February 16, 2025 • 21 mins
We explore the reality of Christian persecution in the West, reminding listeners that those who seek to live godly lives will face challenges for their faith. Through stories of real-life persecution, we highlight the importance of standing firm in conviction and the significance of supporting those who suffer for their beliefs.
• Discussing the expectation of persecution as part of the Christian walk
• Sharing compelling stories of individual persecution experiences
• Highlighting the case of Tina Peters and her unjust imprisonment
• Examining the subtleties of persecution in the West
• Encouraging listeners to remember and advocate for the persecuted
• Reflections on the opportunity for ministry amid trials
• Emphasizing the need for inner strength and resilience in faith
• Calling for deeper reflection on personal faith in the face of adversity
• Ending with a poignant prayer for persecuted Christians worldwide
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Should you, as a Christian in the West, expect to
be persecuted for your faith,and what does that even mean?
What are we talking about?
What does it look like?
The Apostle Paul said that allthose who desire to live godly
in Christ Jesus will bepersecuted.
So according to that, we shouldexpect to be persecuted.
But what does that look like?
I have met people they'refriends of mine who have been
(00:23):
persecuted for their faith, andwhat that has looked like for
them in one case.
He said in that moment hewanted to die and he cried out
to Jesus to save him or to takehim to take his life, to take
him to be with him, and insteadwhat Jesus did was appeared to
him and gave him grace to endureit.
(00:44):
He actually was filled with joyin that moment.
He said he saw a vision ofJesus and he was filled with so
much joy he began laughing whilethey were torturing him.
This was in a Muslim countryand those who were torturing him
were persecuting him because hehad baptized new believers who
had been former Muslims, andthey were astounded that he was
(01:05):
laughing.
They pulled them up, theyslapped him across the face and
they said why are you laughing?
And he was able to share thegospel with them.
That's what persecution lookedlike in East Africa.
In North Korea, many Christiansare put in prison camps, in
death camps.
If you share your faith inNorth Korea, your life
expectancy is extremely short Ithink it was something like
(01:26):
three months.
There are millions ofChristians imprisoned, many in
China, in the Middle East.
Some of them are persecuted byfamily members, some of them are
persecuted by the government,and to be persecuted for your
faith means simply that you areattacked, vilified, punished for
your allegiance to the LordJesus Christ, and the Apostle
(01:47):
Paul says that we should expectto be persecuted for our faith.
Many Christians in the Westhave not even considered the
subject of persecution, and thatis to our loss, because if you
don't have a faith that knowshow to survive in persecution,
it's questionable whether or notyou have a faith at all.
Your faith must be tested, andthe Apostle Paul said that all
(02:10):
those who desire to live godlyin Christ Jesus will be
persecuted.
But what does that look likehere in the West?
Today?
I want to share with youexcerpts of an interview that my
friend David Clements did withTina Peters.
Tina Peters is a Christian andshe is sitting in prison right
now in the state of Coloradobecause she's a Christian.
Now some watching this todaywill say, no, she's a political
(02:32):
prisoner.
But the reason she's apolitical prisoner is because
she did what was right.
She walked in her integrity anddid what was right no matter
the cost.
That's why following Jesusbrings persecution and it's also
why many Christians in the Westhave not considered it.
They have not considered thepossibility of being persecuted
because we haven't thought aboutChristianity this way.
(02:53):
Jesus didn't say pray thisprayer so that when you die you
can know you are going to heaven.
He said come and follow me.
Following Jesus is an activething and it comes with an
agenda.
He said to pray in this way.
Your kingdom come, your will bedone on earth as it is in
heaven.
So following Jesus meansenacting, cooperating with
bringing about the will of Godon earth as it is in heaven.
(03:15):
The kingdom of God beingenacted in Tina Peter's life
required that she walk inintegrity, and her walking in
integrity got her in prison.
So my friend, david Clementswent to visit her.
David is a former prosecutingattorney and he's been involved
in the defense of many peoplewho have been targeted by our
government because they stood upfor what was true.
(03:36):
They stood up on principledissues, and so he's been a
champion for them, a voice forthe voiceless, something the
scriptures tell us to be adefender of the widows and the
orphans.
James says that pure andundefiled religion is this to
visit widows and orphans intheir distress and to keep
oneself unstained by the world.
Many times in our politicallycorrect churches, caring for the
(03:59):
poor has meant supportingwelfare institutes that have
done nothing except cause moreharm.
They're not actually helpingthe poor, and when it comes to
those who are truly ostracized,truly abandoned, truly abused,
the church says nothing.
