Bret Treffers

Mrs. Roskamp

LA, 8A

9 March 2017

In 2016 a little bit over 13,000 Christians were killed in Syria. ⅔ of Christians in Syria have been persecuted or have been driven away by other religion,Mostly Muslims. Christians are being persecuted all over the world and we need to help them.

Rome did a lot of persecution towards Christians, especially when Nero the ruler of rome from 54-69 AC was in power. When a fire broke loose in the stands and killed many of people he decided that he would try to blame it on the Christians and persecuted them by the hundreds. They were burned,tied to crosses and forced to wear beasts skins and get torn by dogs for amusement to others. Christians were really never liked by others,all the other religions thought Christians were a joke,how Jesus is not the son of God and that he is just some magician.  Nero was one of the worst rulers in the history of Rome,Not surprising because he had many illnesses and lacked social skills. He was appointed to honor his brother who had died not to long ago.

Present day persecution in Syria is still bad. In 2016 over 13,000 christians were persecuted. Syria is the #6 on the world watch list today. Still in 2016-2017 ⅔ of the Christians in Syria are persecuted or driven away. The amount of Christians has dropped in the past few years from 1.5 million to a little over 400,000. 86% of christians in Syria today are persecuted.That means only 14 percent are left alone for the time being.

People around the world are trying to help those who are going though this time by educating themselves and those around them, by learning more about what is going on in other countries. Most are Praying for those who are being persecuted and that is very good. Especially if that’s all you can do.A few people could be writing letters to those going through tough times and questioning God. Many people might be denying their faith to stay alive. We can even volunteer by using our skills to help others, if you’re a videographer you can make a inspiring or encouraging video/movie and send it to those who are being hurt. If you’re a photographer you can send pictures of people over here praying for those going through hard times. If you would like to donate money to those who are being persecuted around the world,Open Doors is a very good website to donate and help those around the world. The money could be used to keep the ministry going or to simply keep safe from guards that would arrest them.

We need to help those who are being persecuted around the world from one Christian to another. Anything will help them encouragement, prayers etc. The middle east is the most dangerous place for a Christian to live and we need to do something about that. Christians are dying way too much and the population of them in the middle east is decreasing every single day. Christians are being persecuted all over the world and we need to help them.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/18/world/meast/syria-fast-facts/ March 1

https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/syria/ March 4

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-27/persecution-in-early-church-did-you-know.html March 6

https://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/SYRIAHIS.HTM March 7

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neal-samudre/5-practical-ways-to-help-_b_6791432.html Mar 7

http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/syria.html March 9

Bret Treffers

Mrs.Roskamp

LA 8A

September 8 2016    Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through him.

         Selfless

On theme day,”which was around the end of last year.We had to decide our theme for our school.We all went to faith church to decide our theme and come up with ideas.We left in the afternoon around 12:00 and we got back around 2:30.We all got into different groups of about 10 or 12 people to come up with verses and a theme for the year.After a while we all got together and voted on a theme. After 20 minutes of deciding it all came down to Selfless.I can apply Selfless to my life as a 8th grader because we never really are worrying about other it’s always about us, and I think that’s the problem.We need to help each other out and be respectful to others.Instead of walking past someone not saying anything,say something and talk to that person.

This years theme can apply to my life here at Zeeland Christian School because I don’t always respect others and ask others how they feel about something. I don’t ask people if they’re hurting or feeling upset about stuff I just always didn’t care.If people ask me I usually don’t tell them the truth about how I am doing.

This years theme applys to my life outside of school because we could help out the community more than what most people do.Lots of people litter and don’t think anything of it.They have no idea how much it hurts the environment.Lots of people don’t help out the poor that need to support their family.People need to give more if they can to be selfless.

I should be more honest to people and let them know how I feel.We all as a community should be there for one another.We should talk to people that might not have any friends.