Richa rd Wu rmbrand

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Surviving torture and 14 yrs of im prisonment for h is Christian faith with in the 1940s and 60s, Richard Wurmbrand would eventually become founder of The Voice of the Martyrs organ ization. The interdenominational Christian organ ization, founded in 1967, is dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide To th is day. The following is a small glim pse into Richards remarkable prison experience and culminates in a heartfe lt meditation on Galatians chapter two, verse twenty. To learn more about persecuted Christians, visit persecution.com

We n ever saw su n, moon, sn ow, flowers, stars, mou ntains, rivers...We h ad forgotten th at th ese th in gs exist.

Ma rvin Luna

FF
We n ever h ad th e Bi b le,

P ss s
I h ad forgotten to write.

I wish to start ton ight by te llin g you a prison experien ce. Wh en th e commu n ists took over my h ome lan d, Roman ia --

-- th ey di d wh at th ey di d everywh ere wh ere th ey came to power. Wh at th ey wou ld do in th is cou ntry too if ever it wou ld fall u n der th em.

Th ey put in prison th ousan ds of Christians.

n or any oth er book. We n ever h ad a bit of paper or a pen.

An d we wh o we re co nsi der ed someh ow to be liv in g per so n ali tie s of u n der gr ou n d ch u rch , th e we we re kep t du rin g yea rs in so lita ry co n fin eme nt

I h ad n ot seen a lady in 14 years.

I h ad n ot seen a ch i ld in 14 years.

In solitary con fin ement we saw n obody except th e wardens an d th e tortu rers.

myse lf an d oth ers, we were, du rin g years 30 feet ben eath th e earth.

We n ever h eard a sou n d.

Th e ce lls were sou n d proof.

We never heard a wh isper. We saw noth ing, we heard noth ing. Perfect silence reigned in those prison cells.

years passed like th is, One year after another; I became very very tired.

One night I said to our Lord, Lord, you see, I have no brethren, no sisters,

I dont have your written Word. I dont have holy commun ion. I have none of these th ings.

We h ad almost n oth in g to eat,

sometimes...

But you h ave s poken so often di re ctly to persons, even to very evi l persons, li ke Sau l of Tarsus wh o h ad been a perse cutor an d a ki ller of Christians --

an d you came an d s poke with h im.

And as I have nobody to speak to me, would you speak to me ton ight?

...on e slice of bread...

...a week.

14 years I h ad n ever seen a color. We always saw th e grey walls of th e ce ll an d ou r grey u n iforms. I h ad forgotten th e brown, an d th e b lu e, an d green, an d pin k, an d violet existed. Ou r world was grey.

And then... They were exceptional circumstances and in exceptional circumstances exceptional th ings happen.

An d wh en I sai d, You, Lord, s pea k to me, I h eard His voice. Now, I expe cted from Him a word of comfort, A word wh ich sh ou ld stren gth en me in my faith.

Instead of th is, I h eard a very stran ge word... He put to me a q u estion.

Now, I be lieve Jesus is God an d su re ly, God sh ou ld kn ow, at least, wh at my n ame is. Its very stran ge for a God to ask somebody wh at is h is n ame.

But He h as put such a stran ge q u estions before. He asked Adam: Adam, Wh ere are you?

Sh ou ld I say I am a Christian? I feared to say it

-- be cause I kn ew th at in th e fi rst centu ries, u n der th e Roman perse cution Christians entered in the arena of circuses to be devoured by wild beasts. for th ei r faith...

an d I was n ot cou rageous as th ose Christians.

We ll, if He is God He sh ou ld kn ow wh ere Adam is. He put th is q u estion to Adam n ot be cause He di d n ot kn ow, b ut to ma ke Adam th in k: Am I n ot in th e wron g place?

Hi dden in a b ush. Hi din g myse lf from my Creator, before Wh ose eyes n obody can h i de h imse lf.

An d so th e Lord put to me th e stran ge q u estion: Wh at is you r n ame?

Sh ou ld I say, I am a pastoR? I di d n ot dare, be cause I kn ew th at a pastor h as to watch day an d n ight over h is flock, an d I h ad n ot been li ke th is...

He h ad asked me, Wh at is you r n ame? I bowed before Him an d sai d: Jesus, I h ave n o n ame. Allow me to bear you r n ame. An d th at is wh at He really wish es from us.

Pau l u n derstood it, Not I live. Not th e old Pau l, n ot a n ew Pau l. Not th e wicked Pau l wh o h as been a mu rderer n or th e n ew Pau l wh o is an apostle.

Now I h ad kn own all my life th at my n ame is Rich ard. But at th at moment I cou ld n ot reply to Jesus, My n ame is Rich ard, be cause I h appen ed to h ave read in ch u rch h istory, th at in Britain th ere on ce was a big saint with th e n ame of Rich ard;

Wh o be cause of h is faith, h ad been senten ced to death, an d I h ave th e same n ame as th at saint.

An d I feared to say to Jesus: My n ame is Rich ard, Be cause I tremb led about someth in g e lse -- Wh at if I say, My n ame is Rich ard, an d He says, Are you li ke THAT Rich ard? I was n ot li ke th at Rich ard. So I cou ld n ot say th at I am Rich ard.

Not th e wicked an d fu ll of vices. Not th e very good an d fu ll of vi rtu es...

Th e I th e wicked an d fued. of I Not h as been abolish ll Not live, b ut Christ very good an d vices. Not th e lives in me. fu ll of vi rtu es...