When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise, 
In God I trust, I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?- Psalm 56:3-4

There's a lot of wisdom in these verses.  In the two previous entries I was pointing out that the persecution of Christians around the world is increasing.  We're even seeing it here, in the United States.  We're being called intolerant and close-minded.  Jesus even said himself in Matthew 10:22; All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.  He goes on to say in verse 28-30  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don't be afraid, you are worth more then many sparrows.
The way I see it is that our mortal lives are short; what is important is what we do and who we live for here on this earth.  Death for us is by no means the end, it is reaching the prize that we strive for, to be with our Father in Heaven, where we will be reunited with those whom we love.  That is faith.  Recently there was a pastor in Iran who as born a Muslim.  He was given a chance to recant his faith in court several times, but he did not.
It's not known at this time whether he will be executed or not, but one thing is certain: he has not and will not recant his faith.  This is the kind of faith we must aspire to.  And if we have such a faith that we are not afraid to die for it, then it is the type of faith that we will surely live for.  This is the kind of faith that places God in the number one position in our lives.  Because when we lose our life for his sake is when we find it; when we put aside those things that we think are so important and put his kingdom's work first, we truly find the life that he wants us to live.