Matthew 13:20-21
The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone
who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.According to Wikipedia, "The persecution of Christians is
the religious persecution that Christians have endured as a consequence of
professing their faith, both historically and in the current era. In the two
thousand years of the Christian faith, about 70 million believers, of whom 65%
lived in the twentieth century, have been killed for their faith." Someone
right now is dying for their faith in Christ, while others are imprisoned and
tortured as we speak.
An early Christian leader named Tertullian (164-200AD) declared:
“Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust. The more you mow us down,
the more we grow, for the seed of the church is the blood of the Christians.
Every single drop of our blood springs up, in some thirty, in some sixty and in
some and hundred-fold.”
There are times in our lives when we must make a stand. There is
no room to give in to the urge to cut and run in cowardly retreat!
One of those times is now! The Christian church is under attack
by those who are afraid. Why are so many afraid? Faith is being undermined by
the power of darkness dwelling in the hearts of those who would rather believe
in themselves than God. They want to be known as ‘self-made’. They are capable of making their own decisions regarding
eternity, they think. These folks don’t realise that this decision is not their
own, if the God of creation is not involved the only alternative is Satan and
death.
We do have a say in how we will spend eternity, we can choose
life by following Jesus, who redeemed us by His blood. Or we can choose death
by following Satan who never died for anybody but who is alert for anyone who
rejects the Saviour.
The persecution of Christians is gathering momentum, easily seen
by the numbers turning from the saving power of Jesus’ blood to follow the darkness
which is causing the voices of people to reject God’s word by removing passages
they don’t like and changing other passages to reflect agreement with the way
the evil one wants us all to live.
We must let prayer be the watchword for all who will follow the
Son of God. We have the Holy Spirit to help us with the prayers needed. The
Spirit can ease our prayers by speaking to the Father in words we cannot even
pronounce.
Give thanks for the continued presence of Father, Son and holy
Spirit in our lives. The living God will never let us down, if we trust Him, he
will be with us, and His protection is ours.
Prayer
Lord God as we look around and see the decay of faith gaining
pace. A lot of this loss of belief may be due to fear of persecution by the
followers of the darkness which is gaining strength daily. However, it may also
be that many would rather follow the gods of self-indulgence. Help us to avoid
the traps of false gods and to keep our eyes on the cross of Your Son Jesus, in
the knowledge that this is the only way to be saved. May Thy will be done
always, amen
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