No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.[Romans 8:37-39]
The quote that follows is the kind of thing that might be said by any leader of any religion, which is trying to reach people. This is what was said:
"We are moving ahead with our initiative, and more families from other religions will be reconverted ... soon. We are being approached by many people who want to come back to their original faith."
Sounds good, doesn't it?
Does it still sound just as good if I tell you those words were reported by The Times of India newspaper, and they were spoken by a leader of the Hindu faith? In the article he was describing a successful program that seems to be having some serious tug on the lower echelon of that country's society.
And what is this successful program that is referred in the quote?
Very simply, the Dalits, the low-caste "untouchables" of India, are being told they will receive government assistance if they say they are Hindu.
That's right; the 25 million Dalits are pretty much locked into their social position and have little hope of ever changing their own lives -- or that of their children. But now they are being told there is hope. They are being assured there are government benefits that will open up to them if they denounce Christianity and say they are Hindu.
It's quite a decision.
These untouchables must figure out whether they wish to be faithful to Jesus and thereby condemn their family to ongoing poverty or renounce Jesus, claim to be a Hindu, and receive financial assistance.
It's not the kind of decision I would want to face.
Consider if the decision just affected you, it might be an easy thing to decline the money, remain faithful to the Savior, and endure the scorn of society, but India's program makes it so you are deciding the future of your children.
For most people that would be an incredibly hard choice.
My friends, there are many evil forces at work in our world today. There are the bloodthirsty swordsmen of ISIS, and now there are the subtle government temptations of India. All are trying to separate Jesus' people from their Redeemer.
This is why we need to pray for these folks. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to give them faith, which stands firm in the day of temptation, and we need to ask for that same kind of faith for ourselves.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, You remained faithful to the cause which took You to the cross and saved my soul. Grant that the persecuted church around the world may be the church victorious. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
The quote that follows is the kind of thing that might be said by any leader of any religion, which is trying to reach people. This is what was said:
"We are moving ahead with our initiative, and more families from other religions will be reconverted ... soon. We are being approached by many people who want to come back to their original faith."
Sounds good, doesn't it?
Does it still sound just as good if I tell you those words were reported by The Times of India newspaper, and they were spoken by a leader of the Hindu faith? In the article he was describing a successful program that seems to be having some serious tug on the lower echelon of that country's society.
And what is this successful program that is referred in the quote?
Very simply, the Dalits, the low-caste "untouchables" of India, are being told they will receive government assistance if they say they are Hindu.
That's right; the 25 million Dalits are pretty much locked into their social position and have little hope of ever changing their own lives -- or that of their children. But now they are being told there is hope. They are being assured there are government benefits that will open up to them if they denounce Christianity and say they are Hindu.
It's quite a decision.
These untouchables must figure out whether they wish to be faithful to Jesus and thereby condemn their family to ongoing poverty or renounce Jesus, claim to be a Hindu, and receive financial assistance.
It's not the kind of decision I would want to face.
Consider if the decision just affected you, it might be an easy thing to decline the money, remain faithful to the Savior, and endure the scorn of society, but India's program makes it so you are deciding the future of your children.
For most people that would be an incredibly hard choice.
My friends, there are many evil forces at work in our world today. There are the bloodthirsty swordsmen of ISIS, and now there are the subtle government temptations of India. All are trying to separate Jesus' people from their Redeemer.
This is why we need to pray for these folks. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to give them faith, which stands firm in the day of temptation, and we need to ask for that same kind of faith for ourselves.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, You remained faithful to the cause which took You to the cross and saved my soul. Grant that the persecuted church around the world may be the church victorious. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Psalms 120:(0) A song of ascents:
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
____________________________
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Psalms 120:(0) A song of ascents:
(1) I called to Adonai in my distress,
and he answered me.
2 Rescue me, Adonai, from lips that tell lies,
from a tongue full of deceit.
3 What has he in store for you, deceitful tongue?
What more will he do to you?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with red-hot coals from a broom tree.
5 How wretched I am, that I’m an alien in Meshekh,
that I must live among the tents of Keidar!
6 I have had to live far too long
with those who hate peace.
7 I am all for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.
121:(0) A song of ascents:
(1) If I raise my eyes to the hills,
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip —
your guardian is not asleep.
4 No, the guardian of Isra’el
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand
Adonai provides you with shade —
6 the sun can’t strike you during the day
or even the moon at night.
7 Adonai will guard you against all harm;
he will guard your life.
8 Adonai will guard your coming and going
from now on and forever.
122:(0) A song of ascents. By David:
(1) I was glad when they said to me,
“The house of Adonai! Let’s go!”
2 Our feet were already standing
at your gates, Yerushalayim.
3 Yerushalayim, built as a city
fostering friendship and unity.
4 The tribes have gone up there, the tribes of Adonai,
as a witness to Isra’el,
to give thanks to the name of Adonai.
5 For there the thrones of justice were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for shalom in Yerushalayim;
may those who love you prosper.
7 May shalom be within your ramparts,
prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I say,
“Shalom be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of Adonai our God,
I will seek your well-being.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 But in connection with the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to meet him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be easily shaken in your thinking or anxious because of a spirit or a spoken message or a letter supposedly from us claiming that the Day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.
For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom. 4 He will oppose himself to everything that people call a god or make an object of worship; he will put himself above them all, so that he will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim that he himself is God.[2 Thessalonians 2:4 Ezekiel 28:2]
5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, so that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For already this separating from Torah is at work secretly, but it will be secretly only until he who is restraining is out of the way. 8 Then the one who embodies separation from Torah will be revealed, the one whom the Lord Yeshua will slay with the breath of his mouth[2 Thessalonians 2:8 Isaiah 11:4; Job 4:9] and destroy by the glory of his coming.
9 When this man who avoids Torah comes, the Adversary will give him the power to work all kinds of false miracles, signs and wonders. 10 He will enable him to deceive, in all kinds of wicked ways, those who are headed for destruction because they would not receive the love of the truth that could have saved them. 11 This is why God is causing them to go astray, so that they will believe the Lie. 12 The result will be that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken their pleasure in wickedness, will be condemned.
13 But we have to keep thanking God for you always, brothers whom the Lord loves, because God chose you as firstfruits for deliverance by giving you the holiness that has its origin in the Spirit and the faithfulness that has its origin in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our Good News, so that you could have the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm; and hold to the traditions you were taught by us, whether we spoke them or wrote them in a letter. 16 And may our Lord Yeshua the Messiah himself and God our Father, who has loved us and by his grace given us eternal comfort and a good hope, 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.
____________________________
The Lutheran Hour660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
____________________________
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