Today is Saturday, June 23, 2018. Hi, my name is Adam Burton, and you are listening to The Daily Devo, a short devotional designed to help you apply God's word to your life. The content comes from the Gospel Project. Take a few moments and read Philippians, chapter 1, verses 12-30.
On May 6, 1966, Richard Wormbrand stood before the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. to talk about the torture he endured at the hands of Nazis and Communists. The Romanian pastor had been hung upside down, beaten, prodded with red-hot pokers, cut with knives, starved, forced to stand in nail-lined coffins, and thrown into freezers until he lost consciousness. Pastor Wormbrand was also told that unless he precanted his faith and stopped preaching God's word, his wife and son would be tortured and killed.
He did not recant. In his memoir, Torture for Christ, Wormbrand reflected on his 14-year prison. It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners. It was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating.
A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal. We preached, and they beat us. We were happy preaching.
They were happy beating us, so everyone was happy. How do you think believers like this are able to endure such difficulties for Christ? Paul's resume was equally blood splattered. The apostle had laughed, been lashed five times, beaten with rods, stoned, and shipped right to three times.
He had been hungry, naked, frozen, and constantly exposed to death. For two years, Paul remained in prison in Rome. Somewhere around AD64, he was executed, likely during the wave of persecution instigated by Emperor Nero, the Caesar to whom Paul appealed in Caesarea. Many scholars believed Paul pinned his letter to the church in Philippi, a letter marked by joy during that time in Rome.
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