Persecusion

For more than 200 years this country has enjoyed the blessings of freedom and openness of religious liberty. But the signs are showing that our freedoms are rapidly changing. The Bible tells us that evil men and seducers are going to wax worse and worse in the last days. We see the signs of the times all around us, we see Israel getting ready to build their temple, that they now have a red heifer, that the half shekel has been minted and that around the world while people are calling for peace, there are wars and rumors of wars. The love of many has waxed cold. People take offence at the very slightest provocation. Everything has to be politically correct and Christians are being pushed into the background.

I am not talking about salvation, for if you are not ready to go to heaven then you should prepare yourself by repenting, being baptized in Jesus’ Name and receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). What I’m asking you is if you are ready to face the persecution that the world is throwing at the Christian? Sometimes persecution does not come in physical attacks, but in the subtle changes that Satan introduces into the world over time. We are so inundated with ungodly things that we begin to view them as not too bad or even the norm. Exactly what Satan wants us to do. It is being said, by some, that all people and all beliefs are the same. This sounds good if you don’t know Jesus Christ and want humanism as your gospel. But this is not the truth! The truth is Christianity is not the same as any of these other beliefs. Our belief in one God, baptism in Jesus’ name, the infilling of the Holy Ghost and godly living sets us far apart from all other beliefs. 2 Timothy 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

Around the world today there is a great persecution of Christians going on and even the attitudes toward Christians in this country is changing. This is a quote from an article in Ecumenical News. “Russian officials who seized control of Crimea from Ukraine are placing new restrictions on churches…there, a Scandinavian news service in freedom of religion and belief reports. Since March, when Russian annexed Crimea places of worship and individuals of some faiths have faced violent attacks.” Even now in the United States we are seeing the tide turn away from Christianity as the primary belief of people. The Bible is not esteemed as truth as it once was, and many don’t even know anything about the Word of God. John 15:18-19, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out ofthe world, therefore the world hateth you.” When we live in a world that hates Christ we are sure to suffer persecution. Are you prepared for it when it comes against you at school, at the work place, even from your own family? “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and beexceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12. A great reward awaits those who suffer and endure persecution for Jesus Christ.

For My King And His Kingdom