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"PENTECOST"
watercolor by Estella Canziani, 1936
courtesy of
www.dwellingintheword.wordpress |
Matthew 3
courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
11 I [ John the Baptist ] indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but HE+ that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose+ shoes I am not worthy to bear: HE+ shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose+ fan is in His+ Hand, and HE+ will throughly purge His+ floor, and gather His+ wheat into the garner; but HE+ will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
PENTECOST
WHAT DOES IT COST ?
What did it cost the Apostles?
What did it cost the Early Christians?
More importantly,
what is it costing us ?
The Day of Pentecost is GLORIOUS because the followers of JESUS were endued with flaming, Heaven-sent Power from on High. They were seeking The LORD with one accord. HE+ came, sending forth His+ Blessed HOLY SPIRIT, so that they could be witnesses of HIM+ throughout the whole earth.
The HOLY SPIRIT power did not fall on them to make the followers of JESUS famous nor rich nor popular. The Power from on High was not given to enhance their own lives and make them comfortable, healthy, and able to live their lives without trouble.
Indeed, the very opposite happened.
In the face of ugly death and cruel torture and horrific slaughter by the demonized enemies of CHRIST JESUS, the HOLY SPIRIT power made them UN-STOPPABLE in proclaiming The LORD JESUS CHRIST.
They were enabled to stand for JESUS even in the face of their children and families and friends being butchered.
This is WHY The Power of Pentecost is given. We yearn for that power. Do we yearn for what accompanies the out-pouring of the true HOLY SPIRIT ?
The HOLY SPIRIT is not given to make us comfortable in this life.
The HOLY SPIRIT is poured out to make us holy.
The HOLY SPIRIT is given to help us stand, like CHRIST JESUS stood in the face of His+ enemies as HE+ was nailed to the Cross. It is invincible.
Can we stand like these Nigerian Brothers and Sisters did THIS VERY WEEK, on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 ?
Can we bear testimony like that 80-year-old saint did, who is now clothed in a white robe, residing under the Altar of the THRONE in Heaven, with the other martyrs ?
Revelation 6
9 And
when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that
were slain for the Word of GOD, and for the Testimony which they
held:
10 And
they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O LORD, Holy and True, dost thou
not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And
white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that
they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and
their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be
fulfilled.
( Courtesy of www.biblegateway.com )
The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church.
Massacre of Christians in North Nigeria (Gwoza)
Update:Death toll rises to 168
The death toll in the bloody attack on the Christian community continues
to rise this morning. As of 4th June 2014, a reliable source
who went to Attagara reconfirmed the number of casualties stating that an
additional 88 bodies were found, bringing the total to 168 casualties.
“I
counted the corpses with my hands”, he said. Most of them were
children and youths.
Another source gave some
information on the figures.
- 52 people died at the church compound.
- 48 in the nearby village, Aganjara.
- 29 were found death in a cave after the
insurgents trapped and opened fire on them.
- 3 were roasted in a fire.
- 36 were slain with a knife and thrown on the
street.
“The attack was so terrible that the
actual figure could yet be determined,” he said.
A woman who witnessed the slaughter
of her 9 year old son, wailed as she spoke to our correspondent by phone
describing the terror. They drug her son and slew him.
They then grabbed for
her younger child who is still nursing, intending to slaughter the innocent.
She gripped the insurgents and was able to escape with her baby. “I ran for over
40 kilometers. Only God knows the people that were killed,” said the woman.
An elderly Christian man faced the
Boko Haram and died a martyr when the insurgents slashed his body, part by part, with a sword. He had bravely told them,
“IF YOU DON’T REPENT OF KILLING
INNOCENT CHRISTIANS THAT BELIEVE IN JESUS, THEIR BLOOD WILL JUDGE YOU.”
This statement provoked the
insurgents and they beheaded the 80 year old man, a witness said.
It was gathered that more people
were still missing and many of the dead had not yet been retrieved from the
hills and nearby bush.
“I don’t know how to explain this tragedy,” a Pastor
lamented. “We just found 2 children lying dead in the toilet.”
A
Community leader who demanded anonymity, confirmed that so many corpses
were seen without heads. Many are still in hills and backyards,” he noted.
Very early this morning, the
insurgents were seen headed towards Jubrili village with over 400 goats and
sheep, 50 cows and valuable items they had looted from the Christians. 10 of
them were seen carrying AK 47’s and moving the animals, a witness said.
“Go there, you will see them,” he told our correspondent. “They would never
cross to Cameroon because the border is being well guarded. But they were
trying to move the animals to Sambisa, because our security would never be
there,” he added.
Note: Soldiers are claiming
they could not go to the areas because they did not receive orders
from their command headquarters. We ask, “Why not? ---- Question asked by blogger: I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. wordpress.com Article may be reprinted with
credit to Voice of the Persecuted
And they overcame him by
The BLOOD of The LAMB+
and by the Word of their Testimony,
and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Revelation 12:11
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| "PENTECOST" watercolor by Estella CANZIANI, 1936 |
Matthew 3
courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
11 I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but HE+ that cometh after me is
mightier than I, Whose+ shoes I am not worthy to bear: HE+ shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose+ fan is in His+ Hand, and HE+ will throughly purge His+ floor, and gather His+ wheat into the garner; but HE+ will burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire.
