Pastor Steve’s Blog February 17, 2019 I want to start this week’s blog with the Scripture from John 15:20: “Remember the words I (Jesus) spoke to you, ‘No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.’” We are very lucky to live in a country that affords us the opportunity for freedom of religion. I know some would argue that we are losing some of that freedom as society is increasingly being called “post-Christian.” I, too, am concerned about that, but we are not losing our lives just for professing our Christian faith as has and is happening in other countries in the world. Because of that I don’t think that we, as a church, give much thought to this Scripture and the reality of persecution. But for some, the reality of persecution and death is all too real. I don’t know if you will recall back in 2015, when ISIS was seemingly at the height of its power in Africa and the Middle East, the horror of ISIS killing people for no other reason than for professing their faith in Jesus Christ. I read the following article this week in Decision Magazine. The title is: “Bodies of Christians Executed by ISIS Found.” “The bodies of 34 Ethiopian Christians killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2015 have been found in a mass grave located on farmland near the coastal city of Sirte, Libya, which ISIS gained control of in 2015 before United Nations-backed forces regained control in 2016. The grave was discovered during the investigations of the terrorist group’s captured members, and the bodies of the Christians have been exhumed and will be repatriated to Ethiopia. According to Reuters, and ISIS propaganda video posted to social media in April, 2015 showed militants shooting and beheading Ethiopian Christians, who were in two groups, on the beach and in the scrubland. This incident happened two months after ISIS members executed 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt; a mass grave containing their bodies was found in 2017.” This week let us give thanks for the country in which we live. It may not be perfect, but it is our country and generally affords us a persecution free zone to practice our faith. Let us also pray for those who live in other places that, still to this day, suffer persecution for their Christian faith.