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Ultimate Jesus
Freaks
Hear some amazing true
stories of Christians who would not compromise or apologize
for their faith in Jesus.
by dc
Talk and C. Hope Flinchbaugh
The First Jesus Freak
A Word From dc Talk
Being a Jesus Freak means having a passionate heart for
Christ—and a willingness to extend that passion into all areas
of life. It means having a commitment to Him that cannot be
shaken. Many devoted followers through the centuries gave a
new definition to the word commitment when they put their
homes, their families and even their lives on the line for
God. Their love for Jesus was bigger than life itself. On the
pages that follow, you will learn about a few of the greatest
Jesus Freaks of all time; some who stood out from the crowd
enough to be called martyrs. While we may not be asked by God
to martyr our lives, we must martyr our way of life. We must
put our selfish ways to death and march to a different beat.
Then the world will see Jesus.
by dc Talk
A cross
the courtroom, Stephen, the young man on trial, continues
preaching. His listeners fidget nervously as he tells of their
religious heritage and forefathers. What did Abraham and Moses
have to do with this Jesus? On the other side of the room,
another young man, about the same age as the defendant, seems
not to be listening. His mind is already made up on the matter
of this Jesus follower. The crowd of Jewish leaders, however,
grows more agitated at every word from the young defendant.
Suddenly, the preacher turns to the audience. “You stubborn
and hardheaded people!” he says. “You’re always fighting
against the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did. They
killed the prophets who told about the coming of the Righteous
One. And now you have turned against Him and killed Him. You
have received the law of God, but you have not kept it.”
When the crowd hears this, they are even more furious, but
the defendant ignores their growing anger. His face glows like
that of an angel, and he stops talking and points to the
ceiling. “Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing
at the right hand of God.”
This is too much for the crowd. Yelling at the top of their
voices, they all rush him. They drag him out of the city to
stone him. He continues preaching all the way.
The young man who had been in the audience, one Saul of
Tarsus, follows after them. He stands a short distance away
from the defendant, looking steadily at the sky as the mob
grows larger. The cries grow more heated now. A man hands Saul
his coat, then stoops to pick up a stone as though waiting for
a signal from Saul. Saul lowers his gaze, then looks directly
into the man’s eyes and nods. It is time to silence the young
preacher.
“This blasphemer must be dealt with!” someone yells.
“We don’t want to hear about your Jesus anymore,” screams
another voice. A rock sails past Stephen’s head. He stops
speaking long enough to duck, dazed for a moment, then stands
to continue. The second rock catches him near his temple, and
he falls to his knees. Another hits his shoulder. Then there
are too many to count.
“No more Jesus talk!”
“Let this be a lesson to all who would proclaim this
Jesus!”
Stephen can barely open his eyes, and his clothes are torn
by the blows. He begins to pray: “Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit.” Then he manages one last glimpse of the crowd. His
eyes lock on Saul. “And Lord,” Stephen continues, “do not hold
this sin against them.”
After he says these words, Stephen dies.
Saul, who had come to Jerusalem to help silence this
growing craze about Jesus, cannot shake the young man’s
words—especially how fearlessly he had faced death. The glow
that had so angered Saul was still on the young man’s face.
Saul had seen it as the smug pride of a heretic, but could it
have been something else?
He quenches the thought and turns away, more determined
than ever to crush this Jesus movement.[ ]
Adapted with permission from
Jesus Freaks, © 1999, and used with permission of Albury
Publishing.
Teen Martyrs Around the World
by C. Hope Flinchbaugh
L ast
April, Internet memorial sites and media interviews documented
students and parents around the world responding to Cassie
Bernall’s death by asking the same life or death question,
“What would I do if I was asked from the other end of a gun,
“Do you believe in God?”
Cassie, a shy, 17-year-old blond girl, was working on an
English assignment in the library over her lunch hour at
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., when the shooting
began.
One of the gunmen stopped in front of Cassie and asked her,
“Do you believe in God?”
Cassie hesitated for an instant, then answered, “Yes.”
The gunman asked, “Why?” He killed Cassie before she had a
chance to answer.
“She died for her faith,” said Crystal Woodman, a Columbine
junior and a member of Cassie’s youth group at West Bowles
Community Church. “That’s why she died and that’s how she
lived. She was a martyr for Jesus.” Cassie and Crystal used to
volunteer together, reaching out to homeless people in the
Denver area.
After hearing about Cassie’s death, popular author Chuck
Colson made this statement: “Cassie’s martyrdom was even more
remarkable when you consider that just a few years ago she had
dabbled in the occult, including witchcraft. She had embraced
the same darkness and nihilism that drove her killers to such
despicable acts. But two years ago, Cassie dedicated her life
to Christ, and turned her life around.”
