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THE PROOF OF PERSECUTION
A certain proof of Real Christianity is real persecution. It always separates the real from the unreal. It clearly identifies those doing damage to the enemy.
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“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!” [Matthew 10:24-25]
ARE YOU FOR REAL?
This is a question every Christian must ask himself at one time or another, probably more often than one may think, if for no other reason than to find out if one is still on track with the Lord and has not strayed off on a tangent, such as a tangent of temptation in the recent or distant past or one induced through the acceptance of incorrect information perceived as true. It must be noted the Lord, because He is a loving Father, will always convict of sin and of teachings not His own. He will also confirm truth. If such conviction and correction is not present and one is allowed to exist in a deceived state, it is a good indication of a lack of real relationship with Him since His presence always exposes darkness.
In this regard one may wonder how it is possible that one may claim Christianity and one’s secure status with the Lord though lacking the basic elementary evidence defined by the New Testament as a proof test. Yet this is the nature of deception in that the deceived one does not know he is deceived. It is therefore always wise to check one’s lamp for oil, so to speak, and to keep one’s oil flask resupplied, to assure one’s actual standing with the Lord and the ability to work for Him, and to never cease making necessary trips to the oil supplier for refills if only to be topped-off. (See The Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 23:1-13] The apostle Paul alluded to the actual outworking of this in the following:
For I am well assured and indeed know that through your prayers and a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) this will turn out for my preservation (for the spiritual health and welfare of my own soul) and avail toward the saving work of the Gospel. [Philippians 1:19 (Amplified Classic)]
Concerning spiritual deception and even self-deception, there are a great many Christians in the world who are not actually actual Christians according to the Lord’s definition and the example of Holy Writ. Also, such unreal Christians comprise the majority. (Selah Alert: Pause, and calmly think of that!) There are any number of reasons why such has happened but the primary one is the simple fact that such people have never actually surrendered their lives in total to the Lord Jesus. Therefore, the root cause is a simple act of will: They have never actually repented of their sin, renounced it, and turned away from it, and thus have never been cleansed from sin by the only method one can be according to Scripture. This entails an unlikely possibility of a relationship with a Holy God.
There is also no proof they have ever fulfilled the Scriptural command to be born again (from above)—a powerful, clear, dynamic, life-changing occurrence akin to actual physical birth—something the Lord Jesus placed in the MUST category. The evidence of a new spiritual birth is an entirely new spiritual nature predicated upon the teachings of the Lord. One thus effectively becomes an entirely new creation:
Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! [1Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified Classic)]
GOT PERSECUTION?
We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ… [Ephesians 4:14-15]
In addition to “Christians” that never were who mistakenly think they are, there is also the case that many real Christians (maybe most, maybe all) stray off track from time to time and some, quite sadly, do this permanently, never finding their way back. There are, of course, New Testament examples of Christians who quit on God. This possibility is also elaborated upon in many of the Lord’s teachings in which He commands His followers to do all they must to maintain their walk with Him and warns of the many traps, deceptions, temptations, fleshly inclinations, and spiritual attacks designed by the enemy to defeat the one who would live for God. Of course, even after initial real repentance and genuine new birth, every real Christian must fight the battle of temptation and sin which is why the Lord has provided the means of ongoing spiritual cleansing, by the shed Blood of the Lamb of God, through the application of personal repentance as necessary. One should always allow for a personal altar of repentance.
Those who do fulfill the Lord’s requirements, consistently overcome, have the spiritual fruit in their lives as evidence, and gain a level of spiritual maturity, will also be subjected to perhaps the most difficult proof of Christian discipleship—the reared ugly head of persecution:
Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. [2Timothy 3:10-12]
THE EVIDENCE OF REAL CHRISTIANITY IS REAL PERSECUTION
One proof that one is an actual real disciple of the Lord Jesus is suffering as He suffered. No one will ever come anywhere close to suffering as much and as long as the Lord did or receive the great level of persecution He did. But a few of His followers will certainly suffer the highest price. For some, dying for the Lord is part of His plan.
