Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
Nikolai Khmara (1963)
From Alcoholic to Martyr
Before he became a Christian at the age of 45, Nikolai, from Siberia, was well known in his community as an alcoholic who was often in trouble with the police. But after he converted, his life was turned around and he became an active witness for Christ.
Within six months he was arrested, along with three others, for religious activities and for not conforming to the Communist Statutes of the official All-Union Council. He was put on trial at the end of Christmas 1963 and sentenced to three years in prison. But two weeks later his body was returned to his wife; he had been severely tortured and had died as a result.
For us this is the end of all the stories… But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world … had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth had read, which goes on forever, and in which every chapter is better than the one before.
C S Lewis (1898-1963), The Last Battle