Hearts of Fire

by The Voice of the Martyrs
Available from Amazon
****
Eight women in the underground Church have shared their stories of what their faith in God has cost them and their loved ones. They are each from different countries, and their individual ways of drawing persecution, and their sufferings are distinct. They are alike in that they each refused to deny the Lord Who saved them.

I don’t agree with all the women in the book. One of the chapters was on Sabina Wurmbrand. I appreciate her suffering and stedfastness in the Lord, but some of the comments, as well as some things I’ve read on her husband, Richard Wurmbrand who has suffered so much for Christ’s sake, seem to be contrary to Scripture. Maybe I am mistaken, or maybe they are less than orthodox, but I can still glorify God in their testimony for Him.

Ling was another woman who was tortured for Christ. She was a leader and preacher in the underground church in China. I believe that the Bible teaches against women preaching in mixed company, but I admire her conviction. I also realize that sometimes men are not available or willing to do things, and women are. Ling was willing, and she suffered much for Christ’s sake.

The other six women had one thing in common with each other and the previously listed two: they were all Christians. One woman suffered incredible physical and emotional pain after refusing to convert to Islam. One father tried to kill his daughter who became a believer in Christ from Islam after searching for the truth. Another woman lost her husband and two sons to those who resented the message of Christ.

One thing I really appreciated about this book is that these are women of today. They are not women to inspire me from history, although they will be that for others. They are women who are living now, existing on this planet in my lifetime. These are the sufferings of today. I have not been chosen to suffer as they have, but whether my time comes or not, these women inspire me to cling to Christ, and remain faithful to Him whatever the cost. Due to the explanations of the extreme costliness of their faith, I would only recommend this book to adults.

In the Hollow Of His Hand

By Hesba Stretton
Available from Keepers of the Faith
*****
This sequel to Highway of Sorrow begins in Scotland. The Stundists, true believers in Christ, have been enduring some persecution in Russia. A Scottish woman had married a Russian, but to try to save her health, she had returned to her native land with her young son, Michael, around whom the book revolves. She dies soon into the book, telling her son that “death is beautiful! And I am not alone.”

Michael returns to his father and young sister in Russia, and is saddened by the increased persecution they are suffering. His father is arrested shortly thereafter, and eventually exiled to Siberia. The Stundist children under the age of twelve have all been forcibly taken from their homes and placed in supposedly “good” orthodox homes. This is to make sure the children are being reared properly, and to encourage their parents to return to the church.

Michael believes his sister Velia to be well cared for, and along with many of the wives and children of other men being exiled, accompanies his father to Siberia. We read of the horrors of the trip, of the many that die along the way, the suffering of the women and little children, the pain of the fathers who can do nothing for their families.

After arriving at their destination, Michael receives word that his sister has been taken from the kind home she was in, and is being mistreated because of her refusal to worship icons. He comes back for her, and the book ends with them safe in Scotland.

I had never read or heard anything about the Stundists until I read the prequel to this, Highway of Sorrow. My heart has been touched by their history, their faithfulness, and their sufferings. The church needs to know of others who have been faithful. It is encouraging to read of others who have loved the same Lord, and through their trials, sufferings, pain, and deaths, have been kept safe and secure in the hollow of His hand. I highly recommend these two books. They would be great books to read aloud to the whole family.

Highway of Sorrow

Highway of sorrow at the close of the nineteenth century by Hesba Stretton
Highway of Sorrow $8.95 from Keepers of the Faith
*****
The Stundists were Russian reformers who came out of the Russian Orthodox church. They were nearly all of the peasant class, and without upper class people to wield their influence, the Stundists' sufferings were more severe. In this book we read of Paul and Halya, two young people who expect to marry. When Paul becomes convinced that Russian orthodoxy is a dead religion, and that reverence of icons and praying of saints is wrong, the two are separated. We follow the sufferings and martyrdom of Loukyan, who led many of the Stundists to a surer faith in the Lord Jesus. The Stundists were treated as heretics, and as less than human in spite of their kindness to all. The doctrine of the Stundists seems similar to that of the Anabaptists. At the end of the book, Paul and Halya are married, and marching to Siberia with a crowd of other convicts; some are guilty of disagreeing with the government, others have heinous crimes to their record, and others only wanted to worship God simply in sincerity and truth.

The book is a good novel and taught me about the Stundists, of whom I had never heard. There is heartbreak throughout the book, but then that is common in life, and those of us who do not experience it are blessed beyond measure. Read "Highway of Sorrow", and learn a little of what others have suffered for the name of Christ.