Thankfully, david Clements hasdone something and has brought
this woman's story to attention.
This is Tina Peters.
(04:20):
She is sitting in prisonbecause in a previous election,
she preserved the records thatshe believed, rightly, were
being erased by the machinesthat recorded the records.
I'm saying this carefullybecause of YouTube, because she
(04:44):
preserved the truth of whathappened in that election.
She was prosecuted by those whowanted the lie to persist.
Tina Peters is a woman in her60s who has no criminal record.
Her son is a Marine in thearmed forces and now she sits in
prison serving a nine-yearsentence.
Donald Trump was not able topardon her because she was
convicted of a state crime, andshe was convicted in a kangaroo
court.
Many of the star witnesses werenot allowed to testify.
(05:06):
The whole thing was riggedagainst her, much like Jesus's
illegal court hearing on thenight that he was betrayed.
For the Christians who knowenough about persecution to know
that it happens, many stilldon't understand the subtleties
of how it happens.
Here in this country, webelieve the media when they call
someone a criminal, such asTina Peters, but many of us,
(05:27):
sadly and to our shame, do notthink about it deeply enough to
recognize who is truly acriminal, and I'm guilty of this
as well.
Christians in other countriesare often locked away based upon
trumped up charges of espionageor giving away government
secrets or being a threat tonational security, and the
reality is what they were doingwas something like printing a
(05:47):
Bible or sharing the gospel inpublic, or leading a church or
baptizing somebody.
These are seen as acts oftreachery by the government and
they prosecute them, but for thesake of how they look to the
rest of the world, they inventcrimes to make it look more
justifiable for arresting thisperson.
Christians in the West are notgood at subtlety.
(06:07):
Richard Wurmbrand, who spent 14years in communist prisons,
including multiple yearsunderground in solitary
confinement, barely keeping hissanity, said that the church in
the West is easily duped, thatAmericans are particularly
vulnerable to being gullible,and this persists today, sadly.
So I want you to see what itlooks like for Christians in the
(06:30):
West to be persecuted, andthose who have chosen to live a
godly life.
You know what I'm talking about.
Family has ostracized you.
Maybe you lost your job, maybeyou got blacklisted, maybe you
got ridiculed and mocked, butvery few of us, thankfully, have
been persecuted by ourgovernment, but Tina Peters has
been, and I want us to meet herright now.
(06:51):
David Clements recently went tovisit Tina Peters, and I want
to show you excerpts of thisinterview with her, which I
believe was done on a cell phone, which is why the audio quality
maybe isn't the best.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Just to check in with you all and tell you all what's
on her heart.
So, Tina, just give us anupdate.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Well, the only thing that keeps me going are you guys
out there.
You know it's been some prettydark days.
I'll be honest, you know Inever, ever thought and I'm sure
you out there have neverthought about being locked up in
a small cell.
Especially, you know a lot ofthese women here.
Probably all of them have donesomething to deserve being here.
(07:34):
You know either drugs or otheroffenses, but when you're locked
up and you're innocent andyou're locked up for doing the
right thing, you know it's hard.
It's really hard because Idon't have anything in common
with the people here.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I want to mention three things here.
First of all, hebrews 13, 3says to remember those who are
persecuted as if you arepersecuted with them, and those
who suffer in the flesh becauseyou are also in the body.
If you were in prison, howoften would you think about the
fact that you're in prison?
The answer is every day You'dwake up and you'd know you're in
prison.
You would think about it.
The scriptures say that we areto remember those who are being
(08:12):
persecuted as if we are beingpersecuted with them.
So that's part of the reasonI'm sharing this video with you
today.
You need to know about TinaPeters and the thousands,
actually millions, of Christiansaround the world she represents
.
Secondly, when you look at thiscell that Tina is living in and
you think of how difficult thatis, as an American, we know
(08:34):
what it's like to have freedom,where we can get in our car, we
can go wherever we want, we cango shopping.
We have all these options.
We have all this liberty to doso many different things.
To be confined to a single roomlike that would be very
difficult, particularly for anAmerican, but I want you to know
that in places like China,christians share a cell with so
(08:54):
many people and the floor isdirt.
Many times the floor is a dirtfloor and there are so many
people in there.
They're packed in so tightlythat they cannot sleep unless
they all organize and kind ofsit on each other, leaning on
each other, and they togetherfall asleep leaning on each
other because there's no room tosit down or lie down.
(09:16):
That's how they are treatedmany times in other parts of the
world.
So as we listen to Tina shareher story, I want you to
understand that in many placesaround the world it is much,
much worse and ask yourself thiswhat would I be doing?