We see this clearly in the life of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who gave His life for the truth of the Lord by exposing a wicked enemy that remains to this day. His inspiring testimony continues as one of the greatest in the Lord’s early Community. We also see the highest cost of Christian persecution rendered against James the son of Zebedee, perhaps the eldest of the original twelve apostles. He was killed by an evil local king to curry political favor with the wicked ones Stephen exposed.
When trying to figure out why the Lord allows such death and repeated injurious physical persecution against His children, as in the distinct example of the Apostle Paul, one may draw a blank. Such would appear to be a violation of the Lord’s promised protection. On the other hand, such deaths of His followers are relatively few and far between and account for a small percentage, and the persecution of many is never physically injurious though entail much suffering nonetheless. In searching for answers we must understand that real Christians willingly GIVE their lives to the Lord for His purposes to use as He desires. They no longer belong to themselves or another but to Him. This is a trust and faith issue. It also indicates that those saved by the Lord belong to Him since they were purchased by His great sacrifice on their behalf (See Acts 20:28).
This means every real Christian who gains actual real salvation was saved by the greatest persecution death in history, one in which a fully innocent Man unspotted by a single sin did what only He could do in the greatest act of love of all time. If not for Him every human being would end up in hell. The relative few who thus end up in heaven for eternity only do so because of His offering as a perfect payment of sin and because He granted access to the Door of Life.
Because of the Lord Jesus, and only because of Him, one can have their burden of sin removed, can have their hopeless addiction to sin destroyed, and can have their life record of sin expunged.
This allows for spiritual freedom and great joy! It allows a person the ability to live a good life and the strength to overcome whatever attack of the enemy may come forth. And it enables one to be a fruitful worker in the Lord’s Kingdom used of God for His purposes to help set others free and assist them in gaining spiritual maturity.
Therefore, if one is called to die for the Lord or to suffer much, we must know this all works together for God’s greater plan. So we trust Him and we submit. We work for Him and do our part. And we fight the good fight of faith.
Suffice it to say, however, the devil and his people do not fight fair. They are wicked and they are evil. Perhaps the most evil are those who once walked with God but betrayed Him and then betrayed others. There is nothing to be done about this. People are blessed of God with a free will. They may choose to do good or evil. But such good and evil is defined only by the Lord. It is therefore mandatory that one become extremely familiar with the Lord’s full teachings and do their best to understand and apply them. One must also obey the Acts directive and become filled with the powerful Holy Spirit of God. Those who do so will become strong vibrant soldiers in spiritual warfare doing much for the Lord and His kingdom. It is a high and blessed calling.
But spiritual warfare has a high cost in this sinful fallen world. The spiritual war raging all around us has casualties. Of such were the Lord Jesus Himself who paid the highest price for our salvation. Of such were Stephen and James. Of such was also the Apostle Paul who was executed by the Roman government under the auspices of Nero on false charges. The Lord allowed these casualties for His greater purposes. And, never to be forgotten, each of these faithful men managed to fulfill their callings.
May each of the Lord’s people be consistent overcomers and fulfill their callings as well.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33]
“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” [Revelation 17:14][1]
© 2025 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
HARD HEART VS. TENDER HEART: TWO MODELS FOR LIVING
One model is as the socially popular Broad Way though it leads to eventual ruin. The other appears counterintuitive yet is the bountiful Way of Life.
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A REJECTION OF THE REAL
There are many things about our world that are very difficult to deal with. There are a great many realities that force us to face such facts though we would usually rather not and may even wish such facts did not exist. As we grow out of childhood some begin to become aware of the existence of an upcoming forced change of course and one’s eventual coerced embrace of hard truths. While other young ones or maybe most do not perceive this early on it eventually becomes quite evident. Many children do not want to leave their innocent carefree childhood life behind and embrace such difficult truths and would greatly prefer to maintain their status quo as children.
But future adulthood beckons. Young children may never wonder so much about the great mystery of adults, how they came to be, and the far-out idea that they were once children also. It is simply too much to fathom and for the most part does not compute. Their reality is such that they must be protected from life early on yet also must slowly learn to incorporate that which allows them to handle the next steps they must make to attain the growth they need. But all in good time.
