#persecution

[thewordfortheday]

“No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.” John 15:20

Jesus wasn't spared, He was persecuted even to the point of death. God's people have been persecuted right through the ages. You may think, that doesn't happen anymore. Even today, some of our Christian brothers and sisters face death every single day. 

While you and I are worried about trivial matters like "what to wear" or "what to eat", many of our fellow believers are paying the ultimate price for following Jesus. 

Every day I get messages from "Persecution Relief" requesting prayer for various pastors and missionaries, wrongly convicted under various charges. Let's take a few moments to pray for the persecuted believers, for boldness and strength.

[philosophybits]

It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster.

Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique

[internetcatholicism]

[alethianightsong]

"The prince with a thousand enemies" quote hits different when you're marginalized

The full quote is like 80% despair and 20% hope. Basically, God says to the semi-divine Prince of Rabbits "everything in this world wants to catch and kill you. But while you are powerless, you are not helpless. Run fast, hide well, warn and help others like you and you will never be erased from this earth." El-ahrairah is not given weapons but tools to help him and his people survive (claws to dig havens, ears to listen, legs to run, feet to thump and warn). And despite how hard it is for him to survive, despite all his enemies, he is still noble, admirable and possessing dignity. He is a Prince.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

[eretzyisrael]

Source

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Ronald Seth - In The Name Of The Devil - Tower - 1969

[apenitentialprayer]

You know, I like the "My brother in Christ, who killed them?" jokes about Anglican veneration of Catholics martyred during the English Reformation as much as the next guy, but...

... you know, there is something to be said about a church that can look at the ugliness of its past and go "You know, those people we oppressed were actually vindicated. We were wrong to do that." And that's not to say that Catholics never do that (John of the Cross and Joan of Arc come to mind), but. I don't know.

[frank-o-meter]

[aniah-who]

Guide them,

Direct them,

Comfort them,

And protect them,

Lord.

[odinsblog]

Russia first occupied the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol in early March 2022. And Russian Secret Services, after persecuting pro-Ukrainian activists, former government officials and human rights defenders, have since targeted the churches and their pastors and congregants.

All across Russian-occupied Ukraine, soldiers are shutting down places of worship that don't fit the world Vladimir Putin wants to build.

(continue reading)

[greater-than-the-sword]

For those of you who are aware of David Wood, you know of course that he and his equally famous friend Nabeel Qureshi are no longer on YouTube, first because Nabeel passed away, and 2ndly because David Wood had become primarily interested in evangelizing to Muslims, and YouTube decided to pull down and censor a lot of his videos for being critical of Islam. David Wood's videos are now on a privately hosted website.

His former channel, however, with its massive follower count, was turned over to another colleague of his named Hatun Tash. Ms. Tash is also an evangelist to Muslims. Her channel claims she has, "in a 3-year period, brought 1,000 Muslims to Jesus Christ, including 17 imams." She has survived 2 attempts on her life by certain radical muslims who seem dedicated to trying to assassinate her.

On December 21st, the Youtube channel Hatun Tash DCCI Ministries livestreamed a video. The man on this video, as you can clearly see, is not Ms. Tash, but her friend Dr. Jay Smith who reports that Hatun Tash has been missing for over a month and has not contacted anyone, even her own team.

For some reason, the police keep shutting down missing persons reports on her.

They are now asking people, especially in the UK, to help find her since the police are of no use and also put political pressure on the authorities to investigate. She was last seen in the UK (apparently in London?) on November 19th.

See the linked video and video description for more information

[weirdlookindog]

Persecution (1974) - Italian poster

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Who Can Separate Us from God's Love?

35 Who can separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or hard times or harm or hunger? Can nakedness or danger or war? 36 It is written,

“Because of you, we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be killed.” (Psalm 44:22)

37 No! In all these things we are more than winners! We owe it all to Christ, who has loved us. 38 I am absolutely sure that not even death or life can separate us from God’s love. Not even angels or demons, the present or the future, or any powers can separate us. 39 Not even the highest places or the lowest, or anything else in all creation can separate us. Nothing at all can ever separate us from God’s love. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done. — Romans 8:35-39 | New International Reader's Version (NIRV) New International Reader’s Version Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. All rights reserved worldwide. Cross References: Psalm 44:11; Psalm 44:22; Song of Solomon 3:4; Romans 1:7; Romans 2:9; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:1; Romans 14:7; Galatians 2:20; Revelation 1:5

Read full chapter

Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ

[staticoath]

hatred

i know you hate me

i can see it in your eyes

i know you hate me

it shines through your so called disguise

i know you hate me

despite all the sugar coated lies

i know you hate me

you just await my demise

i know you hate me

and yet i can't leave your side