Is it any surprise to learn that for the second year in a row Christians are the most persecuted people group in the world? Fox News did a piece on this subject today and I’m glad to see at least one media organization reporting about this troubling trend.
Their reporting stated that in the past year, the persecution of Christians has not only increased, but has spread to more corners of the globe. Surprisingly, North, Central and South America are also seeing increases of Christian persecution – even though Christianity is by far the most practiced religion in the region. In all, 23 Christian leaders in Mexico and another four in Colombia were killed specifically for their faith.
A study by the Center for Studies on New Religions showed nearly 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016 and that as many as 600 million were prevented from practicing their faith through intimidation, forced conversions, bodily harm and of course death. 60% of those people are children, according to Christians in Crisis International Ministry, a prayer advocacy ministry for persecuted believers.
Here in the United States one just need to go to the websites of the pro-Christian Liberty Counsel, or the Alliance Defending Freedom to see the ever-increasing effort of these groups in going up against the well-funded ACLU and the radical left’s war against Christians. They are fighting daily to protect United States citizens from religious persecution that has been on the rise in this country under Obama. I read just today of another incident whereby a guard at a correctional facility was fired for including Christ’s name in his electronic signature on his e-mails.
I believe that President Trump will take on the religious liberty issue and I’m praying for that to occur. BTW – Hillary had stated that it was time that Christians rethought their belief system in certain areas and I shudder to think what might have been had she won the election…
Followers of Christ are daily being beheaded, beaten, crucified, mutilated, boiled alive in oil, raped, sold into slavery and their children trafficked for sex, but they steadfastly hold true to their faith in Jesus.
Stop and think about this for a moment. What if you were experiencing this scourge first-hand, and knew that today might be the day they came for YOU!
Hmmm . . . Here in the United States a good rainstorm will reduce the size of any congregation. So many take our religious freedom for granted in this country, after all there are churches in nearly any community. You might be interested in knowing what your children are being taught in schools about the Bible being a myth. Or that you can be fired for taking a public position for Christ or the Bible.
Hmmm . . . Weigh this in your mind and make an honest assessment regarding your faith.
- Would you make the effort to go to Washington D.C. to march for Christian values?
- Would you risk telling co-workers or others about Jesus in a public setting?
- Would you actually give up your life and become a martyr for Christ by being beheaded or crucified?
- Would you give money to help persecuted Christians?
Ha-Ha-Ha . . . It just occurred to me that some folks might just prefer death compared to giving up a few of their shekels to help the persecuted remnant.
At the Jesus Alliance, we are working to call attention to what is occurring to Christians all over the world and to be a part of a movement to improve the lives of persecuted Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere by providing them God’s hope. One of our partners, ALL-IN has developed a phone application that can be used to provide a wealth of Christian content contributed by a myriad of some of the largest Christian organizations in the world that will encourage the persecuted and bring them God’s hope, truth and unconditional love with a touch of a button. It takes money to get this app to them and you can be a part of that. You can contribute directly to this cause if so led. (You must admit writing a check is far better than traveling to one of those countries and being boiled alive in oil . . . At least I hope you feel that way.)
Jesus was persecuted for our sakes and we should not be surprised if we are despised as well. Personally, I don’t care what anyone thinks – I stand for Jesus! How about you?
2 Cor. 4:8
. . . we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
February 2 2017 – Click here to listen