Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

persecution

Discouraged?

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Are you feeling tired or discouraged? Life has gotten more challenging for Christians in the West in recent years. While our brothers and sisters across the globe have long been dealing with pressures worse than we currently face, for most of us, persecution is new. Pastors in Canada are jailed simply for holding a church service. Churches in America are occasionally overrun with protesters.

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The pressure to conform to society’s ideas of wrong and right or face ostracization is rampant. This is not the world in which most of us grew up. Having spent most of our lives at ease, the time has come when our faith is being put to the test. For some, hope seems lost. But take heart; this is not the end. Your reward is coming.

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Prepared for Persecution

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My heart broke when I read about a recent occurrence in North Korea. That country is second only to Afghanistan in being the most dangerous place for Christians to live (see Open Doors’ “World Watch List”). Government officials raided a secret church meeting of believers. Everyone in attendance was arrested and then summarily executed.

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Without warning and without having had the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, these dear brothers and sisters were removed from the face of the earth. From the moment they gave their lives to Christ, they knew they were living on borrowed time. They knew the risk of meeting together. They prepared for persecution the best they could and found Jesus worth the cost. But the story gets worse.

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Be Prepared

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In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul exhorted Timothy to always be prepared to preach the Word of God. Peter tells us we should always be prepared to give a defense of the reason we have hope in Jesus (1 Peter 3:14-15). And Jesus instructed His disciples to be prepared for the attacks of the world as they went out preaching the gospel (Matthew 10:16). As you survey the world today, if your eyes are open, you will see it is decaying at incredible speed.

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I’ve been asked if I believe we are living in the end times. I cannot presume to know such things. Jesus told us no man knows when He will return. What I will say is I struggle to imagine the lawlessness and depravity getting much worse. I think Christians face hard times ahead, and we must prepare now.

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Live for Christ

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Life is hard for Christians everywhere. This should come as no surprise, as Jesus told us we would have trouble in this world (John 16:33). In many countries, following Jesus will lead to imprisonment, torture, and death. In other countries, Christians are denied jobs, housing, and access to village resources like water. The physical and emotional consequences of professing faith in Christ are extreme. Yet, believers in these countries hold fast to Jesus.

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They disregard the risks for the sake of the prize. Knowing and serving Jesus is worth more than anything to them. In America, our faith rarely causes us any threat to our physical well-being. The emotional consequences of professing your faith are minimal and even laughable compared to what so many are facing. And yet most Christians in America lack the devotion and fervor in their faith of those who suffer so much. Why is that?

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The Persecuted

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For many in the West, it is uncomfortable to talk about the persecuted Church around the world. While we may face ridicule and discrimination to one degree or another, we have no reference point for the brutality inflicted against our brothers and sisters in far-off countries. Much like the television commercials depicting starving children or animal shelters, the images are hard to look at so we close our eyes, mute the sound, or change the channel.

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We know these things exist but we would rather not think about them. But our discomfort does not change the reality of what is happening to our brothers and sisters. Imagine if it was your flesh and blood sibling who was enduring such things. Would you not keep them in the front of your mind and do everything in your power to help and encourage them? Then why are we so reluctant to discuss and bring attention to the plight of our brothers and sisters in Christ?

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