Bearing sticks and stones, the men lunged at Pastor Chandy.
"We already told you not to come here!" they shouted in rage.
It was March 19, and the GFA pastor was holding his usual prayer meeting in one of the villages in North India where he had started a small fellowship.
He was feeding his hungry flock from God's Word when the two young men disrupted the service, storming into the believer's home where they were
meeting.
Days earlier, the two opposers of the Gospel had threatened Pastor Chandy not to return to the village for prayer meetings. And today, they were making good on their threats.
Snatching the Bible from the pastor's hand, one of the men tore it up. Moving around the room, they brutally slapped not only the pastor but also the believers who were gathered. Even the women were not spared such abuse. One woman was gripped by the neck and held to a wall - and nearly fell unconscious from the trauma. The men also used a stick to beat the believers and grabbed hymnals to take with them.
Miraculously, the pastor and believers escaped - but not before their attackers issued a deadly threat:
"If you have this meeting here again, we will burn you alive!"
In addition to the pastor, at least five believers suffered persecution in the incident. Yet despite their physical and emotional pain, they refuse to turn their backs on Jesus.
"Let anything happen - we will stand for the Lord," one said, expressing the heart of the rest.
This is not the first time Pastor Chandy, 33, has faced opposition in his young life, but along with his wife and children he remains committed to the ministry to which God has called him.
Give thanks to Jesus for the courage He has given these Christians who love Him so dearly. Pray for God's continued protection and peace for them. Pray that those who persecuted them will be drawn to Jesus - perhaps through reading through the hymnals they stole.
In areas like this one in North India, persecution of Christians is not unusual. At the same time, God's work is powerfully going forth - people who once sought forgiveness through rituals and sacrifices to false deities are now hearing the wonderful news of hope in Jesus. And their thirst for atonement and significance is being fulfilled in the person of Christ. Just like the five who suffered persecution with their pastor, their radiant faces tell of their love for Jesus.
From: Gospel for Asia