August 04, 2024
Greetings and blessings to all of you. Do Christians experience persecution today? Do you and I experience persecution today but just don’t recognize it? The news today focused on a village in the Golan Heights along the Israel’s northern border where twelve boys and girls were killed as they ran for safety from an Iranian made rocket that exploded in the soccer field, where they were practicing. This was an act of evil. This is just one of the many persecutions suffered at the hands of our enemy, Satan. God has said in John 14:30 “ ..for the ruler of the world is coming ….” Saints, look around. Our nation is under attack by the evil one! Statistically speaking, it has been written that “Christians are still being persecuted today with the estimates ranging from 1 in 7 to 200- 300 million Christians worldwide.” This is not just in the magazine “Voice of the Martyr” which is read by a few because it shows the horrible things that are happening to Christians…and we rather not see/or hear these horrible truths. Here.. our persecution includes religious discrimination and it includes being passed over for a promotion at your employment because you refused to fly the Pride flag at your desk. What about being mocked for your faith or slandered because you stand for the Truth (which is Jesus) or proselytizing on your lunch break? It says in Matt. 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake”. Did you know that social hostilities at work and at school are a form of persecution? Saints, recognize that persecutions are happening right now. …are we waiting to be lunchmeat for a hungry lion or lit up as a torch in Nero’s palace before it is fair to claim persecution is happening to you? And just because we are.. does that mean we shrink back and say nothing and do nothing? The sad part is ..most Christians are unaware of the persecutions. Or a lot of them are frozen in a helpless ‘what to do what to do’ state of mind and sadly some just don’t think what is happening in the nation is relevant to them in their day to day. As these atrocities are still occurring in Israel and here, we know the Bible says, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10-11)
With the Love of Christ
First Lady Vivian C. Currie
Pastor ALC