You remember when Jesus warned that our restaurant reservations would be cancelled? Me neither...

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"But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. - Mark 13:9 (ESV)

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A pastor in India has his prayer meeting broken up by police threatening them. Brought to the station he was beaten with bamboo canes, accused of paying people to convert to Christianity, brutally tortured and threatened that had must move. His landlord was also threatened to ensure that he would have to move. When he tried to file a complaint, he was told by the authorities that he better move. In Nigeria, Agnes was taken prisoner by Boko Haram for two years. Captured with two other friends, Agnes would be the only one who survived. Worked relentlessly by her captors she was constantly pressured to denounce Christ. Often beaten to unconsciousness, she was given a caretaker, spouse of the one the fighters, who was secretly Christian as well. One day, she mercifully was able to escape. In Virginia, a far right-wing, faux Christian group has their reservations cancelled by Metzger Bar and Butchery. The Family Foundation bravely soldiered on and tried to fundraise off of the indignity of not being allowed to have their desert reception at the Metzger facility. I understand the Chocolate Mouse is extraordinary. Oh, the humanity!

After reading these three accounts I am reminded of the old Sesame Street bit called, one of these is not like the other. The reality is that the NAR dominionist movement in the apostate church today is creating a victim mindset in this generation of would be Christians. How to do this though when we live in the most Christian and religiously tolerant country in the world? Simply lie and exaggerate! A town in anywhere USA does not want a manger in the town square this Christmas? Hurry and call James Dobson they are trying to cancel Christmas! They won't let a high school football coach pray Christian prayers with his players before games? Get Mat Staver and the Liberty Counsel on the phone fast! We need to file amicus briefs and get this before Amy Coney Barrett stat! The Metzger Bar and Butchery doesn't know its place? Better get a fund-raising email out so we can make money off of this absurdly nothing-burger of a story. Let us reason once more together beloved through the above linked article from Charisma News.

"When critics claim that Christians in America today do not suffer persecution or oppression, they are actively denying the reality of living in modern-day America." - James Lasher

Really. Remember when all of the alpha male Christians were laughing at the perceived "snowflakes" on the left? Perhaps the Family Foundation needs a safe space. Either way, this opening statement from James Lasher at Charisma News is perhaps one of the stupidest things ever written. Being forced to find another venue to eat your tiramisu while plotting the next Supreme Court judge you can poach is hardly "persecution." Maybe if Metzger staff greeted them with bamboo canes and when filing a police report they were told they better move, then they could play the persecution card. This is such juvenile behavior. It is what we see in middle school dynamics. The bully gets pushed back on and they want to cry. The delicious irony is that the far right likes to pretend that businesses should never be interfered with. Well this business didn't want your business. Suck it up buttercup.

"This is not a new occurrence, either. The aggressive left has been attacking one Christian baker since 2012. That is over a decade of legal and court battles all because Jack Phillips stands firm in his Christian faith. But the left has shown one thing, that in the name of tolerance they are in fact spreading intolerance. The disease known as "woke cancel culture" reared its ugly head yet again, this time in Virginia when a Christian group had their restaurant reservations revoked mere hours before their event. Their crime? Being pro-life, believing in the design God created for marriage between one man and one woman." - James Lasher

Enough with your hypocritical nonsense! There is no "woke cancel culture!" How can someone stand so close to their own hypocrisy and not see it! The Family Foundation is celebrating Jack Phillips for refusing to service someone because they were gay but in the same breath denounce the gay staff at Metzger's for refusing to service them because they are against gay people. You cannot have your cake and eat it to, particularly at Metzger's Bar and Butchery. By the way, the crime is not your beliefs. Stop trying to make yourselves out to be victims all the time. The perceived crime is in trying to force everyone to live according to your beliefs, a concept I might add - not supported in the bible. If interested, I wrote an extensive devotional on the baker stories called, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Baker." Google it if interested.

"The Family Foundation was told on the day of their reservation that the restaurant, Metzger Bar and Butchery, would not be honored. The restaurant, co-owned by celebrity chef Brittanny Anderson who is known for her shows "Top Chef" and "Chopped," released a statement saying they did not want their employees to feel "uncomfortable" or "unsafe." If every restaurant in the world refused customers because some of the waitstaff were "uncomfortable" serving them, there would not be any open restaurants in the world." - James Lasher

Kinda not even close to the point. I am not here to defend the restaurant. They can choose to run their business as they wish. We are here to discuss the prevalence of the church playing chicken little. If they do not get their way, every time, they cry to the heavens that the sky is falling. In doing so they eviscerate the witness for Christ and His gospel. They key verses find Jesus warning His followers what they can expect for following Him. Delivered over to their enemies. Beaten in synagogues. Being denied the Linzer Tarts at the most popular local eating establishments. Wait, that last one doesn't sound right. Seriously, we are to stand before Governors and Kings - not to whine about how badly we are treated, but rather to give glory to His name!

