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4.54 AVERAGE
4.54 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
This is one of the best books that I have read in a long time. Nik Ripken takes a spiritual journey that gets to the root of Christian faith and strength.
It took me a few chapters to get into the style of writing, but I'm glad I did. The stories were beautiful and heartbreaking, but altogether filled with the found Joy of God. A reminder I needed of the purpose and plan of scripture.
Unrelated to the book- I'm not sure why goodreads has it listed as 350+ pages when the book has over 550 in reality.
Unrelated to the book- I'm not sure why goodreads has it listed as 350+ pages when the book has over 550 in reality.
Ending this book feeling challenged and encouraged.
Challenged in the ways in which I put limits/boxes around God. Challenged in the way I approach my faith among friends, in the workplace, in my every second of every day. Challenged in the fact that we are able to worship Jesus freely in our country, without persecution, and the ways the enemy has used that to stifle us.
Encouraged that the God from the Bible is the same miracle-working, powerful, and supernatural God as today. He is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow.
———
“We found Jesus- and we found that Jesus is very much alive and well in the 21st-century. Jesus is revealed in the lives and words and resurrection faith of believers in persecution.
These believers don’t just live for Jesus, they live with Jesus every day.
These believers have also taught me a whole new perspective on persecution. For decades now, many concerned western believers have sought to rescue their spiritual brothers and sisters around the world who suffer because they choose to follow Jesus. Yet our pilgrimage among house churches in persecution convinced us that God may actually want to use them to save us from the often debilitating, and sometimes spiritually fatal effects of our watered-down, powerless western faith.”
———
“It is simply a matter of obedience. If He is our Lord, then we will obey Him. If we do not obey Him, then He is not our Lord.”
———
“Don’t you ever give up in freedom what we would never give up in persecution- and that is our witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Challenged in the ways in which I put limits/boxes around God. Challenged in the way I approach my faith among friends, in the workplace, in my every second of every day. Challenged in the fact that we are able to worship Jesus freely in our country, without persecution, and the ways the enemy has used that to stifle us.
Encouraged that the God from the Bible is the same miracle-working, powerful, and supernatural God as today. He is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow.
———
“We found Jesus- and we found that Jesus is very much alive and well in the 21st-century. Jesus is revealed in the lives and words and resurrection faith of believers in persecution.
These believers don’t just live for Jesus, they live with Jesus every day.
These believers have also taught me a whole new perspective on persecution. For decades now, many concerned western believers have sought to rescue their spiritual brothers and sisters around the world who suffer because they choose to follow Jesus. Yet our pilgrimage among house churches in persecution convinced us that God may actually want to use them to save us from the often debilitating, and sometimes spiritually fatal effects of our watered-down, powerless western faith.”
———
“It is simply a matter of obedience. If He is our Lord, then we will obey Him. If we do not obey Him, then He is not our Lord.”
———
“Don’t you ever give up in freedom what we would never give up in persecution- and that is our witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
6 stars!
This is a very powerful book and one which I listened through in two days because it truly was riveting.
Nik Ripken (a pseudonym) is in Mogadishu running a humanitarian organization before, during, and after the time the Blackhawk helicopter went down and those U.S. soldiers were killed in the ensuing firefight. He is there because he is a Christian and there is a humanitarian need (due to the Somali civil wars between clans) and he and his organization is there to meet the needs, and they do.
They eventually have to leave Mogadishu because of the security situation and he has a crisis of faith. He worked six years in Mogadishu and saw little evidence that God was working there. Indeed, he has communion with four Somali believers and shortly thereafter all four are murdered in coordinated hits, their bodies never found. Is God even present in Somalia? In addition he experiences a family tragedy while they are still in Africa (sad, sad story).
The second half of the book Nik and his wife decide to go talk with believers around the world who have thrived under persecution and find out how they managed to thrive in difficult times. He talks with believers in Russia, China, Middle Eastern countries, India, Pakistan, etc. The stories that he finds and tells are, well...read the book for yourself and find out.
