Between Two Tigers

Between Two Tigers, which we purchased from Voice of the Martyrs, would have to be one of the most compelling and thought-provoking books that I have had the pleasure of reading recently. In Vietnam, they have a saying and that is, “If you use a blanket to cover yourself, then you will not know whether or not there are lice inside that blanket.”

People who live outside Vietnam think that there is freedom of religion within Vietnam, but if you really want to find out whether that is true, you need to walk in the shoes of the members of the persecuted church.

Christians in Vietnam live between two “tigers” – Communism and Buddhism/tribal religions, and no matter which way they turn, there is a “tiger” threatening them. Do they stop worshipping Jesus? No! They travel the lonely roads, face police interrogation and prison, and they do it all with a sense of joy and accomplishment, knowing that Christ’s power rests upon them.

Vietnam is a small country in Indochina, which has suffered greatly and been wounded by various wars. The people have felt that their lives were being sacrificed to Communism, and at about the same time, Buddhism was brought in from China, with pagodas, shrines and temples adorning every home. Superstitious religious rites were practiced with regularity.

Communism began around 1954 and the churches persecution still continues today, although the North is more heavily persecuted than the South. The Christians who remained in the North after Vietnam was split had their Bibles confiscated and they had their crosses destroyed. Atheism and Darwinism was taught, while newspapers spread false information about believers. In the North, churches are even told what they can preach, and the pastors are controlled by the government.

House churches are one way that the North Vietnamese Christians can spread the Word of God, but there are harsh penalties – imprisonment and severe beatings for anyone caught with a Bible and preaching the Word of God. Most of these house churches contain ten to twelve people who have continued meeting like this for months, and in some cases, years. Today Vietnam is a place where Jesus Christ is changing the course of history. The gospel is being preached all over the land, and the land is ripe for the harvest.

There are many stories of extreme persecution within this book, and real Christians endure such hardships that it makes me shudder, knowing that these people are willing to give their all for their love of the Lord Jesus Christ and the spreading of the Gospel. Bibles are still in short supply in Vietnam, and the Vietnam Christians guard their Bibles with their lives, sometimes burying Bibles so that they will not be confiscated. People borrow Bibles so that they can learn of the love of God and instill His Word into their ♥♥♥.

Some Christians pedal 40 kilometres to preach their sermons (Gulp!), and they spend whatever money that they have to photocopy tracts and encourage people to read them. Once they have read the tract, they return it and receive a new one. We can only imagine the hardships that they endure, to bring others to the saving grace of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God that there are Christians in Vietnam prepared to give their all so that others can learn of the love of God! This is an excellent book, and one that I can heartily recommend.

The School of Obedience

The latest book that I have been reading is The School of Obedience by Andrew Murray, and it was such an awe-inspiring book that I read it in one day. Our children have also read it as a part of the ACC curriculum.

1. Preface
2. What is covered in The School of Obedience?
3. Obedience: Its Place in Holy Scripture
4. The Obedience of Christ
5. The Secret of True Obedience
6. The Morning Watch in the Life of Obedience
7. The Entrance to the Life of Full Obedience
8. The Obedience of Faith
9. The School of Obedience
10. Obedience to the Last Command
11. Note on the Morning Watch

Some of My Favourite Excerpts from the Book:

Preface: The very entrance into this life demands the vow of absolute obedience, or the surrender of the whole being, to be, think, speak, do, every moment, nothing but what is according to the will of God, and well pleasing to Him.

Page 38: It is in the closet, in the morning watch, that our spiritual life is both tested and strengthened. There is the battlefield where it is to be decided every day whether God is to have all, whether our life it to be absolute obedience. If we truly conquer there, getting rid of ourselves into the hands of our Almighty Lord, the victory of the day is sure. It is there, in the inner chamber, proof is to be given whether we really delight in God, and make it our aim to love Him with our whole heart.

Page 52: You ask for the ground of that faith in God’s Word? You find it in God’s New Testament promises, “… I will… write it [my law] in their hearts.” “… I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” The great defect of the Old Covenant was, it demanded, but did not provide the power for obedience. This the New Covenant did. The heart means the love, the life. The law put into, written into the heart, means that it has taken possession of the inmost life and love of the renewed man. The new heart delights in the law of God; it is willing and able to obey it.

Page 55: If you would enter into the blessed life of obedience; see here the open gate – Christ says, “I am the door.” See here the new and living way – Christ says, “I am the way.” We begin to see it; all our disobedience rests on not knowing Christ correctly. We see it; obedience is only possible in a life of unceasing fellowship with Himself. The inspiration of His voice, the light of His eyes, the grasp of His hand make it possible and certain.

Come and let us bow down, and yield ourselves to this Christ. Obedient unto death, in the faith that He makes us partakers with Himself of all He is and has.

This would have to be one of the best books that I have read for a very long time. Andrew Murray challenges every Believer to obey God, and there is a constant emphasis on denying one’s selfish nature in order to follow Christ’s perfect example of obedience. As Christ was obedient unto death, so every Believer should seek to obey God at any cost.

Peril by Choice

The book, Peril by Choice is the story of John and Elaine Beekman, Wycliffe Bible translators in Mexico.

John Beekman started life with a heart murmur and poor circulation, but decided that he would rather give fewer years of service to those who had never heard of the Gospel than many more years to those who have already heard the Gospel message.

The story is about how John and his wife, Elaine took the Gospel to the Chol Indians and worked as linguists to help publish the Chol New Testament. Their lives were not always happy-go-lucky, as their first baby, Sharon died shortly after birth, and of a heart condition similar to that of her father. When Sharon died, Elaine was told that she would be able to comfort the Chol women with her testimony because they lose many babies.

However, they go on to have another baby, Judy, who became known as “the miracle baby”, and was ‘adopted’ by one of the Chol Indians named Madam Mercy.

John and Elaine worked well as a team, with John translating in the New Testament, while Elaine translated hymns. The Chol people loved their hymns and often walked around singing, so the hymns were a wonderful way to get the Gospel message into their hearts.

John Beekman encouraged one translator by telling her to make small goals. With small goals, you gain a sense of achievement each time you meet one.

Peril by Choice shows how translators and linguists work to help spread the message of the Gospel, and is one that we have studied in Introduction to Missions through Australian Christian College. Our children have thoroughly enjoyed this novel, so I have also read it, enjoying it immensely, and I would heartily recommend it to anyone wanting to read an excellent biography.