A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Monday,
November 8,
2021
Parking lot
at Sunday's Amish church service along Kraybill Church
Road yesterday morning. You might notice the tire tread
tracks are a little thinner than typical tire tracks from
our cars. Another evidence as I drove over were the
organic emissions dropped on the road! For those who've
enjoyed Brooksyne's Strawberry Rhubarb jam this farm is
where she gets her rhubarb.
(Click
on photo to enlarge)
"Enduring
Persecution"
Listen to this message on your audio player.
"When we
are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure"
(1 Corinthians 4:12). "But it is no shame to suffer for
being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being
called by His name" (1 Peter 4:16). "Remember the
prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who
are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the
body" (Hebrews 13:3).
Early yesterday morning before we went to our
church service we saw and heard a horse and
buggy pass our house. I surmised that one of our Amish
neighbors was hosting the church service in their home,
which is the Amish custom. I drove down Kraybill Church
Road around the corner and sure enough saw the buggies
parked at Christian and Annie's place. The horses are
unhitched and penned together with feed and water during
the service.
Years ago we attended an Amish church service.
It is quite different that what most of us are
accustomed to. The men sit on one side and the women on
the other. Usually there are several hundred in
attendance (children included) so they are seated close
together meeting in a large room in the house or if
weather is suitable they meet in a barn. The plain
benches are moved from church service to church service
and also convert to tables for the simple meal that
follows the service. The gathering lasts about 3 hours
with several preachers who preach and read Scripture in
German. The singing is also quite distinct in German
with a very, very slow tempo and no
instrumentation.
One feature of the service we attended years
ago seemed especially peculiar to us. During the
service, after we knelt at our benches in prayer,
everyone stood up together but did not turn around to
face the front as we are accustomed to. Instead the
congregation continued to face the back of the room as a
leader read Scripture. Afterwards we turned around and
were seated in our benches.
After the service I asked our host about this
and he said it is a way they remember and honor
the past years of persecution when various members
of the congregation were on duty to watch for those who
might quietly sneak in and attack the congregation as
they worshipped. The Amish and other Anabaptists were
viciously persecuted in Europe, which eventually led to
their migration to America.
An important book in their culture is known as the "Martyrs Mirror" which chronicles accounts of their persecution. One famous account involves the story of Dirk Willems. Below is the iconic scene of his life (just Google "Dirk Willems images"). He was an Anabaptist* being pursued by his persecutor.
An important book in their culture is known as the "Martyrs Mirror" which chronicles accounts of their persecution. One famous account involves the story of Dirk Willems. Below is the iconic scene of his life (just Google "Dirk Willems images"). He was an Anabaptist* being pursued by his persecutor.
Here's the description:
Willems was born in Asperen, Gelderland,
Netherlands, and was baptized as a young man, thus
rejecting the infant baptism practiced at that time by
both Catholics and established Protestants in the
Netherlands. This action, plus his continued devotion
to his new faith and the baptism of several other
people in his home, led to his condemnation by the
Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands and
subsequent arrest. Willems was held in a residential
palace turned into a prison, from which he escaped
using a rope made out of knotted rags. Using this, he
was able to climb out of the prison onto the frozen
moat. A guard noticed his escape and gave chase.
Willems was able to traverse the thin ice of a frozen
pond, the Hondegat, because of his lighter weight
after subsisting on prison rations. However the
pursuing guard broke through the ice yelling for help
as he struggled in the icy water. Willems turned back
to save the life of his pursuer, thus being recaptured
and held until he was burned at the stake near his
hometown on 16 May 1569.
Surely one of the saddest forms of Christian persecution was this type, which is sort of like domestic violence. Even in our own lifetime we consider the conflict in northern Ireland between people with a Christian heritage. Growing up with my friend Dave who was a Catholic and me a Protestant, it's just hard to imagine this being a source of major conflict let alone deadly conflict. In my extended family we have people from a variety of religious backgrounds, Catholic and Protestant, but it's not a source of conflict since love and acceptance prevail over our differences.
Thankfully, the incidents of conflict leading to persecution among those who claim Christ as their Savior, has decreased greatly since the horrible times of the Reformation but all over the world Christians are being persecuted. There are presently two major sources of persecution of Christians, from Muslims in places like the Middle East and Africa and from secular ideology in places like China and Korea.
