"The Helper" Amidst Persecution

 "His sovereignty is seen, not only in His compelling power, but in His continued fellowship with these men.  Persecution never for a moment weakened their consciousness of Christ, or their loyalty to Him.  That is always so with martyrs, with witnesses, with those in whom He dwells.

Here is a man, loud-voiced in his profession of loyalty to Christ, and when persecution begins, his testimony ceases.  THAT man never really knew Christ in his inner life.  Christ was external to his life.  The one thing persecution can do for a true witness, is to blur the vision of Christ, or change the loyalty of the witness to Him.  

One little word occurs here, which alone has no significance, but in its connection is full of most exquisite beauty.  'They therefore that were scattered abroad went about preaching the Word.'  'Therefore'?  Because they were persecuted and driven out.  How revealing is that!  Persecuted and driven, He yet held His throne in them; and secured their loyalty, for He never parted company with them in spiritual experience."

--The Acts of The Apostles, G.C. Morgan 1924

-----------------------

[Note--I am well aware of all the political/social/geo-political intrigues currently underway.  Why am I led to recalling the role of various martyrs and persecutions that have commenced through the ages?  Well, there is so much distraction and cooked-up scenarios going--which is being amply covered in all sorts of forums and by the many nowadays who have caught on to the perfidy and diabolical machinations of the devilish world ruler(s) . . . I am prompted to speak to those who might listen, to remind them of where things are really at in SPIRITUAL terms.  We musn't be too distracted, following and being led by the various concocted narratives being spun.  AND . . . truly, all-in-all of it . . . is simply (as has been since the first rebellion) a SPIRITUAL WAR between those who believe in and serve GOD in faith, submitted to the rule of Jesus Christ, the messiah, being assaulted on all fronts--where the devil and his demonic hordes (in body and in the spirit) seek ultimate destruction of such.

That's all ANY of this is.  THAT is all that matters.  And, so, persecutions of believers is ongoing, expanding and inevitable.  How did the wonderful, amazing martyrs through time manage to persist and not buckle to the beast, under the worst of torments and torture and threat?  This is where The Paraclete (Holy Spirit) reigns as Supreme Helper within and about those so persecuted for their faith.

We are in deluded times where it is, and will get even more, difficult to discern the truth in social/political/current-event situations.  The Spirit Of Truth--viciously under attack and blasphemy--is our undisputed, irreplaceable REAL LIVING Spiritual Helper through the torrents ongoing and upcoming.

I myself recently (believe) am receiving very gentle, but increasingly clear guidance, instruction, directed contact in my dreams, for instance.  I, of course, don't believe in "spirit guides" and am always very skeptical and discerning as can be regarding spiritual experiences.  And have never thought much of dreams or looked to them, other than to notice perhaps some sub-conscious things being worked out while the body is at rest. . . . However, this new development, is different and increasingly becoming more honed.  I suspect it is to be of HELP--receiving information, direction . . . from The Spirit . . . in a  time of mass hysteria, lies, confusion, obfuscation, mis-direction etc.--when deception will be near ubiquitous!

Anyhow, that's just a personal sidenote I thought I would share, and will explore and relate further. 

 Above all, of course, is simply praying and studying and craving to be in the center of His will, holding and revering THE TRUTH while "Rome is burning" all around in sunders. . . . ]

(Paraclete: The Holy Spirit—because He is, after all, Christ's Spirit—is also a paraclete, a helper. Literally, the Greek word paraklētos means “someone who is called to come alongside someone else.”)

Paraclete Amidst Persecution Pt.3

 "His sovereignty is seen, not only in His compelling power, but in His continued fellowship with these men.  Persecution never for a moment weakened their consciousness of Christ, or their loyalty to Him.  That is always so with martyrs, with witnesses, with those in whom He dwells.  

"Here is a man, loud-voiced in his profession of loyalty to Christ, [but] when persecution begins, his testimony ceases.  That man never really knew Christ in his inner life.  Christ was external to his life.  The one thing persecution can never do for a true witness, is to blur the vision of Christ, or change the loyalty of the witness to Him."  --"The Acts Of The Apostles", G. C. Morgan D.D. (1924) 

-----------

[I have been lately led, directed . . . (fwiw)  to these recitations, readings, I dare say--and it has been accompanied with some supernatural appurtenances verifying. . . . 

