LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

  - Psalm 10.17, 18
 
“In our minds, therefore, we must share the sufferings of our brothers, our fellow-members, who are placed in unendurable danger; and we must pray to the Lord for them.”

  - Colum Cille in Adomnán, Life of Columba, Irish, 7th century[1]

Early on in my ministry, I came across a remark by the late British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, in which he cited the continuation of Christianity in lands confined within the Soviet Empire as the single, most remarkable fact of 20^th century history.

Muggeridge insisted on this because of the resiliency of Christians in those parts of the world, in the face of the worst continuous persecution the Church had known in centuries.

I began to research the state of the faith in Soviet lands, and I discovered, much to my dismay, that American Christians paid very little attention to this situation. I found no courses or reading lists at theological seminaries, no Sunday school or Bible study materials from Christian publishers, and only a handful of books, and those not easy to locate.

Here was the most remarkable fact of the 20^th century, involving our own brothers and sisters in the Lord, and we in this country were indifferent to and ignorant of it.

That didn’t make sense to me then, and it doesn’t make sense now.

The Soviet Empire has been relegated to the dustbin of history, but Christians continue to suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ. In China, parts of India, Southeast Asia, Cuba, in the Muslim world, and in parts of Africa, being a Christian is more than a struggle; it can be a dangerous way of life.

The one-Sunday-a-year service for the persecuted Church, currently fashionable in American evangelical churches, is a mockery of what we owe our fellow-believers. These persecuted brethren are as much a part of our lives as any church member we’ve known for years. We must not fail to pray for them every day, and to enter their sufferings, if only in our thoughts and prayers.

I rejoice that Brothers of this Fellowship are actively involved in ministry to and with Christians in lands where persecution still exists, and that resources from this ministry are being used in persecuted churches in other lands. I urge you to pray for ministries like those that reach out to Christians who are suffering affliction, and for our suffering brothers and sisters all over the world.

But is there more? Can we do anything, for example, to insist to corporations or our federal government that we expect them to be considerate of the religious freedoms of oppressed believers? If we could make our voices heard in large numbers on behalf of the persecuted Church, it’s possible that we might see policy changes enacted toward those states which continue to afflict our brothers and sisters.

Our government is comfortable overlooking the persecution of Christians as long as no one is confronting them with the situation. God sees the plight of our afflicted brethren, and He knows how to lift rulers up and set them down as He pleases. Our Lord sees the suffering of our brethren; we must not ignore it.

Pray daily for the persecuted Church. If you will, soon enough the Lord will make this a true burden on your heart. When that happens, perhaps you’ll discover other ways to enlist your church in bringing relief to our fellow believers, and making room for the Gospel to spread and flourish.

You can do something. You can make a difference.

But will you?

Psalm 10.4, 5 (Aberystwyth: Jesus, Lover of My Soul)
Wicked men in boastful pride seek not, Lord, Your glorious face.
To their shame and great disgrace, they Your existence have denied.
Still they prosper every day; from their sight on high concealed,
Your great wrath shall be revealed on their every word and way.

Lord, let us lay down whatever we love apart from Christ, for Christ’s sake, including our time, our treasure, our peace, and our security, if we can by so doing advance the cause of Your Kingdom and the wellbeing of Your people. Adapted from Columbanus, Sermon X

Will you seek the Lord?
God supplies the needs of The Fellowship of Ailbe, as we look to Him day by day. It has pleased Him to enlist many of those who are served by our ministry to share in the financial support of this work. He may be pleased to do so, at least in part, through you. I ask you to seek Him in prayer concerning this matter. You can use the Contribute button at the website to give with a credit card or through PayPal, or you can send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction VT 05452.           

T. M. Moore
Principal
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All psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.