The Apostles

DO YOU KNOW HOW THE APOSTLES DIED? These men, whose lives were saturated with peace and love, most died violent deaths. Only John died of old age - a natural death.

MATTHEW: Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

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

LUKE: Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

JOHN: Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a 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.

PETER: He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormenters that felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

JAMES: Just the leader of the church of 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).

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 the trial. Later, the officer walked beside Jesus 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.

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.

ANDREW: Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven solders 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.

THOMAS: Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of the missionary trip to establish the church in the sub-continent.

JUDE: Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

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

PAUL: Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rose 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 old cruelty faced to the apostles disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith. And ye shall be hated of all men for thy name's sale.

But He endureth to the end shall be saved.

WRITTEN BY MANDY - OUR BLACK LAB:

HERE IN THIS HOUSE

Here in this house... I will never know the loneliness I hear in the barks of the other dogs 'out there'. I can sleep soundly, assured that when I wake, my world will not have changed. I will never know hunger, or the fear of not knowing if I'll eat. I will not shiver in the cold, or grow weary from the heat. I will feel the sun's heat, and the rain's coolness, and be allowed to smell all that can reach my nose. My fur will shine, and never be dirty or matted.

Here in this house... There will be an effort to communicate with me on my level. I will be talked to and, even if I don't understand, I can enjoy the warmth of the words. I will be given a name so that I may know who I am among many. My name will be used in joy, and I will love the sound of it!

Here in this house... I will never be a substitute for anything I am not. I will never be used to improve peoples' images of themselves. I will be loved because I am who I am, not someone's idea of who I should be. I will never suffer for someone's anger, impatience, or stupidity. I will be taught all the things I need to know to be loved by all. If I do not learn my lessons well, they will look to my teacher for blame.

Here in this house... I can trust arms that hold, hands that touch... knowing that, no matter what they do, they do it for the good of me. If I am ill, I will be doctored. If scared, I will be calmed. If sad, I will be cheered. No matter what I look like, I will be considered beautiful and known to be of value. I will never be cast out because I am too old, too ill, too unruly, or not cute enough. My life is a responsibility, and not an afterthought. I will learn that humans can almost, sometimes, be as kind and as fair as dogs. Here in this house... I will belong. I will be home.