Persecution – Disciple Up

07 When Faith & Reality Collide: Victims By Faith

July 13, 2022 by discip23_wp

Disciple Up # 267
When Faith & Reality Collide
Part 7: Victims by Faith
By Louie Marsh, 7-13-2022

Intro. End of this series. Where to next?

³² And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— Hebrews 11:32 (ESV)

We saw last week that strength comes through weakness, this week we’re going to see that God defines victory a little bit differently than we do.

1) When you live by faith you don’t escape SUFFERING.

³⁵… Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. ³⁶ Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. Hebrews 11:35-36 (ESV)

‘Parisates, King of Persia, caused Roxana to be sawn in two, alive’; ‘Sabacus, King of Egypt, who received an order in a dream, to cut in two all the priests in his country.’

Roman Emperor Caius Caligula condemned to death many of his own relatives, suffered death by being sawn in two across the middle.

Of the two methods, lengthways or across the body, the thought of the saw penetrating the skull would seem to be the most horrific, yet that method at least brought total oblivion rather quicker than one’s torso being subdivided.

The Chinese, their victims being secured in a standing position, pinned between two wide boards firmly fixed between stakes driven deep into the ground. The two executioners, one on each side, would then wield a long, two-handled saw, working downwards through the boards, cleaving them and the enclosed victim into two halves. No lubrication for the saw was necessary.

Where are people suffering for their faith today?

Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Myanmar, Iran, Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria: These states exercise the greatest constraints on the freedom of religion, according to the report. In 64 other countries, significant restrictions by the government – anti-blasphemy legislation or privileges for certain communities – are verifiable. They include states with large populations like China, India and Russia. As a result, about 70 percent of the world population is subject to great or extreme restrictions.

https://www.dw.com/en/persecuted-christians-suffer-for-their-faith/a-17306297

This includes being REJECTED & CASTOUT.

They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Hebrews 11: 37-38 (ESV)

This is different from today’s emphasis in much of the church – for example here’s the lyrics to a new song by Kirk Franklin

Bless me!

[Verse 1: Mav City Gospel Choir, Kirk Franklin]
Bless me, bless me, bless me, God, indeed
Death has been defeated, He is our victory (Come on!)
Bless me, bless me, God, not just for me
But so everyone around me can have everything they need
(Let all these folks) Let all these folks that’s with me, God, have everything they need
(Sing it again) REPEAT

[Verse 2: Mav City Gospel Choir, Kirk Franklin]
Favor, favor (Woo!), let it fall on me
Till I’m the conversation of all my enemies (Woo!)
Favor, favor, God, not just for me
But so everyone around me can have everything they need
(Let all these folk) Let all these folks that’s with me, God, have everything they need
(Favor, favor, favor, favor) Favor, favor, let it fall on me
Till I’m the conversation of all my enemies (Come on)
Favor, favor, God, not just for me
But so everyone around me can have everything they need
(Let all these folk) Let all these folks that’s with me, God, have everything they need (Take it up, bless me)

[Interlude: Mav City Gospel Choir, Kirk Franklin]
Hey, hey, [?]
Persecuted, not abandoned
We got all that we need
Hey, hey, [?] (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Persecuted, not abandoned (Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go)
We got all that we need

[Chorus: Kirk Franklin, Mav City Gospel Choir]
Persecuted, not abandoned (We got everything we need)
Criticized, never forsaken (We got everything we need)
Because God’s a promise keeper (We got everything we need)
I got victory because (Our God’s got everything we need)
I shall live and not die (We got everything we need)
Because Jehovah’s by my side (We got everything we need)
Did I tell you He’s a friend of mine? (We got everything we need)
Lift Him up, lift Him up (Our God’s got everything we need)
Take it up, take it up (We got everything we need)
Take it up, take it up (We got everything we need)
Take it up, take it up (We got everything we need)
Yeah, take it up! (Our God’s got everything we need)
And I never should forget (We got everything we need)
He’s never failed me yet (We got everything we need)
Every trial, every test (We got everything we need)
We bless, we bless, we bless, we bless (Our God’s got everything we need)
We bless, we bless, we bless, we bless (We got everything we need)
We bless, we bless, we bless, we bless (We got everything we need)
We bless, we bless, we bless, we bless (We got everything we need)
Yeah, we bless, we bless! (Our God’s got everything we need)
Take it up! (We got everything we need)
We got everything we need (We got everything we need)
We got everything we need (We got everything we need)
We got everything we need (Our God’s got everything we need)
We got– (We got everything we need)
We got everything we need (We got everything we need)
We got every, every (We got everything we need)
Every, every (Our God’s got everything we need)
Ooh!

2) God ALLOWS His servants to suffer – remember Jesus?

