WASHINGTON — Religious freedom activists are encouraging Americans to learn from Christians who live in countries where they face persecution or death for their faith and develop a willingness to “follow Jesus no matter the cost.”
The fourth annual March for the Martyrs was held in the nation’s capital on Saturday. The event, which drew hundreds of people to the National Mall, seeks to raise awareness of the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide. Following a rally featuring worship music and speeches from religious freedom activists, participants marched through the streets to the Museum of the Bible.
“What we’re really excited about is how many Christians from all denominations come together,” For the Martyrs founder Gia Chacón said in an interview with The Christian Post shortly before the event kicked off. “This is not just an event for Evangelicals or Baptists; this is an event for everyone who professes Jesus Christ as Lord, and that’s what we’re most excited about.”
“Christian persecution is a human rights issue, so not only are we coming together in prayer as the Body of Christ, but we hope to bring this … crisis to the forefront of the fight for human rights and demand action from the United States government in protecting Christians all over the world,” she added. “The spiritual component of the March for the Martyrs should not be underestimated. It is so powerful when Christians come together as one voice in prayer and to uplift human dignity and advocate for human rights.”
Chacón said March for the Martyrs is one way to advocate for “religious freedom and the protection of our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their faith in Christ.” During remarks delivered on stage, she elaborated on the hostile atmosphere Christians face in other parts of the world: “In places throughout the Middle East, Christians are suffering every day for their faith. Laying down their life is normal, not a rare occurrence.”
“Christian persecution has increased by 100 million people” since the first March for the Martyrs took place in 2020, Chacón lamented. “There are now over 365 million Christians around the world who are facing persecution because of their faith in Christ.”
During her speech, Chacón recalled a conversation she had with Egyptian Christians who lost loved ones as a result of Christian persecution: “They said, ‘We’re so proud of them, we’re so proud of them that Jesus meant everything to them.’”
“We need that witness here in the United States,” Chacón asserted. “We need the courage to lay down our life, to follow Jesus no matter the cost.”
As we fast approach the time before Jesus’ return when persecution of Christians intensifies we need to begin to develop the type of Christian life that doesn’t need a large church to sustain it and a walk with Jesus that values true community, not backseat participation – in effect, non-participation. You might grow as never before under persecution, as millions around the world can testify, and as Paul testified clearly in Romans 5:1-5:
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5
We will experience hope in a new way as we are persecuted. Our focus will more and more turn to what is next on God’s agenda for this world, Jesus Millennial Kingdom (www.millennialkingdom.net). Suffering will purify us of our preoccupation with the current corrupt world. God will grow us all up in a hurry under such conditions, and those of us who have long lamented the differences between the church of Acts and the modern church will get a chance to see many of those differences wiped away in an instant. It will be an exciting time.
Middle Eastern Christians have learned what it means to bless those who persecute them.
Christians in Syria are learning daily how to do this. Many have chosen to stay in their towns and cities, even if Islamist rebels have overrun them and raped, looted, tortured, and killed them. As Open Doors USA spokesperson Emily Fuentes has reported: There are some Christians who are fleeing because they have no other choice, but there are many Christians who have really felt God’s call to stay in town, even though they have been attacked and targeted because of their faith. They realize that God’s using them, and (are reaching) out to their Muslim neighbours. Thus, it seems to me that in the days ahead as persecution increases we will have the basic option of running, or remaining and seeking to win our attackers and fellow refugees to Christ. The choice that we make will be a matter of conscience, as Scripture can be used to support both. Believers in both Syria and Egypt have made different choices.
