You are almost close!

In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize that he is near — at the door. Matthew 24:33.

The world is in utmost confusion, Christians are the focus everywhere. All religions, governments and political parties want to eliminate Christians from the face of the earth. Let's see some statistics that bring home this truth both internationally and nationally:

According to world watch list 11 persons are killed daily for their faith. If you follow the world news 215 million Christians faced persecution in 2018, and it was estimated that 245 million will suffer in 2019, according to Open Doors — a 14% increase, that represents 30 million more people abused for their faith. This means that "1 in 9 Christians experience high levels of persecution worldwide" (world watch list 2019)

Accordingly to Wikipedia, In August 2017, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) ranked India’s persecution severity at “Tier 2” along with Iraq and Afghanistan.

Over the past seven years, India has risen from No. 31 to No. 10 on Open Doors' World Watch List, ranking just behind Iran in persecution severity. As of 2019, USCIRF repeatedly placed India as Tier-2 in minority persecution. India estimated Christians, 65,061,000 and it is in the 10th place of Persecution severity.

Coming to our nation, India; Persecution Relief has recorded 330 incidents of hate crime against Christians in 2016, 440 incidents in 2017, 477 incidents in 2018 and till September 2019 they have recorded 349 incidents of Christian Persecution against Christians in India.

What does it all converge to, nothing but a sober reminder His coming is almost close. If you notice Jesus while training his disciples and sending the disciples to share the gospel and about the kingdom of God, He was almost preparing them for intense persecution and warned them not to give up, because of what they are going to face. Observe Jesus' saying,  "Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul;  rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.". Matthew 10:28 CSB. You and I may try fighting against persecution by every means, but honestly you cannot do away with persecution.

Let me remind you once again on some basic facts: watch out to hold on to your faith till the end for Jesus said, "But the one who endures to the end will be saved.". Matthew 10:22 CSB

Life is going to be extremely difficult Matthew 24:21; 10:22, John 16:33 & I die daily 1 Cor 15:31.

Love of many will grow cold, as a result, hypocrisy and superficiality will be rampant. Matthew 24:12 & 1 Timothy 4:1-3

Even the elect and spiritual giants will fall prey to deception Matthew 24:24

You will cease to exist in this earth one day, for sure. Hebrew 9:27.

Only if you are prepared will hear the sound of the trumpet and be gathered to meet him ( in rapture) Matthew 24:31.

You will be surprised either being taken up or left behind. Matthew 7:21-23 & Luke 17:35

The coming of the Lord is very very near. Matthew 24:33, James 5:8 & Revelation 3:11.

But do you have a hope in what you go through? Definitely yes! Because we will be soon reaching a place where neither tears nor any pain exists (Revelation 21:4). And most importantly we will reign with Him for ever and ever (Revelation 22:5).

May the Lord help us to stay watchful and stay blameless. You have a mission;  fulfilling the great commission.

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Are you prepared to be persecuted and killed”- Jesus said it.

As strange as it seems there are undeniable truths which are rarely articulated and sometimes deliberately pushed under the carpet. I am sure you would agree with me that we have already stepped into a dreadful era where Christians are the target of violence all over. Things are culminating towards the prophetic end. I am personally inspired to pick on this very important topic to sensitize everyone including me. This is about God's truthfulness while He declared on some of the things which unsettles our comfort zone.  Apart from the promised pronouncement of blessings like abundance, refilling, refueling, extension of the territory there are also other things that will happen to “Christians” who in all sense determine to live as true disciples. 

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“Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.”.Matthews 24:9 (CSB)

In Spite of Christian agencies advocating the security of Christians, persecution is definite and would only stand to increase rapidly. Few may be rescued but a large number will be persecuted and die with increased intensity as promised by our Lord Jesus Christ. Mind, not even one disciple of Jesus was spared from the martyr's death, in fact their death was cruel and gruesome incomprehensible to our human existence. This takes us back to the core principle of evangelism found in John 12:24, where Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”, there ends the matter. He further takes people to the past, giving an example in Matthews 5:12 “…For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”. Church history is the witness where it gives us proof that many are giving their lives to Jesus from the place where people where martyred for the sake of the gospel. Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians induces the spirit of Martyrdom, “You fool what you sow does not come to life unless it dies”. (1 Corinthians 15:36)

“In fact, all who want to live a godly life will be persecuted.”. 2 Timothy 3:12. (CSB)

Apostle Paul is leading us one step forward by declaring the challenges and the cost one has to pay to live and lead a godly life. This means those of us who claim to be His disciples will be tested. We will have to pay a cost to be a Christian. It is high time to shed all hypocrisy and complacency and build our determination in Christ. The Bible says, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”. Matthews 24:13. Our Lord God will definitely be with us while we have to undergo excruciating challenges.

