Richard Wurmbrand: Founder of VOM

I'm sure that many of you have read books from Voice of the Martyrs and some of you probably receive their monthly newsletter. However, how many of you know about VOM's founder, Richard Wurmbrand?



Richard, and his wife Sabina, were courageous Christians that lived in Romania during the period when Communists were taking over. As a matter of fact, Richard (who was a pastor), got his church to go out and greet the Communists and show them love.



Richard and Sabina attended the 1945 "Congress of Cults", where many religious leaders swore loyalty to the new communist regime. Sabina told Richard that he needed to stand up and "wipe the shame from the face of Jesus." Pastor Wurmbrand knew the cost and stepped forward and told 4,000 people that their duty was to glorify God and Christ alone.



On a Sunday morning as Richard was leaving church, the secret police kidnapped and placed him in solitary confinement. For eight years he endured horrific torture and deprivation at the hands of his communist captors. During this time, Sabina Wurmbrand is also sent to a labor camp, leaving their son to fend for himself.



I would encourage you to read more about this courageous couple. You could check out the site dedicated to the memory of Mr. Wurmbrand or you could read his first hand account in his book, Tortured for Christ. You can find a DVD about Pastor Wurmbrand for children here. Please also check out Mrs. Wurmbrand's book called The Pastor's Wife.

Country Profile: Cuba

Today's country profile will probably hit a little closer to home for some of us. Cuba is just ninety miles off of the Florida Straits. To read a first-hand account of Christian persecution in Cuba, read God's Missiles Over Cuba.

In 1959, revolutionary Fidel Castro, came to power and was prime minister of Cuba from February of 1959 to December 1976, after which he was president until his resignation in February 2008. Castro reigned Cuba in normal Socialistic fashion, calling Catholics and Protestants "social scum" and putting severe limitations on churches. Raul Castro, Fidel's younger brother, is now president of Cuba.

Cuba's government is of the Communist State type. Church registration and approval by the state are required to build or renovate church buildings, etc.

To read more about Cuba, please follow the links below:

http://www.persecution.net/cuba.htm

http://www.persecution.org/suffering/countryinfodetail.php?countrycode=13

Country Profile: North Korea

It's hard to imagine a country so brutal to people that when they escape, they feel free in China. Well, that's how some people have felt when escaping from North Korea. To read an interesting story about this, buy the book, Escape From North Korea.

The current dictator, Kim Jong-Il, supports very harsh policies towards anyone who is against the Communist party and does not recognize him as supreme authority. The government actively seeks to suppress public and private religious activities.

North Korea is known as the "hermit nation" because it is so closed to contact with the outside world. Due to this and many other things, there are extreme problems with food shortages and as many as three millions people have died of starvation since 1994.

Pray that Christians will be able to be salt and light in the harsh environment of North Korea. Pray that they will not deny their Lord and that no matter what comes, they will be able to stand up against the pressure.

The following links will provide you with more information about the country and leaders of NK:

http://www.persecution.net/northkorea.htm

http://www.persecution.org/suffering/countryinfodetail.php?countrycode=29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il

"I Admire Communists"

"I admire Communists."

Those words are remarkable, especially when you know who spoke them. Who said them? Richard Wurmbrand, a pastor who spent fourteen years in Communist prisons.

Why did Mr. Wurmbrand say that he admired Communists? He said, " Many Communists were willing to die to defend their 'Utopia.' They were more committed to their cause than some I met in churches."

As I read those words, I find myself feeling convicted by the Lord. Am I willing to die for the cause of Christ? Am I even willing to be ridiculed for speaking out for God? These are hard questions, but ones I need to answer. I want to be committed. Are you committed?

To find out more about Richard Wurmbrand and his legacy, go to the Voice of the Martyr's website: http://www.persecution.com/

Ill Husband Not Allowed to See Imprisoned Wife

Hua Zaichen, age 91, was denied the right to see his imprisoned wife, Shuang Shuying. Hua is deathly ill and wanted to say his last goodbyes, but the Chinese authorities refused to let the two see each other.

Please pray that this husband and wife will be able to see each other. Pray that the government officials will turn to Jesus and have a change of heart.

(For the whole story, click here)

A Look Back in History #2

At the beginning of this year, I started Voice of the Martyrs' Extreme Devotion for my devotional book. It has been great and I thought that I'd make a blog post out of one of them:

The setting is communist Romania, where there is a seven-year drive to eliminate the nations of all superstition. This is where we find Brother Vasile.

Even though the government was cracking down on religion, especially on Christianity, Vasile and his wife opened their doors to hold church meetings in their house. They knew, however, that they could not go undetected for forever.

Soon Brother Vasile learned that one of the church members' homes had been raided and some of his sermons had been confiscated. He also found out that the assistant pastor had become and informant and had betrayed Vasile. He knew the clock was just counting the time until he was arrested.

The time came at 1:00 AM. The police raided their apartment and put Vasile under arrest. Brother Vasile refused to leave peacefully unless he was able to spend several minutes with his wife. He was granted his request and the next several minutes were spent in holding each other, praying, and singing. Vasile was then led off and was not seen for many years.

As the police were loading Vasile into the van, he shouted to his tearful wife, "Give all my love to our son and the pastor who denounced me."

Put yourself in Brother Vasile's shoes. How would you have handled being betrayed by someone that had helped in you in the ministry and who you had trusted? Be honest with yourself, would you have been able to love that person in the same Christ-like way?

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matthew 6:12, ESV)