Handcuffs are Going to Come
© Seth Kniep, 2008. All rights reserved.
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A private individual prayed before a school event at Tangipahoa Parish in Louisana. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) came in, filed suit, and threatened, “Their refusal to comply...should and must result in their removal from society.”
The ACLU denies any anti-Christian agenda, yet at the same time “it was suing on behalf of a Wiccan witch in Virginia who wants to offer pagan prayers at county council meetings!”1
The Oconee County council of South Carolina held a long-standing tradition of beginning official meetings with prayer. Because they dared to “violate” the so-called “separation of church and state,” one of ACLU’s South Carolina Board Members warned, “[P]rayers should not be allowed. Especially prayers to Jesus...[I]f they continue to break the law, I want to say, the handcuffs are going to come.”2 The ACLU called the council’s actions “blatant violations of federal law,”3 and the council gave in to their demands.
Just this year, two volunteers in South Florida strolled up and down public sidewalks outside a public school, handing out Bibles. The school principal called the sheriff’s office and a deputy arrived and ordered the men to leave. The men complied, but the deputy cuffed them anyway and booked them into jail. Praise God, the ADF successfully knocked down their charges and exonerated the two men.
“Removal from society.”
“Handcuffs are going to come.”
Jailtime.
Sound familiar? It’s only a matter of time before the floods of persecution return. Scripture tells us that in the end times people will lose their heads for the outrageous crime of being a Christian (Rev 20:4). Jesus warned His disciples, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Until then, praise God for ministries like the Alliance Defense Fund who hold back the full talons of those who hate Christ and His Word. But this won’t last forever. Fellow believer, do you thank God daily for your freedom? Are you taking full advantage of this freedom by sharing the gospel as much as you can before the day arrives when the price for preaching the gospel will be a noose around the neck?
The ACLU denies any anti-Christian agenda, yet at the same time “it was suing on behalf of a Wiccan witch in Virginia who wants to offer pagan prayers at county council meetings!”1
The Oconee County council of South Carolina held a long-standing tradition of beginning official meetings with prayer. Because they dared to “violate” the so-called “separation of church and state,” one of ACLU’s South Carolina Board Members warned, “[P]rayers should not be allowed. Especially prayers to Jesus...[I]f they continue to break the law, I want to say, the handcuffs are going to come.”2 The ACLU called the council’s actions “blatant violations of federal law,”3 and the council gave in to their demands.
Just this year, two volunteers in South Florida strolled up and down public sidewalks outside a public school, handing out Bibles. The school principal called the sheriff’s office and a deputy arrived and ordered the men to leave. The men complied, but the deputy cuffed them anyway and booked them into jail. Praise God, the ADF successfully knocked down their charges and exonerated the two men.
“Removal from society.”
“Handcuffs are going to come.”
Jailtime.
Sound familiar? It’s only a matter of time before the floods of persecution return. Scripture tells us that in the end times people will lose their heads for the outrageous crime of being a Christian (Rev 20:4). Jesus warned His disciples, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Until then, praise God for ministries like the Alliance Defense Fund who hold back the full talons of those who hate Christ and His Word. But this won’t last forever. Fellow believer, do you thank God daily for your freedom? Are you taking full advantage of this freedom by sharing the gospel as much as you can before the day arrives when the price for preaching the gospel will be a noose around the neck?