How would my faith survive inthose circumstances?
Is Jesus big enough?
(09:36):
Is the truth of the gospel trueenough to make me joyful in
those circumstances?
That is a question well worthexploring if you want to have a
real faith.
Thirdly, tina Peters says thatshe doesn't have anything in
common with these women and thatI hope she will change her
perspective on that.
(09:56):
One of the things that Irealized as I went to do jail
ministry was that the peopleinside the prison are not
different than the peopleoutside, than most of the people
outside the prison.
The difference is that they gotcaught.
Sometimes there's very littledifference between the police
officers and the prisoners, andthe difference is who got caught
or who your connections are.
(10:18):
This is also true for us asChristians, if we grew up in a
Christian home.
Many times we're tempted to beprideful, to think that we're
better and more important thanthe person next to us because
we've lived a squeaky clean life.
But the reality is we areblessed to live a good life.
It doesn't mean that we aremore valued or loved by God.
We are blessed because we weregiven the tools, we were given
(10:39):
the knowledge.
We were given a Bible.
Because we were given the tools, we were given the knowledge.
We were given a Bible, we weregiven instruction, we were given
an example so that we were ableto make good choices.
The people sitting in prisondid not have that.
We are a product of the choices,not only that we make, but
those who are made before us.
We inherit what our parentschoose for us in many ways, and
(11:03):
so my prayer for Tina is thatshe will see this as an
opportunity to minister in theprison, because when you do
prison ministry, you're givenmaybe an hour, two hours to go
in to try to share the gospelwith someone, but God has given
her an assignment inside theprison 24-7.
I pray, tina, that the Lordwill help you to see that he's
(11:27):
given you an opportunity rightnow to minister to those in
prison constantly, and I'm notin any way diminishing the
suffering that she's goingthrough or looking down on her
desire to get out.
I would want to get out, butwhile you're there, embrace it
as a God-given mission.
Let them use you for revival inthat prison.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I just got back from DC for the Hardin Press
Conference for the J6ers.
You've kind of been integratedinto the J6 community because
everything that you're fightingfor is really the same stuff
that they have, but you've beenconvicted of state charges.
So we're all praying for amiracle, not quite knowing how
(12:09):
this is going to unfold.
But if you could send a messageto Donald Trump, what would
your wishes be?
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Yes, Well, as you know, every Friday on my show
I'm always dedicated to the J6community.
Friday on my show, alwaysdedicated to the J6 community,
and Mickey Woodhoff, ashleyBabbitt's mom, is a dear friend,
the other ladies with herFreedom Corner.
I've been there and it's areally special place.
These people are standing outthere.
(12:35):
They were standing out therejust this past week and every
night for over 700 days in thesnow, in the rain, in the
freezing out, faithfully, and soyou know it's people like them
that are standing up for peoplelike us.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
That really means a lot.
Let me say again here somepeople are going to say that
this is a political imprisonment, but this is about standing up
for what's right, which is yourGod-given duty before God.
It's about standing up for thetruth, and she did it because of
her faith, not because of herpolitical affiliation.
(13:17):
She did it because she believedthat this was the right thing
to do, that the truth was worthstanding up for.
Jesus said I am the way and thetruth and the life.
The truth is Jesus, even ifit's part of an election system.
Jesus cares about the truth.
The truth matters and we aresupposed to stand in the truth.
(13:39):
Every Christian shouldunderstand that, though I'm
afraid many do not.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
But I would say to President Trump we're standing
up for you, the election recordsthat I preserved.
I'm the only one in Coloradoand maybe across the United
States that preserved the 2020election records.
All the rest of them in thisstate were erased.
If not for doing the images thebefore and after image of
(14:09):
before the trusted bill I don'teven like to call it that we
would not have those records.
There's more clerks.
There's more election officialsthat want to stand up for
transparent, free, fairelections.
It needs to be fixed.
We're risking it all to makesure that every single person in
(14:34):
this not just the United States, but around the world because
we know that Venezuela wasaffected by this Brazil, many,
many nations.
This is going on in Serbia.
The judge would not allow us toput in the emails from Serbia
linking me and what was going onwith what we found.
(14:58):
We need to implement changebefore the midterms, because
governors will be elected duringthat time and other legislators
, but get me out.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I just want you know that we aren't forgetting about
you.
We do love you, and if you hada message to send to just the
Americans, somebody ask me whatI do in my cell and really it's
(15:35):
just the thoughts of getting out.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
You can't acclimate to this life.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
I want to pause it right there.