THANK GOD!  

In these increasingly surrealistic-ish times, there is nothing--NOTHING! so encouraging and sustaining and pertinent, as when God arrives in time, to make His Presence known, albeit in the seemingly small ways. . . . 

Although, note, NOTHING is "small" or insignificant within God's ways and plan, day-to-day, moment-to-moment!  

Well . . . it is, in the sense that "the least shall be first" . . . and we (Believers!)  are ever noting that He came manifest as a "suffering servant".

And so, yes . . . we, as He said . . . will suffer (albeit in ultra-minutiae in comparison)...

Things are getting and being "surreal" . . . . . . . . . . . 

But The Truth is The Truth.

Period.  We note that LIES and LIARS and HYPOCRRITES and evil, wicked, demonically influenced and/or possessed creatures abound. . . .   

Every night . . . every day.

 

     

Paraclete Amidst Persecution Pt. 2`

 [Yes, it's tough to read . . . the horrors of the enemy have been causing torment, torture, hatred, destruction etc., since the original rebellion.  Thank God for Heaven, where all of the ultimate justice will be sorted out.  

Meanwhile, in this mortal realm, Believers have taken and still are taking the brunt, and most of them, us, are here and have been veritably unknown . . . marginalized . . . forgotten, dying in (worldly) ignominious shadows. . . . 

WE KNOW!  WE REMEMBER and pray for those suffering now under persecution, and all those that have been thwarted, put down, robbed, murdered, shoved off to the side of seeming relevance--the LEAST shall be first, take heart!

So, carrying on:]

---------

"Speaking of the heads of churches--that is the bishops . . . . conducted themselves heroically but that a large number of the others, weakened by the spirit of sloth, surrendered at the first difficulty. . . . 'As always happens when there is abundance of liberty our lives became indolent and careless; we envied one another and did harm to our brethren; any wretched excuse was sufficient to start a war of arms--as it were--with the spearthrust of words; leaders poured ill fame on other leaders; nation rose against nation; pretense and damned hypocrisy seemed to reach the limit of their evil height. . . . 

"'Like senseless people we did not trouble to make our God propitious and benevolent toward us but like certain atheists who consider that human affairs are neither guided nor watched over (by God) we piled wickedness on wickedness.  Those who were suppose to be our pastors disdained the paths of divine piety and inflamed their hearts in contests one with another, only adding thus to the quarrels and threats, the rivalry, the envies and hates of the times.  They filled their time in striving for position in no different a manner from the princes of this world'"

--The Age Of Martyrs, Rissiotti

"Paraclete Amidst Persecution" Pt. 1

[I am inspired to relate this, for care and love of current Believers, to recall and consider, pertinent to the current times, and the times apparently upcoming . . . .  

As you probably know, I love to read a lot and have since a child, and especially read and understand history.  Circa around 297-300 A.D. regarding this entry, we are in the reign of Diocletian, Rome . . . beginning yet again one of the various (and obviously ongoing) persecution eras against Christians.

[note, MY commentary is in brackets, italicized:)] 

I am inspired to relate this, for current Believers to recall and consider, pertinent to the times, and the years upcoming; and also, simply, for the sake of honoring and remembering those, who, through the centuries, have stood fast, true, brave and convicted . . . in and OF The Truth!]

------------

" The edict affected churches, writings, and the Christian people but did not contain [yet] any penalty of death.  Christians, even if they held important posts, were to be stripped of all their privileges and put to the torture.  They were forbidden to defend themselves on any charge in the public courts or to make official complaints of injuries, adultery, or theft. . . . Very early in the morning a strong force of troops with tribunes and officials of the Treasury attacked the church of Nicomedia; they broke down the doors and burst in where they burned all the books of the scriptures they could find and ranging over the whole of the building, ravaging and looted everything.  Diocletian and Galerius were watching all this from a high window--for the church was in sight of the royal palace--and they discussed whether to set the church on fire or not, but Diocletian feared that so great a fire might spread to other buildings.  The praetorian guard came, therefore, and with picks and axes leveled the whole edifice in a few hours.

"On the following day the edict was published giving legal backing to the events of the day before.   

