ENDURING FALSE ACCUSATIONS

Samaritans Purse set up a tent hospital in Central Park in New York City to help with the overflow of patients from the hospitals there during the corona virus pandemic. I read an article at that time stating that New York’s mayor De Blasio expressed concern that Samaritan’s purse is operated by Franklin Graham who is accused of having a “virulent hatred of homosexuals and is Islamophobic” and that Samaritan’s Purse will discriminate against homosexuals and anyone who “disagrees with their fundamentalist beliefs.” Some had even expressed concern that the Christian organization would deliberately refuse to aid those who disagree with the organization’s beliefs, or that they would intentionally spread the disease.

How foolish and erroneous are such charges! You and I know the sincerity and love that motivates this organization. But we are living in a culture where this type of false accusation and unwarranted hate and prejudice will be directed at those who have the testimony of Jesus and the Word of God. False witnesses were tools used against Jesus and the Apostle Paul. We may experience the same assaults.
“These things I have spoken to you that you, that you should not be made to stumble…The time is coming that whoever kills you will think he offers God service.” John 16:1-2
When Rome burned, the emperor Nero falsely placed the guilt on Christians in order to divert attention away from the rumor that he had ordered the conflagration himself. It was easy to propagate this lie because of the false accusations that were rife throughout the city against Christians. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Christianity was “a most mischievous superstition” and that Christians were “hated for their abominations.” He also stated that followers of Christ were called “haters of mankind,” a charge arising from their disapproval of and refusal to participate in cultural immoralities that were prevalent at the time.
This sounds remarkably familiar. We are facing those same spirits working in unbelievers today. And we must arm ourselves with a mind to suffer and to do so graciously as did those early Christians in the book of Acts. They did not lose their peace, and they did not grow angry. They obeyed the words of Jesus. “Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12. They rejoiced and sang praises when persecuted, falsely charged, and imprisoned. They did not respond with hostility. They exhibited love, forgiveness, and kindness, along with their determination to stand strong and be faithful to Jesus Christ and to their testimony. The apostle Peter has exhorted us to “not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us.” The angrier the world becomes, the more we must prove ourselves to be children of God by walking in wisdom and love. The devil’s strategy will be to falsely accuse and to raise up false witnesses. But we must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, maintain a godly attitude, and stand firm on the Bible.
“Do not keep silent, O God of my praise!
For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have surrounded me with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love, they are my accusers. But I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.” Psalm 109: 1-5
“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Philippians 1:29

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mrs Parker's Electric Paddle

We Knew It Was For Our Good When I was a kid there was discipline and order in the classroom. Teachers could actually teach, and kids could actually learn. We had a healthy fear of punishment, and we knew it would certainly come if we deserved it.   A ll of us kids instinctively knew it was not abuse, but a justified response to misbehavior and rebellion, or an attempt to prevent us from doing things that were dangerous or harmful. We knew our parents and teachers (generally speaking) loved us and were trying to educate us and train us to be mature and responsible. Mrs. Parker's Electric Paddle In my third year of elementary school, we moved from the old, white, wooden schoolhouse into a new brick facility.   When I stepped off the bus onto the new school grounds, the word was going around that our principal, Mrs. Parker, had an electric paddle installed in her new modern office. None of us wanted to face that mysterious and unknown instrument. Whe...
Read more

"That Way I Can Kill the Whole Bird With One Stone."

Just as truth can be stranger than fiction, reality can sometimes be funnier than jokes. Therefore, I try to keep track of unusual things I hear people say. Below is a list of word-abuses that I have heard over the last few years. These friends and acquaintances did not realize they were corrupting a word or using the wrong word. The following sentences were spoken in earnest. A fellow told me he did not want to sound self-defecating . A second cousin told me her sister had an infection in her influfial tubes . One man said he suffered from sick-as-hell-anemia . The hospital had to place a lady’s husband in contentious care . Another man was in there with a brain hemorrhoid . A fellow told me a family member had immaculate degeneration . One man said he had problems with his heart rhythm, but the doctors had decided not to install a space-maker . A friend told me, “While I am in town, I’ll go by and pay the fine and also return Joel’s guitar. That way I can kill the whole bird with one...
Read more

Some Thoughts on the Manifested Presence of God

John 15: 19. “A little longer, and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me...” Rev. 1: 10-17. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet…And I turned to see the voice that spoke to me…and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength…” 1 Cor. 15: 3-8. “…He rose again on the third day…and was seen…by Cephas…by the twelve…by over five hundred brethren at once…and after that He was seen by me also….” To see or not to see? The natural man comprehends God in the same way as a blind and deaf man would view a brilliant sunrise or listen to beautiful music. He would be oblivious to the wonders around him no matter how brilliant the sight or how loud the sound. The revelation of God works on the same principle. The person who has a heart after God will see or hear Him in the smallest sign, while the one who has rejected God in his heart will see nothing or explain it away, no matter how powerful the Presence or how obvious th...
Read more