According to Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) immediate past president Ronnie Floyd, “More Christians around the world are being persecuted and killed for their faith than any other time in modern history.”
That’s something Ruth and Nik Ripken care deeply about. After serving in war and famine in Somalia for seven years, the couple has learned a few things about the persecuted Church.
Ruth Ripken said prayer is critical for persecuted Christians all over the world.
“The darkness was so dark (in Somalia), you could taste it,” said Ruth Ripken, comparing it to the plagues of Egypt in the book of Exodus.
But over time, she and her husband, Nik Ripken, author of “The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected,” which also is being released as a documentary, learned that the stronger the believers’ persecution, the stronger their convictions.
‘No comparison’
“I found a faith in [persecuted believers] — there’s no comparison — and I began to think, ‘What have we done with our faith in the West?’ It is watered down so much, whereas these believers have paid the price,” Ruth Ripken said in an interview with Donna Gaines of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tennessee, at the Pastors’ Wives Conference held June 13 prior to the SBC annual meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.
Living victoriously
“Persecution has made them count the cost but it has also made them live victoriously,” Ruth Ripken said.
She pointed to the biblical story of Joseph, who was falsely imprisoned because of Potiphar. “Brothers and sisters around the world have reminded us that sometimes God needs Joseph in Pharaoh’s prison. … If we get Joseph out of prison before he has a chance to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, Egypt dies.” And Israel dies.
“So, can we from the West who do have a freedom — that believers from persecution call a ‘miracle’ every single day — can we from the West be so strong” to be there, praying, if God needs them to be in prison to win prison guards to Christ, Ruth Ripken asked.
“Believers in persecution can only stand because you are praying,” she said, relating how believers would weep when they learned other believers were praying for them and they were not forgotten.
Messengers and others at the SBC annual meeting were able to screen “The Insanity of God” documentary June 13.
(BP, TAB)
For more information on the documentary, visit nikripken.com.
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