Extreme Endurance

How many of us could stand up to extreme pain from continuous beatings because we would not deny God?

A street preacher named Shagedly Atakov was offered his freedom by the Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov in 2000, if he would recite the Muslim creed and swear allegiance to Niyazov. He refused. So the bureaucrats were determined to 'break him morally or destroy him physically'.

He had been threatened in December 1998 and was given a sentence of two years. They thought that was too lenient, so they gave him two more years. He endured many beatings that left him so sore he couldn't even have his children touching him when they visited.

In February 2001, he told his family goodbye when they visited. Although he was almost to the point of being free, he probably knew he would never have freedom if he didn't denounce God. He chose death instead of forsaking his allegiance to his Savior.

From Extreme Devotion by The Voice of the Martyrs.

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