Missionaries Martyrdom in Turkey at the Hand of Muslims in 2007
On April 18, 2007, five Muslims entered a Christian publishing company and killed three believers in the southeastern province of Malatya. The 3 believers, Tilmann Geske (a German missionary), Turkish Pastor Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel (also Turkish) were having a Bible study and prayer meeting. Five young Muslim men who they had been sharing with for quite a while were also present. After Pastor Necati read one chapter the Muslim men tied each of them up and began torturing them for 3 hours. Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times...They were disemboweled, and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched as those body parts were destroyed. Fingers were chopped off, their noses, mouths and anuses were sliced open...Finally, their throats were slit from ear to ear. In an act that hit front pages in the largest newspapers in Turkey, Tilman’s wife Susanne Geske in a television interview expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” wholeheartedly agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34). Turkish Pastor Fikret Bocek urged, “Don’t pray against persecution, pray for perseverance.” Consolidated from a report by Voice Of the Martyrs.
Aproximately 140, 000 Christians will be martyred worldwide this year.
We have it pretty easy –
2 Cor. 4:17 – “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
From a sermon by Nate Herbst, The Great Commision – Discussion, 11/21/2009