12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Marti Hefley, By Their Blood

"I was caught with others in my village. The Turks stood me up and asked, 'Muhammed or Christ?' I said, 'Christ, always Christ.' For seven days they asked me this same question and each day when I said 'Christ' a part of this cross was burned into my shoulder. On the seventh day they said, 'Tomorrow if you say "Muhammed" you live. If not, you die.' Then we heard that Americans were near and some of us escaped. That is how I learned the meaning of the cross."

1 Peter 4:14

14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

“The 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus in 2021,” Christianity Today (1-13-21)

The listed nations contain 309 million Christians living in places with very high or extreme levels of persecution, up from 260 million in last year’s list. This year the top 10 worst persecutors are relatively unchanged. After North Korea is Afghanistan, followed by Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria, and India. China joined the top 20 for the first time in a decade, due to “ongoing and increasing surveillance and censorship of Christians and other religious minorities.”

1 Peter 4:19

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.