“1 About that time King Herod cruelly attacked some who belonged to the church, 2 and he killed James, John’s brother, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was being made earnestly to God for him by the church.”

Acts 12:1-5

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Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this world, but that we should take heart, He has overcome the world. He also told us that the world would hate us as it hated Him. James, John’s brother, son of Zebedee, one of the “Sons of Thunder” was killed cruelly by a morally compromised puppet king. Such an ignominus death for one of the Lord’s Apostles. But honor was not going to be found coming from a Herod, or from the authorities of the day. Obviously, their concern was more with pleasing the crowd than doing what was right. They didn’t want to be convicted, they didn’t want to hear any mor about Jesus or the truth of God’s Word. They wanted to follow their own personal passions, and they didn’t mind the cost.

There were times when this scenario still sounded like something from the distant past, but anymore, today, this could e happenening anywhere at anytime. Churches are not seen as sacred spaces anymore. There is no respect for life. No honor among men. People do as they see fit, and they don’t want to hear the truth. We are living in the days of the Judges again. But rather than an individual prophet or leader, God has ordained His church to stand up and speak truth. He has ordained His church to be the ones who show a respect for all races, who speak truth into the world’s lies, who stand as the standard bearers for His cause. And the world isn’t going to like it any more than they did 4000 years ago or even 2000 years ago. We should be ready to expect trouble.

There are political & social “leaders” who seem to like the reaction they get in the U.S. when the put down the ‘religious’ and when they insult God’s people. They seek to criminalize us and marginalize us, and in reality, the times are not all that different different. While they will not put to us the physical sword here, yet, they will do what they can to use the political system and the culture itself to silence us, to shame us into being quiet. In this world, today, you will have trouble. Are you ready to still stand up, to GoLove and share the Good News, even though the world doesn’t want to believe that it’s good news anymore? Are you ready to be bold, to break free from the bonds of the social prison we are being put into? Are you ready to break free from the “American Dream” in order to live the life that Christ Jesus has ordained for you instead? Are you ready to take this seriously, sacrifice, and dig in with people, serving, teaching, baptizing? Are you ready to quit trying to just go along with the flow and hope you don’t rock the boat? Are you ready to live the life of a disicple, and just follow the Master wherever He leads you because you just love Him so much? Are you ready to die to self to see this happen?

Take heart! He has overcome the world, and He has given us the authority to give the world that Good News!