³¹ And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. ³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” Luke 18:31-33 (ESV)

⁴⁰ and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹ Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. ⁴² And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. Acts 5:40-42 (ESV)

3) This rejection & suffering is the inevitable result of FOLLOWING JESUS.

¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15:19 (ESV)

This hurts but should be viewed as a BLESSING.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Matthew 5:11 (ESV)

This cannot hurt my relationship with God unless I LET IT.

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:35-37 (ESV)

4) Unlike the Old Testament people, we have received the promised GOSPEL.

³⁹ And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, Hebrews 11:39 (ESV)

²² But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Galatians 3:22 (NIV)

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Episode 255-Persecution – A New Testament Perspective

April 20, 2022 by discip23_wp

Disciple Up # 255
Persecution: A New Testament Perspective
By Louie Marsh

News Story Quoted:

https://www.christianpost.com/news/street-preacher-cleared-of-hate-speech-for-preaching-from-bible.html

What Does the New Testament Say About This?

“¹⁸“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³Whoever hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ ²⁶“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. ²⁷And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. ¹“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. ²They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. ³And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. ⁴But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.” (John 15:18–16:4, ESV)

“¹⁶“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ²⁰For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ²¹Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ²²and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:16–22, ESV)

“²⁹Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29–30, ESV)

“¹⁰You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. ¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:10–13, ESV)

“⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10, ESV)

“³that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. ⁴For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.” (1 Thessalonians 3:3–4, ESV)

“¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. ¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:12–17, ESV)

“¹⁶“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16, ESV)

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Episode 223

August 11, 2021 by discip23_wp

Disciple Up # 223

Persecution Watch, August 11^th, 2021

By Louie Marsh

https://www.christianpost.com/news/hindu-leader-calls-for-anti-christian-violence-in-india.html

https://www.christianpost.com/world/american-evangelist-jailed-in-uk-its-getting-very-bad-here.html

https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-antifa-christian-worship-event-clash-proud-boys

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/august/mozambique-insurgency-attacks-cabo-delgado-pastors-minister.html

“When we first arrived, our arms were crossed—we were sad and angry,” said another pastor whose family is still missing. He also asked that CT not print his name out of fear of further attacks. “But because we serve, we’re strong. Because we serve, we’re happy. In a time of difficulty or in a time of ease, we will serve the Lord.”

Yet another pastor, who has lost everything, said, “They can burn our houses, they can burn our food—but they cannot burn Jesus out of me.”

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Email – louie@discipleup.org

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Episode 212

May 26, 2021 by discip23_wp

Disciple Up # 212
I’m a Christian NOT a Victim!
By Louie Marsh, 5-26-2021

Intro. Picking up where yesterday’s sermon ends, the URL for it is below.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/christschurchontheriver/06_The_Gospel_of_John_1-7_Do_I_Want_to_Get_Well.mp3

I’m going to do some recapping of the early parts and then get into the main point here.

1) Do I REALLY WANT to get well?

⁵ One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” John 5:5-6 (NIV)

This may be the most profound question in the entire Bible. If it’s not then it’s certainly one of the most important and profound.

It seems like such a silly question to ask. Surely a man who had been disabled for that many years would love to be healed.

But the truth is, that many of us grow so accustomed to being sick or needy and the attention that it brings them that I’m not really sure that they want things to be any different.

Christ’s question to all of us this morning is “Do you want to get well?”

Some of us here today face serious physical illness. But many of us are not physically ill but have allowed other things to ruin our lives. Whether that’s alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sexual sin, pornography, greed, people pleasing, fear, etc. We all have to answer this question – Do I really want to get well, or have I become comfortable in my dysfunction and sin?

I have to move beyond just wanting the pain and discomfort to end. What Jesus wants to know is do I want to be well? Do I want to start down the road to becoming like Christ, the real road to recovery.

Is THAT what I want? Or do I just want a little relief from my pain?

2) SOME SIGNS I’M NOT SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING WELL.

I practice BLAME SHIFTING

⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” John 5:7 (ESV)

¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:12-13 (ESV)

I make EXCUSES.

- I have NO TALENT OR ABILITY.

But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O Lord, I’m just not a good speaker. I never have been, and I’m not now, even after you have spoken to me. I’m clumsy with words.” Exodus 4:10 (NLT)

- It’s TO HARD/DON’T KNOW HOW.

⁶ Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” Jeremiah 1:6 (ESV)

- I’m too BUSY.

²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Matthew 8:21 (ESV)

I use the GOD DODGE.

¹² And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” ¹³ And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” Judges 6:12-13 (ESV)

I play the VICTIM (FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF.)

