Honoring the Christian Martyrs
Life with Gwen and Joe
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9m 20s
Fall is a beautiful season, marked by brilliant colors and cooler temperatures. It is also a time when the world celebrates a series of “holidays” that are actually derived from Holy Days established centuries ago, either as ordained festivals set forth by God or as times of beautiful commemoration begun by early worshipers. All Hallows Eve has long been a time for honoring the martyrs, those who gave up—often all the way to physical death—in order to show the world they loved God first and above all else. Unfortunately, the practice of showing reverent respect for those who went before has devolved over time into what the world calls “Halloween,” with an emphasis on the macabre and the underworld. In this week’s “Life with Gwen and Joe,” the emphasis is placed back on the celebration of the martyrs in order to help us all focus—even if for just a few minutes—on the reward that was on the minds of all who have given their lives for the sake of God’s reputation. To suffer and face death on behalf of God requires a great deal of faith in the ultimate reward, the “city beyond the sky” that Gwen so aptly describes. There is a group of people bringing back the practice of honoring the martyrs in order to create for the children a memory that is meaningful and a resurrected observance that has everyone pause and ponder the hereafter. Join Gwen and Joe as they share powerful words from the book of Hebrews, reminding us that we have not suffered as much as the ultimate martyr, Jesus Christ, who shed blood and died in order to show the world that God reigns—and then was resurrected to testify that there is a prize worth dying for that is available to all who, like the leaves falling from the trees, willingly lay down their very lives for the sake of promoting God and His amazing Kingdom. Welcome to a very moving episode of “Life with Gwen and Joe” that should have us all praying for All Hallows Eve to become the norm while the world’s “holidays” recede into being abnormal!
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