Therefore, parents must on the one hand shield and protect their children in the present but on the other prepare them for the future. There is a right and a wrong way to do this. Not enough shielding and protecting is not good. Too much is also not good. Some children are overprotected which essentially stunts their growth and disallows them from developing properly. Without a course correction this makes them incapable of being able to handle life and forces them to have virtually ongoing proactive assistance. It simply does not help their maturation to have a helicopter mom flying around them all the time, providing their every trifling need, and giving them ultra-shielding and protection by her constant presence. Yet many other children are subjected to far too much freedom and mature content at early ages at a time when they cannot properly deal with the subject matter. This inevitably gets them in trouble. Most would much prefer a loving parent close by.
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
One would think the Lord does not engage in either of these extremes while raising His own children. Of course, He doesn’t. He will never spoil a child but He will also grant ultra-protection and shielding when required. Yet our Father obviously knows that children must grow to adulthood properly. The fact that there is a future adulthood which must inevitably be embraced is a simple hard fact of life and it does no good to shy away from it. Therefore, it is far better to prepare and be prepared rather than run from reality regardless of how cold and hard that reality may be.
For perspective, consider the Lord Jesus Himself. He was once a beautiful baby and a wonderful precious child. He truly was that perfect child we otherwise idealize. Yet He too had to grow out of childhood and begin the difficult trip to His destiny. I would say no one ever prepared as much as He did or was ever prepared to such a degree by His chosen parents. And then the day came when the former beautiful precious child filled with laughter and joy—God’s perfect spotless Lamb—had to endure the worst physical suffering any man ever endured and die an extremely difficult, painful, and traumatic death. When the time of His arrest arrived the onset evil to which He was suddenly subjected quickly advanced exponentially. His treatment grew worse by the minute and it appeared that His Father and all His friends and family had completely checked out on Him leaving Him vulnerable to a cast of the most wicked people who ever lived. This represented quite the contrast between the Lord’s former life as the holy Lamb of God and the Sacrifice Lamb who became sin on our behalf. It is also a genuine illustration of the fallen world in which we live.
We see then, that the existent hard world filled with potential sin and misery which every child must venture into must somehow be overcome. These are simply the cold hard facts of the matter. It is what it is. It is why good people who strive to be good parents of their precious children have great pause when considering the task before them. They want to shield and protect their children and they must, of course, but must also allow for the appropriate growth their children need to eventually become strong overcoming adults that can properly handle the world, stay on top of things, not be overcome by the sin and evil thereof, and also excel as subject-to-attack spiritual warriors.
THE SPIRITUAL SOLUTION
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
And rend your heart and not your garments.” [Joel 2:12-13]
Without the Lord’s presence in one’s life and His guidance people have a tendency to develop the very opposite of what the Lord prescribes such as a hard heart enveloped in a thick callus. This is due to the constant ongoing irritating friction and pressure one undergoes in attempting to make it in life and overpower the opposition one is subjected to. It is often the case that otherwise good-natured people become hardened due to what they must endure. This process also often causes people to have a “thin skin” in that one under the pressure of coping gives rise to raw emotion, is offended rather easily, becomes triggered at intervals, and on occasion even becomes ready for a fight. It is not because such intermittent displays are in their inherent nature but are due to the load of difficult things they have to bear at any given time. Again, it is an illustration of this fallen sinful world in which we live in that otherwise tender loving people become less so over time and are often hardened simply by the realities of persevering.
The Lord would rather things be the other way around. Rather than having thick hearts and tender skin, He would rather we have tender hearts and thick skin. Without a tender loving heart one is simply unable to communicate with God or understand Him. And without a thick skin which allows one to be protected and shielded from incessant offenses and ongoing pesky attacks, one cannot overcome such things and will succumb and be defeated. A tender heart also allows one to have close loving relationships with family and friends, of course.
We see then that it is an act of God that makes it possible for one to stay tender-hearted as a child but also develop great strength, a thick skin, a strong mind, a powerful attitude, and a spiritual backbone (like a saw log) toward defeating anything and everything that would hinder one’s vitally necessary ability, gifting, purpose, and destiny to overcome in life rather than be overcome by it. For this God has a plan in which He can maintain the pure and holy hearts of children within the mature spiritual warriors He must create both for His purposes and for our greater welfare and standing in Him.
