If I Perish, I Perish
The murders in Roseburg, OR have sent an evil chill down my spine. What has been happening in other countries is now on American soil.
“For such a time as this…” is one of the most quoted parts of Esther, spoken by her cousin Mordecai (Esther 4:13). But Esther’s response is much more powerful in my mind…“If I perish, I perish” (v. 15).
We are all placed on the timeline of eternity for such a time as this…for a purpose…for personal mission. Esther had made up her mind that she would stand firm to save her people from genocide even if it meant giving up her own life.
This week, it was reported the people who were killed in Roseburg, OR were asked to state their faith. If the answer was Christian, the gunman put a bullet in their head. If not, they were still shot, but in a much less fatal place, like their leg.
It is easy to say “I will never forsake the name of Jesus” in our safe homes or in our Sunday School classes. Remember Peter claimed the same thing.
But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also. Mark 14:31
But when the heat was on during the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, Peter did deny Christ, not once, but three times.
Claiming the name of Jesus says easy but does hard. It will require courageous faith to stand toe to toe with an aggressor who is hell-bent on killing Christians.
I find myself questioning what I would do. I imagine my brave response playing out in my mind in full color. I want to be the girl who says YES…I am NOT ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
I want to be that girl…but I know it won’t be in my own strength enabling me to stand. This kind of faith only happens by prayer and fasting.
So friends let’s strap on the armor of God so we will be able to “stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).
Amen. I pray to die with courage even if it is illness. I try to concentrate on seeing the face of my precious Lord Jesus.
A friend of mine shared a cartoon on FB today of a sinking rowboat. As the boat tipped perilously aft with two passengers frantically bailing water, two other passengers sat on the up-titled bow, conversing seemingly without a care in the world. Sadly, it very aptly fits us in the American church. Just last week, Dale and I were discussing how “Laodician” the church has become. And church growth is really stagnant with the average church gaining members through folks looking at the “greener grass” of another, bigger, more modern congregation that offers free baby sitting, youth activities that the parents don’t have to be envolved with, etc. maybe The Lord is just letting us experience what the church has endured through the ages-persecution. Seems that’s when the church grows best. Look at the early church in the Book of Acts. Jesus told them to go, but they stayed–that is until The Lord allowed persecution–then they scattered taking the gospel with them. Just a few thoughts.
Linda