Rise

I know, I'm using a lot of Skillet songs (I've always liked Skillet, but lately I've been really feeling these songs).


I've seen a lot of videos and posts on Facebook that Christianity is a 'dying" religion.  What they fail to realize is there are a lot of "Underground Christians."  Not all believers are outspoken about it.  Some sit on the sidelines.  Others are in areas where they can be arrested and even killed for their faith in Christ.  There are many underground churches that are thriving.  It seems like the places where Christians are truly being persecuted, Christianity is thriving.  Places like the US and in Europe, places that we're not really persecuted for our faith seems to be where there are more people leaving the faith.  I believe the reason is because they have a faith of infancy.  What I mean by this is they've never truly had to grow up in their faith.  They have a Sunday School faith.  They don't truly seek to know God for who He really is, they just go to church because that's just what they do.  They're expected to do that.  They don't stand up for what they believe.  If they're confronted about their faith they don't really know what they believe, therefore they don't know how to defend it.

Take Adam and Eve.  The serpent (Satan) was able to tempt Eve into eating the fruit because she thought God had said she couldn't even go near the fruit, when all He said was to not eat it.  She didn't understand what God had told her.  How could she not give into what the serpent said if her information was wrong?

Countries like China, or those in the Middle East, Christianity has been growing rapidly.  Why is this?  I believe it's because they really know what they believe in.  Their faith is so radical, so strong, that they are willing to be tortured and even killed for it.  In the US, we just worry that we'll look bad.  We worry that people won't like us.  We're worried of embarrassment.  People in the Middle East though, they are literally risking their lives for even having a Bible!  If we didn't have a Sunday School faith and truly knew what we believed in, willing to risk everything for it, we would be different!

When Christianity was in its infant stage (in other words, was just starting), believers were being persecuted.  They were losing their jobs, their families, their homes, and their very lives.  Christianity was outlawed.  The government, no, the world, tried to kill Christianity - but instead of killing it, it grew rapidly!  People were being thrown into the colosseum to be shredded by animals alive, people were being skinned and boiled alive, they were being crucified, they were literally being killed for their faith in Christ!  Instead of killing the faith though, it grew!  They knew exactly what they believed in and were willing to be tortured and killed for it.  Here in the US, we're afraid of inconvenience.  How pathetic we are!

It's time to RISE up!  Let's start a revolution!  Instead of sitting on the sidelines, let's get out there are show people the love of God and share the Good News!  Now I'm not talking about bullhorns and signs condemning people.  That's the OPPOSITE of what we should do!  Do you really think that is what will bring people to Christ?  I know exactly what they'll think, "If that's what Christians are like, I don't want anything to do with their God."  Trust me, I've seen this happen!  It greatly angers me when people who claim to be Christians do this!  We are not to be OF the world, but we are IN the world.  I once knew a person who said, "I'm just waiting for Jesus to come back.  My family and my kids are all saved so I'm just waiting for Jesus to come back."  Really?  What about all the other people in the world?  It's okay if your family is going to be with Jesus, but screw the rest of the world!  This ticks me off just as much as those who are constantly condemning people to hell.  We need to go to them in love.  Instead of going to a PRIDE parade yelling how they're all going to hell, tell them "Jesus loves you."  Some people feel unloved by everyone in the world, and to hear that there is someone who actually loves them can make a huge difference in their lives.

When Jesus walked the earth, do you know who he was the toughest on?  The religious people who were causing people to stray away.  The religious people who acted like they had everything together.  He called them vipers and whitewashed tombs!  The sinners though, the adulterers, the cheaters (like tax collectors), the sick (including the demon possessed), the beggars, the people who were despised, he was gentle to.  How much more gentle should we be to others?  This doesn't mean you support their every choice or lifestyle.  Many of my friends know where I stand on issues, and we are still friends because there is a mutual understanding that we love each other.

Stop sitting on the sidelines, and stop condemning the world.  Let's start a revolution of REAL love!  Not sexual love, but TRUE love!  Go to the world and share the Good News!