A recent rash of attacks on houses of worship highlight the growing violence that Christians face throughout the world.
These attacks are not confined to any one country’s border either, as the United States also is seeing an uptick in attacks against Christian organizations in today’s culture.
There is an ongoing investigation in Austin, Texas, as the Goodwill Baptist Church, a historic Black church, was burned. Investigators are treating this as an arson case, believing that it was set intentionally. The fire ended up causing some $200,000 worth of damage to the property, but that isn’t going to stop Goodwill’s Pastor Kelvin Austin from praising the Lord.
“It’s a tragedy to see that this has happened, but we bless God because we know that He moves in miraculous and strange ways, so we will trust that He will allow us to recover from this,” Austin told CBS Austin.
“I just for the life of me…We’ve never had a cross word with anybody in the community. They’ve always been encouraging…Heartbreaking to know that somebody in this season would do something like that to God’s house,” he continued.
Sadly, recent riots have shown many in the U.S. that people will travel out of state to stir up and cause trouble. This was the case in the recent burning of a police and fire training area known as “Cop City” by domestic terrorists from outside the Atlanta area.
Just as deflating, Pastor Austin’s church has a target on it simply by existing. It is a place of worship for people who declare that Jesus Christ is Lord and promote biblical values.
The enemy will attack anyone who claims the name of Jesus, even as doctrines vary on the interpretation of Scriptures.
This is evidenced in the recent mass shooting at Kingdom Hall, located in Hamburg, Germany.
This church is home to many worshippers of the Jehovah’s Witness sect, who’s belief system varies significantly from mainline Christianity, yet they still consider themselves to be Christians.
Reports currently state that seven people were killed and 30 injured as they gathered for a Bible study that night around 9 p.m.
While still unconfirmed, authorities believe they found the perpetrator of this callous attack. Stating on Twitter, “We found a lifeless person in a community center in Great Borstel who we believe could be a perpetrator. In order to rule out the involvement of other perpetrators, we carry out checks and search extensively.”
Do people think Satan cares if the Jehovah’s Witnesses doctrine does not line up with a Pentecostal, Catholic or Methodist doctrine?
Because he doesn’t. He wants to steal, kill and destroy anything and anyone that he comes in contact with regardless of affiliation.
And according to Scripture, the times are only going to get worse.
The decision to live a life for Christ instead of oneself will be looked upon as evil by the world, and the world will hate those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior.
Even as this kind of hatred is already visible in today’s world, Jesus’ own words offer encouragement in times of trial:
“You will be hated by all men for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved,” (Matt. 10:22).
It is so important for Christians to be firmly grounded in the Word of God. The instructions, commands and principles held within are the tools and weapons needed to persevere against the enemies attacks during dark times. {eoa}
Bring Charisma magazine home with a subscription today!
James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
See an error in this article?
To contact us or to submit an article
