25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373

Our congregation Our nation, military and leaders

Various relatives, friends and co-workers Our students

Leon in the Army in Korea Henderson’s traveling to a reunion

"Whoever publicly acknowledges me I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever publicly disowns me I will disown before my Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33).

During this past summer, two Fox News Reporters were kidnapped in Gaza. Right before their release, a video of them was release showing them condemning the West and Israel, desiring for all to have a better understanding of Islam. "In the ‘conversion’ video, we see such abuse as the American and the New Zealander sit, costumed in Arabic robes, ‘forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint,’ as Centanni later revealed" (1). Safely released, we have not heard from them since.

This raises a question for all of us. What would we do in a similar situation? That is a difficult question because we have not faced those types of situations -- yet. How can we prepare, if at all, at the point of a gun or sword, literally or figuratively, to proclaim that we are Christians?

I was reading through Daniel around the time of the reporters release. Daniel and his three friends all faced swords, as have many others. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s large idol when the music played. Some seeing this brought the three to the King who gave them one more chance to bow down. The music played, the king waited, and the three refused, saying that "If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and from Your Majesty’s hand. BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (3:17-18, my emphasis). That infuriated the King to the point that he ordered the furnace stoked up seven times its usual heat, then ordered the three thrown into the furnace, killing those who threw them in. What happened next surprised everyone. The King saw four walking around in the furnace, one looking like "a son of the gods" (3:25). The King ordered the three out and found that they were not burned and praised the God of the Jews.

Daniel faced his sword as well when another decree was ordered by those seeking to bring Daniel down. The decree order that no one was to pray to anyone but King Darius of the Medes. Daniel went home and prayed "just as he had down before" (6:10). He was arrested, thrown into the lion’s den, and a rock was placed over it. The King, who understood that jealousy was involved in this, and was probably not happy that he was fooled, had pleaded for Daniel’s life, and then waited through the night to see if Daniel would be rescued. In the morning, he found Daniel alive, for "My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions" (6:22).

Now God doesn’t always send angels and others to rescue His people. Many times, people died confessing that Jesus is Lord. John the Apostle understood this. "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Revelation 12:11). John the baptizer accused one of the Herod’s of an adulterous marriage and lost his head because of it. Stephen stood up to defend his faith in Jesus and was stoned (Acts 7).

Church history is full of examples of those who refused to deny their faith in Christ. Polycarp, at eighty-four, was tied to a stake and burned alive, refusing to deny the God he had served most of his life. I remember a story told of forty Roman Christian soldiers stripped naked during the winter because they refused to follow the Roman gods. They were lead out to a frozen lake at night where they would surely die. They sang a song over and over about forty Christian soldiers standing together. Some time during the night the song changed; thirty-nine soldiers standing together. A Centurion heard the changed and wondered why until one of them came back to the camp to renounce his faith. The Centurion, moved by their commitment and song, and shocked by the "traitor," tore off his clothes and ran out to the lake. They then heard the song of forty Christian soldiers. All died by morning. Church tradition tells us that eleven of the twelve apostles after the resurrection died martyrs deaths.

Let’s bring it closer to us. We all remember Cassie Burnell. Or do we? She had a gun pointed to her head and was asked if she still believed in God. She said yes (2), and she died in the Columbine High School library. She was a modern martyr for Christ today and there are more. We do not know them but they are from countries like China and the Sudan, and many Islamic dominated nations.

We do not face life and death situations like the above at this time. We however do face challenges, some subtle, some outright challenging. We are Christians but should we lie for our employer? Should we cheat at any game? Should we cook the books? When asked if we are Christians, are we willing to be mock and respond with grace and love? Will we say "Merry Christmas" even if it means that some might not like it, and face the consequences? Can we ask someone to stop using God’s name in vain, understanding that that person might lash out with more foul words and even attempt to get us into trouble? Can we stand up in class to a teacher who mocks Christianity and say that we disagree with them, knowing that we might receive a bad or failing grade? I’m sure we can come up with more and there are many antidotes that we could recite by those who have done these things. The Hebrew writer mentions those who suffered imprisonment and the loss of property because of their commitment (10:32-35).

We are not perfect. One of the debates in the early centuries of the Church was what to do with those who denied Christ to avoid death, but then wanted to come back to the Christian community. We are not perfect and we will make mistakes. We might not say anything or say something in a harsh way, and later feel guilty about it. We ask for forgiveness and seek to do better. Just look at brave Peter, who said that he would die with Jesus. He not only did not, but fled after denying Him three times. Yet we find Peter welcomed back by Jesus (see John 21).

Christianity isn’t easy living. There are choices to be made. There are preparations as well. How we deal with little things will help us face the more deadly in the future. Hopefully none of us will have to make a life and death choice like those reporters and many others have. How do we prepare? We prepare through prayer, practice and fellowship. We encourage one another in our assemblies, our requests, our willingness to confess struggles, and through songs and study.

We also need to look at Jesus. He set the example for us. While He sought another way while praying in the Garden, He did God’s will by going to the cross, thereby saving us from our sins. That was His purpose. He did not change His mission, faced an unjust death, accepting and doing God’s will. Oh to be like Jesus! Paul saw his death coming, stating that he had fought the good fight and was ready for the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:6-8). May we too be ready!

George B. Mearns

(2) She Said Yes is the title of her biography written shortly have the April 1999 events. Rachel Scott was another girl whose faith lead to her death at the same time.