What you become in the end matters. Dallas Willard puts it beautifully “What matters is not the accomplishments you achieve, what matters is the person you become.”   India ranks 11^th in terms of persecution (according to world watch data) towards Christians, it is spreading like a wild fire. I kindly request you to share testimonies and prayer requests from any portal or source that can keep Christians informed, motivated and pray unceasingly for our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are being persecuted. Prepare the churches on this important matter so that people can come out from their comfort zone and be strongly built in Christ for higher immunity. Jesus promised, “..You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”. John 16:33 (CSB)

I am attaching a video which speaks about persecution and its implication to a Christian in the most clear and simple way:

Blessings.

Deciding to be silent and remain comfortable?

If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” Esther 4:14 CSB 

We learn about the cruelty, planned against the Jews where the government (King) was convinced that the Jews were no good and follow entirely different law contrary to the norms and pattern of the nation. It just talks about anti-Semitism. What does it mean? It means the intense dislike for and prejudice against Jewish people.

 Anti-Semitism is not a recent phenomenon. Here in the book of Esther, set in the fifth century BC, we read of appalling anti-Semitism. Haman wanted to ‘annihilate all the Jews – young and old, women and little children – on a single day… and to plunder their goods’ (Esther 3:13). Haman estimated that he would be able to extort 375 tons of silver including all their possession and deposit in the king's treasury which convinced the king. It is extremely fearful to imagine such a decree was passed by the then government to get rid of the Jews and plunder their resources.

Isn't there an eerie resemblance to our present day's context? We see and hear in many places of our nation and in the world, radicals and powerful governments wanting to get rid of the Christians. There are subtle plots and in some cases, open ones to curb the privileges of Christians and persecute them in all possible manner; even though there are some Christians in powerful and influencing positions refusing to speak about it. How do Christians and leaders handle such context?  Should Christians just pray for justice and leave the rest to God?

That’s not what the Bible asks us to do. Instead Hebrews 11:33 tells us that we are God’s hands for dispensing justice and God uses us to “administer justice.”Prayer and action has to always go together. Is there a way Christians can come together to pray as a Church or community and do something about it? Or like most we think we are in a comfortable position and scared we may end up disturbing our comfort and security. We may even be wondering what if we are left alone fighting the battle without the support of fellow Christians or the faint doubt if God will actually make things happen, can linger in our minds. 

In the book of Esther when the decree was passed to annihilate the Jews we read Esther was informed by her uncle about the grave situation and at the same time also challenged her to get in action and not remain comfortable in the position she got into. We all know the story very well, Esther thereafter refused to remain comfortable. She decides to take a risk by planning to save her own people by influencing the king with honest report. Prayer was in the forefront but then the plan of action was not very far. Esther used a brilliant mixture of bravery, faith and skill. She had a discretion to find the right time to enter the presence of the King and get the attention from him. God at the same time was doing His part to Grant her favor in all the steps. This is exactly the Holistic gospel Esther lived. Every bit of the story is so dramatic thereafter. The Bible says in (Esther 9:1) "....just the opposite happened.." One person's willingness to stand daringly made an unimaginable difference to the whole Jewish clan. Is it not a strong emphasis on God's power and grandeur for saving the people from complete destruction?

 We read in Mathew 23:23 Jesus telling the teachers of law that they have neglected the more important matters of law, justice, mercy and faithfulness. The gospel that Jesus announced and lived was not only about rescuing and healing individuals; it was also about helping the poor and the needy and at the same time dismantling the oppressive systems of the world—spiritual, religious, political, economic, cultural, and so on, be it the individuals or Church.

Choosing to be silent and doing nothing about a situation which demands action is not a, measure to assure security for us and to our families. If God has kept us in a leadership position or in the area of influence, it is to be a blessing in our communities and in the nation in every possible manner. Do we have a plan or strategy? 

Blessings