A simple view

I wanted to share an excerpt from Martyrs in the Jesus Freaks series from The Voice of the Martyrs. It's a true story of a theif in prison named Nikolai Khamara - sentenced for 10 years. He's in a communist prison cell in the 1970s in U.S.S.R. with some Christians who are being persecuted for refusing to deny their faith in Jesus.

"What kind of men are these?" wondered Nikolai Khamara.
"They show joy while suffering. They sing in very dark hours. When they have a piece of bread, they share it with someone who has none. Morning and evening, they fold their hands and speak to someone whom no one can see. As they do, their faces shine."

One day two Christians sat down with Khamara. He told them the sad story of his life and described himself as "a man with no confidence". He finished by saying "I am a lost man."

One of the Christians asked Khamara "Suppose somebody loses a gold ring. What is the value of that gold ring when it is lost?"

"What a foolish question!" Khamara replied. "A gold ring is a gold ring. You have lost it, but somebody else will have it."

"Then what is the value of a lost man?" the Christian asked. Answering his own question, he continued, "A lost man, even one who is a theif or an adulterer or a murderer, has the whole value of a man. He is of such value that the Son of God forsook heaven for him and died on the cross to save him."

Khamara understood.

The Christian said to the robber, "God loves you. You are valuable to him.
When Jesus met drunkards, robbers, prostitutes, or others who had committed great sins, He never asked them what sins they had committed. Instead, He told them, 'Be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven.' I also tell you, Khamara, that your sins are forgiven because Jesus died for you. You only have to beieve."

Well, Khamara became a Christian. Some time later, the pastor of Khamara's church was arrested. The pastor wouldn't tell his torturers where to find any of the members of his church. But the KGB found Khamara. They threatened to torture Khamara infront of the pastor if he didn't speak up. The pastor was terrified. "what should I do??" he asked Khamara.

Khamara said to him, "Be faithful to Jesus and do not betray Him. I am happy to suffer for the name of Christ."

After gouging Khamara's eyes out, they threatened to cut out his tongue. In despair the pastor cried "What should I do?"

Khamara's last words were, "Praise the Lord Jesus Christ. I have said the highest words that can be said. Now, if you wish, you can cut out my tongue."

Khamara died a martyr's death.


Pretty extreme, eh? Stepping back from the torture and death, I wanted to point out why this witnessing was so successful:

1) The Christians witnessed with their lives, actions, and hearts. Even though their life was being lived in prison at the survival level, they still lives a life centered around others. There's no excuses!

2) The Christians took the initiative to sit with Khamara and listen to him.

3) Khamara was a broken man and knew he was lost. He knew he had done wrong and deserved his sentence. This probably made it easier, but still, they witnessed using a parable that the man could understand. They went down to his level. They put themselves in his shoes. They talked about losing a gold ring - something the man could easily identify with.

4) They communicated in love. This man thought he was worthless. But the Christians gently told him the truth - that God thinks he is valuable. That he is loved. And that God forgives him of his sins no matter what he's done, and that He did that by dying as a perfect man for us and getting resurrected. I especially like it how they make it so simple - "all you have to do is believe".

And from my experience, that's always what it comes down to. People either believe, or they don't. They either have salvation from their sins through Jesus Christ, or they don't (1Jn 5:11,12).

Microsoft Surface

Check out this cool new technology. It allows you to do touchscreen stuff not just with your fingers but with objects on a table. I can imagine these in hundreds of malls in China and other places around the world. Could this be a bigger way to spread bugs around than the escalator? I rekon it might actually be of use - I love the idea for ordering at a restaurant in one of the videos below.

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/