I've often been impressed with the fragility, vulnerability and great strength of purpose of those followers of Christ throughout the world who suffer for their persistence and consistency in the faith. They are flowers among the thorns, and children of the "Most High." It is not uncommon for such brothers and sisters of the faith to stand firm as oppressed Christians -- fainting physically, yet rising spiritually on wings of eagles.
That you understand such poignant realities, and have chosen to support The Voice of the Martyrs Canada in tangible and meaningful ways, is a very encouraging and enabling blessing. I want to personally thank you, and assure you that without your participation (coming in the form of God's might and faithfulness through you, and that of so many other "partners" across this great country), we could never accomplish anything meaningful.
We are also blessed to encourage and disciple those whom we serve, and those who serve with us, and hence this blog message from my desk. Our dear friends in God's persecution "family" around the world have been blessed with some of the secrets of God's Kingdom in understanding the relationship (oft expressed in Jesus' teaching) between suffering and joy. Our Lord, in Matthew 6:25-34 (NKJV), embedded such truths in His simple yet multi-layered teaching on the metaphor of the "lilies":
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"
May the peace of Christ inhabit your gardens of faith, and may you experience the Lord's reward of sheer joy as you stand with His afflicted children.
Doug J. McKenzie
Chief Executive Officer
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada
