"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)

Dear Brethren,

A friend told me on the phone yesterday that a “Hate Crimes” bill was passed in Congress.  It will be a while before the bill will pass through and head for a signature by the president, but it is an interesting sign of the times.  Many of our brothers and sisters through the centuries were ridiculed, mocked, persecuted, and murdered, just because they were telling lost souls The Truth, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It will take time, but not much I’m afraid, for this “law” to be refined down to the one and only issue that affects every human being.  The real target of this legislation, as is the case in Arabia and North Korea, is Jesus Christ and the Truth of His Death, Burial and Resurrection.

Many North Americans are just tired of hearing about Jesus and the need to “repent” and be “saved from the wrath to come.”  They choose day after day to fulfill the Scripture which was proclaimed by their Creator God, “For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, and the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD. The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him [and] all his thoughts are, "There is no God” (Psalm 10:3-5).

The “wicked” are in the Church, undermining the Truth of the Word and the Testimony of Jesus.  They question, as Satan asked Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3:1-6), God’s spoken Word.  There are “wicked” men and women in high places who are puppets of the Devil.  These “fools” are being used by Lucifer to destroy the souls of human beings to keep them from hearing the Word and coming to Faith in the One True God.  Soon, saying that there is only “One True God”, will be a “hate crime” because it excludes all other gods – the gods of weak men who have fashioned gods after their own likeness.  Sinners are making gods like themselves so that they can cope with the sin in their life.  According to the Word of God, sin must be confessed, repentance must take place, and reconciliation to God is the fruit.  

It is critical for our Faith to yield to the Truth of God’s Word.  The raging battle in the “Church”, in “Christianity” in this day, is over the Word of God.  Too many are questioning God’s authority and are making shipwreck of their faith, such as it is.  Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:2-8).  Jesus was very dogmatic about setting the parameters by which anyone could be saved and receive the gift of Eternal Life through His Blood.

The Apostle Peter, giving an encouraging Word to the Church of our day, reminds us, “for you [we who believe] have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Peter 1:3)

“Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You ALONE have the words of eternal life.  We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." (John 6:67-68)  This world is filling up more and more every day with an almost infinite variety of false teachers and false prophets.  They are telling and selling what they call truth, letting those who have the funds to purchase their “message” and books/CD’s/DVD’s, on the “secrets of the universe” and “the kingdom of [Lucifer the false] god”.  “Christian” media is plagued by greedy hustlers, packaging and promising their heresies and distortions of God’s Word, milking the resources of the gullible.  Instead of believing one more flesh driven, “Purpose Driven” lie, why not yield to the Word of God and Trust the Lord for what you need?  Jesus said, “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way: “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name…Your will be done…” (John 6:7-10).  Take time to ask the Lord what His will is for you in this day of “hate crimes”, a day when His Truth is being criminalized.

Those of us who are “saved” are saved because we believe in Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel and the Redeemer of lost souls everywhere; we believe because of the Word of God – because of what the Word of God says.  Someone came to us and spoke to us the “Words of Eternal Life” and we believed them by faith.  At that moment we were Born Again “according to the [same] Scriptures” that proclaim the Gospel – the Death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-5).

“He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:12-13)  

Stand firm in what you know to be True!  “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:15-17), and that, "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) And that, crime or not, is Jesus.