One I want to point out justhow important it is for someone
in prison to know that they areremembered, and one of the
things that we do as a church,and that I learned to do through
the Voice of the Martyrs, iswrite letters to persecuted
Christians.
Honestly, I need to do it morethan I do.
It is a very important act, andwhen we have done this to other
(16:04):
political prisoners many whoare Christians here in the
United States of America theresponses that we've gotten back
are quick oftentimes and verygrateful, just to know that we
haven't forgotten them, becausethat's one of the lies that
Satan will tell those who are inprison is that you're alone,
you're forgotten, you'reabandoned.
Give up, give up, give up.
As a matter of fact, richardWurmbrand said that in his 14
(16:28):
years in prison, part of whatthe communists did because he
was in Romania this wascommunist Romania what they did
was they put loudspeakers on inthe prison cells that just said
all day long Christianity isstupid, christianity is stupid,
christianity is stupid.
Give up, give up, give up, giveup.
It was literal brainwashing,just repeated lies.
That is how the enemy works andthat's how he tries to destroy
(16:51):
people, to break down theirfaith while they are suffering.
So when we write letters, whenwe pray for them and let them
know they're not forgotten, itreinforces in them.
You are standing for somethingthat's worthy of standing.
You are doing something in theworld that's very important.
Your stand will help otherpeople stand and your collapsing
(17:12):
will cause other people tocollapse, so it encourages them
to stand firm.
Also, she talks about how she'smeditating on how to get out,
which I do.
Again, I'm not trying tobelittle this in any way.
That is certainlyunderstandable, but Brother Yun,
who's a pastor from China whospent eight years enduring all
(17:32):
sorts of torture in communistprisons in China, said that
those who try to avoidpersecution fail.
Those who try to survive dobetter, but those who thrive are
the ones who embrace it.
And so, as we think about whatwould we do, the truth is we
would be like Tina she's neverbeen in jail before.
(17:52):
I've never been in jail before.
If I was in there, I'm sure thatI would wrestle with just
wanting to get out.
But if you can change your mindwhich is what repentance is
it's changing our mind from alie to the truth that you know.
You're only in prison becauseGod allowed it.
It doesn't mean that God wantedyou to go there in the sense of
(18:14):
like he doesn't want you to betreated unjustly, he doesn't
want you to suffer unjustly, buthe allows it, just like he
allowed Jesus to go to the cross, because he wants us to learn
to be like him, which is to befull of self-giving love.
So, as long as God has you inprison, embrace it.
As long as God has you enduringsuffering, embrace it as a
(18:36):
calling, not just something tosurvive, but something to
embrace, and then you willthrive.
This is what I try to do.
None of us know what we'regoing to be like until we are
tested.
But we are all tested in manyways, in subtle ways and in
varying degrees throughout life.
And when we learn to embracetrials as God sent to refine us,
(18:57):
then we will thrive.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
You can never give up , you can never give in, you can
never back down.
I would say stand up, ask Godwhat it is that he's called you
to do in this lifetime and beabout doing it and stand for
something.
I appreciate you all so much.
I'm very grateful for thebanners, for the letters.
(19:20):
I thank you all so much, I'm sograteful.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And we are grateful for you, tina Peters, and we
will not forget you.
So, lord, we just bless Tinaand all your children.
She represents right now thosewho are enduring persecution
from family, those who have losttheir jobs because they did
what was right, those who refuseto cheat in the numbers.
We bless them today, lord.
Let them know that they're notforgotten.
(19:44):
Let them know that somebody ispraying for them.
Lord, we do pray for justice.
We pray for vindication, thatTina Peters and those like her
will be vindicated and will bereleased.
But we also pray that theywould embrace this moment and
that they would bear fruit inwhat Satan intended for evil,
use for good in their lives.
Thank you, lord, that those whobear fruit.
Jesus, you said you would pruneus so that we might bear more
(20:08):
fruit.
So thank you for the pruningthat's happening in Tina right
now and those like her who areenduring suffering.
We ask, lord, that they wouldproduce so much fruit.
The devil would regret the dayhe attacked them, and so we
bless our brothers and sistersin North Korea, in China, in
Iran, throughout the Middle East, in places in Mexico.
(20:29):
Lord in little islands we don'tknow about.
Lord in basements we don't knowabout in closets.
We don't know about where yourchildren are being abused,
tortured, punished because theyserve you, lord.
We bless them today with hope.
We bless them withencouragement, holy Spirit, we
ask that you would let them knowthat they are not forgotten
(20:51):
today.
