Difficult Times

Some believers have had to face difficult times for many years, experiencing persecution, depending on where they live.  In some parts of the world, Christians have been treated horribly while others have it far easier to live a Christian life.  Many do not have a clue what it means to be beaten and tortured for their faith.  Some have been verbally abused, but that is as far as it went, while others suffer abuse on a daily basis; their life is a constant reminder that it will cost them something to live a faithful Christian life, but they are so committed they never give in or give up.  

It is hard for me to imagine what it would be like to wake up and face torture and many times even death for my faith, but that is the way many believers live.  If you live in a country where you can worship freely, it is hard to imagine places where there are underground churches that believers worship in secret and can’t even sing and praise the Lord openly for fear that someone will find out where they are meeting and report it to the authorities.  They change their places of worship quite often so that they would not be caught and beaten, or worse.  I read years ago that some believers were beaten more than once because someone had infiltrated the meetings they were in and the secret police found out and came with clubs for the purpose of beating and persuading the people to give up the faith.  

I read the following, years ago, and this is my version of the story from what I remember.  There were two soldiers that came into one of these secret meetings with uniforms and guns.  They told the people that wanted to forsake their faith they could leave and the rest would be killed that chose to stay, so some left and the others stayed.  When all the people left that were going to leave, these two soldiers sat down and started worshiping, saying that they only wanted to worship with true believers.  I wonder, if that happened in our houses of worship today, how many would stay and how many would leave, or if I would even stay or leave.

I have heard people say that they would die for the Lord, but at the time of Christ’s crucifixion, Peter and all the disciples had said the same thing but when the time came for Jesus to be crucified Peter denied Jesus three times and all the other disciples scattered.  They all ended up dying for their faith in the end except Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him.

We believers know that we are living in the last days and I believe persecution will affect every believer much more than in the past.  Read what it says in 2 Timothy 3:1, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.”

This is the way many will behave, read verses 2-9, “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.”

Paul is describing our society today and possibly some in the church.  Check the list in this scripture and see how your life lines up with it!

Like I alluded to earlier, many places in the United States, people can still worship freely but things are starting to change and our freedoms are slowly being challenged, along with free speech.  The church is being persecuted more and more as time goes on.  It is easy to get complacent about superficial Christianity instead of it causing us to be uncomfortable.  

Don’t give in, conforming to this world and its desires, but stand up and live what pleases the Lord and shows the world that you are different and that you are a true believer.  Don’t be deceived by people that look like believers but are not, you will know them by their love and by their fruit.  It is possible to be ever learning but never come to know the truth.  Be careful of false teachers and always seek the truth for the right reason.  There are always consequences for sin, so live your life accordingly and let your actions line up with your words.   Live each day like your actions and words will be revealed to everyone someday.  Now is the time of change, so start changing anything you would not want to be revealed later.

Something to think about!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super, super day!!