In the parts of Syria where church buildings have not been desecrated, they have become de facto relief agencies, providing clothes, food, and Christian teaching. These churches are seeing people come to faith in Christ as the congregants love everyone who has been made homeless, not just Christians. This is in stark contrast to the Islamic approach to providing aid for Muslims only. As Syrian Christians have ministered to all people as war rips their country apart, they ask not for relief from the persecution, for money, or any sort of assistance, but primarily for prayer. Syrian Christians know prayer is the only way that peace will come to their country. What an amazing witness, to care for everyone in the midst of intense suffering. The Church has done this throughout history. I would venture to say all of the books in the world’s libraries would not be enough to tell the stories of instances when Christians helped people in desperate need, regardless of skin color or creed.
Soon, I think, we will all enjoy caring for people in our communities and have the opportunity to make a bigger impact on their souls than a thousand sermons would be able to. It will be thrilling to watch all of our fellow church members get their hands dirty in ministry, a greater percentage than ever before, I believe! Can you see how suffering refines a church? It will do the same for us. There will be no more CEO (Christmas and Easter Only) Christians in our churches when the persecution starts. All of you who are tired of the pretenders coming to Sunday services will see the meeting sizes shrink as the wheat is separated from the chaff (Matthew 13:24-30). As a side note, won’t it be thrilling to see all the prophetic Scriptures that we have read for so long coming to pass? I think it will be an incredible time, even when it is very hard. I also believe God will give us abundant grace as we endure. All of the distractions that have kept us from following hard after God will be eliminated. Daily life will consist of a focus on how everyone in our community is doing, how they can be helped that day, how the new believers can be discipled, and how God’s love can be shown to the occupiers. Does that sound like Acts 4? It sure does to me. All of those sermons over the years, where pastors lamented the differences between Acts 4 and twenty-first-century churches will be made irrelevant. We will be living Acts 4.
Our churches will never become Acts 4 churches until the circumstances around us mirror the conditions of the early church. That prophesied day will come. And I think we will enjoy living out our faith as our predecessors did and those Christians who are already experiencing intense persecution in Muslim countries in the Middle East.
One source in Egypt reports the reaction of Christians to the burning of dozens of churches: “Churches are united together. And the spirit of prayer is happening in all the churches. People are praying all the time,” according to a source named “David.”
Churches united, churches praying, and people praying all the time. The church will become what we’ve all wanted it to become, but it may not happen until we are aggressively persecuted.
The churches in Egypt haven’t stopped with simply prayer. According to a Charisma News source in-country, Christians are answering the violence and pro-Islamic graffiti with signs that read, “You burned our church, but we love you.” If you were a Muslim in these cities, what would you think of such signs? I can tell you the two predominant reactions would be, 1. “Those Christians are just total weaklings” and 2. “How does this happen? How does someone love rather than avenge?” God is certainly doing all sorts of things amid this brutal persecution, acts of salvation that we won’t know about until we get to heaven.
During the great tribulation under an Islamic Antichrist, we will see brothers and sisters killed for their faith often, some right out of our communities. This is what is happening in the countries of the Arab Spring; martyrdom is expected, not imagined.
Soon, we will know true suffering and understand so many other portions of the Bible, such as 2 Timothy 4:6-8:
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to utter these words, knowing you are about to be killed for your faith? You might get this opportunity, and join the crowd of people who come out from under the altar as Jesus returns, those who had been martyred by the Beast (see Revelation 6:9 and 20:4), reigning on special thrones, and given authority to judge.
Early church father Tertullian’s famous line, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” will come true before our eyes as those around us see our courage, even in the face of death, and are deeply moved.
It’s sad but true; people have to feel absolutely helpless sometimes before they look to God.
Peace and courage during these sorts of times of suffering have a powerful impact on the hardest hearts. One Egyptian has reported about the church’s witness there: “It’s a great message of forgiveness. This makes many Muslims discover the reality of Christianity, and many of them come to know Jesus.” These new believers are meeting “underground in a secret way. They worship the Lord together, and they’re growing.”
Extracts from Ralph Stice’s book Arab Spring, Christian Winter: Islam Unleashed on the Church and the World
For this we have to go back to the Roman Empire, February 14, 269AD, when citizens were forced to worship the Roman gods, and “deified” emperors, by placing a pinch of incense on a burning fire before their statues.
