Persecution Warning For Christians

It’s time to take note the persecution are ramping up as time goes on.

Bob Fu a Christian how left China after persecution against Christians that worsened in the 1990s. After helping the underground church in China served to meet the needs of Christians. Today, Fu see the same government overreach happening in America as he experienced in China.

That same way the government forced chute shut down during the Covid mirrored the language used to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Fu said “I saw the governor of California basically proscribe and order the church to shut down and say not only when they could worship, but how. The ways that he threatened to punish those churches and Pastor sometimes were word for word exactly the same as what the CCP is using against Chinese churches.”

Fu said not only are we witnessing church persecution, it will get worse. Understanding persecution from a biblical standpoint is imperative for younger generations today.

While we cannot know if we are in the final generation or not. We are experiencing “birthing pangs.” In Mark 13, the image of birth pains is used to describe several terrible and painful kinds of events, strife, earthquakes and famine. Matthew and Mark tells us, are the beginning of the birth pains, perhaps implying that bitter pains will get even worse than that, whether we’re read or not.

Matthew 24:9, he said “Then, all nations will hate you.” I never really focused on that word at all. If you read Matthew 24: 5-8, Jesus called the beginning of birth pangs and then “all nations will hate you.” That time hasn’t happened yet. That’s the future, and America is in that cluster. There is a time where all people that are true to the words of Jesus, really loyal to what He said, will suffer.

If we don’t stay true to Jesus, our end will be much worse. Revelation 9:6 says, “In those days men will seek death and will not find it. “They will hope for death, but it will escape them. Death will flee from them.

Today there a refusal in to be a faithful member of Christ, there no hiding the fact that persecution is part of the future. Jesse told us that there would be trouble in this world, but He had overcome it (John 16:33. The disciples knew early on that no matter what happened to them in this world, Jesus had already overcame sin and the grave. That’s why they were able to cling tight to Him and His Word despite being persecuted unto death and exile.

Focusing On Small Things Can Make A Big Difference

It’s easy to get caught up in the big life-changing moment that are affecting us, and rationalize their impact on. Everything else is happening around us.

But it’s a small things that have the biggest effect in the direction of our lives take.

Think of yourself as a small, snowball being rolled down the hill, getting bigger and stronger as it picks up, momentum, until it is one huge boulder, breaking down trees.

That entire process started with the act of creating a single snowball in the palm of your hand.

Don’t Get So Caught Up In The Big Things

It’s easy to get caught up in the big things in our lives. For example, the team you’re coaching that has blown a three goal lead loses by for when it’s all said and done.

The easy response is to get mad at the team and how this could have happened.

But the harder, more difficult response is to ask them what happened and what we can do next to make it better.

The small things are the players, what went wrong, what happened, and what will we do for the next time.

The big thing is the loss. But any good coach will tell you, that is now history.

It’s over, and it’s time to focus on what’s next. Focusing on the small things, taking those actions, as direct correlation to long term thinking.

Big things come from small strides. Any big change in your life is not the result of one big stride.

You don’t say you were going to lose weight and then have the weight shed off of you.

No, it takes the smaller actions of eating well, exercising, purging, bad behaviors – all small actions that when taken on their own might not amount you’re a big change in your life.

But when taken together in small steps, they will contribute toward a larger goal.

The small things put a goal within reach and make it attainable. Small strides make change inevitable.

People Remember The Small Things

Everyone knows what happened on Christmas and your birthday – they are big events that get celebrated with incredible fanfare.

But what about those small interactions that you encourage throughout the year?

Like when someone brought you coffee when you were feeling down, when you reach out to someone for a listening, ear, or when someone took the time to go for a walk with you to work out a problem.

Which one had the biggest impact?

The small cup of coffee, or the fanfare for Christmas?

If you want to make a difference in your life, focus on the small things, the relationships, the people, the interactions, the handshakes, the smiles.

It’s the tiniest of things that can make the biggest difference in someone’s life,

Seeing your grand gestures, do not yield the same return on investment as a steady investment in daily actions and commitment to consistent change.

Master the small, then move on to the next step, and do the same thing again.

One year for now, take stock of how far you have come, what do you have achieved, and where you are going.

Would you have been able to accomplish in that one big gesture?

Wouldn’t have made the same level of difference?

Focus on the small things – for your actions will lead to big differences. From there, the change you want to see happen in your life will happen.

The Power Of Faith

Read is the key to defeating all that comes against you. In order for the hand of God to work miracles in your life, you must believe that He is able. Your trials have no power over you, except for what you allow. For that reason, you must never let the fear of any painful situation in your life become bigger than God.

