I get it. There are hundreds and thousands of men and women who went to work during the Covid crisis knowing their health or even their life was at stake. Heroes.
There are stay-at-home moms who do the mundane work of cleaning and diaper-changing and cooking and all the rest. They are unsung. Sometimes bored and lonely. Heroes. There are single working moms caleed to the same tasks, double duty. I get it. Heroes.
Patients in cancer wards, TB wards, and the wards of countless diseases who struggle every day with a fortitude that amazes us. True heroes.
But the stars at the top of my list have ever been and will always be, those who cannot go to work, cannot care for children, cannot get decent care in a hospital, because they are locked up in a prison cell for having served and loved Jesus of Nazareth.
The martyrs. The truest witnesses for Christ on the planet. You say, don't put them on a pedestal. They're just ordinary people. True, ordinary people, but undergoing super-ordinary suffering volutarily.
That's the key. Voluntarily. They don't have to be going through this. But their Lord went through even greater things, being the God of Heaven Himself.
I'm thinking of the lady about to be married in Turkey, whose fiance was murdered because of his faith.
And the drug addict who was delivered by Jesus, then watched as his entire family was incarcerated.
The jailed and homeless pastor in Bangalore, India.
The wife thrown out of the house in Nepal when she began to follow Jesus.
Wurmbrand, 14 years in Communist prisons.
The little girl who innocently brought her parents' Bible to her Communist school teacher, and who was subsequently taken out of her home, her parents sent to prison.
Christians in Rome who were mounted on poles and set ablaze to light the games of the Coliseum.
Wycliffe and other Bible-lovers who were sent to their death by a church/system in that same Roman town.
Men and woman burned at the stake for daring to defy the Roman "church."
Multiplied humdreds of thousands of witnesses who gave their life for Jesus. Is there a more noble set of humans who have ever lived?
So, I say to myself, Quit your belly-achin'. You have not suffered anything even near what these brothers and sisters have endured. Our aches and pains, our supposed sacrifices, our long days, they may be tough, but until we have spent a night in jail, until we have responded to a knock at the front door and faced machine gun fire, until our house has been burned to the ground by the raging fools of hell, we're probably not hero status.
However, the way things are going in America in this twenty-first century, it may not be long before we get to taste what that true discipleship looks like...
Our Blog
-- recent blog posts -- 01/09/2024 - What is the "New Song"? 12/31/2023 - Encounter with God or entertainment for... 12/26/2023 - Just suppose I marry a pastor... 12/24/2023 - Stand up and shout it! 11/21/2023 - Do you have the HACKBERRY APP? 11/07/2023 - Youtube channel 08/11/2023 - 3rd edition, "The Scroll of Revelation" 06/02/2023 - New book! 01/25/2023 - In Case You Were Wondering... the... 01/25/2023 - The Hackberry Chronicles, Volumes 11... 01/24/2023 - Number 10. The Hackberry Chronicles 01/21/2023 - Another in the Chronicles series,... 01/19/2023 - Volume VIII of Hackberry Chronicles 01/17/2023 - Volume VII now available 01/15/2023 - The Hackberry Chronicles, Volume VI 01/13/2023 - Chronicles, Volume V 01/11/2023 - Volume IV 01/09/2023 - Volume III now available 01/07/2023 - The Hackberry Chronicles, Volume II 01/05/2023 - The Hackberry Chronicles, Volume I 12/30/2022 - Back to work 10/02/2022 - Imminence. Jesus comes at any minute? 08/26/2022 - Why the Church? 08/08/2022 - New Book 06/16/2022 - There's still a MILLENNIUM! 05/26/2022 - AUDIOS and PDF of The OLIVET DISCOURSE 05/08/2022 - NEW BOOK 03/20/2022 - Not all have faith, conclusion to my... 01/29/2022 - Slain in the Spirit? Really? 01/21/2022 - AUDIO UPDATE for HACKBERRY HOUSE 12/11/2021 - The "Scroll of Revelation" (2003)... 10/19/2021 - NEW BOOK! A Study of HEBREWS available... 10/11/2021 - Scary Truth from a "Diet" book 10/05/2021 - Mega church: How many commandments... 10/04/2021 - And finally: STEP 10 for the building... 