VICTORY IN JESUS
He knows that His people must be victorious. We want to be victorious. This means gaining the victory, keeping the victory, and being the ongoing constant victor against all spiritual enemies demands tender hearts and thick skin yet there is only one way such can ever happen. It is never through our own efforts because such is effectively impossible. It can therefore only occur due to an act of God.
Trying to achieve this on our own develops the very opposite of what we want. It should be obvious that our own efforts only develop the hard heart-thin skin paradigm. Yet this world demands that we deal with very difficult issues and those who try to overcome and gain victory without the Lord, again, bring about the very reverse effect of that for which they are striving. It is a conundrum, no? An even bigger conundrum for those who otherwise rightly embrace taking responsible authority for their lives is the idea that one must surrender to God to gain the good life they seek. Many people recoil at such an idea because surrender is perceived as a bad word promoting weakness and irresponsibility that cannot possibly result in anything good.
So we come full circle. Though we may want to retain a childlike joyful heart and seek happiness in life we are instead conditioned and even coerced into rejecting such idealistic notions in order to grow up, develop a stiff upper lip, and achieve on our own doing whatever we must. Yet this results in an effective destruction of childhood innocence in which we end up far from God and really don’t appreciate what we become.
The Lord’s approach is just the opposite in that we must not only maintain the joyful attitude of a child but embrace it (which represents a tender heart) while also developing into full responsible adulthood (which represents a thick skin).
Such knowledge should clarify one’s perception of the Lord’s attitude toward His children. He is obviously Good. He is Love. No One has greater love. He gave His very life for His children. However, He also chastens those whom He loves. He subjects them to spiritual trials. He allows for tribulations and suffering. He demands a high level of obedient discipleship. All of these things are necessary for the removal of the old paradigm and application of the new one.
They are designed to tenderize our hearts and thicken our skin.
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” [John 15:1-2]
“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” [John 15:11]
…We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. [Colossians 1:9b-14][1]
© 2025 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
The Fix Is In: Delusion Illusion (Part 3)
It’s here.
We have reached a point in time in which technology is so advanced it can not only be used to distort reality to the degree of creating near foolproof false narratives, but can also reveal the deception of existing false narratives.
Some such false narratives have been around awhile. Some of these fake storylines passed off as fact are so far-reaching it would do more than merely shock the vast majorities of those conned by them if revealed for what they actually are, but undoubtedly also cause disruptions on more than mere major scales.
And those in the know know the time is short. Truth is coming forth like never before in history and secrets are being exposed. People are figuring things out. Massive lies are being revealed. Not sure where all this is heading, but as they say down south, somethin’ is fixin’ to happen.
Historians know truth to a greater degree than the average person simply because they do a lot of research. Good historians do more. Great historians find things they are not supposed to find.
Much of history is a fictional narrative based on fact and passed off as authentic. Powerful people have far too much at stake to allow truth to be known as it concerns their less than stellar exploits in exploitation and power and wealth gathering. Real history includes all the hidden plans and conspiracies made in secret by extremely wealthy and powerful people and none of this is part of the historical narrative, except possibly a fraction.
Yet, searchers for truth know such information must exist because of the playing out of historical events. Outside of random events and accidents, everything is planned. We see the result of the plans but almost never see the plans themselves. Some plans appear above board. Most are not. There is far too much going on behind the scenes of which the vast majority is not aware.
An excellent example is found in Outer Space. There are two unknown entities there known as dark energy and dark matter. One can often find the presence of unknown truth the same way scientists “find” dark matter and dark energy—they cannot actually observe these but they can observe the effect they have on what they can observe.
No one knows what these are but we know they are there. Current estimates are that dark energy comprises 68% of the Universe, and dark matter makes up 27%. This means that everything observable by us in the entire Universe only adds up to about 5% of all that is there.
Based on this astounding fact, people should be much more careful about what they perceive as fact, and the beliefs they hold that they think are based on fact, since the odds are huge there is much more truth that exists that they are completely unaware of and most likely will never put forth the effort to discover. And they must consider that forces exist to hide truth and that the world is filled with deception.
