Martyred Today

I walked into my fellow worker’s office today and was overwhelmed with tears as I was trying to tell him that one of our young Arab workers was martyred today.  M’ had been boldly sharing Christ with some of his fellow students, and they brutally killed him.
 
He was part of a group I was with a few weeks ago that is full of faith and courage and where the Spirit of God is drawing many into His Kingdom.  They know the danger, and share the Good News anyway.
 
I feel the loss with his family and his team, mostly in their 20s.  They said, His testimony for Jesus got him killed.  But his parents miss their son.  His fellow students miss their friend.  I can only imagine what they feel.  Please pray for them.  Jesus told us to rejoice when we are persecuted, but it is not easy to do so.
 
The word martyr means witness.  M’ was and is a witness to those who killed him.  May they never forget him!  May they turn to Jesus, the One he was sharing with them.  M’ was and is also a witness to us.  He was not restrained by fear.  He paid the price.  So anything I face this week seems small now.
 
Let’s pray like the early church prayed in response to persecution of their brothers in Christ: Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.  After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:29-31)