10/03/2021 - Step 9 in making that GREAT, BIG... 10/01/2021 - Want a huge assembly? Here's step... 09/30/2021 - Step 7 in the building of a... 09/29/2021 - Step 6 for a successful church: Are you... 09/28/2021 - Step 5 in that successful church plant:... 09/27/2021 - The Lord's day? Or the Lord's hour? How... 09/26/2021 - Finest Church in the City: Here's Step... 09/24/2021 - Finest Church in the City! Step 2 on... 09/23/2021 - Finest Church in the City! 09/17/2021 - NEW STUDY on JUDE has begun! Great time... 08/17/2021 - Jesus and Politics? I don't think so... 08/16/2021 - Of Heroes 08/15/2021 - How the Galatians Broke Paul's Heart 08/13/2021 - When Should You Leave Your Church? 08/12/2021 - Come out of the world, worldly... 08/03/2021 - Me 'n music 07/28/2021 - Is the Lord's Prayer still OK, Pope... 07/27/2021 - Tempted? or Tested? 07/26/2021 - Why question the Humanity of Jesus the... 07/25/2021 - Was Jesus truly man? Or, What is the... 07/23/2021 - About my article collection 07/20/2021 - Just askin'... 2. Does it really matter... 07/19/2021 - Bob's You Tube Channel 07/19/2021 - Just Askin': Nakedness at the beach. 07/15/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Conclusion 07/14/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Following 07/13/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad. Death, burial...... 07/12/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad on end-time events 07/09/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: One True Religion 07/08/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: The Reward 07/07/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Anger 07/06/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad. The judge? 07/05/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad, regarding sickness 07/02/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad, regarding love. 07/01/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: what about the... 06/30/2021 - Visit Brother Bob at YOUTUBE 06/30/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Response to sin 06/29/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Sin and character 06/28/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad. Battle record. 06/25/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: How they... 06/24/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Monument builder... 06/23/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad. The Flight. The... 06/22/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad. How they maintain... 06/21/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Transfiguration... 06/18/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad, on Heaven and Hell 06/17/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Opposition 06/16/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Their ultimate... 06/15/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Their disciples 06/14/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Miracles 06/11/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad. What about worship? 06/10/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad compared: the... 06/09/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: Marriage comparison? 06/08/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad, Identified by God... 06/07/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad, the formative years. 06/04/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad. Annunciation and... 06/03/2021 - Temple or Kabah? 06/02/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad: The setting 06/01/2021 - Jesus and Muhammad. The genealogies... 05/31/2021 - Muhammad's genealogy compared to Jesus' 05/28/2021 - TWO NEW BOOKS! 05/28/2021 - Who did the Prophets see? Jesus... not... 05/27/2021 - JESUS, The Eternal One. Muhammad, The... 05/26/2021 - Jesus: First, Best, Last. The book,... 05/24/2021 - Who Is Jesus? Gentle Shepherd... 05/21/2021 - God's true "witnesses" know that Jesus... 05/20/2021 - Who is Jesus? Not who that false... 05/19/2021 - Who is Jesus? Not what the "prophet" of... 05/18/2021 - Who is Jesus? The Savior! 05/17/2021 - Who is Jesus? SON OF MAN 05/14/2021 - Jesus is GOD THE SON. Part 2, John... 05/13/2021 - Jesus is GOD THE SON 05/12/2021 - Jesus is THE SON OF GOD 05/11/2021 - Who is JESUS? 05/10/2021 - So who is the antichrist really? Did... 05/09/2021 - Ezekiel FOUR is now available! 