Thus, the Delusion Illusion.
As most know, history is written by the victors. Victors have all the power. They can do anything they want, and that includes writing the records. This process had for long centuries been fairly simple because the majority of planet Earth’s inhabitants were illiterate, out of touch, had no power whatsoever to affect real change, had no influence, etc.
This is no longer the case. Information has exploded and is shooting up the exponential curve at great speed. Much that has been locked up in the unknown is now becoming known, and ease of access is also accelerating rapidly. This was prophesied long ago:
“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.” [Daniel 12:1-4]
The rich and powerful have always been a very small minority. It had control in its hands. When we think about all the great wars of history, these wars had their distant origins in one king fighting another, though such kings started out in mankind’s history as the biggest or smartest guy within a small group, tribal leaders, the best fighters, and not to be forgotten, the most pathological.
Such were those who had no empathy for others whatsoever, could never feel anyone else’s pain, had no mercy or compassion, and were thus unhindered in using their natural brutality in any way they wanted. They demanded respect. Everyone else backed down, and those who did not were taken out.
Thus, much of “history” is actually composed of the tales of various kingpins attempting to defeat other kingpins and take their stuff. Some invented moral reasons for such as a way to involve their people emotionally. Whatever the case, one can be assured that surface facts are all that remain, and inside skullduggery and internal reasons for appropriating the stuff of others to gain greater power and wealth are largely lost under a smokescreen of deception.
This process has obviously made it into modern times. As technology increased over the last century or so, it became easier for the controllers of technology to control the historical narrative. Much of “reality” became a stage play. Once all the major newspapers were bought up by a few powerful people, the news within the papers became jaundiced toward ends decided upon by the propagandists. For those who objected, it was fairly easy to either create false scandals, blackmail such objectors, remove their income sources by bribing and/or intimidating those in vulnerable positions who would rather play ball, or simply revert to the old tried and true elimination by death of one sort or another.
We have all heard of “palace intrigue.” We know powerful leaders were always on their guard against hostile takeovers. Why did ancient kings have food-tasters and bodyguards and secret police and spies and etc? They obviously knew that the desire for power and wealth was a disease reaching immense proportions on occasion, that they themselves had gained power and wealth through illicit means, and that regardless of how they got where they were someone would attempt to take them out as well and take their stuff. A fairly recent president gained his position through such means and spent the rest of his days in ever growing paranoia for this reason, which only added to his circumspect mental condition.
In past imperial periods, it was often family members and inlaws. They could trust next to no one. Whoever they did trust had to be vetted to the nth degree. The successful remained successful by successfully establishing a palace guard of enough trusted ones that they retained power longer.
History reached a moment, however, when powerful people realized they should put an end to such nonsense since a better way had presented itself. Instead of fighting each other all the time, they saw the wisdom in becoming leagued together for both means of greater protection but mainly as a method of gaining far greater wealth and power and learning to share it.
In other words, a much bigger pie created a much bigger piece of pie for each that they could never achieve on their own. Hence, mankind progressed from mere military control as a single method toward the age of political control, in that kings began ruling among themselves through political means involving sell-out trusted ones and mouthpieces—those who would stand in as faux leaders though controlled by the powerful, who became puppeteers and then created the greatest format of control, to be discussed in future posts.
Thus, the political leaders we see today are not actually leaders but mere marionettes on strings. Regular historians might see this to a degree but largely discount the notion. Great historians, however, can see the strings, can identify the strings, and can trace the strings back to the ones holding the strings and pulling the strings.
And many decades ago, when advancing though early technology became much more fully in their control, they could get away with almost anything and did, since they controlled mass information sources and fused technology with propaganda.
Thus, the great kings who leagued themselves together as one appropriated even more power and wealth and were able to achieve a dream that many ancient ones sought but never gained. Their power is such that they can not only do whatever they wish at any given time toward the final goal, but also possess an extremely malevolent and prodigious ability to deceive, and not just a few, but the entire world.
So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”
There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
If anyone has an ear, let him hear. [Revelation 12:17-13:9] [1]
© 2014 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued.]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.