If you would like to write toTina Peters, the address to
writing to her is in the showdescription and I encourage you
to take a minute to write to herand just tell her that you
haven't forgotten her.
Don't attack the government,don't try to do too much in your
letter.
Just let her know she's notforgotten.
(21:12):
I hope this has encouraged youand helped you in some way.
If it has, leave a fire emoji,leave a comment below and if
you'd like to support myministry, the links for that are
always in the show notes.
We'll talk to you again soon,god bless.
Should you, as a Christian in the West, expect to
be persecuted for your faith,and what does that even mean?
What are we talking about?
What does it look like?
The Apostle Paul said that allthose who desire to live godly
in Christ Jesus will bepersecuted.
So according to that, we shouldexpect to be persecuted.
But what does that look like?
I have met people they'refriends of mine who have been
(00:23):
persecuted for their faith, andwhat that has looked like for
them in one case.
He said in that moment hewanted to die and he cried out
to Jesus to save him or to takehim to take his life, to take
him to be with him, and insteadwhat Jesus did was appeared to
him and gave him grace to endureit.
(00:44):
He actually was filled with joyin that moment.
He said he saw a vision ofJesus and he was filled with so
much joy he began laughing whilethey were torturing him.
This was in a Muslim countryand those who were torturing him
were persecuting him because hehad baptized new believers who
had been former Muslims, andthey were astounded that he was
(01:05):
laughing.
They pulled them up, theyslapped him across the face and
they said why are you laughing?
And he was able to share thegospel with them.
That's what persecution lookedlike in East Africa.
In North Korea, many Christiansare put in prison camps, in
death camps.
If you share your faith inNorth Korea, your life
expectancy is extremely short Ithink it was something like
(01:26):
three months.
There are millions ofChristians imprisoned, many in
China, in the Middle East.
Some of them are persecuted byfamily members, some of them are
persecuted by the government,and to be persecuted for your
faith means simply that you areattacked, vilified, punished for
your allegiance to the LordJesus Christ, and the Apostle
(01:47):
Paul says that we should expectto be persecuted for our faith.
Many Christians in the Westhave not even considered the
subject of persecution, and thatis to our loss, because if you
don't have a faith that knowshow to survive in persecution,
it's questionable whether or notyou have a faith at all.
Your faith must be tested, andthe Apostle Paul said that all
(02:10):
those who desire to live godlyin Christ Jesus will be
persecuted.
But what does that look likehere in the West?
Today?
I want to share with youexcerpts of an interview that my
friend David Clements did withTina Peters.
Tina Peters is a Christian andshe is sitting in prison right
now in the state of Coloradobecause she's a Christian.
Now some watching this todaywill say, no, she's a political
(02:32):
prisoner.
But the reason she's apolitical prisoner is because
she did what was right.
She walked in her integrity anddid what was right no matter
the cost.
That's why following Jesusbrings persecution and it's also
why many Christians in the Westhave not considered it.
They have not considered thepossibility of being persecuted
because we haven't thought aboutChristianity this way.
(02:53):
Jesus didn't say pray thisprayer so that when you die you
can know you are going to heaven.
He said come and follow me.
Following Jesus is an activething and it comes with an
agenda.
He said to pray in this way.
Your kingdom come, your will bedone on earth as it is in
heaven.
So following Jesus meansenacting, cooperating with
bringing about the will of Godon earth as it is in heaven.
(03:15):
The kingdom of God beingenacted in Tina Peter's life
required that she walk inintegrity, and her walking in
integrity got her in prison.
So my friend, david Clementswent to visit her.
David is a former prosecutingattorney and he's been involved
in the defense of many peoplewho have been targeted by our
government because they stood upfor what was true.
(03:36):
They stood up on principledissues, and so he's been a
champion for them, a voice forthe voiceless, something the
scriptures tell us to be adefender of the widows and the
orphans.
James says that pure andundefiled religion is this to
visit widows and orphans intheir distress and to keep
oneself unstained by the world.
Many times in our politicallycorrect churches, caring for the
(03:59):
poor has meant supportingwelfare institutes that have
done nothing except cause moreharm.
They're not actually helpingthe poor, and when it comes to
those who are truly ostracized,truly abandoned, truly abused,
the church says nothing.
Thankfully, david Clements hasdone something and has brought
this woman's story to attention.
This is Tina Peters.
(04:20):
She is sitting in prisonbecause in a previous election,
she preserved the records thatshe believed, rightly, were
being erased by the machinesthat recorded the records.
I'm saying this carefullybecause of YouTube, because she
(04:44):
preserved the truth of whathappened in that election.
She was prosecuted by those whowanted the lie to persist.
