body, the church- Pastor Wumbrand's portait of the underground church in restricted countries is compelling; hmmm. . . a church where men and women die today for the truth of the gospel. Wurmbrand writes, "I can never describe the beauty of this church. . .I have found truly joyful Christians only in the Bible, in the underground church, and in prison".

So, we're reading this book-we're agitated, the truth is so raw. . .so, why read it?
John says for him it's a reality check-Christian persecution is real today!
and we're energized to pray, to give sacrificially and to examine our own lives while remembering the noble saints who testify with their lives that Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. . .
remember the persecuted church: www.persecution.com, www.KidsOfCourage.com

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think I read that book a while back, and it was good. We miss you! When will you be coming back? It seems like ages since we've seen you. Love you...