When Fear Overtakes!

We are living in times now where free speech in some nations is being challenged; is now a huge issue where arrests are being made because of people including Believers in Jesus Christ saying what is known as “hate speech” when it actually is the complete opposite. How sad it is that we have come to this in various nations (without stating which nations). Even here I am needing to be cautious – what a world we are living in now, but we are living for such a time as this:

Fear is there wherever one turns – people are living in fear of one kind or another but the fear I do want to touch upon is when it has now got to the point where free speech as mentioned above is being questioned. However, I have known for two years now this time was coming but many have known this for many years so yes, I was a little late coming to the party for want of a better expression!

This year alone has been crazy with at least thirty if not more arrests every day for “supposedly hate speech”. All because they have gone against the grain and for speaking out with little to no care or even to go as far as not being aware that they have done anything wrong. People for the most part who are the innocent party but no doubt for those who have been arrested and even those who have had police officers turn up at their homes in the middle of the night to issue warnings because something has been said and/or reported that is considered hate. Goodness me, what an evil corrupt world this has now become and how very sad that it has indeed come to this. But again, to be fair we have no excuse any longer to not know this has been coming and has been on the cards for a very long time and hey presto – slap bang, thank you ma’am – here we are right in the thick of it! God help us and I mean that statement literally!!

There are various Nations around the world where Christians are now being targeted; where Christians are now being murdered for their faith and even though this has been actually going on for centuries – this is now happening big time more than I have ever personally known for my generation. If Christians are not being murdered for their faith, they are being arrested and thrown in jail. Churches are now having to go underground because of persecution and believe you me this is indeed reality, and this is where I seriously wish above all else that more and more Christians would seriously WAKE UP to the actuality of what is happening globally.

One thing that has been bothering me for quite some time now is the fact that I am seeing on this world wide web of deceit, Believers in Jesus Christ who are now so guarded on what they say on this “spiders web” and feeling the need to share but in cryptic tones and sadly this has also included myself. However, at the same time, this has literally been bothering me and causing me concern – why? One may ask, well read on to find out where I am coming from here:

Who are we fearful of exactly?

I am asking the question and myself included – who are we actually fearful of man or God?  How the heck have we now as Believers in Jesus Christ, got to the point of where we are too afraid to speak out – how and this is a serious question dear reader literally how?

Another question to ask ourselves is why? Literally why! I am seeing this more and more and more and yes this is causing me pain and uneasiness when we are living in the twenty first century where we should be able to live more freely than ever before but alas this is no longer the case. But this is only the tip of the iceberg of the actuality of things to come and for those of you who know, you know! But for those of you who don’t – this is where I seriously urge you to open the Word of God and I as always am being “deadly” serious – again this phrase is used deliberately intentionally….

Personally, I am hating all these hush hush cryptic tones and all the whispering and all of this malarky where to be blunt makes me both cringe and feel sick. Cringe and feel sick with sadness that we have to be so guarded in both our speech along with actions. How terribly sad, that we have gotten to this point. Where has both the fearlessness and boldness to stand up for truth and righteousness gone. By the way I am picking on no particular person(s) because I also am having to be very guarded however, at the same time when all is said and done where I will not be silent and may heaven forbid this never ever changes.

Protection of others:

But and I mean but – at the same time, there does need to be caution where when there are others that could be at risk because of our own comments and remarks which could also put the said person(s) in danger of police turning up on their door step and possible arrest – we do need to think of others too but at what cost and again meaning literally at what cost? There to me is a fine line to be drawn here and I will further elaborate on what I mean:

This is where we need to be as gentle as doves and wise as serpents. Agreed this does need to be the case. I for one as many know that I am very outspoken but not as outspoken as many others I am seeing speaking up for both righteousness and truth. To be fair, I am literally surprised that there have not been more arrests and I am seriously surprised! 

I totally get it that we do have to think of others and to put ourselves in other people’s shoes which to me is total common sense but again, where do we actually draw the line; where and if does compromise come into play here – again dear reader, another serious question to be taken on board.

So, whilst I understand and do totally get it, where does this actually end? Where exactly does compromise stop and at what cost? 

