I know this is a heavy topic, but it’s been weighing on my mind for quite some time and there are some things that I think need to be said because the term “martyr” and the image that it creates, the connotation and flavor that it gives today in people’s minds has been greatly skewed. Mostly because of media propaganda and muslims blowing themselves up, people seem to think that to be a martyr is a bad thing…and it’s not!
It’s a beautiful thing.
First of all, to be a martyr is NOT committing suicide. To be a martyr, a TRUE martyr, is to be a man or woman of conviction, integrity, and principles…three things that are rare indeed in today’s society.
To be a martyr is to say: I WILL live according to my own conscience. PERIOD. And that’s it 😀
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
~Matthew 10:28
“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
~Luke 9:62
Through our bodies, we become a “living testimony of Jesus Christ” but what does this mean? A testimony, in a court of law, is a solemn attestation as to the TRUTH of a matter. This whole world is built upon lies, if your eyes are even halfway open it’s easy to see the lies everywhere, they’re all around you…
Our “testimony” is NOT what churchianity would have you believe…it is not “oh I was this horrible sinner but then I found jeezus and stopped smoking and cussing and watching r-rated movies and listening to music that has a beat and now my life is so perfectly full of kittens and rainbows and lollipops…” I mean, that’s nice and all, but that’s NOT what a testimony is! 🙄
Our testimony is speaking forth the TRUTH always on every matter, decision, argument, conversation you happen to find yourself in. Speaking Truth is like a missile shot at the foundation of The Kingdom Of Lies, it does more damage and causes more destruction than you will ever realize. Like the ripples in a pond that fan out from the source, so too does Truth when spoken forth. It is one of our main weapons, second only to LOVE.
But TRUE LOVE can only speak Truth! Because you love people, really love them, you want them to know the Truth of their situation or decision, especially if they ask you for help or advice. Don’t sugar coat, don’t beat around the bush, if you truly love them, speak THE TRUTH exactly as you see it. They might hate you for it, they might even try to kill you but at least you truly helped them and didn’t serve them a steaming pile of lies on a silver platter like the rest of the world does.
And this is what it means to be a martyr.
When you put your hand to the plow you are preparing the ground to receive seeds. In Matthew 13:38, the Lord tells us that the field is the world. As workers in the vineyard we are plowing the field, which is the world, and planting seeds of Truth where ever we go. When you plow you are literally turning the soil upside down, as it was said of the apostles, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” (Acts 17:6) And so will say the critcis and nay-sayers, but IN REALITY, we have turned an upside down world right side UP! 😀
As a gardener, I know firsthand that plowing is a very physical and real act, it is action and life lived. The plowing of the field is living by The Holy Spirit, who will guide your actions and your life and, through you, turn the world right side UP. Depending on where you are spiritually, and what God would have you do, this looks different for everyone but there is some key advice that will help you make your advances upon The Enemy faster and stronger.
Number One: Destroy any foothold. The number one means of enslavement in our country is DEBT. They keep you working at a meaningless job to make money to pay off Debt, you have to work you have no choice and this leaves very little room for serving God. Jesus said “you can not serve two masters, you cannot serve both God and mammon”. Mammon is money and material possessions, when you have debt you are serving them. ” The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7 DO whatever you must needs do to rid yourself of debt. If it’s credit card debt just stop paying, sure you’ll be penalized and never be allowed to use a credit card again or receive a loan and that’s a GOOD THING! It is entirely possible to live without credit, we did it for many years, and while we use credit cards now (mostly for the convenience and the 3% back we get on every purchase) we always pay it off every month and NEVER carry a balance. Have an expensive car payment? Sell it and buy something cheaper in full with cash. If you have a mortgage, sell the house and live in an apartment until you can save enough money to buy one in full with cash. You don’t think it will sell? How do you know unless you try? God does not want you as anybody’s servant except His, He will make A Way, He always does. You say that houses in your area are too expensive to buy in full with cash? Then move someplace cheaper! That is what we did, we moved from super expensive Maryland to dirt cheap West Virginia. Let nothing sway you from your path.
Number Two: Don’t let them steal your Joy! Jesus paid the ransom to free you, you are no longer a servant to the world but a servant of Christ. When He frees you He reminds you of what your true heart’s desire is, your talents and your gifts (and NO I am not talking about those dumb little quizzes you take in churchianity that tell you where you can best serve them 🙄 ) I’m talking about what really makes you happy, like when you were a kid, what were your biggest dreams and aspirations? What was your heart’s true desire? By the time we are an adult the world has usually beat this out of us and conformed us into “happy” little robotic slaves who, like a cog in a machine, does his little job no questions asked and no answers given. Do what makes you feel like a kid again (and no I don’t mean sit around in your pj’s all day watching cartoons and eating cereal 😉 ). Deep down, you know what makes you tick, why He created you, it’s your very essence so it can’t be too hard to figure out…and once you do, do it with gusto! and do it with wild abandonment, letting no thing stop you. This is True Worship.
Number Three: Last but certainly not least, remember this and practice it as much as you are able…
“Ye are of God, my little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
They are of the world: therefore speak they as of the world, and the world heareth them.
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he who is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us: hereby know we that we abide in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God. And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us.
God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen.
And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.” 1 John 4:4-21
Musings Of A Mountain Mama 
Good tips but a tiny word of advice about not paying your credit card debt. We HAD to do that when my husband’s pay got cut several years ago, in order to survive. Everyone told us it was no big deal, in 7 years it would fall off our credit report (not that we cared) & the creditor couldn’t contact us after that point. We had every intention of repaying it in full, but we had to get to a point that we could breathe.
Last fall, we were finally getting back on our feet. It had been almost 4 years, but we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Then my husband got served with a lawsuit for a credit card debt of $760, which had ballooned to $1600+. We consulted a lawyer & discovered that because of the lawsuit, if we didn’t enter into some type of payment arrangements they could garnish our wages or seize any checking or savings account we have.
Granted, if my husband didn’t work a conventional job or if we didn’t have any accounts to worry about, we could have ignored it. But in our case, we have those things to consider and we aren’t in a position yet to make a radical lifestyle change (hopefully in a few years).
Point being – we could care less about our credit. But we had no idea the repercussions it could have on our finances. The lawyer we spoke to (pro bono) told us that credit card companies have become very aggressive due to the current economy, & they’ve seen an increase in these types of lawsuits over the last 3-4 years.