2022_01_28 Insight Post- Emma Keeton

What I am suffering now,’ she replied, ‘I suffer by myself. But then another will be inside me who will suffer for me, just as I shall be suffering for him.’
Felicitas, 203 A.D. Christian Martyr.

This week our reading takes us to the story of the first martyr of the Christian faith, Stephen. In Acts chapter 7 Stephen undergoes an unjust trial and is found guilty of proclaiming Jesus as Messiah. Stephen accuses the Sanhedrin of killing the prophets who predicted the coming of Jesus and then betraying and murdering our savior. The text says this made the Sanhedrin furious and they dragged Stephen outside the city and stoned him. Stephen could have stopped his own death and chosen not to speak about Jesus, but we find him unable to keep quiet about the gospel. What makes Christians risk their lives for the sake of Christ?

Today, such commitment is unusual in our western culture because we are not placed in positions of such danger, yet our Christian history has countless stories of martyrdom. One such is of Perpetua and Felicitas who were martyred by the Romans in Carthage because they would not sacrifice to a Roman God. Before Perpetua’s death she was begged by her Father to renounce her Christian faith. She replied, “See that pot lying there? Can you call it by any other name than what it is? Neither can I call myself by any other name than what I am – a Christian” (Perpetua’s Diary, PBS.org). Perpetua epitomizes the transformation that happens when we become a Christian. It would be a lie to profess we are anything else.

These heroes of our faith give us pause for thought when we consider our own hesitancies in sharing the gospel. It seems unthinkable that we shy away from proclaiming Christ just because we feel embarrassed, when there are so many that continue to boldly fulfill the great commission and are in great danger. Afghanistan, North Korea and Nigeria are some of the countries today where its the most dangerous to follow Jesus. To find out more information about current persecution of Christians and to be inspired to pray, go to www.opendoorsusa.org.

The prayer today is taken from the Open Doors prayer calender for January 28th:

“God is not stopped by guns or governments. Pray for a powerful, miraculous outbreak of belief in Jesus, despite what seems to be a hopeless situation in Afghanistan.”

In Jesus Name.

Emma Keeton
Prayer Team Lead