Tina Peters is a woman in her60s who has no criminal record.
Her son is a Marine in thearmed forces and now she sits in
prison serving a nine-yearsentence.
Donald Trump was not able topardon her because she was
convicted of a state crime, andshe was convicted in a kangaroo
court.
Many of the star witnesses werenot allowed to testify.
(05:06):
The whole thing was riggedagainst her, much like Jesus's
illegal court hearing on thenight that he was betrayed.
For the Christians who knowenough about persecution to know
that it happens, many stilldon't understand the subtleties
of how it happens.
Here in this country, webelieve the media when they call
someone a criminal, such asTina Peters, but many of us,
(05:27):
sadly and to our shame, do notthink about it deeply enough to
recognize who is truly acriminal, and I'm guilty of this
as well.
Christians in other countriesare often locked away based upon
trumped up charges of espionageor giving away government
secrets or being a threat tonational security, and the
reality is what they were doingwas something like printing a
(05:47):
Bible or sharing the gospel inpublic, or leading a church or
baptizing somebody.
These are seen as acts oftreachery by the government and
they prosecute them, but for thesake of how they look to the
rest of the world, they inventcrimes to make it look more
justifiable for arresting thisperson.
Christians in the West are notgood at subtlety.
(06:07):
Richard Wurmbrand, who spent 14years in communist prisons,
including multiple yearsunderground in solitary
confinement, barely keeping hissanity, said that the church in
the West is easily duped, thatAmericans are particularly
vulnerable to being gullible,and this persists today, sadly.
So I want you to see what itlooks like for Christians in the
(06:30):
West to be persecuted, andthose who have chosen to live a
godly life.
You know what I'm talking about.
Family has ostracized you.
Maybe you lost your job, maybeyou got blacklisted, maybe you
got ridiculed and mocked, butvery few of us, thankfully, have
been persecuted by ourgovernment, but Tina Peters has
been, and I want us to meet herright now.
(06:51):
David Clements recently went tovisit Tina Peters, and I want
to show you excerpts of thisinterview with her, which I
believe was done on a cell phone, which is why the audio quality
maybe isn't the best.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Just to check in with you all and tell you all what's
on her heart.
So, Tina, just give us anupdate.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Well, the only thing that keeps me going are you guys
out there.
You know it's been some prettydark days.
I'll be honest, you know Inever, ever thought and I'm sure
you out there have neverthought about being locked up in
a small cell.
Especially, you know a lot ofthese women here.
Probably all of them have donesomething to deserve being here.
(07:34):
You know either drugs or otheroffenses, but when you're locked
up and you're innocent andyou're locked up for doing the
right thing, you know it's hard.
It's really hard because Idon't have anything in common
with the people here.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I want to mention three things here.
First of all, hebrews 13, 3says to remember those who are
persecuted as if you arepersecuted with them, and those
who suffer in the flesh becauseyou are also in the body.
If you were in prison, howoften would you think about the
fact that you're in prison?
The answer is every day You'dwake up and you'd know you're in
prison.
You would think about it.
The scriptures say that we areto remember those who are being
(08:12):
persecuted as if we are beingpersecuted with them.
So that's part of the reasonI'm sharing this video with you
today.
You need to know about TinaPeters and the thousands,
actually millions, of Christiansaround the world she represents
.
Secondly, when you look at thiscell that Tina is living in and
you think of how difficult thatis, as an American, we know
(08:34):
what it's like to have freedom,where we can get in our car, we
can go wherever we want, we cango shopping.
We have all these options.
We have all this liberty to doso many different things.
To be confined to a single roomlike that would be very
difficult, particularly for anAmerican, but I want you to know
that in places like China,christians share a cell with so
(08:54):
many people and the floor isdirt.
Many times the floor is a dirtfloor and there are so many
people in there.
They're packed in so tightlythat they cannot sleep unless
they all organize and kind ofsit on each other, leaning on
each other, and they togetherfall asleep leaning on each
other because there's no room tosit down or lie down.
(09:16):
That's how they are treatedmany times in other parts of the
world.
So as we listen to Tina shareher story, I want you to
understand that in many placesaround the world it is much,
much worse and ask yourself thiswhat would I be doing?
How would my faith survive inthose circumstances?
Is Jesus big enough?
(09:36):
Is the truth of the gospel trueenough to make me joyful in
those circumstances?
That is a question well worthexploring if you want to have a
real faith.
Thirdly, tina Peters says thatshe doesn't have anything in
common with these women and thatI hope she will change her
perspective on that.
