The Voice of the Martyrs
April 18:
SLOVAKIA: ANNMARIE
This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. 1 Peter 3:21
Annmarie, a young Slovak Christian, had been in prison for months because of her involvement with the underground church. She was regularly brought to a room where a guard would beat her in order to get information about other Christians in her church.
By God’s grace she was able to resist. She even used these times to tell the guard about the love of Jesus. The guard mocked, “If you don’t tell me secrets of the underground church, I will beat out of you all your loves.”
Annmarie responded, “I have a boyfriend, the sweetest of all. He is love. His love does not seek pleasure but seeks to fill others with joy. Since knowing this boyfriend, I, too, can only love. You love hatred now. I beg you to love Love.”
The guard was so angry that he slapped her until she passed out. When she came to, she saw him sitting quietly as if in deep thought. Finally he asked, “Who is this boyfriend of yours?” Annmarie told him all about Jesus and why he came.
When he asked how to make Jesus his friend too, she told him that he must repent and be baptized. “Then baptize me immediately or I will shoot you,” he demanded.
Annmarie did baptize him, and he later became a prisoner with the very ones he used to beat.
When people are in love, they let everyone know it. They tell their families, their friends, their neighbors, and anyone else who will listen. Love so consumes them that they cannot help but talk about their beloved. In the same way, one’s baptism is a public announcement of being identified with Christ and his community, of being in love with Jesus. Baptism of an adult is a sign to all who witness it-even if only by another prisoner in a cell-that one is ready to follow Christ at all costs. Our love for Christ motivates us to proclaim our commitment to the world. Even if not threatened, do we have courage to tell of our love for Jesus?
By Billy Graham, Tribune Content Agency
Apr 18, 2015
Q: Now that I'm older, I think about heaven all the time, but I'm afraid I won't go there when I die. I know I haven't been perfect, so maybe God won't let me in. How can I know? Or do I have to wait until I die? -- N.M.
A: Salvation isn't a game of chance; God doesn't want us to sit around constantly wondering if we're going to go to heaven when we die. Instead, He wants us to know -- really know -- that we will go to be with Him in heaven forever. And we can know, once we understand what God has already done to make our salvation possible.
You see, you and I have a problem that can be summed up in one word: sin. God is absolutely holy and perfect, and even one sin -- just one -- would be enough to keep us out of heaven. That's why we can never be saved by our own good works, no matter how hard we try. As the Bible says, "There is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10).
But God loves us in spite of our sin, and because He loves us has provided another way for us to be saved. That way is Jesus Christ. He was without sin (for He was God in human flesh), but on the cross, all our sins were placed on Him, and He died in our place. Now God offers us salvation as a free gift -- free, because Christ has already paid for it.
Accept that gift by turning to Jesus Christ and trusting Him alone for your salvation. When you do, He'll come to live within you, and someday He'll take you to heaven. God's promise is for you: "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
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(Send your queries to "My Answer," c/o Billy Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C., 28201; call 1-(877) 2-GRAHAM, or visit the Web site for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: www.billygraham.org.)
April 16:
SIBERIA: VICTOR BELIKH
For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29
“With the flames of love’s fire that Jesus kindled in my heart, I caused the ice of Siberia to melt. Hallelujah!”
Bishop Victor Belikh’s face lit up as he spoke these words. He had learned the powerful secret of letting God take over one’s heart even in the worst of circumstances. For twenty years he had suffered in the lonely prison cell in Communist Russia without a visit or news from his family or friends.
Every evening, a simple straw mattress was placed in his small cell. He was allowed to sleep for seven hours before the mat was removed. He spent the remaining seventeen hours of each day walking circles in his pathetic little space, and if he stopped or broke down, guards would beat him or throw water on him until he continued. After twenty years of such incredible hardship, he was sent to a forced-labor camp for another four years in Northern Siberia, where the ice never melts. He survived only because he allowed the fire of God to melt away all bitterness and anger.
Belikh’s situation is rare, but his resolve through Jesus Christ is available to everyone who suffers. Jesus stoked the fire of love in Belikh’s heart-a godly furnace that was able to keep him warm for twenty years.
Fire. The mere word ignites powerful images. It implies danger when shouted in a crowded building. It embodies comfort when camping on a frosty night. It is connected with strong emotions during the “heat” of the moment or a “fiery” temper. Fire is also used to refine and to harden metals through the smelting process. Fire illuminates and consumes darkness. In all these images, one thing remains constant. Fire is associated with change. Like an encounter with fire, an encounter with God is life changing. Has the fiery love of Christ ignited, sustained, refined, comforted, and ultimately liberated you as it did Belikh? Human cruelty can never extinguish the flame of God’s love. Is the flame of God’s love alive in you?
By Billy Graham
Apr 16, 2015
Q: A young couple just moved into an apartment near us. We invited them to our church, but they said they aren't interested in religion and prefer to keep their weekends free. How do you get through to people like this? -- Mrs. M.R.
A: I'm thankful you're concerned about this couple, and that you want to help them build their lives on a solid foundation of faith. Many young people today are just like they are -- morally and spiritually adrift, and yet not even aware of it. The Bible warns us against being "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:4).
Although they've rebuffed your invitation to attend church, go out of your way to be friendly and interested in them (without appearing nosy or overbearing). Ask God to give you a genuine love for them, and to be the best friends you can possibly be. Do others see Christ in you -- in your love, your patience, your peace, your joy, your helpfulness? Our most effective witness often isn't what we say, but what we are and what we do. The Bible says, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.... Let your conversation be always full of grace" (Colossians 4:5-6).
The most important thing you can do for this couple, however, is to pray for them. Only God can open their eyes to His truth, and only God can show them the emptiness of their lives and draw them to Christ. The Bible says, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (James 5:16).
The greatest gift we can ever offer someone is the same gift God has given us -- the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Ask God to make you a "gift-bearer" to those around you. "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).
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(Send your queries to "My Answer," c/o Billy Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C., 28201; call 1-(877) 2-GRAHAM, or visit the Web site for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: www.billygraham.org.)
