Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,’ he said. ‘Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.’
Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead – whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him’.
Acts 5:27-32
Sister Li, a good friend, shared her testimony in our regular Monday prayer meeting. She described how she came to the Lord through her mother’s witness and the Lord’s healing touch on her life. When she was 18 years old she began to go out and preach in outlying villages.
One day Sister Li went with a teacher and another Christian brother to encourage a group of believers in a remote village in the mountains. Her ministry was to teach the local believers some new Christian songs. The police were tipped off by a TSPM church member and the three evangelists, including 18-year-old Sister Li, were arrested and taken to the local police station. The officer in charge had her brought into his office. He tried to intimidate her by placing a gun and handcuffs on his desk. He then asked her if she had been teaching the village people new songs. ‘Yes,’ she answered. The police officer asked her what her songs were about, so she started to sing. The song went like this: ‘I have a question, who made the universe and all that is in it?’ She stopped at this point.
The officer rather anxiously asked her, ‘Continue, what is the answer?’
So she continued singing, ‘You may ask me who? The answer is that there is a God in heaven who has created all things; he has created you and he has created me.’
The officer cried out, but now laughing, ‘You’re trying to evangelize me.’ Sister Li said that she was a good citizen and was simply answering his question.
The three evangelists were placed in prison. Sister Li was the youngest person in the prison. They were placed in a small room with 12 other inmates. One lady in particular was very rude to Sister Li. Her boyfriend had stolen some gold from the jewelry factory where she worked, had promptly run off, and left her to take the blame. She was very bitter. All day long she would play cards by herself. Sister Li offered to play cards with her in an attempt to build a relationship. At first the lady was reluctant, but Sister Li finally won her over. As they played, Sister Li told her that her greatest joy in life was Jesus. She said that Jesus was her best friend. When the lady heard this she burst into tears. She had been betrayed by her boyfriend and felt totally alone. As Sister Li spoke the cell became quiet – the others were now listening too. Sister Li shared the good news of Jesus’ love with that lady in the cell. She, along with a number of the other inmates, responded and became Christians.
The old routines in the prison changed. Now, after eating breakfast, they would sing songs and study the Bible. This went on for several days. The guards could hear the singing and the preaching, so one day the chief officer called Sister Li into his office and said to her, ‘Your songs are very nice, but you cannot preach. This is not a church, it’s a prison.’
Sister Li answered, ‘We cannot sing, if we cannot preach.’ He told her not to preach or sing anymore. But she and the others continued to do so.
Several prisoners were so changed that they were released a short time later. Sister Li wondered, ‘Lord, why do they get to go free, but I have to stay here.’ Finally after 20 days, Sister Li was also released. As the police officer escorted her to the local bus station, he shared with her that his mother was a Christian. He indicated that Sister Li and her songs had made a big impact on his life.
Lord, I acknowledge that you are indeed the Savior and that forgiveness of sins is found only in you. I thank you for the wonder of your sacrificial death and the power of your resurrection. Your death, through faith, provides access; your resurrection power enables me to change. And I rejoice because now I am able to call you my friend. Enable me to ‘fill’ my town, my city, with the message of your love. Help me, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to be a witness for you.