A couple of interesting stories from the book.
Nik has three Muslim guards who run security for his organization and one of the Islamic organizations in and around Mogadishu come out with a hit list of 150 Somalis who are suspected of being Christians. Nik's three guards are on it. They come to him and say, "you must go and tell the extremists that we are good Muslims."
Nik: "You are good Muslims, that is true, but you want me to walk into the headquarters of the most radical faction in Mogadishu and tell them this?"
Three guards: "Yes. You must do it. We are in danger."
Amazingly (and perhaps a little stupidly), Nik does just that. The reaction? The extremist group thanks him for clarifying the matter!
When Nik experiences a family tragedy, there is a knock on the door one day and it is his closest confidant from Mogadishu, Omar, who is a Muslim, who walked five days from Mogadishu to be with the family when he heard about what happened.
There are other stories of God's faithfulness when his followers are under persecution, I will leave it to you to read the book to discover them.
My favorite book of the year so far.
This is a very powerful book and one which I listened through in two days because it truly was riveting.
Nik Ripken (a pseudonym) is in Mogadishu running a humanitarian organization before, during, and after the time the Blackhawk helicopter went down and those U.S. soldiers were killed in the ensuing firefight. He is there because he is a Christian and there is a humanitarian need (due to the Somali civil wars between clans) and he and his organization is there to meet the needs, and they do.
They eventually have to leave Mogadishu because of the security situation and he has a crisis of faith. He worked six years in Mogadishu and saw little evidence that God was working there. Indeed, he has communion with four Somali believers and shortly thereafter all four are murdered in coordinated hits, their bodies never found. Is God even present in Somalia? In addition he experiences a family tragedy while they are still in Africa (sad, sad story).
The second half of the book Nik and his wife decide to go talk with believers around the world who have thrived under persecution and find out how they managed to thrive in difficult times. He talks with believers in Russia, China, Middle Eastern countries, India, Pakistan, etc. The stories that he finds and tells are, well...read the book for yourself and find out.
A couple of interesting stories from the book.
Nik has three Muslim guards who run security for his organization and one of the Islamic organizations in and around Mogadishu come out with a hit list of 150 Somalis who are suspected of being Christians. Nik's three guards are on it. They come to him and say, "you must go and tell the extremists that we are good Muslims."
Nik: "You are good Muslims, that is true, but you want me to walk into the headquarters of the most radical faction in Mogadishu and tell them this?"
Three guards: "Yes. You must do it. We are in danger."
Amazingly (and perhaps a little stupidly), Nik does just that. The reaction? The extremist group thanks him for clarifying the matter!
When Nik experiences a family tragedy, there is a knock on the door one day and it is his closest confidant from Mogadishu, Omar, who is a Muslim, who walked five days from Mogadishu to be with the family when he heard about what happened.
There are other stories of God's faithfulness when his followers are under persecution, I will leave it to you to read the book to discover them.
My favorite book of the year so far.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
absolutely one of the BEST books I have ever read. I will read this over and over and encourage others to do the same!
"Don't give up in freedom what we (the church around the world) won't give up in persecution!"
While visiting my sister and her family in the Summer of 2014 their pastor, Dr. Johnny Dickerson of First Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas highly recommended this book by Nic Ripken. I took note, but soon forgot. Until a friend reminded me last Sunday afternoon, February the 16th of 2020 - almost 6 years later! Well, I read through this book last week and, in doing so, the Holy Spirit ripped through my heart, mind and soul. This book is so encouraging, yet convicting; so awesome and amazing, yet "isn't the Bible filled with stories just like this and you seldom refer to them as 'awesome and amazing.'" How great is our God!! He is still convicting and drawing people to Himself! I highly recommend this book. You'll shake your head at the work God is doing and wonder how much more is taking place behind the scenes here and around the world.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced