Psalms 94:3-7 ESV
“O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
and they say, ‘The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive’.”
The past several writings the Lord has given me have been on
the subject of persecution of the saints of God. The writings are posted in
full on my blogs and on Christian Forums, but I also posted sections of them on
Twitter and on Facebook. On Facebook I have been challenged to give evidence of
such persecutions (of “hate,” based off John 15:18-21), so here goes:
Persecutions (As best as I can remember from my
personal experience)
1982: Pastor and elders denying me ministry opportunities
based on judging me by themselves, determining my motives based on their own,
later admitting that they were threatened by me because of my walk with the
Lord and because of the wisdom with which I spoke. They later admitted that
they were wrong.
1984: Pastor and elders denying me ministry opportunities
because of one of my children, age 3, who was diagnosed with ADHD, was not
acceptable to them, although their own children, who were teens, behaved much
worse.
1986: Lady in Sunday School Class telling me they did not
want to hear what I had to say because I was “not one of them.” If I was “one
of them,” then they would listen to me, she said. (Very closed community)
1989: Pastor and elders changing requirements for specific
ministry so as to exclude me and my husband, then realizing the new rules excluded
some people they didn’t want to exclude, so they modified the rules to include
them but still exclude us. Very small church, so this was very obvious.
1991: Support group leader changing rules in group specifically
targeted against me because I had tried to help a friend. Then pastor attacked
me and accused me of being autocratic in trying to help my friend, which was a
lie. The man never met me before, so he didn’t know me. He had no idea where I
was or who I was or what I was going through. And he didn’t care, either. Tears
were streaming down my face. He had no compassion.
2002: Pastoral staff rejected logo for college ministry,
which depicted Galatians 2:20 about us being crucified with Christ, saying that
it did not represent their church. They asked us to change the logo, we did,
and we complied with them, but later we were asked to leave and to go someplace
else where we would be a better fit, for pastoral staff had rejected us.
2003: Partnered our college ministry with another church.
They provided facilities and we provided the students and the ministry. Went well
for a while, then pastor wanted to replace our praise band with another band. I
took his suggestion to our ministry team. We went and talked with pastor. He
did the non-denial denial saying he would not do that. I asked what he meant if
he would not do that. More non-denial denials. Next I am being called to a
meeting of the elders, but I must say I lied about the pastor as a prerequisite
to the meeting. I could not lie, so I was put on church discipline.
2004: Partnered with a church denomination to do church
planting, for many in our college ministry were interested in making this their
church. Denomination had conference for pastors and church planters. Rick and I
invited to attend and to speak on behalf of our ministry. Rick hurt back. Could
not attend. I went. I spoke. Many pastors thanked me for what I shared but they
acknowledged it would not be accepted by the higher ups. It wasn’t. I was told
I was wrong in what I said although those telling me that admitted they had not
actually listened to me. So, I resigned my position.
2004: The Lord called me to my present ministry of writing
out what he teaches me from his word each day and sharing it on the internet,
though I didn’t go full-time with this until mid-2006. Mid-2006 is also when we
closed the doors to our college ministry after 7.5 years. This was the last
time my husband and I were involved in ministry together.
Prior to 2016: On Facebook I taught what the Scriptures
teach about Israel. I was attacked fiercely even by close friends and family.
Two people thought I should be put to death for what I taught. One wanted me
hung and burned at a stake. Others defriended me. Also, I questioned some
current events and was yelled at and defriended for questioning the official
narratives.
2013: On Facebook I was questioning the teaching of a
particular Christian author, for he was teaching what was false, and he was
leading people astray. A man came to my house and yelled and screamed at me and
told me I was wrong because I was in the minority and that I needed to be with
the majority, for he said the majority is right.
2013: I was in a ladies’ Bible study group. I was told that
whatever is said there stays there (don’t ever believe that). Things going on
in the church not right, sinful behaviors not in check, false teaching going
on, women in Bible study expressing concerns. I shared some biblical counsel to
the ladies. One of the ladies told the pastor who then banned me from the
church premises.
2004 to 2013: A few times I questioned (respectfully and in an
approved medium) teaching of a pastor of a church where we were visiting. We
were in the process of considering if this was to be our church. One told me
that he was to be God’s voice to me and that I was to be silent and just sit
and listen to him. Another told me basically that he had a way he was going.
Both suggested I go someplace else where I would be a “better fit.”
2004 to present: Writing on the internet, sharing the gospel
of Jesus Christ, I face opposition to the gospel message. Sometimes I am
accused of teaching a false gospel by those who are believing in the cheap
grace gospel. Sometimes they accuse me of teaching what is false when I teach
on the subject of Israel, although it is all backed up with Scripture. Some
attack my character and falsely accuse me of motives and intentions that are
not mine. Yet, I get a lot of encouragement, too, which I didn’t always have.
I face other types of persecution besides what is mentioned
here, but I am not going to go into detail about every aspect of my life. And I
am not going to go into further detail on any of these mentioned to try to answer
more questions. I was asked by two people who do not profess to be Christians
to give examples of me being “hated” (ref: John 15:18-21) for the sake of my
walk of faith in Jesus Christ, and that is why I shared these.
Here I Am, Lord
By Daniel L. Schutte
I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them –
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go, Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t6mz8yoocY
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1 comment:
Jesus said we will be hated for his name’s sake and because we are not of the world, because Jesus chose us out of the world. He didn’t say we might be hated, but that we will be hated. If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives and we are living holy lives, separate (unlike, different) from the world, Jesus said we will be hated, that the world will hate us. He does not lie!
The word translated “hate” means: hate, detest, love less, esteem less, to detest on a comparative basis, hence, denounce (accuse, censure, vilify), to renounce (discard, reject). https://biblehub.com/greek/3404.htm
When Jesus talked about how the world will hate us he talked about how we will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and because he was persecuted. And to be persecuted is to be oppressed, hounded, harassed, bullied, and/or tormented, especially because of our walks of faith in Jesus Christ and because we are not like the world, because Jesus called us to live holy lives unlike the world.
But he said we are blessed “when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” He said we would be maligned (slandered). He said we will be delivered up to tribulation by our persecutors. And He said, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!” Case closed!
[Ref: Matt. 5:10-12; Matt. 10:16-25; Matt. 24:9-14; Lu. 6:22; Lu. 21:12-17; Jn. 15:18-21]
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