Breaking News on ASSIST News Service immediately caught my eye this morning. Pakistan Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti was shot dead by gunmen who ambushed his car in broad daylight in the capital Islamabad. Shahbaz was the cabinet’s only Christian minister. He had received death threats for urging reform to the blasphemy laws.
I met Shahbaz over ten years ago when he spoke at the Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference. His passion for the Lord and burden for Christians to be free to worship Him touched me deeply. Now Shahbaz is with the Lord. He has received a “well done, good and faithful servant,” but my spirit grieves that his voice has been silenced. Who will take his place?
Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower . . . you must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder your cross, and follow me closely. If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:34-35 TLB).
In a world that is growing increasingly hostile to Christians, will we take our stand for Christ? Or will we watch silently as our nation abandons the biblical principles upon which we were founded, the name of our Savior and Lord is blasphemed, and our freedom to proclaim Him erodes?
Father, please help us to live and to write Your answer!
Write His Answer 
Thank you so much for sharing this, Marlene. We need to be aware of the price others are paying to follow our Lord. May we be found faithful to do the same!
I had read about this murder earlier today, and was very saddened by this man’s death. He was a bright light shining in a region of great darkness. I’m sure you’ll always remember meeting him. No doubt I would have been deeply honored and humbled if I had been given that opportunity.
Marlene, thank you for honoring Shahbaz and recognizing his life laid down for Jesus Christ. He knew the meaning of the cross and faced death threats fearlessly. I am so glad he was not tortured and left quickly. Bless you for welcoming such a man to a writers conference.
Marlene, thank you for welcoming sucha man to the writers conference in Philly. Shahbaz knew the meaning of the cross and loved the Lord Jesus as he fought for freedom from the Sharia law in Pakistan. He was fearless and refused to be intimidated by threats against his life. May God continue to give us revelation on the cross. “The world behind me, the cross before me . . . no turning back.”
Jesus said that will will have tribulation in this world. Paul said that those who are righteous will face persecution. We can pray for Christians in the Muslim world whao are facing persecution now. But we need to be ready ourselves to face persecution here, in the U.S. Not if, but when. It will come.
In daily life, even as we enjoy freedom of religion, we are face with the decision of whether to be true to our Lord and our faith, or whether to give in to the pressures to compromise and conform. We are faced with the post-modern definition of “tolerance.” We are told daily that insisting that Christ Jesus is the only way is being “intolerant” and “bigoted.” In the UK now, Christians who hold to the traditional values are being told that they are “unfit” to become foster parents.
Marlene, I thank you for the stand you have taken for Jesus Christ, and for your encouragement of Christian writers to foster and share God’s values and the Truth effectively.
Marlene, Thank you for sharing this with us. Also thank your for encouraging and equipping Christian writers to share God’s values and the truth effectively.
Jesus said that in this life we will have tribulation. Paul said that the righteous will face persecution. Peter said to not be surprised by the fiery trials that come our way.
We must pray for those undergoing persecution, such as Chritians in Muslim lands. But we must also, ourselves, prepare to face persecution. In daily life, even while enjoying freedom of religion, we face choices of whether to act according to what we believe, to tell the truth in the presence of lies, or to give in to pressure to compromise and conform. We must be faithful in this and know what we believe and why if we are to be ready to face persecution when it comes. Not if, but when. It will come.
We are already facing the challenges of the post-modern definition of “tolerance.” We are being told that we are “intolerant” for accepting Jesus as the only way. If we hold to what the Bible says about social issues, we are called “bigots.” Some in the main stream media voice wishes that we be eradicated. That kind of intolerance is tolerated today. So the question is, “Are we ready?”
I have sat and stared at this screen for a long time – finding it hard to find the right words to express my heart. Marlene, thank you for sharing this and,Father, thank you for using it to challenge my own heart. “Jesus, I would faithful be.”