"The restaurant did not elaborate on just how the waitstaff would be "unsafe" serving the group. The truth behind the matter was that bigotry led to the decision, the same ugliness that spawned separate water fountains and bathrooms in previous decades. But Christians who read their Bibles know this type of hatred not only exists, but is specifically targeted toward them. Jesus shared to His disciples that before the world hated them, it hated Him first (John 15:18-19), and this type of encounter is only going to become more prevalent and violent." - James Lasher

Dear Lord are you serious? The world does not hate Jesus because they can't get dinner reservations at Tavern on the Green. They hate Him because they refuse to believe. They hate Him because He is the exclusive only way to the Father. They hate Him because they love their sin more. NAR dominionism always makes the story about themselves instead of Christ. And then to compare this to segregation? What the Family Foundation fails to see is they started the fight! When you stake out the far-right political positions and claim superior morality in doing so, is it any wonder that the people you are railing against push back? And what is the great push back? No one was captured and tortured for two years. You just couldn't hold your desert reception planning how you can overthrow the gay marriage supreme court decision, while being waited on by gay wait staff.

"The proof is already in America, as pro-life pregnancy centers are firebombed, Christian businesses are sued time after time and the gospel message is purposefully distorted to suit society's standards instead of society living up to God's standard. Refusal of service for Christians won't end with restaurants. There are already conservative and Christian groups dealing with cancellation from Big Tech companies like YouTube and Facebook, while banks like Chase have closed conservative bank accounts without giving any reason why." - James Lasher

You Tube and Facebook have terms of service (TOS), which people must agree to in order to be given an account. Those that were closed violated the TOS. In most cases it was due to disinformation about COVID or vaccines. You have the right in this country to believe whatever you want but that does not mean you have the right to a platform for those absurd beliefs. While any act of violence should be firmly rebuked, the writer fails to acknowledge the violence is also carried out the other way, such as murdering abortion doctors. The overarching point remains here. Businesses deciding who to service and not service is not persecution. Not only that, but the decisions made are based upon actions taken, not individual faith.

"But Christians can fight back against this hateful conduct. Jesus declared that the love of God changes lives and Paul exhorted believers to put on the full armor of God to fight the real enemy in the spiritual realm. Even as the left decries the power of prayer in a situation such as a mass shooting, this is a trick of the enemy to deceive people about just how powerful prayers are!

The love of God has the power to overcome the hatred the world is displaying in this day and age, and it is up to Christians worldwide to show that love to the world." - James Lasher

No. You do not get to pretend what the real narrative is. It is not that people decry the power of prayer. It is that many political groups, including Christians, refuse to pass any commonsense gun laws and THEN offer prayers when someone shoots a bunch of people. The world may think the things of God are utter foolishness but the flesh of hypocrisy? They have no problem spotting that.

The bottom line here is that there is real persecution of our brothers and sisters spanning this globe. Christians are martyred every day for refusing to denounce Jesus. That persecution however is not occurring in America. What is happening is there is a group of radical apostates who believe in dominionism. They believe in conquering this country for Christ by imposing their faith and beliefs on the lost. They do not care how they accomplish it. they have cheated to accomplish it. they have schemed and partnered with the devil to do so. They have abandoned the gospel and the Great Commission to do so. By doing so they create a church generation that constantly views themselves as the victim. Everything has become an affront. They have become the snowflakes they abhor. Satan has convinced them that the lost are their true enemy. That they are the cause of all sin and grief in this country. That they have violated some fictional covenant and are luring judgment to this land. That if they would just behave better then God will stay His wrath.

All lies.

God is coming to judge all nations and none will be spared but will He find faith on earth? In Nigeria He will find Agnes still praising His name despite knowing pain, torture and imprisonment. He will find that pastor in India, preaching underground despite direct threats to his very existence. Then He will cast His gaze upon this country. Many will be bragging about how they belonged to the Liberty Council or the Family Foundation. Others will boast about their voting record of casting ballots for Donald Trump twice and a Mormon in 2012, all for Jesus! Many will regale Him with their collective suffering of never being allowed to have the famous Peach Cobbler at Metzger's Bar and Butchery but that they persevered. They will say Lord Lord, did we not pass glorious legislation in your name? He will say, away from me for I never knew you.

Reverend Anthony Wade - December 9, 2022

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.