Luke 12:38 (NET) - But the one who did not know his master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.
Persecution.
Since the earliest days of Christianity, persecution of the church has been a reality.
In many parts of the world, it still is.
Some nations claim religious tolerance and freedom and cite their legality of Christianity as proof.
The real proof of their intolerance is made apparent when converts become second class citizens.
New Christians in these countries often find it extremely difficult to marry or find employment.
So much for tolerance.
In some nations professing one’s faith in Christ can bring a death sentence.
I once watched a smuggled video taken with a phone of the execution of a man who was charged with evangelizing in his village.
The entire village was forced to witness this brave man’s execution by firing squad.
Immediately afterward, an army officer stood up in the back of his jeep and addressed the village through a megaphone.
The officer shouted his warning, "This man was a fool! Don’t be a fool!"
That nation rules with an iron fist.
It uses execution as a means of both eliminating existing Christians and intimidating others in an attempt to deter them from embracing the faith.
In reality, it is the government that is frightened because Christianity transforms lives in ways that it cannot.
Still, it continues to tighten its grip using a combination of fear and intimidation.
Yet even as its grip tightens, more and more of its citizens turn their lives over to Jesus.
That frightens it even more.
I once read of a young man in another country who, along with his friends, persecuted Christians.
Like Paul, this persecutor had a conversion experience.
This young man’s conversion was made possible because of the witness of one that he persecuted.
He now shares his faith in Jesus with others.
As a result, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to kill him.
In time, he learned that a contract had been taken out on his life.
That contract was paid for by his own father and that price remains on his head.
In spite of the personal risk, he still continues to share Jesus with others.
These are but two examples among several that I thought about this week.
Persecution has been on my mind a great deal because a friend who is a pastor in another country contacted me through a social network requesting my prayers.
That pastor's church is currently experiencing persecution.
Of course, I agreed and continue to pray for them and other persecuted Christians as well.
This forced me to think about my own country.
God has blessed us with the both the freedom and safety to worship,
At the risk of painting with a very broad brush, a less than desirable consequence has arisen among Christians in America.
That consequence is complacency.
As a whole, we seem to have lost some of the drive, some of the desire and some of the sense of urgency in sharing the Good News with others.
Those in regions of persecution risk much, and their flame burns bright by comparison.
This should concern us.
The church at Laodicea received a direct warning.
You can find it in Revelation 3.
As we near Easter and consider what Jesus has done for us, shouldn’t we be more eager to share the Good News with others?
We also need to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who currently face persecution.
We should also pray for those who persecute them.
After all, their need for Jesus is the greatest.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 5, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, April 12, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Having a Bad Day?
It was a few days before Christmas about 25 years ago.
I stopped at the local mall after work to do a little Christmas shopping.
After checking out a few stores I decided to get something to drink.
I made my way to the second floor where there was a common dining area surrounded by several restaurants.
One counter and had only one customer so I got in line behind her.
A young lady in her teens manned the counter and was in the process on waiting on this customer.
This customer was digging through her purse looking for change.
It was obvious from the sound of her grumbling that was having little success.
That’s when it happened!
In an attempt to ease the tension the young lady behind the counter innocently asked, "Having a bad day?"
The woman immediately stopped looking through her purse, glared at the young lady and asked (quite loudly), "What did you just ask me?"
The young lady behind the counter then received a verbal lashing that caused her to turn several shades of pale.
The customer then demanded to see the manager.
At this point, I picked up on two things.
First, the young employee was worried that she was about to lose her job.
Second, the customer indeed had a bad day and was willing to vent her frustration at anyone who dared to get too close.
I wanted to say something to the irate customer but decided to see how the manager would handle this volatile situation.
The manager arrived and asked if there was a problem.
He then became the object of the woman’s wrath.
When the woman finished delivering her complaints, the manager told her that he encourages his employees to be friendly and he felt certain that no harm was intended.
At this the woman’s anger soared to new heights as she all but shouted, "I don’t believe what I am hearing!"
That’s when she made her mistake.
She turned and looked at me and barked, "Do you believe this?"
I looked her in the eye, smiled and asked calmly, "Having a bad day?"
Fortunately for me, looks cannot kill.
If they could, I would have just finished my last day on earth.
After glaring at me, she picked up her purse and stormed away without an additional word.
I looked at the manager who simply shook his head, laughed and returned to his office.
