A recent gathering of Chinese believers at IHOP, Kansas City told harrowing tales of persecution. An intercessor writes, ‘One particular Chinese brother greatly impacted us with his story. He had been in prison for many years, multiple times because of his faith, and was forced to watch his wife being tortured in front of his very eyes. He refused to denounce his faith [trust] in Jesus Christ in the midst of these unthinkable circumstances. Our perspective on God’s goodness can be greatly challenged by these types of story. The truth is that Jesus has already told us that if we lived for Him that we would suffer persecution, as He did. He told us, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven!” (Matthew 5:10-12)’ The event’s theme, ‘Resetting our focus back on the first and second commandments of Jesus’, had a strong sense of Philippians 1:8: ‘God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.’