March 11, 2017 - Church at Worship

 From opendoorsusa.org, comes the following question and answer: 

What is persecution, and how many Christians experience it? 

Christian persecution is any hostility experienced from the world as a result of one’s identification as a Christian. Beatings, physical torture, confinement, isolation, rape, severe punishment, imprisonment, slavery, discrimination in education and employment, and even death are just a few examples of the persecution they experience on a daily basis. 

According to The Pew Research Center, over 75% of the world’s population lives in areas with severe religious restrictions (and many of these people are Christians). Also, according to the United States Department of State, Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in Jesus Christ. 

Living in a country where religious freedom is protected makes it hard for us to realize and take in the reality of life under persecution. 

On January 12 of this year, christianitytoday.com reported this: 

This week, Christian persecution advocacy group Open Doors announced its annual list of 50 countries where it’s hardest to be a Christian. 

At the top: North Korea, a country that has held the dubious distinction for 14 years. 

The list scores each country in terms of five quality-of-life areas and also looks at religiously motivated violence. For the third year in a row, the scores have gone up, suggesting that persecution against Christians has increased worldwide. 

American Christians could do so much more to help their vulnerable siblings in the faith, said David Curry, who serves as Open Doors USA’s president and CEO. 

“If I had the feeling that the American church, in all of my travels, was praying—at least, praying for the persecuted believers—I would feel much better than I do,” said Curry. “I just don’t think that happens on a wide scale.” 

In Daniel 8, we return to this theme and, in so doing, probe the depth of our faith in a sovereign God and in His ultimate will to bring all such violence to an end. 

Randy Roberts,

senior pastor