In Memory, Continued

As I mentioned in my thoughts, I thank God for the men and women who sacrificed their lives for the sake or our nation. I also thank God for my brothers and sister who gave their lives for the sake of Christ. According to an article titled “World Christian Trends”, In the last 2,000 years, 70 million Christians, in 220 countries, have been martyred. During this time, for every Christian martyr, there were 531 people, 127 of which became Christians. Of those martyrs, more than 45,000,000 died since 1900, and over 13,300 have died since 1950. Current estimates of Christian martyrdom is 160,000 per year. That comes to 438 Christian a day; every day. As difficult as it may be to understand, martyrdom is quite effective for evangelism. Of the 220 countries were there is a long history of martyrdom, 210 have been fully evangelized. There is tremendous church growth in 40 countries that have histories of large numbers of martyrs, compared to 30 countries with few martyrs that have no church growth.

The effect of Christian martyrdom on evenelizaition over the centrues has been huge. While the church teaches that martyrdom must not be deliberate, when it does happen, the word spreads quickly and many unbelievers, including those doing the persecuting are converted. In America there is no persecution that ends in martyrdom, and the church is losing members. I believe Christians need to be more outspoken amd aggresove in sharing the gospel. How better can we honor those who have sacrificed their …lives?

In Memory

On Monday, Americans set aside a day of remembrance for our fallen heroes. Over the last 232 years, 1,198,198 men and women have given their lives not only for our freedom, but also for the sake of other nations. Deb and I visited Gettysburg last year and as we walked around “Little Round Top”, I could not help but think about the deaths that were in this one battle alone. I not only thought about those deaths, but also the lives that were shattered due to the loss of their loved ones. Everyone has been aware of how quickly gas prices have been changing. Sometimes, during newscasts, the prices may change three times. Do not get me wrong, many people are suffering because of the price of gas. However, try to imagine what it was like on the second day at Gettysburg, when there were roughly 20,000 casualties in fighting that lasted only a few hours. From around 4 p.m. until shortly after dark, the estimated casualty rate at the peak of the fighting in the areas of the Wheatfield, Little Round Top, and Devil's Den was faster than one per second. Can you imagine the sacrifice? Moreover, that was in just one battle. I thank God for the men and women that have fought and died for me. Father, I cannot imagine the grief that people have had to bear for my sake. Please bless each family that has had to embrace such great sorrow and pain. Help me to honor them and You with my life.
Amen, Pastor Don