4But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,5in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings;6by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,7by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,8by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;9as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed;10as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
We recognize that life is tough sometimes, and you could say it's certainly not fair. There will be times of tribulation, and through it all, we are encouraged to exhibit an attitude of faith in Christ, trusting that He is present and is at work. Consider the heights of danger that were encountered by Paul, as well as Christian believers around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. As Americans, we by and large do not face physical death because we call on the name of Jesus, but we can still evaluate our lives to think what we would do in a situation where our very lives are at stake. And, we can also follow the call of Christ and identify with His death by putting to death the desires and deeds of the flesh so that His life will be more evident in us.
In 1st Corinthians 4, the apostle Paul writes about the struggles that we will face, even dangers we may encounter, and recognizes that in order for Jesus to be glorified in us, that we are called to die to self on a daily basis...
8We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--10always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
I want to continue to keep you updated about the dire situation in the nation of Nigeria. I named an attack on churches in the city of Kano recently as a top story last week in my week-in-review feature, "The 3". There is great concern about the safety of Christians throughout the nation, and the leading perpetrators
appear to be associated with an Islamic terror group called Boko Haram.
ReligionToday.com reports on a story from our friends at Open Doors about the murder of Rev. Faye Pama Musa, general overseer of the Rhema Assembly International Church and secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in Borno state on May 14.
A month later Open Doors workers visited his widow Mercy at her home in Maiduguri. The widow and mother of four warmly received the visitors into her house. Here's what went down that fateful night:
Rev. Musa, Mercy and some of their children were home. While Mercy was preparing supper, Zion, a daughter who was sitting outside, noticed three armed men jumping the fence. She ran into the living room to alert her father. Musa glanced through the window and saw the intruders by the front door. The next moment they forced their way into the house shouting, “Everybody on the floor!”
Musa instantly knew why the men had come and tried to escape through the back door and over the fence. But they caught up with him and dragged him to the porch. “Today you are a dead man. Call your Jesus to help you, Mr. CAN man,” one of the terrorists shouted.
He attempted to fight the three men off, continually calling upon Jesus. Daughter Zion ran to the prorch and begged the attackers to spare his life. They fired a shot at her and missed. But the shock was too much for her and she fainted.
In the midst of the struggle, Mercy heard her husband say, “I will never deny my Savior.” As she crawled to the door, she saw the attackers shoot him three times in the head. Musa died on the spot. The attackers left in a car.
An Open Doors spokesman said, “Pastor Musa will be remembered as a father, a friend and as a role model. It will take the church in Borno a long time to cope with the enormous loss of this bold yet graceful leader and mentor...His deepest desire was to see a strong church pressing forward despite perpetual harassment and killings at the hands of extremists.”
A prominent Muslim security official strongly condemned the murder, saying, “Rev. Faye Pama Musa was an ambassador of peace. I will miss this Christian man who was a blessing and a huge asset for this society.”
Would you die for Him? That is a question that can and should penetrate our soul. When faced with the choice of preserving our lives or facing death for our faith, what would we choose - in the heat of the moment? Think of the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made for us and that believers all across the world are faced with that very choice to either deny their faith or face instant death. It was obviously something that the apostle Paul faced, and he wrote in Philippians 1 that to live was Christ but to die was gain. To him, it appeared that the difference between life and death was a matter of location - his soul would be with the Lord whether he was in this world or the next. And, while God doesn't call us to live with a death wish in our consciousness, I think He doesn't not want us to fear death, either - and to be willing to die for the sake of Christ. Physically...
...and spiritually. Because we face another sort of death on a daily basis - dying to the flesh so that Christ may be exalted and expressed through us. The apostle Paul wrote the words, "I die daily", recognizing the life abundantly can be experienced as we regard ourselves as crucified with Christ and releasing the life of Christ through us. We are called to put to death the deeds of the flesh so that we can more effectively live in the Spirit of God.
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