Those who refused worship of the Roman gods were considered “politically incorrect” or “unpatriotic” enemies of the state and killed. Emperor Decian’s persecution specifically targeted Christians with legislation forcing them to deny their consciences or die.
During the first three centuries of Christianity, there were ten major persecutions in which the government threw Christians to the lions, boiled them alive, had their tongues cut out, and worse.
Roman soldiers would break into church meetings, catacombs, and homes, confiscating and destroying Christian writings, bibles, and church records. Because so many records were destroyed, details of Saint Valentine’s life are scant. Though several individuals may have had that name, it appears Saint Valentine was either a priest in Rome or a bishop in Terni, central Italy.
What little is known is mostly known from the works of Eusebius of Caesarea, compiled around 362 AD, and the Martyrologium Hieronymianum(Martyrology of Jerome), compiled around A.D. 460-544. Saint Valentine is mentioned in Legenda Sanctorum by Jacobus de Voragine in 1260 and in the 1493Nuremberg Chronicle.
In the 3rd century, it was against the law to be married as a Roman soldier. Saint Valentine risked the Emperor’s wrath by standing up for traditional marriage and secretly marrying soldiers to their young brides. When Emperor Claudius also demanded that Christians deny their consciences and worship pagan idols, Saint Valentine refused.
He was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to die. While awaiting execution, his jailer, Asterius, asked Saint Valentine to pray for his blind daughter. When she miraculously regained her sight, the jailer converted and was baptized, along with many others.
This resulted in Saint Valentine being beaten with clubs and stones, and when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate on FEBRUARY 14, 269AD. Asterius, the jailer, and all the others who got converted were also put to death. Jesus said (Acts 1:8), “You shall be my witnesses.” The Greek word for “witness” is “martyr”. Many 3rd century people knew they would be martyred soon as they converted, and many were the same hour.
Right before Saint Valentine was executed, he wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter, signing it, “from your Valentine.”
In a “note” from Jesus He said (John 15:13), “Greater love has no manthan this than a man lay down his life for his friends.” And Paul wrote (Romans 5:7-8): “Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person… But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
Jesus and Paul’s mandate, how it happened in history, and how it can today – read it in Jim’s book Christian Manifesto (Vol. 1) at:www.JimsBookstore.com
Jim McCotter is well aware that tribulation – persecution of Christians will escalate in the last days before Jesus returns. Those that will not take the Mark of the Beast will be martyred as the early Christians were. At the opening of the sixth seal (Revelation 6:9) John was shown the souls of the martyrs they had not been raised with bodies at that point in time. The good news is that shortly, after the blast of the trumpet at the seventh seal John sees the raised saints with bodies standing before the throne with palm branches in their hands praising God the Father and Jesus.
“ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”Revelation 6:9–10
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”Revelation 7:9-12
In Rome at the birth of Christianity, it was a faith that shunned popular vices and amusements that provoked a hatred that took the form of blackening the character of Christians. Christians were accused of all kinds of wickedness. Their assemblies for worship, instruction, and the celebration of the eucharist were none other than secret gatherings for incest, child murder, and cannibalism.
As prophesied in the last days before Jesus returns to rescue the Saints and to judge the world, Christians will be persecuted and martyred as was the early church in the days of Justin Martyr.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13
Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr represents a pioneer type of Greek Apologist. He is concerned not only with the refutation of attacks against Christians; he is also concerned to show that philosophy is truth, reason as a spiritual power, and Christianity the fullness of both. Christianity was, for him, not a theory but philosophic truth itself and this he served with unswerving devotion and courage. The heart of Christianity, which for him was indispensable, was God’s care and love for men and women revealed in the Bible and supremely in Jesus Christ. This places him in the mainstream of the Christian tradition and not on the outskirts as one who grievously distorted the Gospel of Christ by his excursions into philosophy.
