Feed the Starving Teenagers 1/19/10

As I've mentioned before, I have my own ministry with my teenage niece and nephew and a few other kids in my life. I choose a book and give it to them. They read it. If they make an effort to get together with me and we discuss the book, there is a monetary reward involved. I've read two books with my niece, Meghan, and two books with my nephew, Joe, so far.

Joe is 17. The last book we read together (about a month ago) was Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand (founder of the Voice of the Martyrs ministry). When we discussed the book together, Joe marveled at some of the stories told within the book. Here's some background on the book. It was written in 1976, shortly after Richard Wurmbrand (a pastor in Romania) was released from his second imprisonment (for preaching the gospel) during the communists' rule in Romania (he was imprisoned a total of 15 years).

The following story stood out to Joe in particular (pages 17-18):

Richard Wurbrand speaking: "For me, to preach to the Russians is heaven on earth. I have preached the gospel to men of many nations, but I have never seen a people drink in the gospel like the Russians. They have such thirsty souls.

An Orthodox priest, a friend of mine, telephoned me and told me that a Russian officer had come to him to confess. My friend did not know Russian. However, knowing that I speak Russian, he had given him my address. The next day this man came to see me. He longed for God, but he had never seen a Bible. He had no religious education and never attended religious services (churches in Russia then were very scarce). He loved God without the slightest knowledge of Him.

I read to him the Sermon on the Mount and the parables of Jesus. After hearing them, he danced around the room in rapturous joy proclaiming, 'What a wonderful beauty! How could I live without knowing this Christ!' It was the first time that I saw someone so joyful in Christ.

Then I made a mistake. I read to him the passion and crucifixion of Christ, without having prepared him for this. He had not expected it, and when he heard how Christ was beaten, how He was crucified and that in the end He died, he fell into an armchair and began to weep bitterly. He had believed in a Savior and now his Savior was dead!

I looked at him and was ashamed. I had called myself a Christian, a pastor, and a teacher of others, but I had never shared the sufferings of Christ as this Russian officer now shared them. Looking at him, it was like seeing Mary Magdalene weeping at the foot of the cross, faithfully weeping when Jesus was a corpse in the tomb.

Then I read to him the story of the resurrection and watched his expression change. He had not known that his Savior arose from the tomb. When he heard this wonderful news, he beat his knees and swore using profanity (this was his crude manner of speech). Again he rejoiced, shouting for joy, 'He is alive! He is alive!' He danced around the room once more, overwhelmed with happiness!"

Again, Joe marveled at the emotion expressed when hearing about the life of Jesus Christ and what it was like for someone to hear it for the first time. He was convicted by it.

I was convicted by the power of reading Scripture. The Bible is a supernatural book and speaks for itself.

I highly recommend reading Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand. Joe said he plans to tell everyone he knows about this book (a glowing endorsement, indeed).

You can request a free copy of this book on the Voice of the Martyrs website (http://www.persecution.com/).