The Bible tells us that Jesus came to set the captives free. We were once in bondage to the evil of this world now have a power or darkness. The death and resurrection of Christ gave us victory over anything that seeks to destroy us. He paid a price for us to live life abundantly, despite what we have to endure. He became our strength to conquer all of our enemies. He has put death and destruction under His feet. Those who have a relationship with users have nothing to fear from this world. He alone is the hope for all that you need, and He will not fail you.

In Matthew 15, we read about the apostles, who were in a boat on the water that was being tossed around by the wind and the waves. During the night, Jesus came to them walking on the water and they became afraid. Peter jumped into the water to go and meet Jesus, but heveas afraid of the storm and began to sink. He called to Jesus for help, Jesus caught him and commented on his lack of faith.

The truth of this matter is that it was not the wind or the waves that brought Peter down, it was his fear. Instead of keeping his eye on the Creator who could save him from all things, Peter instead empowered the wind and the waves. He feared that he would perish even though the Master of the universe was right there with him. Jesus is over all that is in this world and even the wind must obey Him. With just a word Jesus was able to quiet the storm.

Every now and then there is a situation Jesus can’t take you out of. But He will take you through if your trust is in Him. He can give you peace in the trial that you are enduring. The power of the blood of Christ is able to meet you wherever you are. It does not matter what you have done, or how far you have strayed, His love is able to reach out and lift you up from the waters of trouble and bring you to safety. Jesus is always willing to forgive you and give you a future that has promise. For the believer, the strength to live in victory is always with you because Christ lives within you. He alone can defeat a serious health problem, financial difficulties or any addiction and pain you may have. Jesus alone had the power to heal a broken marriage and restore families. That is your heritage as a child of the living God! Nothing is impossible for Him who spoke the world into existence.

If you are to weary from the battles you are fighting, lift your eyes to Jesus Who is the source of all strength. He will not leave you, if you have faith, His plan for you will never fail. The enemy has been defeated by the cross and his power has been destroyed.

Our Lord is able to keep us on top of the water despite what trouble comes against us, and what we are going through. You are never alone and your situation is never impossible for the true God whose love you will never fail you.

Have Faith

When God Withdraws His Protection

Frequently, due to sin, rebellion, and other factors, God, simply withdraws His protective hand and allows sin, Satan, and chaos to have their way.

Everything with you today leads up to the final point. God has incarnated Himself into the world in such a way that he gives away aspects of true freedom, and power to His creatures to do with it what they will. But when we miss you, this freedom and power, God does not simply stop the way we abuse our freedom and power, for then, it would no longer be genuine, freedom, or power.

As a result of our rebellious decisions and misuse of power, nature flies out of control and creates chaos all around us. Satan, who is at war with God and His creation, seeks to destroy anything that comes from God, or aligns itself with God. And whatever sin is found, it eats away at everything it touches. Through His incarnation and by His infinite wisdom and foreknowledge, God slows the death and decay down, and rescues those who are perishing in sin and destruction, but frequently, due to the nature of sin, the consequences of abused freedom, and a misuse of power, God cannot stop the natural result of a rebellion. When this happens, nature falls into chaos, the destroyer destroys, and sin brings death.

When humans persist in sin, despite God’s frequent attempts to call them toward obedience and to warn them of what will happen if they continue down the path they are on, there comes a point where sometimes, God simply withdraws His hand of protection and allows people to suffer the consequences for their sin, for chaos to reign, and for Satan to bring death and destruction.

When bad things happen to us in life, we should not be too quick to believe that God has withdrawn his hand of protection, but instead he go first to consider some of the other elements of the chaos as possible explanation for what has happened to us. So also with some of the terrible event in scripture. We must not be too quick to say that God has withdrawn. His protection from a certain person or place so that sin, death, and the devil can have their way.

Nevertheless, there are times when God with drawls from some people so that they can suffer the consequences for their sin and rebellion against Him. usually when this happens in scripture, the text makes it very clear that this is what is going on, and then, this withdrawal is only after numerous and varied attempts by God to get people to repent of their ways and return to Him and to warn them of what will happen If they continue to rebel.

There are several examples of this, in scripture. We might see evidence of this sort of withdrawal of God’s protective hand in the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:27. In this text, do you just said that God has sent numerous profit to Jerusalem to call them back to obedience, but rather than listen, they continue to stone, the profits that are sent. Jesus says that God has wanted to gather them under his wing of protection, but they are not willing.

As a result, death and destruction came upon Jerusalem. We must not read into this passage the idea that God is sending the death and destruction. No, the text is clear that God is trying to deliver and protect His people from the destruction, but they would not listen to His warnings and were not willing to come to His. And soul, death would come, not from God, but from the armies that would sweep in, and leave, not one stone standing upon another.

How can a God who says “ Love your enemies”. (Matters 5:44) be the same God, who instructs people in the Old Testament to kill their enemies?