Muslim dominated lands are especially brutal. We read the accounts of fleeing refugees across the Mediterranean where Muslims throw Christians off the boat and amidst the horrible persecution occurring in the refugee camps. We are regularly reminded of the persecution in Nigeria by both Dennis one of our Sunday School teachers and by Sunday, a Nigerian reader. But many consider the worst country for Christian persecution is North Korea.
Yesterday was an International Day of Prayer
for the Persecuted Church. I am sure many churches had
prayer for the suffering brethren as we did our in
church. Most reading our message today have never
experienced real persecution, although it is
increasingly happening here in the USA, especially among
those who take an historic Biblical/moral stand against
sexual immorality. A Grandma florist fined several
hundred thousand dollars for refusing to participate in
a gay "wedding" due to her convictions is certainly
persecution. At a chaplain's conference I spoke to a
military chaplain who was in trouble for teaching
historic Christian beliefs on marriage and sexuality.
These types of persecution are on the increase and one
only wonders what is next on the horizon for those who
are devout in their Christian faith.
When we are not undergoing persecution it is so easy to forget about those who are. It's so easy to forget how brutal life is for those who suffer at the hands of persecution when we're out and about enjoying our material blessings and freedoms. But let us not forget that all over the world millions of those who follow Christ are being persecuted today due to their belief and obedience to Christ.
This is not our typical daily encouragement message and in fact may not necessarily be encouraging at all. But Scripture tells us to remember those who suffer. We encourage you to consider some of the articles and videos we post below as a means of seeking to understand how hard things are for many.
When we are not undergoing persecution it is so easy to forget about those who are. It's so easy to forget how brutal life is for those who suffer at the hands of persecution when we're out and about enjoying our material blessings and freedoms. But let us not forget that all over the world millions of those who follow Christ are being persecuted today due to their belief and obedience to Christ.
This is not our typical daily encouragement message and in fact may not necessarily be encouraging at all. But Scripture tells us to remember those who suffer. We encourage you to consider some of the articles and videos we post below as a means of seeking to understand how hard things are for many.
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, in Hebrews we're told to
remember those in prison as though we ourselves
were suffering in prison. That way we will pray
more faithfully and fervently when we put
ourselves in place of our brothers and sisters
who endure persecution and even death as they
remain faithful to their witness for Christ. May
their shining example serve as a witness to
their accusers and help to lead them to faith
even as Stephen's surely had a lasting impact on
Saul. As one brother often prays, "May the
soothing presence of the Holy Spirit be as salve
to their wounds", whether they are physical,
emotional, or mental. Speak peace and assurance
to family members who are desperately waiting
for their release, and increase their faith in
the midst of it all, we pray. Amen.*
Anabaptist is not to be confused with anti-baptist!
The prefix "Ana" means "again" used for those how
practiced believer's baptism versus infant baptism.
Of course that makes many of us Anabaptist who are
not even familiar with the term!
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Finding
Life" Video A
thought-provoking video
"You
Are Not Forgotten" A Song For The
Persecuted Video
Stories
of Christian Persecution | I Have Decided to
Follow Jesus Video Jadon Lavik
I'll
Remember/ Persecuted Church Video
"Sing
a Little Louder" (Persecuted Church) Video
Widow's Joy: He Didn't Deny Christ
When Beheaded Video
North Korea has the deadliest level of
Christian persecution in the world Video
Observations on attending an Amish church service (scroll down below message)
Observations on attending an Amish church service (scroll down below message)
Yesterday following our church service we
drove through the entrance to Landis Valley
Village & Farm devoted to the history & culture of Pennsylvania's rural German community.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
Village & Farm devoted to the history & culture of Pennsylvania's rural German community.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
Finally today
Gordy Harrower, our Adult Bible Fellowship
(Sunday School) teacher, shared an interesting prank
by his grandchildren. He and his wife returned from
a trip and his grandchildren had placed eyes on
objects all around their home. He continues to find
them! I can't recall what he was illustrating or if
it was just a cute family story but this verse comes
to mind: Psalm 34:15
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