I do absolutely understand that there is to be both wisdom and discernment but what about when Christianity itself meaning when all free speech disappears where we will no longer be allowed to discuss even the name of Jesus; where we will no longer be allowed to share the gospel all for the name of Jesus; where we will no longer be allowed to hand out Bible or Bible tracts or anything to do with Jesus Christ – and believe you me, these times are coming. So, what exactly am I getting at here; what point am I actually trying to make – again, read on to find out more:

When the name of Jesus Christ becomes totally taboo!

Ok, I have my own personal stance here and this is where I ask you to seriously both bear with me as well as hear me out in what I am now going to share; where I have concerns – so, are you ready – good. Let’s go:

The following is my own personal opinion to a large degree, but this is where I now have concerns and please, please understand that I am by no means picking on any Brother or Sister in Jesus Christ nor am I picking on anyone’s public ministry. Before I go any further, do notice that I have not used the phrase “personal ministry” here – why? 

For the simple reason that when it comes to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is and should not – let alone CANNOT be PERSONAL – are you hearing me here, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE AND NOPE – ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE

There is no way on this earth that our testimony is personal – now before you say whoa, wait a minute what exactly are you saying here – again bear with me and hear me out please ok before having a hissy fit and throwing your hands up in the air:

We all as Believers in Jesus Christ have our personal testimony of how we handed our lives over to Jesus Christ – yes! But this is not our personal testimony that I am referring to here. What I am speaking about is when sadly others get both the crazy and unbiblical ideology into their heads that it is taboo to speak to others about Jesus Christ; when others believe it is taboo to speak up when it comes to the truth of gospel when others believe that your “ministry” is personal. Well, let me make things perfectly crystal clear here ok and the following is said in both truth and love – so again, let’s go:

There is no such thing as “Personal Ministry”.

This dear reader is not Biblical. When we as Believers in Jesus Christ handed our lives over to Jesus Christ – straightaway this becomes “public ministry”. There is nothing whatsoever PERSONAL about the gospel – NOTHING. Please take what I am saying on board here ok. When I have known others and we are talking “professing Christians” state that we should not be sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and believe you me, I have heard this over and over and over again – right there, off the bat is a HUGE PROBLEM. Again, that question of – Why?

When we became Believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to immediately share the gospel with others however, it does not stop there. We are not just called to share the gospel when we have first become Born Again, but this is now ongoing hence it does become Public Ministry. We are all Ministers when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ; we are all called to give the gospel at every possible given opportunity which I have shared before is not always easy and it jolly well is not because of both fear and possible pushback. This subject, is not for this blog post – so, not going there – so back to the topic in hand:

When we first become Born Again, we know that we know we are heaven bound – point # 1 We also are commanded to share the gospel with others, and this is shared throughout the entirety of God’s Written Word and it is there in black & white – PERIOD point # 2.

It is and should be a joy to share the good news of Jesus Christ and we should actually have no fear and by the way there IS NO FEAR in Jesus Christ – NONE. There are heavenly rewards for sharing the gospel which is upon receiving crowns when we relocate to our heavenly home. We are also called to be found faithful upon living our lives for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are therefore called to be Ambassadors for Jesus Christ.

When we handed our lives over to Jesus, from the outset we are putting “our” lives on the line and let me say now, that if you are as a Believer in Jesus Christ are not being persecuted in one form or another for the sake of the Jesus Christ, then let me tell you right now – THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG!!. When I say persecuted, I am not necessarily speaking of being thrown in jail or harmed and sadly at times even murdered for our faith – but I am talking about pushback from friends and/or family; I am talking about animosity from others in your neighbourhood; I am talking about rejection, and I am talking about being hated and despised. By the way let me say another absolute fact here – if you believe as Believers in Jesus Christ that it is you personally that is being rejected – do yourselves a HUGE favour and don’t take that LIE on board – again why? Because dear reader it is NOT you that is hated but it is the name of JESUSthat is hated. If you receive such statements as “I love Jesus” or I don’t have a problem with the name of Jesus then I seriously urge you here – DON’T BE FOOLED or HOODWINKED by those statements and others because if you believe the above lies then sadly you have been fooled and you are up the creek without a paddle – seriously, mark my words this is FACT. 

A dilemma based on truth!