We only know that Justin taught in Rome in the reign of Antoninus Pius and that he was martyred during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. from which we infer that his birth occurred either late in the first century or early in the second-century AD. His martyrdom may have been the outcome of a conflict with Crescens, a cynic philosopher whom Justin had convicted of ignorance—certainly, there are ominous forebodings in the Second Apology that this might happen. For the actual account of his death between 162 and 167 AD, we are dependent on the Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum Manuscript Collection, Justin and his companions are brought before Rusticus, the prefect of Rome, and commanded to sacrifice to the gods. On examination, Justin testifies to Christianity as the truth. After a brave refusal to sacrifice, Justin and those with him are condemned to be beaten with rods and beheaded. They pass to their deaths praising God and confessing Christ; later faithful Christians secretly carry away their bodies in order to give them a decent burial.
In the opening chapters of the Dialogue with Trypho the Jew (which in its final form probably dates from c. 160 c.e.), Justin gives a graphic account of the studies through which he had passed before becoming a Christian convert. From youth, he appears to have been of an earnest and religious type of mind intent on finding intellectual peace and satisfaction. With this hope in mind, he undergoes instruction from a Stoic, a Peripatetic, a Pythagorean, and finally a Platonist teacher. The Platonic philosophy immediately impresses him: “The perception of immaterial things quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings.” It was while a Platonist that Justin became a Christian through the agency of an old man who kindled a flame in Justin’s soul: “A love of the prophets, and of those people who are friends of Christ, possessed me.” Christianity was the one, sure, worthy philosophy.
In a statement recorded in the Acta Martyrum, which almost all scholars regard as based on good historical tradition. According to this account Justin, in answer to the Prefect Rusticus’s question, “What teachings do you hold?” said, “I have tried to learn from all teachings, but I came to adopt the true teachings, which are those of the Christians.” Justin found the truth only after much searching. The use of testimony sources in Justin’s First Apology, in addition, confirms that he was converted to Christianity through reading the Old Testament with Christians.
We possess few details of Justin’s life following his conversion and baptism. He seems to have come to Rome and to have stayed there some time. In Acta Martyrum it is stated that he had resided twice in Rome. This is consonant with what we know of the various schools of thought that Christian teachers established in the capital city of the Empire (so Valentinus had connections with Alexandria and Cyprus as well as Rome). It is not therefore to be assumed that Justin established a permanent school of Christian philosophy in Rome. It may be that he taught in other cities at different times in his career. Justin’s special task was Christian apologetics or the defense of the faith. Eusebius vividly describes his work: “But Justin was the most noted of those that flourished in those times, who, in the guise of a philosopher, preached the truth of God, and contended for the faith, also, in his writings.” Again the Acta Martyrum speaks of him sitting in the house of Martinus, a recognized meeting place for Christians, and there conversing with any who visited him, imparting to them the true teaching. The persons condemned with Justin are those whom he had gathered around him; “I took delight,” says one Evelpistus, “in listening to Justin’s discourse.” This is a picture of a philosophical evangelist informally training disciples. One of the most famous of these was Tatian, the brilliant Assyrian, who came from the neighborhood of Nisibis beyond the Euphrates and who became famous as the author of the Diatessaron, the first harmony of the Gospels. Justin’s school may well have engaged in literary production—indeed may have provided the material from which Tatian later was to compose the Diatessaron.
“Our object must not only appeal for toleration of the Christian faith but even more win people to the Christian faith. The Christian way of life has to be shown as the highest ideal of ethical conduct the world has yet seen.”
