A BLOG FOR THE DAY BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS AND ELECTION DAY

From Christians United Church, Indianapolis

Anybody besides me aware that the first Sunday of November is International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians (IDOP)? I  hope so! But here's the next question that just hit me this week: How many people realize that 6 out of 7 years IDOP takes place two days before Election Day? That's right. Unless Election Day falls on November 2nd (due to it being the Tuesday following the first Monday of the month), it's a pair of days following IDOP.

Coincidence? Is there a message to the timing? Maybe it is coincidental and unplanned, but still something to think about?

I have a friend who tried to convince me that if I voted for Trump, our freedoms and way of life are at risk. He was right. I voted for Trump, and our freedoms and way of life are at risk. 

Okay, am I overstating it? True, I'm not sure our country can survive a Biden Presidency. I also had my doubts of our freedom lasting eight years of Obama, and sixteen years before that, it was Clinton that terrified me. And even if those fears were/are justified, isn't that worry a lack of faith?

But, returning to the theme of IDOP, we have no guarantees we won't face persecution in this country. After all, Russia was a major center of Christianity before the Communist takeover. We also need to realize that Persecution doesn't usually surprise everybody and appear at full strength unannounced. Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) says there are three steps: Disinformation, Discrimination, and then Persecution. Kyle Idleman of Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY) had a similar list, with five steps.

Let's look at the VOM list. Is there disinformation going on concerning Christianity? You notice how often there are negative portrayals of Christians in television and movies? I saw a lousy movie where one of the characters was a clergyman. At the end where they revealed who the villain was - a motorcycle riding serial killer with the visor down -  it was ... you guessed it. 

I hear some claiming there's already discrimination. Some may be people with a persecution process. But John MacArthur pointed out that during COVID, many businesses including bars and gentlemen's clubs were essential but churches were not and were told they could not meet or sing. Is this a form of discrimination?

A week ago I reviewed Caesar and the Church by Anthony Forsyth, which dealt with the problem of Statism. Libertarians have focused on that for years. Do I trust our two-party system to fight Statism? You kidding? My impression is that the Democrat Party has an agenda it wants to force on the country, while the Republican Party's goal is to keep the Dems from achieving their agenda without having one of their own.  

The Church, as usual, is facing a three prong human attack (not counting the Spiritual War that's behind the scenes on all three fronts). They are from:

1. From aliens/outsiders. No, we don't need to fear Martians or Darth Vader or little green men in flying saucers. I'm talking about outside the country. Should we feel we are safe from Russia or Iran or NoKo or China from attacking us, either directly or via a new killer virus (some consider COVID19 to be a test) or frying our grid by exploding a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere. 
2. From unbelievers in our own country/family. This includes government. This includes special interest groups. This includes the Media (both news and entertainment). This includes the re-education system. 
3. From wolves in the fold. Yes, a lot of the opposition of true faith is in the church itself. There are those who reject the inspiration of Scripture and have a belief that doesn't challenge the philosophy of the world. There are cults and -isms that oppose solid Biblical teaching such as salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and the Deity of Christ. There are those who are comfortable in the world and feel threatened by Christians who make following Christ their focus.