Persecution

Courage

[244 words] In the year 404 a monk by the name Telemachus traveled to Rome and was shocked beyond measure at the cruelty of the gladiatorial contests. Telemachus leaped over the railing of the Coliseum and tried to stop the gladiator s from hacking themselves to pieces by repeated cries of “In the name of…

Conforming to the World

[562 words] One of the most horrific crimes in the history of Israel took place in the days of the weeping prophet Jeremiah. The people built “the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal” (Jer. 19:5). How could God’s people have done something this barbaric? The Lord…

Are You at a Loss?

[559 words] Paul said, “We are perplexed, but not in despair” (2 Cor. 4:8). The word perplexed means more than just being puzzled. It comes from aporeo which means “to be at loss with one’s self, be in doubt; not to know how to decide or what to do, to be perplexed” (Thayer, 66). We…

Caught Talking to God

[168 words] Two boys were put in I.S.S. (in school suspension). The one boy asked, “Whatcha in for?” “I got caught talking to Bill. You?” “I got caught talking to God.” Strange how talking to God can get one into trouble, especially when you consider all the benefits it affords. Martin Luther once said, “The…

How You Live

[203 words] I grew up with ESPN’s Sportscenter as a part of my morning routine. I always wanted to see what Michael Jordan, Tom Glavine, Cal Ripken, the Tennessee Vol football team, etc. had accomplished the night before. Stuart Scott made ESPN fun for me. At the July 16, 2014 ESPY awards, Scott remarked on…

Are You Ready?

One of the questions that is asked frequently in my house is, “Are You Ready?” It is a question of preparation that always comes before something that is about to happen. This question is asked before we do a number of physical things: before leaving the house, before bedtime, before meals, before school, before sports,…

Withstand the Ridicule

[300 words] The first surviving visual representation of Jesus’ crucifixion comes from graffiti scratched on a stone in a guardroom on Palatine Hill near the Circus Maximus in Rome. (Open your web browser and Google ”The Alexamenos Graffito.”) It is a crude drawing of a man with the head of a donkey hanging on a…

How to Face Fiery Trials

[373 words] The Roman Emperor Nero began persecuting Christians on a very horrible and violent level. Tacitus, the Roman historian, records that “Nero falsely accused and executed with the most exquisite punishments those people called Christians…And perishing they were additionally made into sports: they were killed by dogs by having the hides of beasts attached…

In Season, Out of Season

On his second missionary journey, Paul came to the city of Philippi. There, while worshiping by the river, he met and baptized Lydia. But not all in Philippi listened to Paul and he was falsely accused of “troubling the city” (Acts 16:20). Beaten and thrown into prison, Paul and Silas did not let persecution stop…