"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted," - 2 Timothy 3:12
Mehdi Dibaj was born in 1934 in Iran into an extremely wealthy Muslim family. He
came to Christ as a teenager and went to seminary and became an Assemblies of
God minister. In 1979 he was put in jail for 68 days because of his faith. In
1984 he was arrested again and for the next nine years he was regularly
tortured. On December 21, 1993 an Islamic court in the city of Sari condemned
him to die.
During the trial, Dibaj said the following in his defense: "Life for me is an
opportunity to serve Him, and death is a better opportunity to be with Christ.
Therefore I am not only satisfied to be in prison for the honor of His Holy
Name, but am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus my Lord and enter His
kingdom sooner, the place where the elect of God enter everlasting life, but the
wicked to eternal damnation." World opinion pressured Iran to release Rev. Dibaj
in January 1994. For the next five months he encouraged other believers in Iran.
Then in June 1994, he was mysteriously abducted and suffered martyrdom.
Mission experts estimate that 1 out of 200 Christians throughout the world are
martyred for their faith. Today in prayer, thank Christ that the small price for
living a godly life is persecution. Pray for those Christians whose lives are
threatened because of their faith in Christ.
"What a privilege to live for our Lord and to die for Him as well." - Mehdi
Dibaj
God's Word: "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his
master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my
teaching, they will obey yours also." - John 15:20
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2003, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN 2 TIMOTHY
pkennedy@devotional.com
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