Redefining Christmas | Witness & Persecution Podcast with Nik and Ruth Ripken

Did you know that the wise men of the Bible were ultimately unwise men? Their story isn’t a children’s story set in an elaborate Christmas pageant. It’s a story of persecution when Jesus was just a toddler. It’s a story filled with drama and the genocidal slaughter of children. Christians living in the west are stuck with a faith narrative in our heads that is dominated by the culture in which we live. Nik begins a multi-part series to learn how believers in persecution get the Christmas story right.
Learn more about Nik Ripken Ministries at:
www.nikripken....

[@sebaldsinliberia9283]

We are mIssionaries serving in Liberia. Your book and testimonies and messages are very encouraging to us, serving in West Africa. Your experiences are so inspiring yet so different from working where the gospel can be freely shared but the poverty is staggering and the dependency syndrome is so deeply entrenched. I have been sharing some of your testimonies as they apply to what we are studying in our daily devotions. God's blessings!

[@sebaldsinliberia9283]

So much to learn from the persecuted church but properly handling the Word of truth does not mean we put ourselves in this story and dare to suggest that the Magi could or should have done anything different. Led by the star, following by faith, seeking their King and worshipping him. Jeremiah 31 prophesied the martyrdom. They were not in the least bit foolish. God led them and protected them coming and going. Isaiah 60 is also fulfilled in part. They went to the capitol of the Jews to find the king of the Jews. Wicked king Herod could not stop the King of kings. These martyrs accomplished every last detail of God's plan for their lives and their story lives on and is told again and again. Some live to 100 and never tell one person about Jesus let alone die for him, to bring him more glory. Jeremiah prophecies not only the weeping but the end of the weeping and the reward to follow.