Welcome to the Hackberry House of Chosun. My name is Bob. I'm reading today from a devotional book put out by Voice of the Martyrs. It's called Extreme Devotion. This book catalogs the struggles of God's people over past years. Today we're going back to old Romania, visiting a pastor and his family. The pastor, his wife, and their six small children had just read Psalm 23 while eating breakfast. Suddenly, the police burst into the family's home to search the house and arrest him. The police asked him, don't you have anything to say? Have you no sorrow or regret? The pastor said carefully, You are the answer to what we prayed today. We just read in Psalm 23 that God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. We had a table, but no enemies. Now you have come. If you would like anything that's on the table, I would like to share it with you. You were sent by God. How can you say such stupid things? We'll take you to prison and you'll die there. You'll never see your children again. With continued ease, the pastor replied, we also read about that today. Though I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear. The officer shouted, everyone fears death. I know, because I've seen it on their faces. A shadow of a dog can't bite you, and a shadow of death can't kill you. You can kill us or put us in prison, but nothing bad can happen to us. We're in Christ. If we die, you take us to his world. Isaiah 26.3 says, you will keep him in perfect peace, him whose mind is steadfast. because he trusts in you. Peace. It's becoming as valuable as blue-chip stock in today's economy of unrest and violence. Fortunately, all believers are shareholders in God's gift through Jesus Christ. But many people lack this peace. Some take prescriptions and worry to no end, trying to receive peace apart from God. Whatever good feeling they may find is only temporary at best. Then it's back to worry and unrest. In contrast, God's peace enables us to succeed with serenity in our sufferings. No trial can unnerve your trust in him. Like the gentle pastor in this story, though calamity may strike without warning, you'll be prepared with God's perfect peace. Amen. For your own copy of Extreme Devotion, you can email Voice of the Martyrs at thevoiceatvom.org. Also reading today from the February 2024 issue of the Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, our story today is entitled Rebuilding a House of Prayer. I want to remind you that we're in India and surroundings during this month of February. Now, I understand it's March, but I'm a little behind on this reading. I read a little extra, more than I normally do, because I wanted to get everything in here about India. We'll be here today and next week, too, talking about India, and then we'll go into the March issue after that. Well, after his home was destroyed and his mentor was martyred, Mahmood made a new commitment. One day in 2010, as Mahmood prayed at his mosque in India's mountainous Kashmir Valley, he was suddenly moved by a desire to learn more about Jesus Christ. When he told someone in his village, he was directed to a Christian man named Muhammad Yusuf Batt. While many Muslims revere Jesus, Isa they call him, as a prophet, they don't have a biblical understanding of who he is as Christ. I loved Jesus, said 40-year-old Mahmoud while sitting in a prayer room he made in his home, but I didn't know how to walk with Jesus. Yusuf offered to be my guide and tell me more about Christ and the Bible. Known for helping the poor and vulnerable, Yusuf was well-respected in the Kashmir Valley. He had started multiple house churches, led a disciple-making movement among Christian converts from Islam, and distributed Bibles and copies of the Jesus film throughout Kashmir. The stark religious and cultural divide between the Kashmir region and the rest of India hasn't changed much since 2010. While 90% of the Kashmir Valley's 4 million residents are Muslim, India as a whole is nearly 81% Hindu. During the time of Yusuf's ministry especially, Muslim extremists sought to stop the spread of Christianity in Kashmir while fighting for autonomy from India's central government. After Mahmud met with Yusuf to discuss Jesus Christ, he was enthralled by what he had heard. The men began meeting regularly for study, and Mahmoud soon took up temporary residence near Yusuf to avoid having to travel several hours for each meeting with his mentor. My family didn't actually know that I was going for this, Mahmoud said. They thought the reason I was going was for work. The more Mahmoud studied God's word, the more he wanted to leave Islam. And after six weeks of learning about Jesus' teachings and miracles, Mahmoud placed his faith in Christ. I was really touched by the miracles that Christ did and was convinced that this was the truth, Mahmoud said. I felt more peace in my life. I realized that Christ is God, not just a prophet or messenger. Mahmud returned to his village ready to tell people about the Jesus of the Bible. He started by telling his wife and eight-year-old daughter where he had been and what he had learned. Soon, both of them placed their faith in Christ. He then shared the gospel with five friends in his village, giving each of them a Bible that he had received from Yusuf. And before long, five of the village's 300 families began to gather secretly at Mahmud's house for worship each Sunday. But, eventually, the secret got out. One day in 2011, while Mahmud and his family were away visiting the large city of