“We are afflicted in
every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted,
but not forsake; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body
the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our
bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’
sake so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:8-11).
Hey Gang: We
completed our first week at Voice of Martyrs and I am amazed that my seventy-
nine year old body did not scream and yell too loudly. Forty hours on
your feet on cement floors loading 324,397 envelops on a conveyer belt, I
believe was more designed for those in the dark -colored hair brigade and not
us grey- haired old duffs that sometimes have to coax our bodies out of bed.
BUT we choose to do this as long as God gives us strength.
We were blessed to
hear in Chapel, an underground minister for Viet Nam and a pastor from
Bethlehem, both who live under the constant threat of death. As they told
their stories I was amazed, as they described their times in prison. They spoke
with joy, for you see, it is a perfect place to preach the gospel. Why? Because
it is a captive congregation and they are eager to hear there is a Savior who
loves them and laid down His life for them.
Both have been beaten
with rods; Interrogated for hours and even days; and sporadic meals - I use the word ‘meals’ very loosely, for it
would be an insult to our garbage cans to throw the morsels that might be left.
As I listened to the
pastors share their messages, I could not help by ask myself the question, “What
would I do or say if an enemy of Christ held a gun to my bride’s head and said,
“Deny Christ and she will live.” Would I have the strength to say, as a prophet
of old once said when given the same option, “My God has cared for me, loved
me, and taken care of my every need throughout my lifetime., Why would I
deny Him now?.
Could this happen in
America? Are we not seeing he seeds of persecution rising from the pit in
our Nation. Notice Jesus words, “If you were of the world the world would love its own,
Yet because you are not of the world , but I chose you out of the world,
therefore, the world hates you….If they persecuted me they will persecute you,
for they do not know the One who sent Me.” (John 15:19-21).
The question we answer
each and every day with our very lives is,”Am I going to fed the white dog or
the black dog? Am I going to be a witness and a strong tower for My Lord?
Not sure? Paul, who was an authority on what he termed ‘slight
afflictions’ that he endured as an apostle of Christ, said, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content
with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities…(now
notice his next words) “For when I am weak, then I am strong”.
Sooooo, my good
buddies in Christ, What say you? We have been blessed to live
in a country where our constitution gives us the freedom to worship and praise
the Lord in any way we choose but are those freedoms slipping away from us?
At a recent convention, God and Israel were eliminated from the platform of one
of the major parties. Did you know that?. Does it concern
you? If not you best do some spiritual maintenance,
Blessings,
Gramps
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