Tag: suffering
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Waiting for the Lord in the Age of Violence
The assassination of Charlie Kirk. The stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a subway platform. Wars that rage in Europe, the Middle East, Africa. Riots in the streets. Fear and doom scrolling endlessly across our screens. It feels like the world has been flipped upside down. The despair is palpable, the anger contagious. The noise…
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Obedient Unto Death
This poignant piece reflects the heart-wrenching reality of injustice and persecution faced by Christians around the world. The AsianRoughRider passionately expresses anger towards the perpetrators of such atrocities, but also emphasizes the ultimate triumph of Jesus Christ over evil. He encourages practical actions, through prayer, serving those around them, and supporting policies that promote religious…
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Death of a Seed
I remember his smile best. Tai had this quiet humility about him…it was his smile that said, “God changed me, Jesus is my everything and I want the world to know it.” Tai was part of a team of local leaders I had been coaching for years. He wasn’t always a faithful church planter but…
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Jesus’ Answer to Racial Injustice
1. Perspective: If all you see is race, then you’re looking through a broken lens. Jesus didn’t see race…he saw people. People with names, stories, cultures, languages, and histories. Jesus saw and knew George Floyd before you and I ever did. Jesus knows every person who has ever experienced injustice and pain…and he cares more…
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Persecution Story
I was trying hard not to shed tears as I was listening to Chanthi’s story. I had asked him a very simple question, “So tell me about your time in prison for Jesus.” Chanthi was from a remote tribe of spirit worshippers in Southeast Asia. He lived in a simple village high up the mountains…
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3 Reasons Why Suffering is Essential in God’s Kingdom
From the safety of our homes in the US, being persecuted for our faith sounds like something that only happens in outlandish countries or ancient biblical stories. To be interrogated, threatened, beaten and jailed for our faith in Jesus is just something that doesn’t typically happen in America. When suffering does occur in other places…
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Die to Swag and Live for Suffering
We want it all and we want it now. As a culture, we in the West are enslaved by a near-worship of comfort and convenience. I seriously just saw this app that digitally enhances your photos to make your face and body look slimmer. You can post your weight loss photos on Facebook and get…
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Radical Faith is BS
I love David Platt’s book, Radical. It’s taken the western church by storm and I resonate with anything that upsets the status quo – but the title can be a little misleading. There is no such thing as “radically” following Jesus. It’s only radical because we Christians are content with a surface level faith. Jesus…
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The Joy of Persecution
A few weeks ago we took a sweet little boat ride up river to visit dear friends. No big deal. Just two hours of zigzagging through mazes of dead trees in a tiny leaking boat, to reach a remote village in the mountains with no electricity, phones or latrines, where there was a real possibility…
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Suffering – The Key to Church Movements
Every week I pray that our friends do not get arrested for telling others about Jesus. Whenever I travel I ask God for wisdom each time I am questioned by the police. When I sit down with local leaders and church planters the types of problems we face are: -Who is being followed? -How do…
The Asian Rough Rider 