The Shameful Hiding of Christians

The Shameful Hiding of Christians

The shameful hiding of Christians what a title as always Sandy pours her heart into this article.  So true, OH so true.  It is truly time for Christians to get out of the closet.  I pray that this article will help us all grow closer and stronger and stop the shameful hiding of Christians

by Sandy Elders
08/12/2011

First, I would like to recommend a book for everyone to read. In my opinion, if you are a Christian, it is a must read book. The name of the book is “Tortured for Christ” by Richard Wurmbrand, who founded the ministry The Voice of the Martyrs. The book will speak to anyone who reads it, and while I disagree with one stance taken within the book, there is one, more predominant outlining in the book that means much more, at least To Me

Today, Christians hide from the world and ridicule those who do not. What I mean by this is that there are Christians all over the world who are persecuted, tortured in the same fashion as Jesus Christ did, but who adamantly are set to the purpose of spreading the word of Jesus Christ in a need to win souls for the Lord. Christ, in his perfect life on earth, suffered greatly at the hands of those who did not like him. Read only Matthew, Mark, or Luke within the Bible and it is obvious the sufferings he endured, only in order to purposefully die for our sins, so that we may have everlasting life.

The Christians in America today appear to live in fear. They are afraid to stand up for Christ in the workplace, to friends, family, and in the public eye. They are afraid to take on the job of handing out Bibles, and all in a nation of a free people, who have the freedoms to be able to travel, visit with others, and speak of Christ, whenever, and just about wherever they want and are able.  Thus the shameful hiding of Christians.

Christ suffered being beaten horribly and whipped. People scoffed at him and spit on him. He was made to wear a crown of thorns that pierced his head and made him bleed, and no doubt caused him pain. He was hated by the very people that he was sent to die for, essentially as the first official martyr of the CHRISTian faith. In America, we cannot even approach our churches or confront them for being soft, or for not preaching the complete word of God. We refuse to approach our churches and confront them on turning inwardly rather than being adamantly set toward community services where non-believers could be led to Christ.

Instead of spreading the word, many depend merely upon the congregation to bring a friend one Sunday or another. They expect non-believers to just wonder into the church buildings on their own two feet. Sure, some do this and churches grow, but there are many, right here in the United States of America, who have yet to really be ministered to, or cared about by a Christian believer. We sit in church on Sunday or Wednesday, and even on Saturdays or special occasions, with little thought or regard to the people around the world, who are murdered brutally by non-believers, or believers in other religions, just for praying or being a follower and worshiper of Christ.

People of God!!! Followers of Christ, in America!!!! Get off your butts and rejoice that you have the freedom to work here in the USA and to spread the gospel, love, hope, and salvation offered to us all by Jesus Christ!!! Stand and be counted as one who did not fear ridicule from friends, family, and neighbors. If the Christian people fail to spread the word of God to others, and the salvation offered to others by Christ, have we really done what God has expected of us? Have we really honored Him in our cowardice to stand and to actively seek out souls for salvation?

God will provide for us, and every Christian will say it, but I fear few truly believe it. It is easy to say while you have a career making $40,000 to $100,000 per year, but what if you stood up for Christ in your place of employment and got fired? One, we have laws against that sort of thing. However, in a right to work state, your employer could fire you for any reason whatsoever without giving you the reason at all, even though they are not supposed to discriminate against us for our religious beliefs. If you might lose your job, would you still attempt to reach others for Christ? What about those so-called Christian companies that really appear only to use it for their own profit and gain, but who lack a caring for their own employees? If you would lose it all tomorrow and face being flat broke, would you still serve Christ by spreading the word of salvation to others?

I have quit a job in the past due to co-workers making fun of Christ. I sat there as long as I could, and I thought to myself, “How can you sit here, listen to this garbage, and do nothing? What kind of Christian are you? Oh no, they are hurting your feelings, and making you uncomfortable, and making you angry, but are you really willing to sit here and do nothing? What will Christ think?” At that point, I pushed back my chair, grabbed my things, and walked to the supervisor’s office. I entered and told him that his girlfriend and her group of friends were sitting next to me a few chairs down and making fun of Jesus Christ. I told him that I was going home and that I would never set foot in that place again. I told him that I knew it would do no good, but that I would be calling his supervisor as well. I did just that the next day. As suspected, nobody cared that I was quitting, and somebody asked me in a store one night, kind of laughing, if I had really quit because they were making fun of Jesus. I told them no, that I had quite because they were making fun of Jesus Christ. Told them that they might want to learn something about him before making fun of him, because I was pretty sure they could have never
suffered the beatings, crown of thorns, and crucifixion that Christ had suffered, but that if they were his followers they would no doubt be able to suffer through it. I turned then and without another word, I walked away.

I do not know if my actions led to the salvation of anyone. However, I did not sit back and allow these people, unanswered, to stand up to them for making  fun of my Lord and Savior. I would not do it now. I am a bit of a hot head and can run my mouth. I used to be very shy, but now, if I hear someone say something about Christ that is negative, I first attempt a kind response, but if it is not received well, and the person continues, I lose patience and have a bout of righteous anger crop up. I get defensive when people negatively talk about or attack my family verbally. I respond to situations of people who
talk badly about Christ in the same manner. After all, as a Christian, I am a part of Christ’s family, right? Right.

So, here it is. I am taking Bible donations. If you are interested in donating extra Bibles, unwanted Bibles, books that have led you to the Lord, or that have severely impacted your decision to come to Christ, if you would like to make the difference in someone else’s decision to do the same. If you have a video on DVD or even VHS tape that you would like to have someone else view that helped you, I will take those. I want to reach out to the churches and communities. I want to do what I can to help lead others to an eternal life with Christ.

Church members go on missions trips all over the world, to third world countries and that is great. Everyone around the world deserves and needs to hear the gospel of Christ and make their choice personally whether or not believe in him and have eternal everlasting life. However, like our families that we are obligated to reaching for Christ first, in my opinion, the church must realize, that our own communities, towns, cities, and counties, are right here. Many do not go overseas to some other country on missions trips. There is a lot of mission work to be done right here at home. Reach out into the community, take back America, for Christ and stop the shameful hiding of Christians.

Thank you for listening. If you are interested in making a donation, please let me know through leaving a comment, and I will contact you with the information you need to help out. I ask that you do this in a sacrificial manner, without any expectation of a tax right off. You can even give a gift through the website to help out, by sponsoring the website. You would need to contact Jym in order to gather that information. You can leave a comment here that says you would like to sponsor the website, and I can let Jym know. [there is a Donate button to Pay Pal on the sidebar or contact me for an address} We want to reach the souls for Christ. Online, it is possible to do that worldwide.

If you do nothing else, consider speaking with the preacher or leader of your church group about doing local mission work like just speaking to people about Christ. It does not have to be a knocking on doors situation. Flyers can be made up cheaply, business cards can be bought cheaply, car door magnets, stickers, and other things can be done to catch the eye and interest of the public. Let us stop the shameful hiding of Christians.

We must be diligent in standing for Christ, and in giving non-believers the chance they need to come to Christ, without brow beating them and without acting better than they are. Christ was a servant to many. Many were servants to him. Will join with us and be a servant for Christ today?

Love in Christ,
Sandy

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