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Local Villagers Harass Church Saying, “Our Gods Leave Us, Stop Praying”

by MJ
written by MJ

Pastor Khora runs a house church in the Badaguda village of Odisha. A group of radical nationalists attacked eight Christians here. They all suffered severe injuries. Along with the radical nationalists, the local villagers are also harassing the congregation. They say, “When you pray, our gods leave us, so you have to stop praying here or leave this village.”

Persecution In India

Christian persecution in India keeps surging year after year. Six recorded murders and 2067 hate crimes since 2015 show the extent of such crimes in the remote villages of India.

The more the persecution, the more intense the revival gets just like the Israelites who kept growing in number even during their bondage in Egypt. The kingdom of darkness trembles every time people gather in the name of Jesus somewhere in a remote village.

Unwavering Faith

In the face of opposition, the persecuted Christians stand firm in their faith and dedication. Despite the continuing threats, the church stands faithful and keeps thriving year after year. Souls are delivered and born again into the Kingdom of God. Revival bursts forth in the remote parts of rural India, especially in the north. But still, more territories need the touch of the Savior.

Apart from the recorded crimes, several hate crimes and murders remain hidden. But the continuing threats will not quench the spirit of the persecuted church. No matter how many more persecutors cry “Our gods leave us so stop praying”, the Church stands tall, calling the weary and heavy-laden to come and get rest at the foot of the cross!

Persecution Will Not End Faith

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:35-39)

Reference: International Christian Concern 

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Faith

We’ve All Been “Church Hurt”

by Seth & Lauren Dahl
written by Seth & Lauren Dahl

A lot of times we think we’re one of the few who’ve been hurt by a church, when in reality we aren’t alone.

Often what happens next is we find another of “the few” who’ve been hurt and we build new relationships established on mutual pain.

This can cause us and them to avoid healing.

A lot of people use being church hurt as a reason to create distance, or attack, rather than as an opportunity to draw closer and strengthen a community.

This plays out clearly in the movie Spiderman: Far from Home. In the previous movie, End Game, we watched Tony Stark give his life to save everyone, which made him the Christ figure in that movie. In Far From Home, he’d left Edith for Peter Parker, giving Peter access to all the power Tony had left behind. Again, Tony is the Christ figure in the story and Edith is therefore a picture of the Holy Spirit. The movie then shows the enemy figure, Mysterio, as well as his team. His entire team, including himself, is made up of people who were hurt by Tony. In other words, his team represents the people who’ve gathered based on their mutual painful church experience. The rest of the movie is this team of “church hurt” people projecting artificial problems to the citizens of earth, while simultaneously doing real damage. They then project a false hero who is actually the enemy in disguise.

What’s the point?

We’ve all been church hurt in some way. It’s what we do after that matters. Keep in mind, Jesus called Peter satan.

Peter didn’t leave.

He drew closer.

Later he denied his “pastor” 3 times (which would be wise for us to also realize, not only had Peter been church hurt but now he hurt his pastor…in other words, sheep bite too, and our pastors have also been hurt by us)

Peter’s responses through all of it made him a main voice for God to the earth and a leader of the very church he’d been hurt by.

And of course, there are real spiritual abuses and bad leaders that I’m not talking about with this post. Only looking at the other side for now.

If you’ve been hurt, you aren’t alone. Stay close. Get closer. Forgive. Serve. Love. Reject offense. And for God’s sake, build relationships from healing, not wounding.

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