Justin Martyr shows the actual truth of Christianity and its positive worth. He begins by demonstrating that Christians are monotheists who worship God and then Jesus Christ according to His secondary rank, and then the Prophetic Spirit. Christian worship is essentially reasonable worship. Justin then gives examples of the moral power and elevation of Christ’s teaching and produces analogies between the Christian doctrines of immortality, resurrection, the end of the world, and the teaching of nature and philosophy. He also gives some of the pagan fables about the exploits of the sons of gods and shows how irrational it was for believers in these tales to persecute believers in the facts of Jesus’ life. Justin’s object in this part of the First Apology was to disarm unbelief and to show that Christianity was not contemptible or novel but essentially rational. He seeks to show (a) that the teaching of Christ and the prophets is alone true and is older than all other writers; (b) that Jesus Christ is alone begotten as the Son of God being His logos and First-born and Power and appeared on earth as a teacher for the conversion and restoration of the human race; (c) that before Christ came some, influenced by the demons, related through the poet’s mythological tales intended as a travesty of the future revelation. After showing the irrationality of allowing impostors such as Simon Magus and Menander and heretics like Marcion to go unmolested, Justin then passes to the main burden of his argument. This consists of elaborate proofs of the fulfillment of prophecy. The main facts of Christ’s life and work and the mission of the Apostles to the world had been predicted in great detail centuries in advance. He also explains the different kinds of prophecy and defends them against the charge of fatalism. In a remarkable passage, Justin replies to the objection that since Christ came so late in time, those who lived before His coming were not accountable. Quite the opposite—the divine logos had been in the world since the beginning and those who lived according to reason, whatever their race, were really Christians though they have been thought atheists; so among the Greeks, Socrates and Heraclitus, and among the barbarians Abraham, Ananias, Azarias, Misael, and Elias and many others. On the other hand, those who lived irrationally were the enemies of Christ and so wicked. From all these “fulfilled” predictions, the Christian belief in Christ as the firstborn of God and the universal Judge of humankind is totally justified. Justin next passes to a demonstration that mythology was used by demons to imitate Christ although they had failed to understand the predictions of the Cross, which were also clearly evident in nature and human life. He then tries to show that Plato was directly dependent on Moses for his account of the origin of the world and of the second and third power in the Universe. In the concluding part of his work, Justin gives an account of the Christian sacraments of baptism and the eucharist, which is of great value to students of the early liturgy. Those who are to be baptized are “brought to the place where there is water” where they are regenerated and illuminated. Baptism is in the Name of the Trinity. In the Eucharist, after a reading from the Memoirs of the Apostles or the prophets, intercession is made for the Church and those in the world. The Ruler prays extempore over the elements and the deacons distribute the eucharistic gifts to those present and then take them to the absent.
Justin’s Second Apology is much shorter than the First and was apparently called into existence by his indignation at an outrage that had recently occurred—typical of the indignities to which Christians were subjected. A dissolute man, angry with his Christian wife for having rebuked his vices, had charged her teacher Ptolemaeus with being a Christian. As a result, Prefect Urbicus sentenced Ptolemaeus and two others to death simply because they were Christians. Justin then divulges that he himself expects to fall a victim to the malice of Crescens, “that lover of bravado and boasting” whom he had publicly shown to be an ignorant demagogue. He then goes on to discuss two popular objections to Christians: (a) Why did they not kill themselves if they were so willing to face martyrdom? Justin replies that God’s creation is good and to kill themselves would prevent the spread of the living doctrines; Why did their God not protect them? Justin replies by declaring that God placed the world in charge of angels, but some of these fell, and to them and their offspring are due to the evils that good people suffer. In contrast to the demons is the one ineffable God and His begotten logos, who became man to deliver man from the demons. God in fact spares the world for the sake of the Christians. In all ages, those who followed reason have been persecuted by the demons but the time of judgment will come. Christianity is superior to all other teachings because it reveals the whole logos of God. Another reason why God allows people to suffer is because of the blessedness won through discipline and probation. They are as athletes who prove their virtue by risking death. The way in which Christians regard death is a crowning proof of the truth of their religion and the falsity of the slanders reported about them.
On Nov. 15, 2018, John made first contact with the Sentinelese. Later that day, a Sentinelese boy shot an arrow at John that lodged in the Bible he was holding.