"The edict had not been up for long when a Christian pulled it down and tore it to pieces.  This was certainly a courageous deed. . . . The daring Christian--whose name remains unknown--was arrested and tortured over a slow fire; he was finally burned alive.  He bore his sufferings with great courage.  The heads of the Christian community, however, did not approve of what he had done.  Remembering earlier persecutions, they urged the people to remain calm and either to hide or to seek safety in flight.  They realized only too well how foolish and dangerous it would be to meet force with force and they feared that many of their people might not be ready to face the heroic death of a martyr."

[Not too long afterwards, curiously there was a fire at the imperial palace, where the Augustus, emperor Diocletian lived and ruled from (I'm thinking an early type" Reichstag fire"?) which was blamed on the Christians, and then another similar fire ("false flag") there, shortly thereafter, which freaked out the generally, previously moderate Augustus Diocletian.  It looks likely that both fires were actually instigated by his fellow ruler--Christian-hater Galerius and his servants in the palace, in order to falsely blame Christians and so, finally unleash the demonically inspired viscous, evil persecution which he craved and which followed.]

"Left alone in his palace, Diocletian was filled with terror and eyed everyone with the utmost suspicion.  Wherever he went he saw plots and intrigue and everyone around him viewed as a possible traitor.  To defend himself, he fell back on cruelty and torture. . . . 

"Peter, the trusted chamberlain, died a terrible death.  It is described by Eusebius: 'Since he had refused to sacrifice [to the pagan Roman gods] he was hung up naked and whipped on all parts of his body so that he might consent even though such surrender was against his will.  The executioners were unable to shake his constancy and they then poured salt and vinegar over his torn body in many parts of which the bones were now protruding.  Peter was still immovable in his decision and so they dragged a cooking stove under him and began to roast what was left of his body over a slow fire.  They did this so that the torture would be even more prolonged and thus a chance given him to surrender.  To enhance their chances still further, they roasted only a small part of him at a time giving him plenty of time to consider his position.  Those who were torturing him were ordered to continue until he surrendered ['just following orders'].  He conquered these dreadful torments however and gave up his spirit without once being shaken in his fortitude.  Such was the death of one of the imperial servants.  He was indeed worthy of his name--Peter."

--The Age Of The Martyrs, Ricciotti

--------------------------------

[This is part 1.  The "Paraclete"--The Holy Spirit's involvement and power within such times and tales of persecution will also be explored, and God-willing elucidated.  For that Person of the Godhead has especial relevance and succor in the scenario within which we find ourselves amidst.]   

Paraclete Amidst Persecution prologue

 In these days, as it's going . . . I simply won't, can't, pray to God will not . . . write any nonsense or "click-bait".

It is too serious to mess around with.  I am well aware that that is the order of the day.

But here? Nope.  I will wait until genuinely grasp . . . get led . . . granted . . . to say something of value, God-willing, knowing, seeing, hearing . . . what is coming and the times we are in. . . .

SO . . . with that being said . . . I have something to say about Paraclete amidst the Persecution . . . . . .

And intend to, tomorrow.

God bless and DOES bless you today! :)

And thank you for checking in here.  I appreciate your fellowship, friendship and spirit always!

Seeking Constant Engagement

 Yes, as long expected, and now coming into view . . . there will be persecution of Believers--painting Christians and related patriots as the enemy.  It happens every time.  The "left" (some say the S.O.S.) hate Christians, of course . . . because their "world view" is a lie and is based on lies and is instigated at the behest of the father of lies.

Also, always keep a bit in mind, that when things go really hot . . . it will happen fast.  I suspect, one day or so . . . it will be relatively "normal" . . . and then things will go dark--no way to know what is underway via the usual means.  SO, hence, why it is important to know and remember beforehand the warnings and prognostications re how the takeover generally advances.  What to do. . . . What to do is to NOW be being tight, in and of The Spirit, so that Communication that way . . . stays clear--clear as can be (for a fallen, but dedicated Believer).  That means daily, hourly . . . prayer, reaching out to God, throughout the day, ANY and EVERY day!  It is sort of like a muscle to be exercised, this practice in grateful, repentant, imploring, seeking TRUTH heart, mind, soul. . . . The more you do it, the better it gets.  Because The Lord desires (so-to-speak) constant engagement and relationship.  But He is not a cheap, false spirit or genie in a bottle to be stroked when casually struck.   No.  The joy and power is in the constant seeking and committing and loving and Seeing and Hearing His presence and voice through His Holy Spirit.