Once again here me out here – this is where “my” personal opinion comes into play shared via possible scenarios going through your mind but with elements that are truth:

“You are in a quandary because you want to share something of what is going on in your nation, but you have no clue how to proceed let alone how to phrase what you want to get across. You are afraid in case there is any possible pushback, or you are worried whether if you say what is on your heart in case you suddenly get that dreaded knock on your door from the police force whether you live alone or live with family or friends. You are in a dilemma because the last thing you desire is to cause anyone distress, pain or discord. So, what do you do? The other question to ask is this: if you remain silent on this issue, is this not going to be difficult when sharing anything to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ comes into play or even to hand out Bibles let alone God forbid mention the name of Jesus Christ! So, if you remain silent on this issue, will your silence cause you to stay timid when it does come to the above? What should I do, Holy Spirit please give me both wisdom and discernment here”?

The above is not extreme but is I would say with clarity are scenarios going through some Believer’s minds as to what to do and this is certainly the case with me. These kinds of dilemma’s do on a regular basis weigh heavily on my own heart. I do struggle with the fact that inwardly I have this heaviness weighing on my heart when I see Believers in Christ quite often (not always) reacting with fear and they made disagree, but the fact of the matter is that it is truth. Where does one draw the line? At the end of the day, the decisions we all make are between us and Abba Father (God) and this is actual truth because it is not merely a matter of conscience but a matter of the heart. I guess at the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer at this moment in time meaning that eventually (unless we have relocated to our heavenly home) when push comes to shove and the gospel of Jesus Christ is literally at the point of no return where we again have (here it comes that word again) CHOICE whether we stand up for both righteousness along with Biblical truth and are not scared in making that actual stand or do we retreat into “our shell” and refuse to speak out – HEAVEN FORBID THAT WE EVER EVE DO THIS – DO NOT EVEN GO DOWN THIS ROAD. This is when I firmly believe that truly our test of faith is going to come into play – again why? Because satan being the ultimate deceiver here will for sure to be sure plant those seeds of doubt and discord in our minds which is where we do literally need to remain FIRM and to remain GROUNDED for the sake of the Gospel where we will have that BOLDNESS to stand up straight and to be counted all for the sake of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

We are called to pay the highest cost EVER. We who belong to Jesus Christ will not be here to see the most difficult time that is ever to come upon this earth after we as the Remnant of Jesus Christ have returned to our heavenly home to be with Jesus for ETERNITY. But please, for goodness’ sake, make sure you are heaven bound now and DO NOT – LITERALLY DO NOT BE A DOOR MOUSE and make that stand now to accept and follow Jesus Christ and to walk in His footsteps standing up for His Truth & His Righteousness AT ALL TIMES AND FOREVER AND ALWAYS. Whilst yes it would be an absolute honour to be martyred for Jesus Christ – please do NOT WAIT because if you are not saved NOW or do not hand your life over to Jesus Christ now. If you were to die unless you are Born Again, you will NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven THIS DEAR READER IS A DIRE WARNING AND HUGE WAKE UP CALL.

NOW IS THE TIME – RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW

Finally drawing this post to a close:

If you think I have mostly gone off the beaten track with several paragraphs in this blog post, I actually haven’t but I have been merely explaining facts etc and the truth which is what all of my blog posts are about and included in this statement are any vlog posts too.

So, to summarise, I do have some “food for thought” questions for you to seriously consider and answer the following questions with prayer and wisdom along with discernment because the questions are serious and are for both you and I. So, let’s get into the questions shall we, which by the way are not in any particular order:

1. Are we prepared to stand up for the truth of the gospel?
2. Are we prepared to start being bold?
3. Are we prepared to put “your” life on the line for Jesus?
4. Are we willing to stand up in truth like Charlie Kirk did?
5. Where is our fear – is it in man or is it in Jesus Christ ALONE?
6. Do we understand God’s Written Words?
7. Are we willing to sacrifice “your” life for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
8. Are we a Warrior Bride or are you a mouse?
9. How do we live our lives as an ambassador for the gospel?
10. Do we do heart checks periodically through each and every single day?
11. Do we use our time wisely?

I did say the above questions are not in any particular order, but there could be many more questions, I could pose here which I reiterate once again are not for you dear reader but the above questions are also for me too meaning no way am I by any means exempt.

So seriously on a final note, these blog posts are to equip, encourage and help us on this journey called life by living out our imperfect lives for the sake of the gospel and putting Jesus first every single moment of every single day. 

LET US NOT WASTE THE TIME WE HAVE LEFT ON THIS EARTH

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