I read this morning of several women missionaries, in the region where ISIS is spreading relentlessly and inexorably--leaving hundreds maimed and dead. I read about these women who were publicly and brutally raped...then beheaded and their bodies crucified. The women prayed aloud and sang hymns as all of this was happening to them...
I was just reading Matthew 10 where Jesus warned his disciples of the violence to come and said,
22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
We see this happening in the Middle East and in our own country as well. A country where Christianity thrived and enjoyed favor among Americans...now, when you call yourself a Christian it means an invitation to those around you, to hate you. And also in Mt 10 is the following exhortation by Jesus to his disciples..both then and now:
19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Are you a Christian who has never suffered the horrors we hear from those lands suffering the atrocities like that? Most of us have not...but friends, it is coming. Are you prepared? Do you have the Word of God in your hearts and minds? Do you daily ask God for courage to endure? Are you aware of the consequences if you have not? Read the bold lettering above. There will be great temptation to collapse under the pressure to come.
In another place in Matthew Jesus enjoins his disciples not to fear those who can mutilate and kill the body, but rather fear the one who can destroy both body and soul. Did you read that? DO NOT FEAR THOSE WHO CAN KILL THE BODY...but who have no power to kill your soul...Ask God to eradicate your fear and to give you a Holy boldness. Learn to hear the voice of God as he speaks to your heart. Dig into your Bibles and look there for what will make you courageous in the face of the unthinkable. As I said in a prior post: in the end--GOD WINS.
I was just reading Matthew 10 where Jesus warned his disciples of the violence to come and said,
22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
We see this happening in the Middle East and in our own country as well. A country where Christianity thrived and enjoyed favor among Americans...now, when you call yourself a Christian it means an invitation to those around you, to hate you. And also in Mt 10 is the following exhortation by Jesus to his disciples..both then and now:
19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Are you a Christian who has never suffered the horrors we hear from those lands suffering the atrocities like that? Most of us have not...but friends, it is coming. Are you prepared? Do you have the Word of God in your hearts and minds? Do you daily ask God for courage to endure? Are you aware of the consequences if you have not? Read the bold lettering above. There will be great temptation to collapse under the pressure to come.
In another place in Matthew Jesus enjoins his disciples not to fear those who can mutilate and kill the body, but rather fear the one who can destroy both body and soul. Did you read that? DO NOT FEAR THOSE WHO CAN KILL THE BODY...but who have no power to kill your soul...Ask God to eradicate your fear and to give you a Holy boldness. Learn to hear the voice of God as he speaks to your heart. Dig into your Bibles and look there for what will make you courageous in the face of the unthinkable. As I said in a prior post: in the end--GOD WINS.
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