How many of us have faith this strong? Strong enough to bravely die for it. Rarer still are those who convert at the last moment, rather than holding onto a false hope that if they denounce God, that they will be spared. As 20 Coptic Christians were beheaded by ISIS barbarians on a bloody Libyan beach… one man who was not a Christian came to God in his last moments and met death bravely. His evil captors ordered him to denounce Jesus Christ as God and looking at his Christian friends he proclaimed, "their God is my God," so the terrorists beheaded another saved soul. I ask you, who won in the end? It wasn't ISIS or Allah.
From Aggie Catholic Blog:
1 of the Here is the story:
ISIS announced the execution of 21 Copts but only 20 names were confirmed, most of them were from the province of Minya(Upper Egypt). There was an inaccuracy in the number of Egyptian Hostages; there were only 20 Egyptians(Copts). Then who was this remaining one non-Coptic victim?[/B][/B]
Ahram-Canadian News was able to gather information about this man. He was a Chadian Citizen (Darker skin shown in picture) who accepted Christianity after seeing the immense faith of his fellow Coptic Christians to die for Christ. When Terrorist forced him to reject Jesus Christ as God, looking at his Christian friends he replied, "their God is my God" so the terrorist beheaded him also.[/B]
Lord, may all of us who follow you and profess your name have faith like those who were martyred for being Christian! They were willing to lay down their lives for you and in the process helped make another man come to believe!
This is not unlike the thief on the cross:
"One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." - Luke 23:39-43[/B][/QUOTE]
I would hope that if I should find myself in a situation like that, that I would have the courage of my convictions and the strength of my faith to carry me home. I would rather die with my soul intact and professing my Christian faith than ever submit to terrorist demons who brutally snuff out every Christian they can find for believing in Jesus. There are some things that are worse then death and there are some things that are very much worth dying for. These men laid down their lives for God - they did what was right and were martyred for their faith. I can't think of a more noble death or braver men than these. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
_______________________________________________________________________________
As a young boy, I once asked my father if he would die for Jesus. Although my father was a believer, he did not go to church with my mother and brothers. However, he insisted that we attend Sunday School and church and would ask us what we learned in Sunday School when we got home from church. Like many men, my father worked hard during the week and on Saturday. On Sunday, he just wanted to rest and read the Sunday newspaper because he was an avid reader. My father was well versed on the Bible and had impeccable morals and honor. My parents didn't have me until they were both 43-years old and I was the youngest of four boys in my family. One day when I was quite young, I wanted to ask my father if he would die for Jesus but felt a little uncomfortable asking him. While he was engaged in reading, I kept hanging around him until my father finally asked me, "Do you have something you want to ask me son?" So when I posed the question to him, my father said that he didn't know because even Peter denied Jesus three times. I'm sure that was a question he wasn't expecting a five-year old to ask him and he probably never gave it much thought. Over the years, I have thought about that question many times and only hope that my faith would be strong enough to die for my Lord. I know most Christians would say they would die for Jesus just as my mother said she would without hesitation but until they are ever faced with that life or death decision, they will never really know if they would die for our Savior. I believe I would be willing to die for the sake of the Gospel because I have never feared death and always had a strong sense of the Afterlife. The thought of ever renouncing Jesus as my Savior even in the face of adversity makes me tremble with fear because I know I could never live with myself if I ever did. I only hope and pray that I would have the same courage and strength as these brave young men if I ever was faced with such adversity.
I'm so proud of these Christians who laid down their life for Jesus. I can't think of a more noble death than this. May their martyrdom never be forgotten.
I wish you and your family a blessed Easter filled with the joy, wonder, mercy, grace, and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
For what it's worth, the photo below is me when I was 3-years old. I'm the one wearing the football helmet. Back in the fifties in small town America, children were brought up to love the teachings of the church. It's sad how much America has changed since then and not for the better. I just feel fortunate to have lived most of my life during some of the best years of our nation.
(click on image to enlarge)
This post was edited on 4/1 11:26 PM by nashvillegoldenflash
1 of The 21 Men Beheaded Was Not a Christian Until
From Aggie Catholic Blog:
1 of the Here is the story:
ISIS announced the execution of 21 Copts but only 20 names were confirmed, most of them were from the province of Minya(Upper Egypt). There was an inaccuracy in the number of Egyptian Hostages; there were only 20 Egyptians(Copts). Then who was this remaining one non-Coptic victim?[/B][/B]
Ahram-Canadian News was able to gather information about this man. He was a Chadian Citizen (Darker skin shown in picture) who accepted Christianity after seeing the immense faith of his fellow Coptic Christians to die for Christ. When Terrorist forced him to reject Jesus Christ as God, looking at his Christian friends he replied, "their God is my God" so the terrorist beheaded him also.[/B]
Lord, may all of us who follow you and profess your name have faith like those who were martyred for being Christian! They were willing to lay down their lives for you and in the process helped make another man come to believe!
This is not unlike the thief on the cross:
"One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." - Luke 23:39-43[/B][/QUOTE]
I would hope that if I should find myself in a situation like that, that I would have the courage of my convictions and the strength of my faith to carry me home. I would rather die with my soul intact and professing my Christian faith than ever submit to terrorist demons who brutally snuff out every Christian they can find for believing in Jesus. There are some things that are worse then death and there are some things that are very much worth dying for. These men laid down their lives for God - they did what was right and were martyred for their faith. I can't think of a more noble death or braver men than these. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
_______________________________________________________________________________
As a young boy, I once asked my father if he would die for Jesus. Although my father was a believer, he did not go to church with my mother and brothers. However, he insisted that we attend Sunday School and church and would ask us what we learned in Sunday School when we got home from church. Like many men, my father worked hard during the week and on Saturday. On Sunday, he just wanted to rest and read the Sunday newspaper because he was an avid reader. My father was well versed on the Bible and had impeccable morals and honor. My parents didn't have me until they were both 43-years old and I was the youngest of four boys in my family. One day when I was quite young, I wanted to ask my father if he would die for Jesus but felt a little uncomfortable asking him. While he was engaged in reading, I kept hanging around him until my father finally asked me, "Do you have something you want to ask me son?" So when I posed the question to him, my father said that he didn't know because even Peter denied Jesus three times. I'm sure that was a question he wasn't expecting a five-year old to ask him and he probably never gave it much thought. Over the years, I have thought about that question many times and only hope that my faith would be strong enough to die for my Lord. I know most Christians would say they would die for Jesus just as my mother said she would without hesitation but until they are ever faced with that life or death decision, they will never really know if they would die for our Savior. I believe I would be willing to die for the sake of the Gospel because I have never feared death and always had a strong sense of the Afterlife. The thought of ever renouncing Jesus as my Savior even in the face of adversity makes me tremble with fear because I know I could never live with myself if I ever did. I only hope and pray that I would have the same courage and strength as these brave young men if I ever was faced with such adversity.
I'm so proud of these Christians who laid down their life for Jesus. I can't think of a more noble death than this. May their martyrdom never be forgotten.
I wish you and your family a blessed Easter filled with the joy, wonder, mercy, grace, and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
For what it's worth, the photo below is me when I was 3-years old. I'm the one wearing the football helmet. Back in the fifties in small town America, children were brought up to love the teachings of the church. It's sad how much America has changed since then and not for the better. I just feel fortunate to have lived most of my life during some of the best years of our nation.
(click on image to enlarge)
This post was edited on 4/1 11:26 PM by nashvillegoldenflash
1 of The 21 Men Beheaded Was Not a Christian Until
