"And others..."

In Hebrews 11, the writer catalogued the exploits of great men and women who lived over many centuries, men and women who lived by faith and trusted God with their lives.

The phrase “and others” stands like a Continental Divide between life and death, between what seems to be answered prayer for some and unanswered prayer for others. Following the words “and others,” the text tells of some who were tortured because they refused to compromise. Some faced jeers and flogging while placed in a hollow tree and sawed in half; some, killed by the sword. “They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves” (Hebrews 11:37-38). Did these individuals not pray for deliverance? Were their prayers unanswered?

We would rather find our names on the list of people who receive miraculous answers of deliverance prison doors opened, dead are raised, and the protection of angels who surround us. That’s the kind of stuff that makes great news! But the reality is that God can be glorified, whether it is by life or by death.

Don’t think for a moment that Muslim extremists – suicide bombers – are the only ones committed to their beliefs. Thousands of men and women who follow Jesus Christ are willing to die for the cause of Christ. The difference is, however, they serve to bring life to others, not death and destruction.

Today Counts is available in bookstores nationwide. For more information, write to Guidelines Philippines, Box 4000, Makati;

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