“Blessed are those who press on for the sake of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of Heavens” (Matthew 5:10 ONM)
I was pondering on the horrific trials and persecutions that are going on all over the world. The tears begin to flow as I think of how our brothers and sisters are suffering for Christ. (“Consider it all joy, my brothers, when various trials light upon you, knowing that the proving of your faith produces endurance. And the endurance must attain the purpose, so that you would be mature and complete and not falling short in any way” James 1:1-2 ONM). I think about some of the things that some Christians here in the west consider as suffering and persecution. As Christmas approaches, there are those who go through a period of sadness and depression. Their heart aches because of not being able to afford the latest game boy or other electronical fad cravings of today for their children. This is in contrast with the pray and cry of those in Europe, Asia, Africa, and other countries. They pray that they and their children can go out of their doors and not be killed because of believing in Jesus. Yet, they still praise God! We can still stand on a street corner right now and declare Jesus is Lord. They pray as woman for themselves and their daughters that they would not be snatched and raped by radical terrorists when they leave their homes. Yet, they still praise God! We can still run to the market and pick up groceries and pray for a good parking space. There are rows and rows of tents as homes occupied by immigrant Christians who had been forced out of their homes and cities by radical terrorist. The genocide of the Iraqi Kurdish Christians and their survivors who now have a place in one of the rows of tents. Yet, they still praise God! You need t0 work another job because you saw a beautiful bedroom set and you might as well redo the dining room and living room while you’re at it. The bed you are now sleeping on, the chair you now sit in to eat your meals, and the sofa you now lay on to watch television, would be welcomed with such thankfulness and gratitude over a tent. There are Iraqi Mosul Christians that wait for humanitarian food trucks just to get a meal. Yet, they still praise God! How about those here in the west that grow weary from another day of beans and rice and not satisfied because there is no cornbread to go with it. In Africa when they go out into the street it is necessary for them to be alert for themselves and their children so as not to be captured or killed by Boko Haram another radical terrorist group. In Israel, alertness is also required when they go out in the streets. They need to have a keen ear to hear alarms and know where the nearest shelter is located. Yet, they still praise God! There are those on this side of the map that look forward to getting out early for “black Friday,” with the only thought process of being the first in the store to be able get the best deals before they run out. You start thinking about maybe spending the night in line outside the store just to insure a great place in line. The families of the Christians in Sinjar, Iraq now walk through a totally demolished city of ruins destroyed by radical terrorist. They now walk through an open grave yard of skeletal bones, which is the only remainder of siblings, parents, children, and friends. They see bones that show the horrific death of the victims. They see skulls of nasal passages that have been destroy probably from being butted by the terrorist’s gun. They see skulls of babies who had their teeth knock out. Yet, they still praise God! Some Christians are still carrying anger and unforgivingness against a sibling, parent, child, or friend and haven’t spoken to them in years.
I am by no means saying that we don’t suffer or have persecution here in the west or that this pertains to all Christians. I’m just trying to get Christians to have an awareness of true persecution, to consider what is of value and priority, and to put in perspective the things we call sufferings and persecutions. There is coming a time soon when we will see sufferings and persecutions here on our soil in such a way that we probably never could have imagined. Unless you understand and are rooted in the Lord and His Word you will not be able to stand during the hard times. Peter told us if we suffer make sure it’s for the right reason. (“But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, and neither be troubled” 1 Peter 3:14). Peter also goes on to say don’t let your suffering be at your own hands; suffering that is caused by your own actions. He said if you suffer do so as Christians. “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you; on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator” 1 Peter 4:14-19).
I recently heard on the radio a Muslim man had converted to Christianity. He said when he told his mother, she spat in his face and then tried to kill him with a knife. I saw a Kurdish Christian woman who told the story of how she had to sit and watch the brutal killing of her husband and the brutal rape of her nine-year-old daughter by Isis terrorists. Yet they still praise God!
The word of God tells us to remember and to suffer with those that are persecuted as though it’s us. (“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them who suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body” Hebrews 13:3). So when persecution comes to us let the utterance also be spoken of all the Christians here in North America……Yet they still praise God!!!!
