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Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9b

Agape, Chionia and Irene (304)
Sisters Slain

These martyrs were three sisters who were put in prison in Thessalonica, Greece, before being burnt to death. Initially they wanted to remain quiet about their Christian faith and chose to live in a lonely place. When they were discovered and seized, their fear gave way to boldness, and they prayed to God for strength for the trial they would undergo.

Agape was brought before the governor Dulcatius, who questioned her. She said she could not obey any laws that required the worship of idols, and Chionia replied in the same way. Since the governor could not persuade them to renounce their faith, he condemned them to death, and the two sisters were taken out and burnt. Irene, who was only 18, was forced to watch in the hope that she would give in. But the teenager refused and remained firm in her faith. She was then dragged through the streets and also burnt to death.

All the great temptations appear first in the region of the mind and can be fought and conquered there. We have been given the power to close the door of the mind. We can lose this power through disuse or increase it by use, by the daily discipline of the inner man in things which seem small and by reliance upon the word of the Spirit of truth. It is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. It is as though He said, “Learn to live in your will, not in your feelings”.

Amy Carmichael (1867-1951)