Intolerance

Matthew 24:9-13

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

When we heard recently that the First Minister of Scotland was resigning, many I am sure gave the matter only a casual glance. There might be disappointment or pleasure depending on your politics, but what has happened is that — with the reaction to a strongly Christian candidate putting her name forward for the First Minister role — Our Lord has highlighted for all Christians, precisely where present day attitudes are when it comes to Faith, and many, it seems, now positively discriminate against Christian views

Peter Horrobin of Ellel Ministries said this in his blog post, which you may find illuminating…

HATED?

“You will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matthew 24:9)

In the end-times we will need to get used to the fact that Jesus was right! Believers who remain faithful to Jesus and the Word of God will be under constant attack from the liberal wokery that is now prevalent across society, and which it is so easy for the church to bow down to, in an attempt to make itself acceptable to an unbelieving world. Sadly, compromising on truth only makes the church less noticeable and less relevant, as the borderlines between faith and apostasy become ever more blurred.
This past week the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) stood down as the First Minister of Scotland. Immediately, the race for a successor began and one of the leading contenders is Kate Forbes, a young very committed, born-again believer. A remarkable article in the London Daily Telegraph asked some telling questions, “Is she too Christian to lead a political party? . . . Does her faith debar her from public office? . . . . It’s dangerous now to hold old-fashioned views on marriage, gender and abortion.” A spokesman for the SNP is quoted as saying, “There will be a massive campaign against her, particularly by the woke crowd, because of her religious beliefs.”
Without realizing it, the Telegraph writers were simply recognizing that what Jesus said all those years ago is coming true. The world hates truth and while people will patronize Jesus by saying he was a good man with teaching worth hearing and following, they will not tolerate any intrusion of Biblical truth into the affairs of a world that has not only lost its moral compass, but in which most people seem to have no desire to find it again.
The article also asked another telling question: if it’s OK to have a devout Hindu as the Prime Minister of England, why wouldn’t it be OK to have a devout Christian as the First Minister of Scotland? The difference is simple, real Christian faith is not a religion with a set of steps to appease God, but a relationship in which the price of having a relationship with Him has already been paid by Jesus on the cross. Through ownership of our sin and repentance, we receive new life and have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to overcome it. Jesus said he was THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life. The plumbline of truth which hangs from the cross is offensive to those whose lifestyle is challenged by the central tenets of the Christian faith.
Christian truth is not just a system of beliefs, only of relevance to an inner circle of believers and which don’t have any significance for everyone else – the teachings of God’s Word are applicable to the whole world, believers and unbelievers alike. So, when a Christian says what they believe, and those beliefs cut across the liberal secularism of society, there is an instant reaction, prompted by the god of this world, which, in recent years, has cost people their jobs and caused many believers to be dragged through the courts, just because they hold to Biblical truth without compromising what they believe. Our post-Christian, so-called liberal, society breeds hostile intolerance.
I suggest that, whatever our political thinking may be, we should be praying for Kate Forbes. In an interview to the BBC she said, “I believe in the person of Jesus Christ. I believe that he died for me, he saved me and that my calling is to serve and to love him and to serve and love my neighbours.” Wow! Since when have we ever heard a politician in the UK speak such truth to the media! Or, even more significantly, since when have we ever heard the national leaders of our churches, certainly in Britain, share such a clear testimony with the media and the world?
All the nations of the western world, the nations who in recent centuries have been the preservers of Christian truth in their governance of the people, are falling like dominos into a godless hole. The end of the age is closing in, Jesus told us to rejoice and keep watch with prayers that focus on the signs of the times and on those who are prepared to be a light shining in the darkness so that the light will not be put out by the enemies of truth, but will shine ever brighter in a darkening world. As the darkness gets darker so the light of Jesus will shine brighter. If He is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself.
Another political commentator was even brave enough to say that it would be a dark day for the world if a Christian believer was debarred from office simply because of their faith. Yes, indeed

by PETER HORROBIN
of Ellel Ministries

MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS

PSALM 25:18-20
Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with cruel hatred.
Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.

BEGINNING AND END — Eden’s Bridge

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PRAYER requires HONESTY

IT IS rarely the big compellings of God that get hold of us in our prayers; instead we tell God what He should do. We tell Him that men are being lost and that He ought to save them. This is a terrific charge against God; it means that He might be asleep. Prayer with us often becomes merely a way of patronizing God.
(from ‘The Psychology of Redemption’ by Oswald Chambers)

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