Monday, April 14, 2014

HOLY WEEK--Some things to think about


During this week, here's some things to think about. Would we be as strong as those first Apostles?



How the Apostles Died
1. Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

2. Mark
Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

3. Luke
Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

4 John
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave
of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death.
John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos.
He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed
and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the
only apostle to die peacefully.

5. Peter
He was crucified upside down on a cross.
According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy
to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6 James
The leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast
pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he
survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.
* This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7. James the Great
Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry.
As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem.
The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial.
Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he
declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

8. Bartholomew
Also known as Nathaniel was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey.
Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9. Andrew
He was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers,
they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was
led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour.
The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.'
He continued to preach to his
tormentors for two days until he expired.

10. Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Sub-continent.

11. Jude
Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12. Matthias
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

13. Paul
Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured
a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had
formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational
Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith. And ye shall be
hated of all men for my name's sake: But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.


Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God Will!



THE (SCIENTIFIC) DEATH OF JESUS
At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to death. At the time Crucifixion was the
"worst" death. Only the worst criminals were condemned to be crucified. Yet it was
even more dreadful for Jesus, unlike other criminals condemned to death by
crucifixion Jesus was to be nailed to the Cross by His hands and feet.
Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long. The nails were driven into His wrist. Not
into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that
extends to the shoulder. The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being
hammered into the wrist that tendon would tear and break, forcing Jesus to use His back
muscles to support himself so that He could breathe.
His left foot was the first to be nailed, with a short nail, sort of like tacking something to hold it there. Both of His feet were then nailed together with a larger nail. Thus He was forced to support Himself on
the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself
with His legs because of the pain. So He was forced to alternate between arching His
back then using his legs just to continue to breathe. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the
suffering, the courage.

Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours. Yes, over 3 hours! Can you imagine this kind of
suffering? A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was simply pouring water
from his wounds. From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the
spear wound to His side... But do we realize His wounds were actually made in his body. A hammer
driving large nails through the wrist, the feet overlapped and an even large nail hammered through
the arches, then a Roman guard (Longinus), piercing His side with a spear, from whence the Symbol of the ways of salvation, water and Blood, appeared.

But before the nails and the spear Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and his beard ripped from His face. The crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp, and, as Our Blessed Mother told Mary of Agreda , one went into His eye. Most men would not have survived this torture. He had no more blood to bleed out, only water poured from His wounds. The human adult body contains about 3.5 liters (just less than a gallon) of blood. Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood; He had three nails hammered into His members; a crown of thorns on His head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest, and into His Sacred Heart...all these without mentioning the humiliation He suffered after carrying His own cross for almost 2 kilometers, while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part, where His hands were nailed). Jesus had to endure this experience, to open the Gates of Heaven, so that you can have free access to God. So that your sins could be "washed" away. All of them, with no exception! Don't ignore this situation.


JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU!

He died for you! It is easy to pass jokes or foolish photos by e-mail, but when it comes to God, sometimes you feel ashamed to forward to others because you are worried of what they may think about you. God has plans for you, show all your friends what He experienced to save you. Now think about this! May God Bless Your Life!

Let's set aside what we're doing and take this opportunity! Let's see if Satan can stop this.. All you have to do is:

1. Simply pray for the person who sent this message to you
2. Then, send this message to people, the more the better.
3. People will pray for you and you will make that many people pray to God
for other people.
4. Take a moment to appreciate the power of God in your life, for
doing what pleases Him.

If you are not ashamed to do this, please, follow Jesus' instructions:

He said (Matthew 10:32 & 33): "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge
before my Father in heaven; but whosoever denies Me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven".
Yes, I love God. He is my source of life and my Savior. He keeps me alive day and night. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.

This is the simple proof. If you love God and you are a believer and trust in salvation through Christ Jesus, send this to all those you love and care for. Maybe we, as a team, can get more people praying and receiving graces and mercy from Jesus.

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