40 pages. ISBN 1 85240 250 4
Arrested in the Kingdom & First Class Return
44 pages. ISBN 1 85240 249 0
Bible Women of China
By Paul Estabrooks/ 48 pages
ISBN 1 85240 252 0
All published by Open Doors/Sovereign World at £2 each.
The Christian press is full of stories of Christians facing persecution and danger and it is easy to become rather blase and unaffected by more stories of the same.
However, before I even began to read the first book, I was greatly challenged by some words recounted in its foreword by Brother Andrew, 'Tell the people in the West that we have not forgotten them. We pray for them every day that materialism will not water down their faith'. These words are reiterated by many believers suffering for their faith in Cuba, Saudi Arabia and China.
Each booklet is full of stories of dynamic faith under persecution. I found the stories about the bible women of China especially challenging - many women found themselves in positions of leadership of large house churches as their menfolk were killed or imprisoned for long periods for proclaiming the gospel during the long years of the Cultural Revolution. Many women themselves suffered internment, hard labour and deprivation of all kinds as they sought to serve God in evangelism and literature provision.
I cannot begin to say how much I was touched by all the stories in these books. I felt very humble and, yes, guilty, as I realised what an 'easy' time we have as Christians in this country.
But we do pay a price . . . the price of a weak and often ineffectual faith in almighty God. I wonder if we don't see revival in our land because our lives are not saturated in prayer in the way those of the persecuted Christians are.
Obviously we need to remember that we are living amongst 21st century western people so we need to adopt different methods of evangelism, but the burning desire to see sinners saved and Christians discipled should be as urgent with us. Our prayer lives too need to be transformed and I believe that any reading these booklets could not fail to be challenged to a more Christ-like attitude to prayer and concern for the lost.
