AND thank God for that Crucifixion because that led to the
Resurrection of the Lord and Salvation for every person who believes in every
generation.
PAY ATTENTION to the Christian Rights portion of Justin’s
message. There are large numbers of Christians trying to congregate to worship
the Risen Savior. Those Christians are being vilified by the MSM, the Dem Party
and ironically vilified by many Christians gripped by the fear of the COVID-19
pandemic.
In full disclosure on a personal level, I don’t have a lot
of hitch in my get-along anymore. The result is I’ve been attending my Church
online long before the ChiComs unleashed COVID-19 on the world.
BUT in this time of social distancing if Churches can figure
how to meet without infecting others after Church, then BY GOD – congregate and
worship even as fear is spread to hamper Christian worship.
JRH 4/4/20
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***************************
Choose Your God Wisely
We Call Ourselves "The Faithful"
By Justin O. Smith
Sent 4/4/2020 11:41 AM
"Christ is risen! Truly,
He is risen! Alleluia!"
Today, faithful Christians in America are being tried and
tested more than they ever have been in recent years, even the past century, as
we prepare to worship God at this most holy season that commemorates Passover,
the Last Supper and the Resurrection on Easter Day. Many troubling earthly
matters have made life difficult for millions of our countrymen and people
across the globe, as difficult as any time many have seen in this lifetime, and
as one may think on the influence, or lack thereof, of the Spirit of God in our
daily lives, one must wonder that we are not more concerned and anxious in
preparing ourselves and our families for the events and inherent government
evils currently lurking at our doors; for although this world is temporary, not
one jot or tittle of the Lord will go unfulfilled.
With that said, every single Christian man, woman and child
and every hungry questioning and inquiring soul seeking comfort and solace
should be in attendance in Church this Easter Sunday, despite any and all
"orders" and "mandates" handed down, after a grim cavalcade
of data sheets, bad and false information and "experts" seemingly
enabled the reins of power to be snatched from the executive, during this
so-called "crisis".
We call ourselves "the Faithful" and Christianity
"the Faith". Isn't now the best time to exhibit some of that faith we
are always holding up for the non-believers to see?
Are we so afraid of this virus, that we will actually comply
with government orders and allow our right to assemble to be suppressed and
essentially removed, based on an arbitrary whim of a politician? Can we not at
the very least gather and hold hands in front of the Church altar for the Son
of God, Jesus Christ, who came to earth and shed His blood in sacrifice, so
that we might all be redeemed of our sins and receive salvation? You can always
wash Your hands before and after.
Everybody certainly is free to worship as they see fit;
however, don't say you are "faithful" if you are living in such fear
of death that you cannot or will not even walk through the Church doors to
worship the God you say you love, or you, the pastors and priests, cannot stand
before your congregations and deliver your Easter sermon in person over fear of
the virus or fear of what the government response may be.
Is it so easy to turn your back on Your faith?
Recall that Jesus first received and endured a public
flogging before his crucifixion. The Roman centurions flogged Jesus repeatedly
with whips made of leather, jagged pieces of bone and iron balls, heavily
bruising and lacerating His flesh, as they tore into his underlying muscles and
cut Him into a horrific mass of bleeding flesh, so terrible to see for anyone
with any compassion and a trace of love for their fellow man and all
humanity.
As Isaiah 52:14 in the King James Bible recorded for
posterity: "As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred
more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men". Basically
this tells us Jesus was so disfigured that the people were astonished, because
one could barely recognize a person was underneath all the visible brutality
and blood.
Following His Resurrection, Jesus first appeared to Mary
Magdalene, as we know from many accounts such as Mark 16:9-10: "Now when
Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them
that had been with him, as they mourned and wept." But, He also remained
on earth for the next forty days speaking to His followers, and there are no
less than ten infallible proofs of His Resurrection offered in Scripture;
Scripture also records that He ascended into Heaven, from Mount Olivet near
Jerusalem, flanked by two angels as his Apostles stood by and witnessed it
all.
We Christians understand the fellowship necessary in the
Church to keep it alive and flourishing, and we train and teach our children in
our ways, until the day they are baptized and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Savior, which brings me joy as I recall my own grandchildren's baptisms, in
the Church and, when the weather permitted, outside in Drake's Creek, with the
frogs and snakes and all. We are baptized, we die and we rise with Christ.
And yet, the authorities would have us turn our backs on the
One True God and our faith, without so much as a nod towards our right to
freely assemble and worship, as we see fit. As reported by OneNewsNow on
April 3rd, Mayor Bill de Blasio has threatened to close the Church
down permanently if they refuse to abide and comply with his orders to close
their doors: "(The police will) inform (church leaders) that they need to
stop the services and disperse. If that does not happen, they will take
additional action up to the point of fines and closing the building
permanently."
