wow

Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire in A.D. 320. However, Licinius, who controlled the Eastern half of the empire, broke allegiance with the West and continued to suppress Christianity.

When Licinius demanded that every soldier under his command sacrifice to the Roman gods, the forty Christian men of the “Thundering Legion” refused. Their general, Lysias, had them whipped, torn with hooks, and then imprisoned in chains. When they still refused to bow down and give up their worship of God, he ordered them stripped of their clothing and left in the middle of a frozen lake until they relented.
A warm bath was poured for any who would give up their convictions. The men prayed together that their number would not be broken. However, as it grew dark, one could not bear the cold any longer and ran to the warm bath.
One of the guards who had watched the forty brave soldiers sing to Christ became angry that one would give in to Lysias’s orders. His anger turned to conviction, and then his conviction turned to faith. He tore off his clothes and ran out on the icy lake, fulfilling their promise to be “forty brave soldiers for Christ!”
The forty died together that day. The one who gave up his faith for a warm bath also died.


Christian community is made up of several committed individuals who act in one accord. Whether it is a Christian campus, a Christian ministry, a church, or a family, the band of sisterhood and brotherhood is a force with which to be reckoned. We always stand stronger whenever we stand together. Throughout Scripture, God exhorts us to come together in a community of commitment—a family of faith. More than the principle of strength in numbers, a Christian community encourages its members’ faith. Like this story, the strong compensate for those who are weak. Have you identified your Christian community? Have you assured your church or family or other group of your love and allegiance despite all costs?