From Dispirited Followers to Believers Unto Death

by Chuck Ness

Almost 2000 years ago, there were eleven men who had abandoned their leader in his time of need. Twelve men, if you count the one who betrayed him with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver. The rest scattered as HE was arrested, scourged and then lifted like a snake in the desert. For three years these men clung to their leader, absorbing HIS every Word as HE traveled around teaching and performing miracles. They watched as HE healed paraplegics, cured those with leprosy, gave sight to the blind, and untied the tongues of the mute. They even witnessed HIM bringing back to life a friend who's body was so dead it smelled of rotting flesh.

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
John 11:38-39

It must be stated that the followers would have known about the three times in Israel's past when a Prophet raised someone who was dead back to life. Yet in all of three cases the time of death was within a 24 hour period. The first time was when the prophet Elijah brought a widow's son back to life. (1 Kings 16:17-24). The second time was when his disciple, Elisha, raised the Shunammite woman's son from the dead. (2 Kings 4:18-37). The last time was the day a dead man's body was tossed into Elijah's tomb. The very moment the man's body touched Elisha's bones he came back to life. (2 kings 13:20-21)

Persecuted For My Name’s Sake

Pastor Yohan Maria murdered in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh India

Some will take this as an anti-pretribulation rapture post, but it is not. My opinion on ones view of the end times is that it has no bearing upon one's salvation, so why waste your time thinking about it? My point for this post is about those who think they will not be persecuted. Which in and of itself goes against the teachings of the One we put our faith in, Jesus Christ.

by Chuck Ness

What has become one of my biggest pet peeves in Christianity these days, is how so many of my Christian brethren pray they will not be left behind or persecuted for their faith. It bugs me, because nowhere do you read that the early church believed that their persecutions would cease in this World. Thus they may have prayed for protection, but they also understood they would eventually suffer for Christ. Instead, when they were persecuted, they actually felt blessed to be persecuted. Being persecuted is the cost of doing GOD's will. So like the early Christians, we should consider it an honor to be persecuted for Christ. After all, GOD considered His Son worthy to be persecuted and sacrificed for us.

Now I do not claim we should never pray for the safety of ourselves and others, but to do so with the expectation you will never be persecuted in this World for following Jesus is not what we are told. Do you believe that those in China, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, North Korea, and other places do not pray for their safety? Of course they do, but they also realize that they will continue to be persecuted. For those of us in America, the writing is on the wall that, one day soon we too shall be persecuted in similar extreme ways we see our brothers and sisters around the World being persecuted.

Rush Limbaugh, A Picture Worth A Million Words

In his September 2017 issue of the Limbaugh letter, Rush wrote the following.

"The democrat Party is seen by more and more people as a Bullying Bog Government brute. Democrat policies aren't working for the people - they fail, every time they're tried. That's what the Republicans are missing! They're blowing the greatest chance imaginable to deal a lethal blow electorally, to reduce the Democrats to a weak, hallowed-out shadow of their former status for a generation."