Are You a Christian Martyr for the Lord?

From the time the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost,
the followers of the Lord have willingly sacrificed themselves. 

 

China House Churches Mean World's Largest Christian Body, over 90 Million.

From the time the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost,
the followers of the Lord have willingly sacrificed themselves.
Tens of thousand have died that the gospel might prosper,
As such they have obtained the crown of life. 
(chorus) 
To be a martyr for the Lord, to be a martyr for the Lord,
I am willing to die gloriously for the Lord. 

Those apostles who loved the Lord to the end
Willingly followed the Lord down the path of suffering.
John was exiled to the lonely isle of Patmos.
Stephen was stoned to death by an angry crowd.

Mathew was stabbed to death in Persia by a mob.
Mark died as horses pulled his two legs apart.
Doctor Luke was cruelly hanged.
Peter, Philip, and Simon were crucified on a cross.

To be a martyr for the Lord, to be a martyr for the Lord,
I am willing to die gloriously for the Lord. 

Bartholomew was skinned alive by the heathen.
Thomas died in India as five horses pulled his body apart.
The apostle James was beheaded by King Herod.
James the Less was cut in half by a sharp saw.

James the brother of the Lord was stoned to death.
Judas was tied to a pillar and shot by arrows.
Matthias had his head cut off in Jerusalem.
Paul was a martyr under Emperor Nero.

To be a martyr for the Lord, to be a martyr for the Lord,
I am willing to die gloriously for the Lord. 

I am willing to take up the cross and go forward
to follow the apostles down the road of sacrifice
That tens of thousands of precious souls can saved.
I am willing to leave all and be a martyr for the Lord.

To be a martyr for the Lord, to be a martyr for the Lord,
I am willing to die gloriously for the Lord. 

--Mainline China Christian song.
Request a free copy of the book “The Heavenly Man”
about the true persecutions of Brother Yun from
Asia Harvest, 353 Jonestown Road # 320,
Winston Salem, NC  27104 USA
<office@asiaharvest.org>
This book will give new life to your Christianity.
There are now well over 90 million disciples in China
through house church growth.       
Blessings, Merry Christmas!
Bill 
    

Mighty Men Be Holy

Without Holiness no one will see the Lord. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Triumph of Christ by Gustave Dore, 1868

 

Women are sometimes judged as more readily knowing holiness. Truth is, God called all who serve him to be holy, Men and Women. On the great mountain, Mt. Horeb, God called Moses and the whole nation of Hebrews to be holy. (No, I don't use the other name, Mt. Sinai, because it's not located on the Sinai Peninsula; it's located in Midian right where the Bible says it is.) Whenever I see photos of the mountain, my spirit jumps for joy. There, God gave Moses the world moral code, the Ten Commandments, and there, he called us to be holy.

But the world is still in denial.

And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine (Lev 20:26 NKJV).

What about other world believers? Paul clarified it to the Early Church when writing the Ephesians.

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph 1:4 NKJV).

Peter backed it up. And you know Peter does not act too hastily. So, hear him.

But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet 1: 15-16 NKJV).

You could pray and minister like Jesus in a prayer shawl, the Tallit. It means more than you think. The major point is God did give men the Tallit in the scripture. It was used from Moses' time to Elijah and Elisha, to Jesus and the Apostles, on to modern Jews and Christians today. It's often translated as garment or outer tunic in many verses.

Do men need to be reminded?

And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry (sexual temptation) to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God (Num 15: 39-41 NKJV).

With what kind of man, does God actually relate?

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, (also) With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isa 57:15 NKJV).

The learned writer of Hebrews gives us the ultimate warning.

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14 NKJV).

Without holiness no one will see the Lord.

How do we get holiness?

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Rom 13:14 NKJV).

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

– Bill Hunt

World in Christ

Is Our Christian Love True?

Being a Christian can mean persecution and death in ancient or modern times, but what is this love so truly marked in ardent believers?

How does our Christian Love compare to the Early Church? (Artist Unknown, 1901).

 

An ancient letter caused me to compare our modern practice of Christian love with that of the Early Church. Jesus clearly exemplified love for us. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another,” (NIV: John 13:35).

Paul defined the church foundation for love. “Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all (NIV: Eph. 4:2-6).” Have we utterly failed? 

 

Would our attitudes of love towards one another be the same as the early Christians in the first age after Christ? A young disciple of Paul the Apostle, Mathetes, writes to Diognetus, a tutor to M. Aurelius, a Roman nobleman, a revealing letter about AD 130. This very earliest of letters from a Christian disciple is well worth contemplating. He describes the early Christians to his correspondent as follows. I here emphasize the points of discussion.

Pilgrims in common: They (the Christians) dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Abortion and marriage: They marry, as do all others. They beget children, but they do not destroy their offspring. Living spiritually: They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh.

Citizens of Heaven: They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time, surpass the laws by their lives. Persecuted: They love all men, and they are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned. They are put to death and restored to life. Materially detached: They are poor, yet make many rich. They are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all. They are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor are glorified.

Reviled: They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified. They are reviled and bless. They are insulted and repay the insult with honor. They do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. Joyful Witness: When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life. They are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks. Love exemplified: Yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their own hatred. To sum up all in one word: what the soul is in the body, the Christians are in the world. (Source of Ancient Letter: Roberts, A. and Donaldson, J., eds. “The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus.” Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, The Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Mass., USA 1999.)

I think we would do well to weigh our love as modern Christians in the light of Christ and these early Christians. Such consideration should remind us that Christianity is not intended as a religion but a love relationship exemplified through Jesus, the Son of God. How do we really fare in living the love of Christ?

– Bill Hunt    

Christian Love is the most important thing we do.