Attorney Brad Dacus, fellow at the Pacific
Justice Institute, declared: There is absolutely no authority
for the mayor (de Blasio) to engage in such a draconian, tyrannical practice,
and to make such a threat in times like these shows a complete insensitivity to
the rights of citizens in his town."
On Monday, March 30th, in Florida, Hillsborough County
Sheriff Chad Chronister arrested Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne,
after receiving an "anonymous tip" that he was still
holding large church services at The River at Tampa Bay Church, in violation of
a local "safer-at-home" order, that is obviously so illegitimate,
illegal and UnConstitutional on more levels than one can mention here. He was
arrested at his home and charged with "unlawful assembly" and
violating public health emergency rules, misdemeanors carrying a 60 day jail
sentence and a $500 fine.
Also recently, according to WAFB-TV (CBS News), Pastor
Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church, near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was charged
with six misdemeanors, after he repeatedly and rightfully defied Governor John
Edwards orders prohibiting gatherings of ten or more people in one location.
This past Sunday, March 29th, there were 1,265 people in attendance, and for
each ten people, according to authorities, a separate charge can be placed that
carries a 6 month jail sentence.
In a March 30th email and a separate statement to WAFB,
Pastor Spell declared: "We have a constitutional
right to congregate. We will continue. ... The virus, we believe, is
politically motivated (and I agree ~ JOS). We hold our religious rights
dear and we are going to assemble no matter what someone says."
Thank God at least two state governors, Gregg Abbott of
Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida, are exhibiting a bit of good common sense
and pushing back against the harsh tactics of many so-called
"leaders". Both men have noted that "attending religious
services conducted in churches ... and houses of worship" are essential
services and activity.
But how despicable it is to find that people are pointing
their finger at others who are not causing them harm in the slightest, as these
accusers hide behind a mask of anonymity, cowards that they are. A gathering of
Christians doesn't affect anyone who is standing on the outside, looking in and
acting as a government informant on the Christians terrible "crime"
against the state, unless the informant should accidentally hear the Word of
God in the process. And how repugnant it is that one of our Fundamental God
Given Rights is now frowned upon and penalized by the Leviathan as
"unlawful assembly".
The government, the Leviathan, and its new "Law"
pleases those among us too innocent and dumb to know better, as it compares its
small power to God's Eternal Might and demands that Christians, and all
Americans, accept the delusion of the State as our God, with instant and
unquestioning obedience, while it also tries to justify lockdowns through this
"pandemic". And, it has been emboldened by those large numbers
of clergy genuflecting to the State, and many within its ranks today proceed to
use the "safer-at-home" orders to eviscerate the remainders of our
shredded liberty.
I'll be in Church Easter Sunday, or kneeling in prayer
outside its locked doors, and I hope many of You will join me there. Do not
follow the Leviathan into any betrayal of Jesus Christ. Stand as one Church for
Our Lord and Savior and take joy in the salvation that has come through His
sacrifice upon the Cross for us all, all who acknowledge Him as the One True
God, who came to earth and defeated Satan and Death, in order to usher in a new
age and a New Covenant with Man.
"That whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
John 3:15-17 King James Bible
Let us praise God for the bold believers and our courageous
Christian Brothers and Sisters and Church leaders rebelling against tyrants and
defying our "Rulers", and in addition, we must pray that the Faithful
throughout America follow their lead, challenging this arrogance of elected
government officials and unelected bureaucrats, just as Believers across
history have done. And let us stand firm, strong and staunchly together with
friends and family, in defiance of government diktats, and open the churches to
millions across America on Easter Sunday, throwing off the government's chains
of deceit and fear, as we, the Church, gather for the most precious and
wonderful of Christian celebrations, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Our Lord
and Savior.
And don't forget. He has promised to return.
"And I saw when the Lamb
opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of
the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and
he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him; and he went forth
conquering, and to conquer." ~ Revelation 6:1-2
In closing, I will leave You all with the one most important
question You will ever answer in Your lifetime, as it was once put to all
America in song, 'When the Man Comes Around' by Johnny Cash, who sang: "The
hairs on your arm will stand up at the terror in each sip and in each sup. Will
you partake of that last offered cup or disappear into the potter's ground when
the man comes around?"
"And he cast down the
pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And
the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, it is not unlawful for to
put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took
counsel, and brought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in."
~ Matthew 25:5-7 King James Bible
"And as they were
eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood
of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
~ Matthew 26:26-28 King James Bible
He is risen. He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
By Justin O. Smith
______________________________
Edited by John R. Houk
Embedded links are by the
Editor.
© Justin O. Smith
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