WOYWW: Of Martyrs and Faith

I am still working on my

mini canvases. 

It's really fun and I do 

a little bit every day. 

"People will manhandle and persecute you..." Luke 21:12

It's amazing that the disciples continued to believe in Jesus' message and persevered in preaching it. True enough, what Jesus prophesied to them came true. One of them died after being dragged by horses, another was boiled in oil, one was dropped a hundred feet down the pinnacle of the Temple, others were beheaded, stoned, crucified, whipped again and again. Today the manhandling and persecution of Christians is still going on. Why do Christians persist? 

Because we are witnesses that His way works. Because we have seen God's work in our lives. That is the reason Christine Caine is so passionate about her work and continues to do it even against insurmountable odds. Christine  founded A21, an organization that fights human trafficking and has helped free more than a thousand girls from inhuman and barbaric situations in the Ukraine and in Greece where prostitution is legal. One time the police said they couldn't send anyone to help, so she and her staff went down on their knees to pray. They prayed that the men who would visit this particular brothel would be the ones to rescue the women there. That night, the police got surprised because one man came in and brought a young girl with him. The man said he just felt the urge to ask the girl for her papers and after finding out that she was there against her will, and seeing the condition she was in, he decided to help her. Christine has many stories about personal victories and victories in the field. And that is why she soldiers in the field of battle. 

Lord, give me the strength to do what You would have me do. Give me the courage, the perseverance, but most of all the gift of faith to fight when the going gets tough.