John retreated and prayed for wisdom. Should he keep going? Should he turn back?
“God, I don’t want to die,” John wrote in his journal that evening. “WHO WILL TAKE MY PLACE IF I DO? Forgive [the boy who shot me] and any of the people on this island who try to kill me, and especially forgive them if they succeed.”
On the morning of Nov. 17, the fishermen who had dropped John off saw tribesmen burying John’s body on the beach.
“I believe that the measure of success in the kingdom of God is obedience,” John Chau said shortly before his death. “I want my life to reflect obedience to Christ and to live in obedience to Him. I think that Jesus is worth it. He’s worth everything.”
John Chau was one of whom the world was not worthy of. I remember when the news of him got onto the media, people mocked his decision and said it was his fault that he died, sadly even some people who profess the faith condemned his actions. What a beautiful life he lived for the Lord. He reminds me of how Korea got the gospel through Missionary Thomas who got killed on the shore even before he got to preach the gospel just like John Chau, but through that death, a great revival was brought forth upon Korea. May the blood of John Chau bring great revival upon the Sentinelese people. Just like what God’s word says in John 12:24, “Truly, truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Truly humbled by what John Chau realized as he gave his life to serve the Sentinelese people. Thank you, VOM for this beautiful video!
Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh was convicted by an Iranian Court May 2017 to 10 years in prison on charges of “acting against national security through the formation and establishment of an illegal church organization in his home,” according to the Jubilee Campaign.
He has been in the notorious Evin Prison since January 2018 and had appealed his detainment and conviction, which was rejected.
Nasser has written open letters to the Iranian authorities, questioning his conviction.
“Would it even be possible for a committed Christian — who was born and raised in Iran and whose forefathers lived in this land for thousands of years, and who is a servant to the God who has called him to a ministry of reconciliation — to act against the national security of his own country?” he wrote in August 2018, according to World Watch Monitor.
“As the charges against me in my indictment states: ‘Action against national security through establishment of house churches,’ is the fellowship of a few Christian brothers and sisters in someone’s home, singing worship songs, reading the Bible and worshiping God acting against national security?” he continued.
“Isn’t it a clear violation of civil and human rights, and an absolute injustice, to receive [a] 10-year prison sentence just for organizing ‘house churches,’ which is a sanctuary sanctified as a place to praise and worship God due to closure of churches in Iran?”
Fortunately, Jesus told us that persecution of His children, Christians will increase in the “last days” before His return. Satan knows His end is near and is doing His utmost to take as many of the people God created in His image down with him. Note the strong warnings in the following Jesus prophecy, but also, that only when the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is proclaimed to all the world then the end will come. The Saints are taken up to heaven and then the wrath of God is poured out on an unrepentant world.
Only a Christian who knows his salvation is assured can smile and declare “I’m proud to be a Christian” before being put to death
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles“ Matthew 10:16-18
“As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” Matthew 13:20-21, Mark 4:16-17
“strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, andsaying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22
“For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.” 1 Thessalonians 3:4-5
Here is the BUT
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” NO, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39
Peter explained how Christians should respond when they suffer because of their beliefs. Called the “apostle of hope,” Peter’s primary message is to trust the Lord, live obediently no matter what your circumstances, and keep your hope fixed on God’s ultimate promise of deliverance. Suffering is to be expected, but it is temporary and yields great blessings for those who remain steadfast. Peter probably wrote 1 & 2 Peter in the mid-60s A.D.
God ordains, or appoints genuine believers to suffer, with the explicit purpose of bringing us to final glorification. It tests our faith, removes the impurities thereof, and produces perseverance in us so that we might behold Him face to face and enter the Kingdom of God. Naturally then, it must be restated that those who do not endure cannot obtain the crown of life. Suffering then not only waves a banner for us to see Christ more clearly and behold Him in faith, it separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 13:20-21).