I stepped up the counter to place my order.
The young lady who had been extremely frightened only a moment ago gave me a smile and said, "Thank you!"
"Don’t worry about it." I said.
"You didn’t do anything wrong. She decided to take her frustrations out on you," I stated, "and that isn’t right."
I then placed my order for an iced tea which she paid for despite my protests.
Bad days.
We have all had them.
How do we deal with them?
As our journey through Lent continued, I thought about the kind of day Jesus had.
He was arrested.
His friends abandoned him.
He was mocked.
He was beaten.
He was made to carry His own cross.
He faced the cruelest form of execution - crucifixion.
As Jesus was crucified, He showed mercy to those who antagonized Him.
Luke 23:34 (NET) - But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing." Then they threw dice to divide His clothes.
As Jesus endured this, a thief asked Jesus to remember him.
How did Jesus respond?
He showed him mercy as well!
Luke 23:43 (NET) - And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Throughout this ordeal of pain and humiliation, the mercy, kindness and forgiveness Jesus showed remain without equal to this day.
As Easter draws ever nearer, we should be extremely grateful that His mercy, kindness and forgiveness are extended to us as well.
We should also take the time to ask ourselves a very important question.
If Jesus could forgive so very much under the most extreme of circumstances, shouldn’t we be willing to forgive others of so very little by comparison?
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 8, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 15, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.
I stopped at the local mall after work to do a little Christmas shopping.
After checking out a few stores I decided to get something to drink.
I made my way to the second floor where there was a common dining area surrounded by several restaurants.
One counter and had only one customer so I got in line behind her.
A young lady in her teens manned the counter and was in the process on waiting on this customer.
This customer was digging through her purse looking for change.
It was obvious from the sound of her grumbling that was having little success.
That’s when it happened!
In an attempt to ease the tension the young lady behind the counter innocently asked, "Having a bad day?"
The woman immediately stopped looking through her purse, glared at the young lady and asked (quite loudly), "What did you just ask me?"
The young lady behind the counter then received a verbal lashing that caused her to turn several shades of pale.
The customer then demanded to see the manager.
At this point, I picked up on two things.
First, the young employee was worried that she was about to lose her job.
Second, the customer indeed had a bad day and was willing to vent her frustration at anyone who dared to get too close.
I wanted to say something to the irate customer but decided to see how the manager would handle this volatile situation.
The manager arrived and asked if there was a problem.
He then became the object of the woman’s wrath.
When the woman finished delivering her complaints, the manager told her that he encourages his employees to be friendly and he felt certain that no harm was intended.
At this the woman’s anger soared to new heights as she all but shouted, "I don’t believe what I am hearing!"
That’s when she made her mistake.
She turned and looked at me and barked, "Do you believe this?"
I looked her in the eye, smiled and asked calmly, "Having a bad day?"
Fortunately for me, looks cannot kill.
If they could, I would have just finished my last day on earth.
After glaring at me, she picked up her purse and stormed away without an additional word.
I looked at the manager who simply shook his head, laughed and returned to his office.
I stepped up the counter to place my order.
The young lady who had been extremely frightened only a moment ago gave me a smile and said, "Thank you!"
"Don’t worry about it." I said.
"You didn’t do anything wrong. She decided to take her frustrations out on you," I stated, "and that isn’t right."
I then placed my order for an iced tea which she paid for despite my protests.
Bad days.
We have all had them.
How do we deal with them?
As our journey through Lent continued, I thought about the kind of day Jesus had.
He was arrested.
His friends abandoned him.
He was mocked.
He was beaten.
He was made to carry His own cross.
He faced the cruelest form of execution - crucifixion.
As Jesus was crucified, He showed mercy to those who antagonized Him.
Luke 23:34 (NET) - But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing." Then they threw dice to divide His clothes.
As Jesus endured this, a thief asked Jesus to remember him.
How did Jesus respond?
He showed him mercy as well!
Luke 23:43 (NET) - And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Throughout this ordeal of pain and humiliation, the mercy, kindness and forgiveness Jesus showed remain without equal to this day.
As Easter draws ever nearer, we should be extremely grateful that His mercy, kindness and forgiveness are extended to us as well.
We should also take the time to ask ourselves a very important question.
If Jesus could forgive so very much under the most extreme of circumstances, shouldn’t we be willing to forgive others of so very little by comparison?
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 8, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 15, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.
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