Welcome to the Hackberry House of Chosun. My name is Bob. I'm reading 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 to revisit Richard Wurmbrand of Romania. Pastor Wurmbrand worked his way through the other prisoners to where another pastor sat motionless on the floor. He had just been thrown into the cell. He was badly beaten, and Wurmbrand did not know if he would survive the night. With loving compassion, Pastor Wurmbrand knelt down beside the beaten pastor and asked, My brother, can you say the prayer, Father, forgive them? The man winced with pain, touching his swollen, bruised face. It was difficult to speak. The words came out slowly. I cannot." Just as Pastor Wurmbrand began feeling sympathy for the man, the beaten pastor began to speak again. And with tears in his eyes, he said, my prayer is not, forgive them. My prayer is, Father, forgive them and me. If I had been a better pastor, Perhaps there would have been more converted torturers. This weary pastor expressed his concern for the missed opportunities to convert his enemies to Christ. Both pastors realized a young member of Romania's communist youth organization was once arrested and unmercifully beaten by a supposedly Christian police officer. This incident hardened his heart toward Christ for the rest of his life. This missed opportunity for the gospel finally became the dictator of the former communist nation of Romania. Nicolae Ceausescu was responsible for the torture of countless Christians, including Pastor Wurmbrand and his fellow beaten pastor. Colossians 4, 5 says, be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. No regret is greater than that involving a missed opportunity. Unfortunately, life often brings missed opportunities, like the birth of a child, a Christmas morning, or even that last flight out going home. However, nothing compares to the missed opportunity to change another person's eternal destiny. We never know how the seemingly nominal person sitting next to us on the train one day might affect the world for Christ, if only we said something. Equally true is the possibility that breaking our silence might detour a determined Christian opponent. You may count many missed opportunities for the gospel in your past. However, you can change your future by seizing the opportunities given to you each day to share your faith. Richard Wurmbrand, we'll probably visit him again in this book. This book is put out by Voice of the Martyrs, and Voice of the Martyrs is the organization that Richard Wurmbrand, who was once called the Voice of the Martyrs, put together. Well, if you'd like your own copy of Extreme Devotion, and it's not free, but if you would like one, just email voiceofthemartyrs at thevoiceatvom.org, thevoiceatvom.org. They'll put you in touch with a way you can get this in your home right away. It's an older book, but that's the point of these stories, to tell how God's people have been abused many years in the past, and once a week, I go to the VOM magazine to tell you how they are being abused today. God's people always have been, always will be abused. Our job is not just to cry for them, but to pray for them and to ask God to change things for them. He can do that and does it all the time. Well, this is the Hackberry House of Chosun, and this audio is being released on the 23rd of April, 2023. Lord willing, we'll talk again real soon. Bye bye.