Will The Church Experience Persecution In The Days Ahead?

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Article Dated: 12-11-07 "Will The Church In America Experience Persecution In the Days Ahead?"
Recently in the news there have been several incidents where an intruder has entered a place of worship and sought to inflict bodily harm on the worshippers. Another one happened this week in Colorado. Had it not been for a quick thinking female security guard, no doubt the casualty list would have been much higher.
Why now is the Church of Jesus Christ facing more danger in America than in years past? We could discuss the overall negative attitude being perpertrated against the Church day by day in the media and even in our places of learning. Christians are looked down on as narrow minded bigots. So little wonder more incidents of violence against us have not already happened.
Also you must consider the climate of violence and evil that fills our land. With all the video games, TV, movies, etc. that constantly fill our citizens' minds with unspeakable acts of murder and mayhem, how could we be surprised when someone acts out what they see and hear..
And let us not forget that the Scripture tells us in the last days "perilous times will come." This is all a part of Satan's plan. One of his main weapons is "fear." The Bible says "fear hath torments" (I John 4:18). If Satan can get us to live in constant fear and even become paranoid, then half the battle is over. We cannot allow what happens around us to shake us from our committment to stand in these last days.
No one knows for sure what the future holds as far as persecution goes. We do know that as we approach the Coming of Christ, we that hold to the fundamentals of the Faith will become less popular and even hated. There may be more stories where men who hate God and Christians will try to interupt Church Services and inflict bodily harm upon believers in Christ. We cannot avoid that reality. Therefore we need to make some security plans in our churches and facilities. Having security guards may be required in every church and Christian school. Emergency plans should be in place for various possible senarios. Officers and leaders should know who to call and what to do in dangerous situations. Even some congregations are teaching hand gun classes where permits to carry handguns are legal. All of these may sound drastic, but this is the day we live in.
Let us not forget that with all our preparations, "Safety is of the Lord." We should do all we can to be smart without becoming paranoid. We should teach our children what to look out for. We should always go the extra mile to provide an atmosphere of safety and peace in our church ministries. But we cannot afford to become fearful, full of hate, anxious, or critical of those without the faith. Remember what we are here to do and that is reach this generation with the Gospel of Good News. While they may totally think us crazy and weird, let us not forget to see them as souls who need Christ. While the world around us changes, yet one thing remains the same: Jesus is still the Answer for the World! Let's seize upon this moment in time to evangelize our neighbors and friends, reach out to those who are fearful of us, and pray for those who declare themselves our enemy. Preach the Truth, Pray for all, Stay True to Him, and in the end we will be glad we did.
There may be more sad stories like this week in Colorado. Our prayers certainly go out to those hurting families. That church family will get through this with God's help. Faith is stronger when it is put to the test. This is surely a great test. Now would be a good time for us to join together and believe God to touch our nation with Revival. If we ever needed His hand of blessing, it is now. May God have mercy on our Nation. May God have mercy on our enemy. May God have mercy on us all!

Dr. David Harrison
Director/Voice of Hope Ministries

About the Author

Dr. David Harrison is a full-time Evangelist from North Carolina. He travels across the country preaching to both small and large crowd, young and old. He has traveled over most of the U.S. and has preached in several foreign countries. His message is strait forward and honest. He has been preaching for over 30 years. He is a writer, conference speaker, musician and song writer. He is married to his wife Kay since 1973, has four children and two grandchildren.

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