Sunday, 8th May, 2022
Bible Reading: Hebrews 11: 35-40
Memory Verse: God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect. Hebrews 11:40 (BSB)
The Voice of the Martyrs’ report: “Children get down!” Anne Hutchinson screamed as she heard the arrow sharply strike her door. Then they heard the harrowing screams of the Indians who surrounded her home. More arrows seemed to come from everywhere, and she could hear footsteps near the window. “I will see you today, Lord!” Anne said. Anne Hutchinson was a woman of courage. By the time she was twenty-three years old, she had been imprisoned three times for speaking out about her Puritan beliefs. The Puritans wanted to hear about the Bible in their church services because few Christians in England had a Bible in the English language.
Anne and her husband, William, had come to America in 1634 seeking religious freedom, but even in America, they were met with persecution for holding religious meetings in their home. People who supported their ministry were arrested and lost their right to vote. At forty-six years old and pregnant with her eighteenth child, Anne was convicted and imprisoned for four months. After being banished from the colony, her family and friends started a new town and home church in Rhode Island. With her pioneering spirit, Anne Hutchinson helped make the idea of freedom of worship an American ideal. She and five children died at the hands of her Indian attackers. She met her Savior with courage and faith, just as she had lived her life.
Freedom is never free. It always comes with a cost. Jesus Christ was the first to pay the ultimate price for religious freedom. Believers like Anne made the dream of religious freedom a reality in America. Our heritage of sacrifice is huge. What price are you willing to pay for the next generation to experience the religious freedoms that you are enjoying? Ask God to show you how to pass it on to the next generation.
Challenge: The Bible you have the liberty to carry about today was the lifetime preoccupation of people like Anne Hutchinson, Martin Luther King Jnr, etc. They held on to their convictions even at the face of death. What kingdom risk are you willing to take for the expansion of the kingdom of God in your vicinity? Some brethren find it hard to give God their abode for the house fellowship of their church. When last did you tell your neighbour about Christ? Your boss hasn’t come to the saving knowledge of God and you’re comfortable? Does your paycheck mean more to you than the salvation of his soul? What is your plan for the aged, widows, orphans, touts and miscreants in your neighborhood? Arise from your lukewarm and backsliding state; and raise up the banner of the kingdom of God wherever you are and wherever you go.
Quote: And they loved not their lives even unto death – Rev 12:11c
Prophetic Decree: By fire by force, your life shall count in time and eternity, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Thank you Father for loving me before I ever loved You.
2. I shake off the beast of lukewarmness in my life in Jesus name.
3. Fresh fire for evangelism flood my soul, in Jesus name.
4. Like Anne Hutchinson, my life must count in time and eternity, in Jesus name.
5. I receive an unquestionable fire for salvation of souls, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 25,29,33,36,39