Come and join us
Lisa Pearce from Open Doors says that, “If a Christian is discovered in Somalia, they’re unlikely to live to see another day”. The question to ask yourself is, ‘Why join a group experiencing 80% of the religious persecution in the world today? Especially when, in North Africa, the Middle East and many parts of Asia, Christians are vanishing. It seems a lost and futile cause.’
… but not according to Jesus – or His followers. Jesus said to all who’d follow Him, “you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers” (Matthew 24:9). Thankfully, He also promised that nothing would overcome His church (Matthew 16:18). So, trusting in these comforting words, Christians await persecution with confidence, praying, that when it comes, they’ll be ready to stand strong and bear witness to their Lord. They know, from the promises of scripture and the lessons of history, that nothing strengthens faith like persecution unto death.
So why does God allow such persecution? Because when a lost world sees Christians preferring to die than dishonor their Lord – they see faith that’s real. And when Christians love their enemies – the world sees a miracle. Esther from Eritrea says, “As Christians we’re required to love our enemies even though it is very difficult to do that when they make you suffer, or when they harm or kill your loved ones!”
Sadly, not all Christians listen to Jesus’s commands. In every age there are people behaving badly in the name of Jesus. Even now, in the Central African Republic, “Christian” militias persecute and murder Muslims. But the unreported truth is that religious persecution is utterly one sided. The vast majority of persecution between the world’s two largest religions is from Muslims towards Christians. So, if the secular media has given you an impression that all religious people just fight and kill each other then please reconsider.
The US Center for the Study of Global Christianity (and other sources) estimates that 100,000 Christians are martyred annually – roughly 11 per hour, or 1 every 5 minutes. You can read or download a moving and tragic article about their methodology.
The following articles are exceptions to the media silence:
https://tinyurl.com/n6keu5t https://tinyurl.com/mq49qa9
https://tinyurl.com/msa3wma https://tinyurl.com/qxsg2u4
You can help persecuted Christians by supporting the Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors.
Finally, dear friend, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Jesus’s words in Matthew 10:28). Do not be deterred by reports of persecution but come and join us as we worship Jesus.
Bible Verse: Matthew 24:9 “You will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers”.
Prayer: Dear God please give hearts of lions to your people everywhere that they might stand firm for you.
Acknowledgement: This blogpost was sourced from Outreach Media, Sydney, Australia.
Images and text © Outreach Media 2017
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The first Easter hat
Kids both love and hate the annual Easter Hat parade. Parents likewise. It’s so much fun to wear a funny, self-made hat at Easter – to walk around and laugh at each other’s designs, impressed by the cleverness and humor. But it’s scary wondering if people think your hat is weird or daggy! And the stress zone the night before is really something. Parents with ten thumbs pull gluey fingers apart, trying desperately to make cardboard behave as they hit the craft wall at 1am. But the organized and ambitious parents are serene and un-fussed. For weeks they’ve been sourcing fairy dust and felt. And their finished creations sparkle and dazzle.
Our Father in Heaven really is the most concerned parent of all. He certainly didn’t leave the rescue of humanity till the last minute. The Bible says that, “at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). Which means the arrival of Jesus was a rescue mission to deal with our rotten, rebellious, bad behavior.
But the mission was a mixture of love and hate. The Bible clearly says that, “God so loved the world, that He sent His one and only Son” (Jn. 3:16). And Jesus agreed with the mission. He delighted in doing the will of His heavenly Father. But He hated the prospect of the cross. He knew His death would be terrible. He said in prayer to His Father in heaven the night before, ‘Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine’.
As Jesus was led to the cross “soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head and arrayed Him in a purple robe” (Jn. 19:1-2). They were mocking His claim to be a King. The crown was really the first Easter hat – intended to humiliate Jesus as He was paraded to His place of execution. At the cross Jesus offered His perfect, sinless life to be punished by God so that we might avoid the anger of God that we rightly deserve.
When a person follows Christ as their King they’re no longer dirty and unwashed before God. In fact, they sparkle and dazzle with freshness and new life and hope for the future. And embarrassment about former behavior is a thing of the past. If this is something you want then it’s not too late to ask God. You can pray to Him now if you’d like to make a fresh start.
Bible Verse: John 19:1-2 “Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head and arrayed Him in a purple robe”.
Prayer: Dear God. I’m ashamed of many things in my life. Please forgive my sins. Help to me to start life again with you.
Acknowledgement: This blogpost was sourced from Outreach Media, Sydney, Australia.
Images and text © Outreach Media 2017
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Everlasting peace
For years there’s been a Christian conspiracy theory about the logo for the Peace Movement. Rumors have alleged that the design is a poke in the eye to Christians. A Christian cross, turned upside down, with broken arms – rejecting the Christian message and its cross as the path to peace.
Yet the truth is that in 1958 a British designer called Gerald Holtom took two semaphore flag letters, ’N’ and ‘D’, to signal Nuclear Disarmament. The resulting symbol was then used on flags and placards at an anti nuclear rally.
And further to the story, Holtom was, in fact, a Christian. Although he’d wanted to use traditional Christian symbols of peace and unity he knew they’d never be widely accepted. After all, the Japanese had recently suffered a nuclear holocaust at the hands of ‘Christian’ America and the Muslims had long memories of Christian crusades. So the conspiracy is unfounded.
But, although many Christians have sympathized with the non-violent goals of the modern Peace Movement, suspicions about other agendas have been well founded. For example, when it took off, it had strong connections to the 60’s counterculture that promoted drug taking and sexual promiscuity as well as the New Age Movement that began in the 70’s with it’s focus on alternative religious philosophies.
Over the decades the movement has struggled to survive and know what it stands for. Is it against all wars including defensive ones? And now that traditional energy forms threaten the environment, is it still against nuclear energy? Especially since it doesn’t add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?
Christianity, meanwhile, continues to be the peace movement that’s clear and relevant to everyone. The Bible promises there will always be wars in this age as well as discord and violence between individuals. But the solution won’t be found by simply trying to be nice to each other. We humans need renovating on the inside and that comes from being back in relationship with God – blessed by His powerful Holy Spirit inside us helping us to live peacefully.
To achieve this great reconciliation, Jesus went to the cross to pay for our sin so that God might forgive us. This is why the Christian cross is, after all, the supreme and most profoundly important symbol of peace in the world today. It represents real and lasting peace with God both now and forever.
So, will you make peace with God? Will you join the movement Jesus began that never ends?
Bible Verse: Romans 5:1 “And we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.
Prayer: Dear God, I have been your enemy. Please forgive me and help me to live peacefully with you and others.
Acknowledgement: This blogpost was sourced from Outreach Media, Sydney, Australia.
Images and text © Outreach Media 2017
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