Remember what Jesus suffered for your salvation and that He made it possible for the Father to send the Holy Spirit to be your Comforter, Counsellor and Teacher. He will uphold you through all trials and tribulations.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of the One having called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
Once you enter in the Light of Christ, where everything has meaning, everything is important, everyone has purpose, then, and only then, can you truly love others and live a life that is pleasing to God. We become keenly aware of the importance of obedience to God and how we perceive and care for others. This is not simply a gospel of “being nice” but a deep knowledge that the devil is “playing for keeps.” We must view people as souls either on the path to destruction or walking the straight and narrow. We are not permitted to “cross the road” or “look away” when we see someone taking a beating by Satan. Like the Good Samaritan, we are to GET INVOLVED.
Remember, when Jesus sent out the 70 disciples “to heal the sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.” they returned saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” Luke 10:9,17
Jesus told them not to rejoice in this fact but rejoice instead that their names are written in the Book of Life (Luke 10:20), He nevertheless acknowledged the fact that devils MUST obey them. This is TRUTH! When passionate Christians wake up in the morning, Satan should literally SHAKE IN FEAR. We should be a daily reminder to him that his days are numbered. Sadly, how many of us believe and act out this TRUTH!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, It is time for your army of spiritual warriors to be released. Let us not be bound up with things of this earth but let us set our sights on Your Heavenly Kingdom. Let us never forget the One who died for us so that we may win the spiritual battle with the enemy of our souls. Already, we are seeing more of our brothers and sisters in Christ being martyred for their faith and we know from end times prophecies, that in the last days before Jesus returns that will only increase. Help us to be fully cognisant of the sacrifices that will need to be made. Please send the power of Your Holy Spirit afresh this Pentecost to equip us so that we may be courageous warriors in Your service.
What an inspiring story behind this song. ” I have decided to follow Jesus”. Listen to this short video and be inspired or at least challenged.
It tells the story of a family in the Garo tribe from Meghalaya, then called Assam in India, who faced persecution just because of their faith in Jesus Christ. The lyrics are based on the last words of a Garo tribesman.
May I suggest you share it widely amongst family and friends.
In a 60-hour killing spree about 200 Christians were slaughtered in Plateau State even as the U.S. ambassador at large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback was departing Nigeria.
Sam Brownback’s one-week visit was pockmarked with six suicide bombings by Boko Haram in one day (the largest single day detonations), deadly Shiite clashes with the police, altercations between local Muslims and a community, and continuing killings by Muslim Fulani Herdsmen.
The grand finale of this perfect storm of violence was the triple-digit massacre in Plateau State.
Overnight, I have been inundated with photos too gruesome to share here of horribly mutilated bodies of children hacked to death and even after death for maximal horror effect, charred corpses and bodies stacked in mass graves.
Already the Fulani have justified this heinous crime against humanity.
The sad thing is this is not the first time, nor will it be the last. In 2012 when Fulani massacred over 60 Christian villagers in Plateau State, an executive of the same cattle-rearing group said the same thing.
Worse still, some of the communities attacked this weekend were attacked previously. One community was part of the notorious 2010 Dogo Na Hawa Massacre in which 500 Christians were killed.
That massacre eight years ago spurred me to launch the “Justice For Jos” project that has evolved to covering Boko Haram atrocities. Ironically, the Herdsmen atrocities have continued unabated while Boko Haram hogged the spotlight.
We hear reports that authorities have ordered mass burials to hide the true casualties.
In amongst the horror, a kind-hearted and brave Muslim cleric told the BBC how he saved about 262 Christians from being killed in the last attack in villages in Plateau State by suspected Fulani herdsmen. He said “upon seeing victims fleeing from suspected herdsmen who attacked Nghar Yelwa village, I opened the door of the mosque and hid them.”
Report by Emmanuel Ogebe founded Jubilee Campaign’s Justice for Jos Project, in Abuja, Nigeria.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 