Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego may well sound like some sort of dodgey 1970s pop band but they were actually the main men. These were not guys who just went to Church on Sunday and then ignored Jesus whilst they were at school or college. These guys didn’t pretend to worship the creator God and then spend their live’s worshiping some other god, sport or pop band. No They had such faith in their God that they were willing to be persecuted, tortured and even put to death in a fiery furnace rather then worship some false god. That’s incredible, that is living life to full. If only there were people, we could look up to today who had such a love for Christ. Then we could look to them as examples of how to remain strong in our faith whatever the situation. Of course by now you release that there are such people alive today. People who are persecuted, locked up and sometimes tortured because they dare to say Jesus is Lord. Worldwide there are Christians who are locked away and put to death just because they meet together, like Christ told us to do. Christian Solidarity Worldwide is charity that helps as many of these people as possible. They help by raising awareness; they help by praying they help by writing to the persecuted Christians, and the governments that are persecuting them. So what, what does that mean to you? It means two things. Firstly there are Christians who you can look to as an example. The next time someone has a go at you because you are a Christian, think of these Christians who are persecuted because of their faith. Praying for one of them will help you to put things into perspective, and you will know that the same God who loves them also loves you. Secondly you can put Gods love into action you can go to www.csw.org.uk and download their “Connect and Encourage” booklet. Then you can write to a fellow Christian who is being persecuted and help them know that there is young person the other side of the world who is praying for them. Can you imagine the impact that might have? You can impact a fellow Christian who is halfway across the world and shine a little of Christ love into their life.
