Thursday, November 17, 2011

FEED ME TO THE LIONS!

It's a bold statement! Can you imagine someone saying that? Did you know early Christians were fed to lions and stoned to death for saying they were Christians. These courageous Christians risked everything and knew full well that they could be put to death for what they believed in. Even today in some countries, you can be beat, tortured, imprisoned, and even put to death for saying you're a follower of Jesus Christ. It's hard to imagine someone dying for what they believe in. The question is why would you die? Or if faced with death just say I'm not a believer. Look at Peter when Jesus was facing trial and going to be crucified, he denied that he was a follower...to the point of cursing to prove it. You would think that when someone brings you an ultimatum of dying or denouncing your religion, that you would gladly say your right. I would rather live. It's easier to be Christian when you have no adversity. It's easier to say I love Jesus when you're not being stoned because of Him. The truth is that early Christians so strongly believed in Jesus and His Church that they fearlessly spread the gospel knowing full well the implications it had by doing so. They had a radical and sacrificial love for Jesus and for people. They allowed the Holy Spirit to come into their lives and transform them.

So how does this statement affect us today? We have a freedom in the United States that we can speak about our religion without any repercussions as far as being put to death. But do we? Are we like the early Church risking everything to help people get saved? I believe because we have that freedom that we don't want to offend anybody. We all know of people that are non-believers. We all have friends who we would like to see give their lives to Christ but at the risk of offending them or pushing them away, we don't! Compare this generation to that of the early Christians and I say we have a huge advantage over them. Why? Because of social networking. We have Twitter, Facebook, and Internet. Where we can reach people for Christ at a much faster rate. Facebook in particular; you have friends that do not know Christ yet you don't invite them to Church or tell them about Christ. You would rather preserve the friendship than trying to help them gain their salvation.

There are 3 things that I want people to take from this article. 1. Is that we need to be bold and courageous and speak up for God. Jesus said it himself "If you deny me in front of man. I will deny you in front of my Father" Matthew 10:33. 2. we need to have the same kind of radical and sacrificial love the early Christians had for Jesus, Church, and People. Not to be afraid to love someone that's different. The truth is that everyone needs love and all it takes is for you and I to show it. Take Jesus for instance. He washed His disciples feet. This is the Lord, God's own son, and our Savior washing feet. We need to demonstrate that same love for people. Lastly, we need to use what we have to influence others. The world cares about athletes, celebrities, politicians, and leaders to put on the news and magazines. But we have that same type of influence to the people around us. Again, going to Facebook you have the power to spread the Gospel and Impact lives. But, are you doing it or are you worried about saying something that will cause you to be dropped from your friends list? We need to stop being scared Christians and be willing to be stoned for what we believe in. "If the world hates you remember that it hated me first" John 15:18 Powerful words by Jesus Himself.

So what are you doing with your life? As for me I want to make such an impact for the Gospel and for what I believe in that if the enemy saw me they would FEED ME TO THE LIONS!

1 comment:

  1. Your passion is wonderful and your point is right on. Pchz

    ReplyDelete