"It was a startling thought to realize that the persecutor’s use of violence to inhibit the faith and the believer’s refusal to speak openly of Jesus yield the same result. In both cases, people are denied access to Jesus." (from "The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places" by "Nik Ripken").
"If our goal were simply to stop persecution, then followers of Jesus could accomplish that goal easily and quickly by refusing to share Jesus—by refusing to live as sheep among wolves. Obviously, that is something that we are not willing to do! Hopefully, believers are not willing to stop sharing their faith. Even so, this is a good reminder that the primary cause of persecution is people coming into relationship with Jesus. Perhaps it is good to be reminded that, given our calling and our mission, the reduction (or elimination) of persecution is not our ultimate goal." (from "The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places" by "Nik Ripken").
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