Srinagar, a group of Muslim men destroyed their house. After a neighbor called Mahmoud and told him about the attack, he and his family decided to stay in Srinagar, where Mahmoud had previously worked as a day laborer. In Srinagar, one of several focal points of Islamic extremism in Kashmir, Mahmoud and his family joined a small, newly formed house church. Though he desired to share God's word with Muslims in Srinagar, Mahmoud struggled with fear. A lot of people who live in rented houses already have a fear that if they are Christians, they can be kicked out at any time, he said. In my case, I already knew that my house was destroyed, and my wife and daughter were there, so I was already under pressure to keep them safe and make a life for them. That was playing in my head, and I wanted to keep them safe and just not be in trouble. Mahmoud and his family weren't the only ones in danger. On the evening of July 1, 2015, four masked gunmen entered Yusuf's home and escorted him outside, where they shot him to death. Islamists had taken notice of his unflinching faith and bold evangelism. Following Yusuf's murder, Christians in the Kashmir Valley became anxious, even fearing to speak of his death. And Mahmoud's spirit was crushed when he learned of Yusuf's death. The time with him was so pivotal because he brought me to the Lord, Mahmud said. After he was killed, it actually damaged my faith a little. I was weak in the faith. After that, when I prayed, God strengthened me. Then one day in 2018, a new desire stirred in Mahmud's heart. He wanted to return to his village and rebuild his home. I was concerned that something else could happen to my house or to my family, he recalled, but I have a strong commitment to prayer. It was by faith that I came and rebuilt the house. After his family settled into their new home, Mahmud started sharing the gospel again. I was convicted to make disciples, he said. I thought, if I know this truth, other people should also know it. Mahmud helped lead 10 families to Christ, and they started secretly gathering in his house for worship. I basically started praying again as a family, he said. Then I went to friends and told them that I made something like a prayer house, and if they wanted to come and pray, they could. That's how I started. Recently, Mahmoud finished a six-month Bible course in Srinagar. He took the course so he could better explain the Gospel and the Scriptures to Muslims. Since he cannot read or write, he used an audio Bible to study scripture and dictated his work to someone who could write it down for him. At the end of the course, Mahmoud received a certificate for being a top student. He also recently learned that the Muslims who had destroyed his house were from another village. This happened for the sake of Christ, and I am happy about it, he said. God has forgiven us, and so I forgive them. Today, Yusuf's influence lives on through Mahmoud's life. About five years ago, Mahmoud, his predominantly Muslim village, surprised him by electing him leader of the village. He said he probably wouldn't have been elected if Yusuf had not shared the gospel with him. They actually chose me as the head of the village because of how my character had changed after I became a Christian, Mahmoud said. They know that Christians aren't involved in immoral activities, and also they do a lot of charity. They actually prefer me as a Christian. Therefore, they voted me to be head of the village. As leader of the village, Mahmud is responsible for distributing federal assistance to needy community members. He also serves as mediator between the village and local government in matters of infrastructure and utilities. Before I came, there was no road access to this village, he said. Since I became the elder, they made a road, and the village is happy with me. Mahmoud enjoys leading his community, but he gives God the glory for his position. It was not something I did that got me elected. It was the God we worship. He is the one who brought me to this level in society, and I am thankful for Him. It is through His power that I serve the people and share the gospel with them through the position that I am in. The villagers know that Mahmud is a Christian, but he believes he and his family could be attacked again if word gets out that he is leading a church. If they come to know there is a church, they will come and destroy our house again, he said. That's why I'm keeping it hush-hush. Although he is careful to avoid persecution, in a way Mahmud also welcomes it. I'm ready for persecution, he said. Jesus Christ carried a big cross on his shoulders. I'm ready to bear my cross just like Jesus bore his cross. Mahmoud requests prayer for the protection of his family and home, and for the future of his ministry work in Kashmir. Pray for this village as well as those who persecuted me, he said, so that they might also know Christ. Eventually, I want my influence to grow so that Christ might use me to share the gospel in all of this region. Amen. Well, if you had the magazine in your hand right now, you could be looking at some pictures. I see a picture of Yusuf and a church area and a Bible, and there's a lot of good things in this magazine that will bless you. I hope that you will write to the folks at Voice of the Martyrs. Just go to vom.org, the website, and ask them about all of this. You can be put on the mailing list, and this magazine will come to your house free, no obligation, every month. Lord willing, we'll talk again soon. Bye-bye.