² And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. ³ Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah 4:2-3 (ESV)

Thinking Biblically about suffering, rejection and all kinds of pain will require a major shift in our perspective.

“³⁸So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; ³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, ⁴⁰and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. ⁴²And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.” (Acts 5:38–42, ESV)

“¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:18–25, ESV)

“⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹For 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. ¹²So death is at work in us, but life in you.

¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:7–12, 16-18, ESV)

“²¹For to THIS you have been called, because Christ also SUFFERED for you, leaving you an example, so that you might FOLLOW IN HIS STEPS. ²²He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21–25, ESV)

“³¹What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31–39, ESV)

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Email – louie@discipleup.org

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Episode 208

April 28, 2021 by discip23_wp

Disciple Up # 208
A Disciple’s Identity Pt. 7: Blessed are the Peacemakers
By Louie Marsh, 4-28-2021

Blessed are the Peacemakers…

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 (ESV)

When you think of a peacemaker, what comes to mind? A diplomat trying to make peace between warring parties?

Or maybe it’s you trying keep the peace in your family between certain members who are always fighting

PEACEMAKER, pēsʹmāk-ẽr: Occurs only in the pl. (Mt 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers [eirēnopoioí]: for they shall be called sons of God” [who is “the God of peace”]). We have also what seems to be a reflection of this saying in Jas 3:18, “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for [RVm “by”] them that make peace” (toís poioúsin eirênēn)

In classical Gr a “peacemaker” was an ambassador sent to treat of peace. The word in Mt 5:9 would, perhaps, be better rendered “peace-workers,” implying not merely making peace between those who are at variance, but working peace as that which is the will of the God of peace for men

The peacemakers (οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί). Should be held to its literal meaning, peace-makers; not as Wyc., peaceable men. The founders and promoters of peace are meant; who not only keep the peace, but seek to bring men into harmony with each other. Tynd. renders, the maintainers of peace

PEACE

But before we can know what a peacemaker is we out to understand and define peace. What is peace? The absence of conflict or something more?

Peace can apply to us in at least three ways:

External – conflict between individuals or groups of people.

Internal – a lack of peace within myself.

Time – a lack of peace over my past.

BIBLE WORDS TRANSLATED PEACE:

(שָׁלוֹם, shalom; εἰρήνη, eirēnē). A pervasive concept in the Bible that most commonly relates to a relationship of love and loyalty with God and one another.

In the Old Testament, “peace” carries the fundamental meaning of welfare, prosperity, or wholeness as well as the absence of hostility (compare Westermann, “Peace [Shalom],” 20, 44–53). The term is frequently used as the antithesis of harm. – Greever, J. M. (2016). Peace. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Peace in the New Testament

The Graeco-Roman concept of peace held various nuances. For example, the Homeric literature portrayed peace as an ideal state that a hero achieved through war. This led to the common adage, “If you wish peace, prepare for war” (compare Vegetius, Concerning Military Affairs III [preface]). On the other hand, the Stoics conceived of peace as an inward tranquility. The New Testament concept of peace shows dependence on the Semitic understanding of peace rather than the Graeco-Roman conception. In the New Testament, the concept of peace is consistent with the Old Testament in that it refers to prosperity, which climaxes in the peace the Messiah brings. – Greever, J. M. (2016). Peace. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

UNDERLYING IMPORTANT ISSUE:

Notice how God is always concerned with making us one, helping us become one. Throughout the Bible He continually stresses one!

“⁴There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4–6, ESV)

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, Ephesians 2:14-15 (ESV)

The unity God wants isn’t just because it would be nice, but because it grows out of and is a reflection of, GOD’S VERY NATURE.

“²¹that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:21–23, ESV)

Because I’m at peace with God I want others to BE AT PEACE with Him.

I make peace like Jesus did – inviting people to CONNECT WITH JESUS.
Because I follow the Prince of Peace I SEEK TO LIVE IN PEACEwith everyone.

¹⁴ Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (ESV)

¹⁹ So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:19 (ESV)

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH is part of peacemaking.

³ Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 1:3 (ESV)

“³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34–39, ESV)

4) I’m called a Child of God because I CARRY HIS PEACE WITHIN me and always seek to LIVE IT OUT.

¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:18 (ESV)

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Episode 196

January 27, 2021 by discip23_wp

Tales From the Scrypt # 196
50 Most Dangerous Countries to Follow Jesus In 2021
By Louie Marsh, 1-27-2021

Links to articles read from in show:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/january/christian-persecution-2021-countries-open-doors-watch-list.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/13/christian-persecution-rises-as-people-refused-aid-in-covid-crisis-report

Next Week – Stay Hungry, Disciple’s Identity

“¹⁸“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³Whoever hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’” (John 15:18–25, ESV)