Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Wenxi Li

We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance that can't be destroyed or corrupted and can't fade away. That inheritance is kept in heaven for you, since you are guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time. You are extremely happy about these things, even though you have to suffer different kinds of trouble for a little while now. The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is. Your faith is more precious than gold, and by passing the test, it gives praise, glory, and honor to God. This will happen when Jesus Christ appears again. Although you have never seen Christ, you love him. You don't see him now, but you believe in him. You are extremely happy with joy and praise that can hardly be expressed in words as you obtain the salvation that is the goal of your faith. 1 Peter 1:4-9
This past Sunday Brother Van preached on persecution.  There are many Christians around the world who are seriously persecuted for the stand they take for Christ.  Some are even killed.  The devotionals for the rest of the week are going to focus on Christians who are imprisoned for their faith.  Read their stories and pray for them and their families.

Wenxi Li
A Christian bookstore employee, Wenxi Li, and another man associated with the bookstore, Lacheng Ren, were arrested and sentenced to prison terms for their role in the Enyu Bookstore in Taiyuan. On June 17, 2013, Wenxi Li was sentenced to two years in prison by the court of Xiaodian district of Taiyuan in central China.

In 2012, Wenxi Li, a book store worker in Beijing, traveled to Shanxi province to help local Christians there open a new book store in the capital city of Taiyuan. But police raided the new business, Enyu Bookstore, and confiscated hundreds of books that Wenxi had brought with him from Beijing.

According to the South China Morning Post, one security worker allegedly shouted at Wenxi and his co-workers, “Don’t you dare bring Christian culture here. This is our turf.”

On Dec. 19, 2012, Wenxi was asked to come to a police station to retrieve the $6,000 worth of books that police had seized. But when he arrived at the police station, he was immediately arrested and sent to prison. Police were quoted as saying Wenxi was denied bail because of the seriousness of his “crime.”

His wife, Cai Hong Li, said police told her that her husband was arrested because he was involved in an “illegal business.” However, Cai Hong said the bookstore had a legal license to operate and that her husband was not involved with managing the business. He was “just sent to find a rental place for a new store,” Cai Hong said.

Since her husband’s arrest, Cai Hong said she and her two children have received harassment from anonymous sources. She added that she fears for her children’s safety.

While in prison awaiting trial, Wenxi led three people to Christ. His family is planning to appeal his case.


Corrupt government officials are free to abuse many Christians.  Pray for this fellow believer and his family today.

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