Storm

Even though there will be opposition and challenges, we know that our Savior has triumphed over the power of sin and death and exercised his victory over the enemy. In Matthew 9, we see how that was expressed:
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

This is an apt portrayal of our world today - we, the people who belong to Christ and to the Kingdom of God, are called to proclaim and demonstrate the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. In a world in which there is great sickness and evil seems to be advancing, the gospel brings hope. And, each of us is called to take that message of hope with us day by day: we are not to grow weary, as Galatians 6 says, but to be discerning, vigilant, and empowered by the Spirit of God.

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In 2nd Timothy chapter 3, Paul begins that chapter with these words:
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come...

Later, he states:
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

There is a spiritual war that is afflicting this earth, and the powers of darkness and evil are attempting to nullify the work of God - it is an impossible proposition, certainly, but we have to recognize the forces at play and pray accordingly.

At the 2023 National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Orlando, Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse delivered a message on opening night.  Joel Rosenberg's news service, All Israel News, reported that he said, quoting from a FoxNews.com story: “There’s a storm coming, and we’ve all got to be prepared..." and that, he "noted that many corporate and political entities are becoming increasingly hostile to those who hold traditional Christian teachings."

Graham went on to say:

“The world is deteriorating so quickly. It seems like every demon in hell has been turned loose,” he added. “We're living in a ‘cancel’ culture,” Graham said of American society, arguing that many major corporations “want to destroy Christian organizations.”

“They want us to shut our mouths,” he told the NRB audience. “They don’t want to hear from us.”

The story also related:

During his speech, Graham called upon Christians to decrease their reliance upon corporations owned and operated by those who are hostile to Christ. Specifically, Graham warned that, in the coming years, banks, insurance companies and data storage companies would cut off organizations that are vocal about the Gospel and biblical values.

At BillyGraham.org, these comments were shared:

The problem with cultural Christianity, he added, is that people place too much emphasis on offending people. The Gospel, in and of itself, is offensive, but that doesn’t mean we need to water it down.

“Preach—don’t back up, don’t make excuses. Paul said, ‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel.’ … Don’t apologize for the Gospel—just declare it, just preach it.”

And, most importantly, leave the results up to God.

“How does that work?” he asked. “I have no clue. All I know is it works, I’ll tell you that. If you preach the Gospel and give the invitation, someone is going to respond to it, but it’s got to be clear. The Gospel pierces their heart.”

Nick Vujocic, of the ministry Life Without Limbs, has experienced the financial opposition firsthand. As CBN News reported in July of 2021: "During an interview...with The Epoch Times, Vujicic said he began to speak out against the innocent killing of unborn babies in March 2019. Within 16 weeks of doing that, he revealed, 'we had a grenade at our house, a false magazine article published against me, a lawsuit threat, a spying drone, and a bank kicked me out.'"

The article goes on to say:

Around that same time, Vujicic spoke with his good friend Betsy Gray about launching Pro-Life Bank. The 38-year-old, who has an extensive financial background, told Vujicic that he needed to pray more about the idea.

Vujicic explained that during that period, he experienced more adversity, but this time from his own bank.

"I got kicked out of a bank with no warning. They froze my credit cards, froze my debit cards," he said. "They gave me a letter to say that they did a review of me as a client and they don't want anything to do with me."

The pro-life advocate chose to take on the project with Gray and is excited to educate others by exposing banking networks that partner with abortion providers.

Also, at NRB this year, former Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback discussed with me, in an interview heard on Faith Radio, an unfortunate incident involving his new organization, the National Committee for Religious Freedom.  The Daily Signal had reported in February of this year:

In May 2022, three weeks after opening the account, JPMorgan Chase closed it. Brownback, along with other conservative organizations, raised the question of whether the move was done for religious or political reasons. JPMorgan has said it had nothing to do with political or religious views and said the decision was made because, under federal laws, it needed more information about donors and recipients than the nonprofit provided.

The article continued, stating:

In December, the National Center for Public Policy Research submitted a shareholder proposal, following up on a similar proposal in November from the National Legal and Policy Center, calling for more transparency

JPMorgan is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission staff for permission to exclude consideration of the resolutions from its annual shareholder meeting...

The website later reported that the SEC had decided, "JPMorgan Chase & Co. must allow shareholders to vote on a resolution urging the company to investigate politically-motivated discrimination after Chase denied payments or canceled accounts in what critics call a discriminatory trend in banking."

Reporting on that meeting, the Daily Signal stated in May:

Shareholders of JPMorgan Chase & Co. rejected a proposed inquiry into “debanking” by the financial giant that may be targeting account holders based on politics or religion.

The article noted:

The inquiry was suggested by David Bahnsen, managing partner and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, which manages more than $4 billion in assets.

His proposal shined light on the issue despite its defeat, Bahnsen said in criticizing JP Morgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, at a Tuesday press conference held over Zoom.

Bahnsen is quoted as saying, “If they were indeed as focused against religious and political discrimination as they have claimed, and as CEO Jamie Dimon reaffirmed this morning—if they are so sure that this not only is corporate policy, but is not happening at all—then a rather routine and I think inexpensive investigation in the grand scheme of things, that inquiry would have been very helpful..."

The article also said that 19 attorneys general nationwide had written a letter to Dimon "calling for JPMorgan Chase to oppose viewpoint discrimination." Arkansas AG Tim Griffin said during that press conference, "They talk a lot about openness and inclusivity. The reality is, when they are asked to define what their standard is for shutting some of these accounts, they are unable or unwilling to do so..."

Inclusivity - sounds great, doesn't it?  Problem is, if the ideas of some don't line up with the dominant ideology, they find themselves ex-cluded.  That has happened time and again to Christians who dare to act in accordance to their faith.  We have been included in the Kingdom of God, and that means that our actions are to line up with the principles of the Kingdom - that will conflict with dominant, humanistic philosophies of this world.  

When we find the world's systems are aligned against the proclamation and practice of the gospel, then, as Franklin Graham declares, we have to look for alternative ways to get the message out.  I am thankful for the technology that enables Faith Radio to reach our broadcast area on-air and the world online.  But, we have, and all of us have, a responsibility to recognize the potential roadblocks to proclaiming our message and to live productive, God-honoring lives.  During the tribulation period, as Revelation 13 teaches, freedom to engage in commerce will be restricted for those who do not honor the one-world government - we are heading in that direction, which is good in one sense, because we know that Jesus will soon come to take the Church to be with Him, but it's bad in another sense, because we know our freedoms are under assault.  We have to be vigilant, but continue to trust in our faithful Savior.