05/07/2021 - Does Paul identify the antichrist? 05/05/2021 - SERIOUS clues in Revelation 17 05/04/2021 - A resurrected ruler. John and Daniel... 05/03/2021 - The antichrist in Revelation 13: the... 04/30/2021 - What? Not just a TYPE? Is he coming... 04/29/2021 - ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES? Why not? 04/28/2021 - Daniel 11 is a KEY to who is the... 04/27/2021 - Daniel 9, Part Two of the "70 sevens"... 04/26/2021 - Daniel 9 and the antichrist 04/22/2021 - Daniel 8 and the antichrist. Part 3.... 04/21/2021 - Daniel 8 and the antichrist, part 2. 04/20/2021 - Antichrist in Daniel 8? 04/19/2021 - Matthew 24 Commentary, conclusion. 04/16/2021 - SPEAK MY LANGUAGE Revisited by a... 04/15/2021 - Matthew 24, Commentary, Part 3 04/14/2021 - Matthew 24 Commentary: part 2. 04/13/2021 - Matthew 24, a commentary, part one 04/12/2021 - NEW BOOK! Ezekiel Part Three! 04/09/2021 - Who is the Antichrist? Introduction... 04/08/2021 - Who is the antichrist? INTRODUCTION 04/06/2021 - The Rapture: A Summary 04/05/2021 - The rapture. Responding to that "wrath"... 04/02/2021 - What happened in John 4:1? (The worst... 04/01/2021 - Didn't God promise "Philadelphia" to... 03/31/2021 - Come Lord Jesus! Proper prayer for a... 03/30/2021 - Even MORE distinctions between rapture... 03/29/2021 - Other "distinctions" between "rapture"... 03/28/2021 - Is the "rapture" really different from... 03/25/2021 - IMMINENCE, PART 2. Let's teach the... 03/25/2021 - NEW BOOK! Ezekiel PART TWO now... 03/24/2021 - Don't we at least know the season of... 03/23/2021 - Matthew 24... part 2 03/22/2021 - Matthew 24. SO CLEAR! "After" is the... 03/19/2021 - Two clear Scriptures about the... 03/18/2021 - In search of: PRETRIB RAPTURE... but... 03/17/2021 - Has the church always believed in a... 03/16/2021 - Rapture, Tribulation.... definitions 03/15/2021 - Yes, rapture study is Important! 03/14/2021 - Caught up! But when? The rapture of the... 03/09/2021 - RESET 4, the GREATEST RESET of ALL:... 03/07/2021 - Ezekiel saw it! The GREATER RESET! 03/07/2021 - NEW study guide available. 03/04/2021 - What will the GREATER RESET look like? 03/03/2021 - Sheep and Goat (Nations) 03/02/2021 - The Beast of Revelation 03/01/2021 - The Union for the Mediterranean: Rome... 02/28/2021 - Dominion Theology and the New World... 02/25/2021 - Prophesying out of their own spirits... 02/24/2021 - Rome and the New World Order 02/23/2021 - The reset IS coming! 02/22/2021 - New World Order. As close as your... 02/21/2021 - Reset and Genesis 02/18/2021 - What do you mean, "reset"? 02/16/2021 - Charles Spurgeon's "Free Grace." 02/15/2021 - The marks of Christ 02/14/2021 - Bearing one another's burdens... 02/11/2021 - Lusts of the flesh vs fruit of the... 02/10/2021 - Paul warns the Galatians. 02/09/2021 - Fallen from grace? Is it possible? 02/08/2021 - Moses vs the Spirit, bond vs free 02/04/2021 - Sons of God! (Galatians 4) 02/02/2021 - Enter the schoolmaster... 02/01/2021 - Christ becomes a CURSE for us. 01/29/2021 - Word Pictures from MY Romania 01/29/2021 - Did you receive the Spirit by keeping... 01/28/2021 - Does Paul agree with James in his... 01/27/2021 - The Jerusalem Council, A.D. 49 01/26/2021 - About church councils 01/25/2021 - Paul and Luther: Only God can change... 01/24/2021 - ZOOM Men's Meeting Saturdays at 7 pm... 01/22/2021 - Paul preaches the Gospel at Antioch of... 01/21/2021 - The Galatians are deserting Christ! 01/20/2021 - The letter to the Galatians 01/19/2021 - Spurgeon: Dead men know nothing. But... 01/18/2021 - Some obvious truths about Bible... 01/15/2021 - A trip through the KJV New Testament,... 01/14/2021 - Let Westcott speak for himself. 01/13/2021 - What part did Catholic priest ERASMUS... 01/12/2021 - Burn Bibles today? Some do! 01/11/2021 - Is KJV onlyism cultish? 01/10/2021 - NEW BOOK BY BOB 01/08/2021 - Spurgeon and the NEW TRANSLATIONS 01/07/2021 - KJV translators only wanted to IMPROVE,... 01/06/2021 - Change is never welcome, but is always... 01/05/2021 - To the "most high and mighty Prince... 01/04/2021 - Why was the KJV created to begin with? 01/01/2021 - "She was like a wet bird who had... 12/31/2020 - APOCRYPHA in the KJV? And "Authorized"... 12/30/2020 - Why study the KJV ONLY movement? (From... 12/29/2020 - REASON 5 for leaving the "witnesses"....
Older
Newer
Top