Ed Stetzer: Today I am glad to welcome Nik Ripken to The Exchange. Nik is arguably one of the leading experts on Christian persecution in Muslim contexts. He is author of the new book The Insanity of Sacrifice.
Ed: What prompted you to write this devotional?
Nik: The center for worship and witness in our world is in homes. This book was written to assist families and singles as they center worship in their homes. The number one request that Ruth and I receive is to develop resources to help parents center worship in family settings. We wrote this book, praying that families will share truths from the Bible and Christ’s stories around the table as they share meals with family, friends, and their neighbors.
Ed: What has most surprised you about how God has worked your latest book?
Nik: After listening and learning from believers undergoing persecution, we knew that we had to write The Insanity of God in order to give believers in persecution their voice back. They needed to become our teachers and mentors.
Often, the persecutors will say, “Your story will die with you in this prison cell, or in this room where you are under house arrest, or in this insane asylum where we have chained you.”
More than that, we knew that believers in persecution have earned the right to be our teachers, reminding us that resurrection follows crucifixion.
Yet what has surprised us the most is the number of people who, through reading The Insanity of God, allowed the Holy Spirit to bring them to salvation through Christ’s story found in the stories of believers in persecution. It has led, often, to a greater witness. One 93-year-old man told Ruth and me that after reading the book, he vowed to God that he would share Christ with at least one person a day. He has kept that promise. The international impact of this book has been a great surprise and encouragement.
Ed: How do you hope readers grow from using it for 90 days?
Nik: Our prayer is two-fold: One, it will drive people to a life of devotion centered in Bible study and prayer and they will begin and end their day in the presence of Almighty God. They will model for their children, where appropriate, how time with the Father is the center of all time.
Two, we pray that Christianity in the West will be reminded that sacrifice is not a cross to bear but a joy to accept. Sacrifice in the Western context is negative; instead, it should be one of positive joy, a place of honor and our acceptable offering to God. Hopefully this book will lead people to sacrifice their time, because they love Jesus, and therefore cross the street and cross the oceans with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Ed: What have you learned about sacrifice through your years on the mission field and in your research on the persecuted church? What does the church in the West need to learn about sacrifice?
Nik: Believers in persecution often say to us, “Never have we felt so close to Jesus as when our faith was costing us something.” Running from sacrifice is running from Jesus. Avoiding the crucifixions that life brings is to miss the resurrection that follows.
According to many, what Ruth, our sons, and I have experienced on the mission field is something to honor but not to emulate. They applaud our service, but their body language begs God not to ask the same of them!
Source: Christianity Today
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