(09:56):
One of the things that Irealized as I went to do jail
ministry was that the peopleinside the prison are not
different than the peopleoutside, than most of the people
outside the prison.
The difference is that they gotcaught.
Sometimes there's very littledifference between the police
officers and the prisoners, andthe difference is who got caught
or who your connections are.
(10:18):
This is also true for us asChristians, if we grew up in a
Christian home.
Many times we're tempted to beprideful, to think that we're
better and more important thanthe person next to us because
we've lived a squeaky clean life.
But the reality is we areblessed to live a good life.
It doesn't mean that we aremore valued or loved by God.
We are blessed because we weregiven the tools, we were given
(10:39):
the knowledge.
We were given a Bible.
Because we were given the tools, we were given the knowledge.
We were given a Bible, we weregiven instruction, we were given
an example so that we were ableto make good choices.
The people sitting in prisondid not have that.
We are a product of the choices,not only that we make, but
those who are made before us.
We inherit what our parentschoose for us in many ways, and
(11:03):
so my prayer for Tina is thatshe will see this as an
opportunity to minister in theprison, because when you do
prison ministry, you're givenmaybe an hour, two hours to go
in to try to share the gospelwith someone, but God has given
her an assignment inside theprison 24-7.
I pray, tina, that the Lordwill help you to see that he's
(11:27):
given you an opportunity rightnow to minister to those in
prison constantly, and I'm notin any way diminishing the
suffering that she's goingthrough or looking down on her
desire to get out.
I would want to get out, butwhile you're there, embrace it
as a God-given mission.
Let them use you for revival inthat prison.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I just got back from DC for the Hardin Press
Conference for the J6ers.
You've kind of been integratedinto the J6 community because
everything that you're fightingfor is really the same stuff
that they have, but you've beenconvicted of state charges.
So we're all praying for amiracle, not quite knowing how
(12:09):
this is going to unfold.
But if you could send a messageto Donald Trump, what would
your wishes be?
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Yes, Well, as you know, every Friday on my show
I'm always dedicated to the J6community.
Friday on my show, alwaysdedicated to the J6 community,
and Mickey Woodhoff, ashleyBabbitt's mom, is a dear friend,
the other ladies with herFreedom Corner.
I've been there and it's areally special place.
These people are standing outthere.
(12:35):
They were standing out therejust this past week and every
night for over 700 days in thesnow, in the rain, in the
freezing out, faithfully, and soyou know it's people like them
that are standing up for peoplelike us.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
That really means a lot.
Let me say again here somepeople are going to say that
this is a political imprisonment, but this is about standing up
for what's right, which is yourGod-given duty before God.
It's about standing up for thetruth, and she did it because of
her faith, not because of herpolitical affiliation.
(13:17):
She did it because she believedthat this was the right thing
to do, that the truth was worthstanding up for.
Jesus said I am the way and thetruth and the life.
The truth is Jesus, even ifit's part of an election system.
Jesus cares about the truth.
The truth matters and we aresupposed to stand in the truth.
(13:39):
Every Christian shouldunderstand that, though I'm
afraid many do not.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
But I would say to President Trump we're standing
up for you, the election recordsthat I preserved.
I'm the only one in Coloradoand maybe across the United
States that preserved the 2020election records.
All the rest of them in thisstate were erased.
If not for doing the images thebefore and after image of
(14:09):
before the trusted bill I don'teven like to call it that we
would not have those records.
There's more clerks.
There's more election officialsthat want to stand up for
transparent, free, fairelections.
It needs to be fixed.
We're risking it all to makesure that every single person in
(14:34):
this not just the United States, but around the world because
we know that Venezuela wasaffected by this Brazil, many,
many nations.
This is going on in Serbia.
The judge would not allow us toput in the emails from Serbia
linking me and what was going onwith what we found.
(14:58):
We need to implement changebefore the midterms, because
governors will be elected duringthat time and other legislators
, but get me out.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I just want you know that we aren't forgetting about
you.
We do love you, and if you hada message to send to just the
Americans, somebody ask me whatI do in my cell and really it's
(15:35):
just the thoughts of getting out.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
You can't acclimate to this life.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
I want to pause it right there.
One I want to point out justhow important it is for someone
in prison to know that they areremembered, and one of the
things that we do as a church,and that I learned to do through
the Voice of the Martyrs, iswrite letters to persecuted
Christians.
Honestly, I need to do it morethan I do.
It is a very important act, andwhen we have done this to other
(16:04):
political prisoners many whoare Christians here in the
United States of America theresponses that we've gotten back
are quick oftentimes and verygrateful, just to know that we
haven't forgotten them, becausethat's one of the lies that
Satan will tell those who are inprison is that you're alone,
you're forgotten, you'reabandoned.
