Been thinking about faith a lot today for some reason. So hard for me to explain to anyone. Hard to understand how so much evil exists throughout the world. But you know whether we are here for 1 day or a hundred years it is really not that long of period in the whole scheme of things especially compared to eternity. I am not a Bible scholar but have read much of it and cant remember reading that life is fair here on earth. You all mostly know how Jesus died to start the spread of his teachings that if were followed by every person on earth there would be no suffering, wars, etc. But we cant because we are sinners. Trying to understand faith drives some highly intellectual people and atheists bat shit crazy. My simple mind just has faith that the Big Guy upstairs has this all figured out in the whole scheme of things. I know I can feel his Love if I will just let him Love me and he does no matter how much a piece of crap I was that day. Here is how the apostles died in order to share their faith to us even though this was two thousands years ago that carries on to this day. I mean, man, this is faith. A friend of mine sent this to me not long ago so I pulled it out to read it again. 1. Matthew Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia. Killed by a sword wound. 2. Mark Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead. 3. Luke Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost. 4. John Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve As Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully. 5. Peter He was crucified upside down on a x-shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way Jesus Christ had died. 6. James The leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, the enemies beat James to death with a fullers club. *This is the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation. 7. James the Great Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. 8. Bartholomew Also known as Nathaniel was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. He was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip. 9. Andrew He was crucified on a x-shaped cross in Patros, Greece after being severely whipped by 7 soldiers and they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the Body of Christ hanging on it. He continued to preach to his tormentors for 2 days until he expired. 10. Thomas Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent. 11. Jude Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. 12. Matthias The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and beheaded. 13. Paul Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil emperor Nero at Rome in 67 A.D. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman empire. These letters which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, for a large portion of the New Testament. Thankfully for the faith and courage of these dudes we are now able to hear the truth and the teachings of Jesus Christ some 2000 years later. Cant explain faith any better than that.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 04:30:41 +0000
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