We are so outraged when our soldiers are persecuted why not the same for our brothers and sisters in Christ?!?! Persecuted Christians For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. Galatians 1:13 Today there are religious terrorists like Paul (before he encountered Christ), whose aim is to destroy the church. They see Christians as the enemy. We are labeled infidels who deserve extinction. To our chagrin, even shame--fellow brothers and sisters around the world, because of their allegiance to Jesus, are being killed, raped and driven from their nations. Their holy presence is being extracted by unholy influences. Yes, the ultimate goal of darkness is to drive away light. Persecuted Christians desperately need our prayers and support. How can we sit still while thousands of Jesus followers around the world are being silenced, captured or slain for their faith? Where is our compassion for these righteous refugees who are being exiled from their homeland with no land of their own? Religious freedom is the core of our country, therefore as a responsible and compassionate government, we must denounce these horrific acts of violence by religious zealots. Our eerie passivity only emboldens our enemies. We pray but we must act! “Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring” (2 Thessalonians 1:4). Furthermore, our own citizens are being denied religious freedom at home. Sometimes subtly and sometimes not so subtly, our Christian heritage and treasured traditions are being removed. Cannot common sense weigh in and say its ok to display a manger scene with baby Jesus at Christmas? Cannot the ten commandments that represent the bedrock beliefs of our civilization be publicly exhibited as a reminder of how we are to privately behave? Is the cross so offensive that its influence has to be stripped from our society? Persecution is not just over there--its also here. Persecution should not be a surprise to those who love the Lord. Ungodliness is threatened by godliness. When we take a stand, we will be stood against. Let’s pray that from the fires of persecution God’s people become stronger and the church grows cleaner. Like a natural disaster disperses people and their influence, so we trust the Lord to leverage Christian persecution to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are blessed by God when we are persecuted for God! “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:12). Prayer: Heavenly Father, empower me to pray for and support Christians under severe persecution. Related Readings: Jeremiah 37:15; Psalm 119:86; 2 Corinthians 4:8-10; 2 Timothy 3:12; Hebrews 11:36-38; 1 Peter 3:14 Post/Tweet today: Ungodliness is threatened by godliness. When we take a stand, we will be stood against. #wisdomhunters Additional Resource: 4 minute video on Christian persecution overseas- bit.ly/XbNrET
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 15:23:46 +0000
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