Give up, give up, give up.
As a matter of fact, richardWurmbrand said that in his 14
(16:28):
years in prison, part of whatthe communists did because he
was in Romania this wascommunist Romania what they did
was they put loudspeakers on inthe prison cells that just said
all day long Christianity isstupid, christianity is stupid,
christianity is stupid.
Give up, give up, give up, giveup.
It was literal brainwashing,just repeated lies.
That is how the enemy works andthat's how he tries to destroy
(16:51):
people, to break down theirfaith while they are suffering.
So when we write letters, whenwe pray for them and let them
know they're not forgotten, itreinforces in them.
You are standing for somethingthat's worthy of standing.
You are doing something in theworld that's very important.
Your stand will help otherpeople stand and your collapsing
(17:12):
will cause other people tocollapse, so it encourages them
to stand firm.
Also, she talks about how she'smeditating on how to get out,
which I do.
Again, I'm not trying tobelittle this in any way.
That is certainlyunderstandable, but Brother Yun,
who's a pastor from China whospent eight years enduring all
(17:32):
sorts of torture in communistprisons in China, said that
those who try to avoidpersecution fail.
Those who try to survive dobetter, but those who thrive are
the ones who embrace it.
And so, as we think about whatwould we do, the truth is we
would be like Tina she's neverbeen in jail before.
(17:52):
I've never been in jail before.
If I was in there, I'm sure thatI would wrestle with just
wanting to get out.
But if you can change your mindwhich is what repentance is
it's changing our mind from alie to the truth that you know.
You're only in prison becauseGod allowed it.
It doesn't mean that God wantedyou to go there in the sense of
(18:14):
like he doesn't want you to betreated unjustly, he doesn't
want you to suffer unjustly, buthe allows it, just like he
allowed Jesus to go to the cross, because he wants us to learn
to be like him, which is to befull of self-giving love.
So, as long as God has you inprison, embrace it.
As long as God has you enduringsuffering, embrace it as a
(18:36):
calling, not just something tosurvive, but something to
embrace, and then you willthrive.
This is what I try to do.
None of us know what we'regoing to be like until we are
tested.
But we are all tested in manyways, in subtle ways and in
varying degrees throughout life.
And when we learn to embracetrials as God sent to refine us,
(18:57):
then we will thrive.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
You can never give up , you can never give in, you can
never back down.
I would say stand up, ask Godwhat it is that he's called you
to do in this lifetime and beabout doing it and stand for
something.
I appreciate you all so much.
I'm very grateful for thebanners, for the letters.
(19:20):
I thank you all so much, I'm sograteful.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And we are grateful for you, tina Peters, and we
will not forget you.
So, lord, we just bless Tinaand all your children.
She represents right now thosewho are enduring persecution
from family, those who have losttheir jobs because they did
what was right, those who refuseto cheat in the numbers.
We bless them today, lord.
Let them know that they're notforgotten.
(19:44):
Let them know that somebody ispraying for them.
Lord, we do pray for justice.
We pray for vindication, thatTina Peters and those like her
will be vindicated and will bereleased.
But we also pray that theywould embrace this moment and
that they would bear fruit inwhat Satan intended for evil,
use for good in their lives.
Thank you, lord, that those whobear fruit.
Jesus, you said you would pruneus so that we might bear more
(20:08):
fruit.
So thank you for the pruningthat's happening in Tina right
now and those like her who areenduring suffering.
We ask, lord, that they wouldproduce so much fruit.
The devil would regret the dayhe attacked them, and so we
bless our brothers and sistersin North Korea, in China, in
Iran, throughout the Middle East, in places in Mexico.
(20:29):
Lord in little islands we don'tknow about.
Lord in basements we don't knowabout in closets.
We don't know about where yourchildren are being abused,
tortured, punished because theyserve you, lord.
We bless them today with hope.
We bless them withencouragement, holy Spirit, we
ask that you would let them knowthat they are not forgotten
(20:51):
today.
If you would like to write toTina Peters, the address to
writing to her is in the showdescription and I encourage you
to take a minute to write to herand just tell her that you
haven't forgotten her.
Don't attack the government,don't try to do too much in your
letter.
Just let her know she's notforgotten.
(21:12):
I hope this has encouraged youand helped you in some way.
If it has, leave a fire emoji,leave a comment below and if
you'd like to support myministry, the links for that are
always in the show notes.
We'll talk to you again soon,god bless.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com