Persecuted Christians winning the battle against their haters

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Jesus said it, so that settles it. Indeed, the Bible predicts that Christians will be persecuted for their faith. Since the time of Christ, followers of Jesus have been killed or threatened with death by anti-Christian extremist groups. And that has not changed. Recent efforts by Islamic extremists, ISIS, Boko Haram and others, to eradicate Christians from places like Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Nigeria will fail like all the attempts before them. 

There are about 50 countries on Open Doors USA's World Watch List  that actively persecute Christians. Sadly, the United States government, once a staunch defender of religious freedom around the world, now sits silently by and does little to help stem the tide of religious persecution against Christians. Some suggest that this country's inaction may be fanning the flames of religious persecution abroad.

Whatever the reason, the result is that Christians are suffering and dying for their faith. Even so, Christians believe that in the end, they will win. Bible prophesy is on their side. All Christians should find strength and courage in this at a time in history when things are likely to get worse before they get better. Jesus forewarned his followers:

They’ll arrest you, hunt you down, and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I’ll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.

You’ll even be turned in by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Some of you will be killed. There’s no telling who will hate you because of me. Even so, every detail of your body and soul—even the hairs of your head!—is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. Staying with it—that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.  Luke 21:12-19 MSG

Look around, it's happening right now. And although the scenes played out in the media are gruesome and sad to see, Christians should take courage from the greater good your sacrifice will eventually bring about. Meanwhile, every Christian should protest and continue to pray for those persecuted Christians, as well as, for those who are persecuting them. After all, this is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions ---the fact that we are commanded to love our enemies. Good Christians pray for those who persecute them, just as Jesus did for those who crucified him.

Peaceful protests and prayer vigils have been staged by Christian groups in many countries around the world, including Canada, United States, Great Britain, Italy and Australia to name a few. While Christians are not silent on the issue, some Church leaders have been.

Many Christians know the stories about the early Christian martyrs being thrown to the lions in the Roman Coliseum, but today over 100,000 Christians are murdered every year for their faith, and pulpits are strangely silent. This silence, stemming from lack of awareness, or fear of criticism and reprisal, is the very intimidation that the enemies of Christ seek to impose. God has not given His Church a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 

In a letter sent to some 300 Catholic and Protestant church leaders, U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) wrote:

Every day around the world, men and women of faith are imprisoned, beaten, detained, tortured and even killed. . . . Have we in the West ceased to be salt and light? . . . Has our comfort led to complacency?  Can the church in the West be galvanized to act?

And act we must. Christians in the U.S. and other industrialized nations must not only wield their spiritual power, but also their economic power to  put pressure directly or indirectly on those governments that persecute Christians. A well publicized and coordinated boycott by Christians can make a difference. When Christians stop buying goods produced in countries that persecute Christians, the economies of these countries will suffer. Either way, persecuted Christians have nothing to fear. In the end, we win. 

I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

Gun control: What the world needs now is love

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of." Songwriter, Hal David

At the core of every man, woman and child, no matter who they are or where they were born is a need to be loved. Love is a fundamental need of human existence much like food, water and shelter. God wired us that way. If there was more love in the world, many of the horrid things we see happening now --- despicable, disgusting, degrading things---would not be happening.

 

The Newtown school shooting is the latest in a string of mind numbing  violent incidents of unspeakable horror that have gripped America's heart in 2012. Before Newtown, there was the Oregon Mall shooting...before that the UPS shooting in Minneapolis...before that the shooting at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin...before that the shooting at a Colorado movie theater ..before that the campus shooting in Oikos and now Newtown. Mercifully, the death toll from all these incidents stands at 56 lives lost, not counting the gunmen who took their own lives.

 

America once again finds itself in a state of shock, grief and denial. Shock at such a senseless act of violence; grief over the deaths of 20 innocent children and 6 adults; and denial about how much we ourselves are to blame. While we grieve with those who grieve, much of what is happening in this country is of our own making. As President Obama correctly observed during a vigil for those slain in the Newtown massacre, "We [as a nation] will have to change."

 

Unlike the "change you can believe in" that this President promised we'd see four years ago, our collective national outrage demands swifter action if America is to change for the better. What would a changed America look like?

 

This may be a radical idea but returning prayer to the schools would signal real change in America. When prayer was outlawed in the classroom in the 50's, the downward spiral of our education system began. Too many classrooms today resemble battlefields marked by undisciplined and disruptive students, poor academic achievement and high dropout rates. Ask any teacher, parent, or even student, allowing prayer back might help change the atmosphere.

 

We are a nation that has lost its way. Our moral compass is broken. We have shifted from the biblical principles and ideals upon which this nation was founded. Do we even know what we stand for anymore? For America to change for the better, our government will have to set the example starting at the very top. President Obama and Congress must lead the way. Putting politics aside, they must become the peacemakers to bring us together. The Bible says, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." And neither will this nation unless we put our differences aside and come together as "one nation under God."

 

We must limit those freedoms that are being exploited and used to undermine our society. The right to bear arms is one. Many are calling for stricter gun control laws but guns are not the problem ---people are. Back in the day when America was a vast uncharted wasteland and the settlers were easy prey, it made sense for every household to have guns. Today, we are more advanced and have military and police forces to assume the burden of protecting us. Nowadays, there is less reason for individuals to stockpile an arsenal of military grade weapons; less reason for such weapons to be available to ordinary citizens; and no reason for them to wind up in the hands of criminals and mentally challenged individuals as easily as they did in Newtown and in other situations.

 

Speech is another freedom being exploited, particularly by the writers, producers and performers of  "entertainment." These purveyers of our culture expose our children to unwholesome images of sex, violence, pornography and other forms of human depravity. And we wonder why bad things are happening to us? Where do we draw the line at freedom of speech? Our enemies are watching us. Russian dictator Josef Stalin once said of America: "America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within." 

 

Clearly, if we are to survive as a nation, it cannot be business as usual in America going forward. We cannot continue as we have been and risk losing future generations to violence. We must return to the former things that got us to where we are today --- faith, family and freedom. More important, we must turn back to God: "If my people will humble themselves...I will heal their land."