Will You Stand Up For God?

Will You Stand Up For God?
By Richard Markland,
Saturday, August 19, 2006

What I am about to say is only for brethren in the various churches of God and it may be a bit on the controversial side for some, but I feel it needs to be said.

What is happening in my life at this time is not just about me. It's been difficult dealing with the death of my wife, family problems as a result of her death, the "criminal" justice system and the local media. I am writing this as a warning. Difficulties are ahead for brethren. The coming persecution will catch many of God's people by surprise because it will come out of nowhere.

In the last 16 months, I have come to understand what it means to experience grief as I have never understood it before. I've never experienced so many tears and the fragmenting of a family as a result of the death of my wife. I have come to see how family can take the anger of a death and turn it against another family member. I now understand what the words "criminal justice system" really means. I also understand more than ever how dishonest and unethical the mainstream media is on a local level and how easily your name can be splashed on the front of a local tabloid or your face shown on TV. I don't think many brethren realize how blind justice is and how you are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

Right now, I am drinking a cup of Cappuccino and eating a few Ritz crackers. If I were to write on hunger or famine, how affective would I be? If a mother in Ethiopia, however, is sitting at this moment with her dying child in her arms, and had the ability to write about it, what would she say compared to me? I would definitely be on the losing end of what true hunger is.

There are too many churches of God who feel they are doing the true work. Numerous articles have been written about the great commission and for some a radio or TV broadcast is available, but how affective are they? How many ministers who represent the various churches of God have actually experienced the subjects they address? Very few. Many have been ministers most of their lives and quite honestly live in a cocoon.

The subject of death is a perfect example of a void as deep as the Grand Canyon when it comes to understanding its impact. There are very few qualified writers from the various churches of God on this particular subject. There is Biblical knowledge, but how many writers on the subject are touching the nerve of readers by explaining the emotional toll that death takes on those who have to move on? I have not found a single article or booklet yet from the various churches of God that addresses the emotional aspect that death takes. Many booklets and articles are the same and I quite frankly have become bored with reading them. Why? Because the writers do not connect with what I am feeling. It doesn't matter if I have understood God's way of life for 40 years. I just don't see an in depth understanding by ministers from the various churches of God when it comes to dealing with a death now. Instead, I read familiar scriptures and the hope for the resurrection. Sorry, this won't cut it. More needs to be understood and said when it comes to this subject because there are grieving brethren who have never heard a single sermon or read one article on grief and the gut wrenching loneliness of losing a loved one. Most ministers are simply out of touch and only major in Biblical knowledge.

When it comes to addressing world problems, many ministers talk about how God's Kingdom is needed because of war, famine, disease, etc. How would an article be written if a minister could actually experience such events? Too many write or speak about problems, but do they really feel it? What if any one of us could sit next to someone injured in a war and listen to how a child, wife or family was killed? Writing of such an experience would bring tears. We would never look at war the same again.

How many brethren or ministers know what it is like to be wrongly accused to the point of being put in jail next to rapists, homosexuals, murderers, drug dealers and wife beaters? I don't wish it on anyone, but now that I know just how crooked and corrupt the judicial system is, I am no longer naive.

Sit in jail next to other criminals, and you know first hand what the world of crime is like by the conversations and experiences talked about. Have a "criminal" justice system parade you in front of a camera and a judge, and you realize just how crooked and corrupt the system is. The sound of the chains on your feet and the tightness of handcuffs on your wrists leaves an indelible mental imprint that is never forgotten. Have the media put your name in the paper, or put your face on TV because of false charges, and you will get a glimpse of the coming persecution. I now know. I didn't have a clue two years ago.

There is a persecution coming. Ministers and brethren know this, but they don't realize how much it will turn their personal worlds upside down. How many truly understand the lengths by which the media and the judicial system will go when it comes to accusing you of something?

Homeland Security measures at airports in Britain are now questioning the religious affiliation of travelers. It is only a matter of time until brethren in all the churches of God will be questioned for their religious beliefs and what church they attend. We will become a national security threat and either arrested or killed. It is only a matter of time.

The conclusion I have come to through all of this is that too many brethren and far too many ministers talk about how evil the world is, but they really don't know what it is like to experience the evil on a personal level.

Complacency and apathy are a part of the day and age in which we live. It is on a physical and spiritual level and far too many brethren and ministers only have head knowledge because of what they hear on TV or read in the paper or on the internet. Not all, but most.

This is another Sabbath. It's another day of attending services. What message will be given today? Will it be a Sabbath like so many others? I have come to the conclusion that church is more of a cocoon and spiritual babysitter than a place of spiritual answers to the daily struggles we experience. Church is not reality, but in many cases a break from the real world that has no correlation to what is a part of daily life. To criticize and point this out, will get a person in trouble. I know, I was kicked out of Living. How many brethren are willing to admit that a majority of the churches of God provide little relevance to what they are going through every day? Most ministers in the churches of God are simply naive and are not giving sermons that deal with reality. Sermons are boring because so many ministers lives are boring.

Someday, everyone reading this will be on their own. There won't be a church to attend. What if God doesn't answer the prayers of His people in the way they want them answered when arrested because of persecution? What if God will allow brethren to be tested to see how loyal they will be as handcuffs are tightened around their wrists as they are hauled off to jail? I honestly don't think many brethren and ministers will do very well. Why? Because a person's spiritual state now has everything to do with how the future will be handled. There is too little understanding of what the real world is like and it has resulted in spiritual complacency

The shooting of brethren in Wisconsin by Terry Ratzman was a real eye opener when it came to what ministers were willing to step forward and be counted. If a leader claims to be the one chosen by God, he should be the first to step forward and be willing to take the bullets by the media and those who shoot the arrows of accusation. Instead, reliance upon others within Living took place without personal accountability. This showed to me more than ever just how much we rely upon others instead of standing up for God's way when it is required. Ministers can talk the talk, but will they walk the walk?

No, I am not spiritually superior to others. No, I am not God's pet project nor do I feel I am being used to deliver a warning as God's messenger, but I do now have a better understanding of just how much Satan hates us and how he will do whatever he can to sift us through a meat grinder and destroy us.

I feel for the various churches of God who feel exclusive. Who you are spiritually doesn't matter to the justice system and media. You are just a number to them, but because certain ministers preach spiritual superiority because you belong to a certain group, ministers and brethren are in for one big surprise when they really see that a personal relationship with God overrides any particular association with a church or organization. It is going to be one gigantic spiritual awakening for those who have put God in a box and won't let Him out.

Best Regards,
Richard Markland
(Sabbath-keeping Church of God member in Ohio)
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When the persecution really comes and the brethren are scattered as we are now divided, with no minister to lead them (since too many folks have failed to let the minister serve as a means to an end and not an end in itself), and we're on our own, every man for himself, as "Babylon" comes apart at the seams, troubles within and troubles without, too many folks will see how naked they are and in desperate need of a PERSONAL (not just collective) relationship with our Lord and Savior, Yeshua.

God help us all.

Shabbat Shalom,
David

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