Todd Nettleton is on a mission to fight persecution of Christians.
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Nettleton, director of media relations and message integration for Voices of the Martyrs, reflected on preparations for the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians, which begins Nov. 2 and continues throughout this month.
“This is not the Martyr’s Voice idea, this is not a marketing plan,” Nettleton said. “This is what persecuted Christians ask of us. The first thing they ask of us is to pray. So the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians responds to their greatest desire to pray for them.”
VOM encouraged churches to engage in prayer for the persecuted church and incorporate this into church activities.
“Different churches will do things differently, but the important thing is that they all pray for their persecuted brothers and sisters,” Nettleton said.
This initiative emphasizes the importance of prayer. Prayer can sometimes be forgotten in the rush of life or become so routine that its power can be ignored or forgotten. But the persecuted church understands the weight and power of prayer.
“They probably understand the power of prayer better than we do,” he said. “They could only pray with their backs against the wall, and then I saw God show up and God answer their prayers.”
At the end of the day, Nettleton said prayer must come first and foremost.
Persecution monitors said he had recently traveled and heard directly from Christians who faced persecution.
“One of the things that stands out to me is a pastor from India who talked about the time he was arrested under his state’s anti-conversion laws,” he said. “He was put in prison because he had been warned, but he continued to preach. He continued to pastor the church, but for some reason they wanted to make an example of him. So he was beaten repeatedly for the first seven days in prison.”
Mr. Nettleton continued. “They hung him upside down and literally beat him until the two guards were too exhausted to continue.”
Despite the horrific beating, he said the pastor felt no pain, which he believes is a miracle.
“God intervened and protected him, but he didn’t feel the pain, which is also amazing,” Nettleton said. “But then the story gets even better. So, after he finished his first seven days in prison, the warden came to him and said, ‘Hey, you know, I’m an equal opportunity warden. And in my prison, we celebrate all the different religious festivals.'”
To mark Good Friday, the warden decided to have the chaplain celebrate it and asked if he would like to share with the other prisoners what the day actually means and why Christians celebrate it.
“Again, this chaplain has just been beaten repeatedly over seven days, and now the warden who ordered him to be beaten is giving him the opportunity to share with other prisoners about Good Friday,” he said. “Then the pastor said, ‘Yes, I will.’” He took the opportunity to stand up and share it. ”
From there, the pastor was able to share the meaning of Easter and the Resurrection. According to Nettleton, it was “amazing.”
“The fact that this warden who ordered him to be beaten is now giving him the opportunity to do that, well, only God can fix that,” he said. “God changed the warden’s heart and literally ordered two other prisoners to take care of the chaplain, make sure he was fed, and do his laundry.”
Mr. Nettleton continued. “And the chaplain was given access throughout the prison and was able to go around and talk to other prisoners.”
That’s not all. The pastor also prayed for the director’s son. The son ultimately recovered from his illness in an “amazing, amazing” way, and miracles were evident throughout the story.
Nettleton said he has heard many stories of people expressing gratitude for the persecution they faced because of what God had done during the persecution.
“In one case, a man said: “My life changed because my village was persecuted. My family had to move to another village, but that village had a good school, so I was able to get a good education. That changed everything in my life. And I am grateful for that persecution that drove my family out of the village,” he said. “We never know what God is doing. We can never know everything God is thinking.”
When we are suffering, Nettleton says, it can be difficult to see beyond the pain. Although we pray for relief and relief from suffering, Nettleton said we sometimes forget about other things.
“We don’t often pray, ‘Lord, who do you want to bring in my path to reach me? What are you trying to teach me?'” he said, encouraging people to look to persecuted people for examples in this regard.
With that in mind, Nettleton said he is concerned about the persecution currently occurring around the world. From China’s crackdown on Christians and churches to the devastation in Nigeria, the situation is dire. See above for details.
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