Resurrection Power
Cassie’s brother found a poem Cassie had written just two
days before her death, which prophetically documented Cassie’s
faith in Jesus Christ’s resurrection power:
Now I have given up on everything else,
I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ.
And to experience the mighty power
That brought Him back to life again,
And to find out what it means to suffer
And to die with Him.
So, whatever it takes,
I will be one who lives in the fresh newness
Of those who are alive from the dead.
“I’m a Soldier of Christ!”
While Cassie Bernall is known as a martyr for Jesus Christ,
what most people don’t realize is there are thousands of
unrenowned teenagers who have been martyred for their faith—in
this decade.
In January 1999, after a week at a Bible camp on the island
of Ambon, Indonesia, 15-year-old Roy Pontoh and his friends
were laughing and rejoicing, waiting for two camp staff
members to return with cars to take them home.
Voice of the Martyrs, a U.S.-based organization that serves
the persecuted church, reported that the youths grew worried
as they heard shouts and chants coming toward them. An angry
Muslim mob was making its way through town, “weeding out”
Christians. The teenagers scattered to find hiding places in
the buildings, but when the mob arrived, Roy and some of his
friends were discovered and forced to come out.
Roy was frightened as the mob threatened the teens. Still,
when he was confronted, he would not denounce his faith in
Jesus Christ.
Trembling, Roy declared, “I’m a soldier of Christ!”
Immediately, one of the Muslim attackers swung a sword at
his stomach. The sword ripped into a Bible that Roy boldly
held onto, tearing it out of his hand.
The blade whistled a second time and met its mark. Roy’s
abdomen was sliced open. Roy’s final word before he died was
“Jesus.”
Drowned for His Faith
International Christian Concern, another U.S.-based support
group for the persecuted churches, reported the story of a
12-year-old Vietnamese boy who was drowned for his faith.
In the latter part of 1997 in Vietnam, a group of
12-year-olds excitedly shared their faith with their teacher
and classmates. Many of the classmates received Jesus as their
Savior.
One of the Vietnamese teachers reported the boys’
evangelism to the local police, who gathered the “offenders”
and ordered them to stop talking about their “foreign
superstition.”
Amazingly, the youth were detained with the police for a
week, and their parents were not allowed to see them.
During their imprisonment, one 12-year-old boy was taken to
the toilet and his head was held under until he drowned. After
being released, his classmates told how they had been
interrogated for hours and physically abused.
Honoring the Martyrs
I t’s
important to recognize that, as tragic as these deaths have
been, these teen martyrs are winners in the eyes of heaven,
not losers.
Satan was given the power of death until Jesus’
crucifixion, but his power was shattered during the propelling
shock of the resurrection.
Resurrection power is the jewel that these teen saints hold
in their hands at this moment.
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From This Day Forward . . .
I will make a difference.
Jesus, I thank You that You suffered and died for me on
the cross to pay for my sins.
Father, I thank You that You raised Jesus from the dead
to be my living Lord and Savior. Holy Spirit, I thank You
that You will lead me to do the right thing and change my
world.
Today, Lord, I want to make You a promise. I will not
be ashamed of Your name or Your gospel.
I will do what I can for those who are persecuted, and
I will pray for them. I will look enemies in the eye and
love them with Your love. I will pray for them and love
them—no matter what the consequences.
I will follow Your voice wherever You lead me,
unafraid, for I know You will be with me.
If I should stumble, if I fall, if I should deny Your
name, if I should feel guilty that I did not pray or
forgot to do something You’ve asked me to do, I will not
quit. I will not wallow in guilt. I will turn back to You,
confess my sin, and do what You called me to do, because
that is why You died for me.
I will stand with You and my brothers and sisters
around the world, because no matter what happens, no
matter what I face or how it looks, in the end, we will be
victorious—we will inherit eternity and heaven with You. I
can do nothing else because . . .
I am a Jesus Freak.
__________________
Signature
_________
Date
Adapted
with permission from Jesus Freaks, © 1999, and used with
permission of Albury Publishing.
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Want to know more about persecuted Christians? Contact
these organizations:
CHRISTIAN FREEDOM INTERNATIONAL
Christian Freedom International
P.O. Box 16367
Washington, D.C. 20041
Phone: (800) 323-2273
VOICE OF THE MARTYRS
P.O. Box 443
Bartlesville, OK 74005
or call (918) 337-8015
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
2020 Pennsylvania Avenue NW No. 941
Washington, DC 20006
or call (800) 422-5441
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C. Hope Flinchbaugh is a freelance writer from Pennsylvania who
often covers the international persecuted church. Bethany House
Publishers released her novel, Daughter of China, last
September.
* All names are disguised to protect identities.
This article appeared in
Breakaway magazine.
Illustrations by Phung
Huynh and Douglas Klauba. Copyright © 1999 Focus on the Family. All
rights reserved. International copyright secured. |
