PERSECUTION
So I was recently flipping around my copy of "Discipleship Journal" and it didn't take long to get to something that peaked my curiosity (really peaked it). In fact two things on the same page but this quote by a leader of a Chinese house-church just really got me:
"Stop praying for persecution in China to end ... We, in fact, are praying that the American church might taste the same persecution so revival would come [there] like we have seen China."
To me this goes back to something I heard a while ago about when was the last time we, as Christians, have let the world "see us" for who we are instead of shying away and backing down into our own "Christian Corner" and taken any criticism head-on. I'm not even talking about dying but rather just simple ridicule.
All too often Christians look weak, pathetic and lame because we are fearful of what the result might be when people find out that we love God and follow Christ. If we are not excited about who we are and what we follow, then why should anybody we influence be? The questions are: at what cost are you willing to follow him? How much are you willing to give up?
"Stop praying for persecution in China to end ... We, in fact, are praying that the American church might taste the same persecution so revival would come [there] like we have seen China."
To me this goes back to something I heard a while ago about when was the last time we, as Christians, have let the world "see us" for who we are instead of shying away and backing down into our own "Christian Corner" and taken any criticism head-on. I'm not even talking about dying but rather just simple ridicule.
All too often Christians look weak, pathetic and lame because we are fearful of what the result might be when people find out that we love God and follow Christ. If we are not excited about who we are and what we follow, then why should anybody we influence be? The questions are: at what cost are you willing to follow him? How much are you willing to give up?
posted by Stephen Hinkel at
7:36 AM
1 Comments:
How right you are Stephen.... and how we as American's fear suffering too, but it is exactly what we are to encounter if we are Christ followers. I'm sitting here at Rockettown in downtown Nashville on break from the Passion 06 conference and I have really been struck how "spoiled" we are as Christians in America. One of the speakers today said that America is one of the easiest and hardest places to be a Christian today. We have so many freedoms, but many of us fail to completely realize what being a true follower of Christ means because we are so COMFORTABLE in life. Okok.. I could rant forever here... but I think I will save that for my blog when I get home. I just wanted to say right on man. This would be an interesting topic to hit on some evening at neveaH. Ok.. back to the gran ol opery for me. See ya later.
By
Jen, at 2:24 PM
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