Circuit Thoughts

I just read that worldwide persecution of the church has risen 30 percent this past year. I’m not sure how accurate that number is, but it doesn’t surprise me. The fact that over this past year, we have seen the numbers of Christian believers in America fall to a minority, and the increase of violence to Christians across the world should have indicated this.

Now, when I say persecution, I’m not talking about what we as Americans have to put up with. We truly do not understand what it means to be persecuted for our faith. We may get insulted. We may hear hate speech on social media. We may even have to put up with the non-churched telling us what is in the Bible. But, in this country, we don’t have to fear for our lives just because we pray. We can ask for a blessing at the restaurant without fear of being arrested. We can argue in public about the merits of our given denomination without inciting a possible riot. We are not persecuted.

But in many places around the world, persecution is extreme. There is not a day that goes by that a believer is not killed or imprisoned because they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. There are places where churches are not allowed to even do repairs to their buildings. To carry a bible is tantamount to carrying a weapon and will get you either shot on sight or a few years in prison.

Yes, persecution of Christ followers is on the rise. But why should that be a surprise? Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” You see, Jesus knew what was coming. He knew that many in the world would not accept His teaching of Love and Hope.

The real reason for Christian persecution is not about wrong teaching. It is about power. If every person believed in Christ and accepted Him as Savior, then there would be no need for kings, governments, or war leaders. There would be no need to mandate how a person acts or what a person sees. The welfare systems and government assistance systems around the world would be defunct. The world leadership cannot have this. They must have control.

The basic premise of following Christ is loving God and loving your neighbor. If these were the only two laws needed in this world, the entire economic and political infrastructure would fall. This is why we have persecution in the world. Christ threatens the power brokers.

This is why it is even more important to follow Christ. In Christ there is the power for everyone to excel. In Christ is the power for everyone to succeed. In Christ there is the power of opportunity. In Christ there is the power of peace.

We need to be about sharing the Gospel and inviting people to a relationship with Christ. And right now, this is the one country that can do it, because we aren’t being persecuted, yet.

Shalom my friends.

See you in church.