Soft-spoken and genuine, Jack welcomes the down-and-out into Masterpiece Cakeshop and strikes up a conversation with them over coffee and cookies. He's the kind of man that lends out his best car to those in need and drives around a clunker instead.

Over the years, Jack has fostered an atmosphere of warmth and refuge at Masterpiece Cakeshop.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for state officials in Colorado—who have instead created an atmosphere of hostility toward Jack and anyone else who shares his religious beliefs.

It all started in 2012 when Colorado officials came after Jack for declining to create a custom cake celebrating a same-sex wedding.

Jack serves all customers. But he declines to create custom cakes that express messages or celebrate events in violation of his deeply held beliefs. That includes cakes celebrating same-sex weddings and gender transitions, as well as cakes celebrating Halloween, advocating the use of marijuana or illegal drugs, or disparaging people—including those in the LGBT community. These aren't cakes Jack can create for anyone—no matter who they are or how they identify.

But that's not okay with some people in Colorado who want to see Jack suffer for staying true to his beliefs. They've spent the past eight years on a crusade to crush Jack because of their hostility toward his faith. And for those eight years—and through three different court cases—Jack has been standing up to protect his freedom to live and work consistently with his beliefs.

This week, Jack will continue to make that stand as ADF attorneys represent him before the Denver District Court in Colorado.

This should have ended in 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Jack's favor, condemning the state for acting with "clear and impermissible hostility" toward him because of his beliefs.

And there's no doubt that the state treated Jack unequally. Colorado officials permit other cake shops to decline to create cakes expressing messages that they consider offensive, including messages opposing same-sex marriage. But the state persisted in punishing Jack when he declined requests for cakes expressing messages in conflict with his religious beliefs.

Just a few months after Jack's Supreme Court victory, the state decided to pursue another complaint against Jack. This time, local attorney Autumn Scardina had requested that Jack create a custom pink and blue cake to celebrate Scardina's gender transition, and Jack had politely declined.

ADF filed a lawsuit against the Colorado officials who were targeting Jack. And it soon came to light that the commissioners who launched the second case against Jack harbored the same hostility toward Jack that the Supreme Court had rebuked. So the state dismissed the case.

Rather than appeal that ruling, Scardina decided to sue Jack in state court. ADF has been defending Jack in this case since June 2019.

Eight years is a long time to live under the weight of constant litigation that threatens the business you built and the people you love. During his first case, Jack lost a big part of his business and more than half of his employees. Over the years, he and his family have also endured hate mail, nasty phone calls, and even death threats.

This most recent lawsuit is a blatant attempt to punish Jack, banish him from the marketplace, and intimidate him out of business just for living according to his beliefs.

But that is the type of environment that Colorado has created for people of faith like Jack. The state's hostility toward Jack's religious beliefs has helped shape an atmosphere of intolerance.

Perhaps those who have been so intent on punishing Jack could learn a thing or two from stepping into Masterpiece Cakeshop, where Jack would welcome them in with open arms and serve them some coffee and cookies. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

July 4th Fireworks Will Be Great on America's 250th Birthday, But Your Dog Will Hate Them!

Our Favorite Patriotic Tunes, Part 2: 3 Songs Swiped from the Brits (Videos)

World Cup: Team USA Wins, Goes to the Sweet 16 Round against Belgium on Monday

3,000 Walk Boston's Freedom Trail: 'We Have A Lot to Thank God For'

Except for Democrats, a New Survey Shows Americans Still DO Have Pride in Their Country (And We Don't Mean the LGBT Kind)

Christian Student Says She Was Forced to Make an Unthinkable Graduation Choice

This Oregon Couple Went to the Great American State Fair in DC, Voluntarily Helped Man Their State's Empty Booth, and Was Awed by What They Experienced

'United Saints of America': 'Fighter' Singer Jon Kahn, and Nashville Hit-Maker Michael Farren Release Patriotic Anthem Ahead of America's 250

Famous TikTok Tarot Card Reader Finds Jesus, Deletes All Occult Content (Video)

Muslims Massacre 22 More Christians in Nigeria, Including a Pastor

Sweden Takes Girls from Christian Parents, Won't Return Them Citing Church Attendance as 'Extremism' (Video)

Energy Secretary Issues Emergency Orders to Bolster Mid-Atlantic Power Grid Amid Heat Wave Risks

Here's How Fauci Can Still Face Prosecution Despite His Pardon

President Trump Announces GOP to Host First-Ever Midterm Convention in Dallas

Tennessee Congressman Introduces Bill to Ban 'Birthright Tourism'

5 Taxpayer Wins from Vice President Vance's Fraud-Fighting Task Force

250 Reasons Why We Love America

Stories of Heroism and Miracles from the Devastation in Venezuela, Shared on Social Media

Enemies Within: The Threat of Communism to America

Man Taken into Custody in Somalia for Role in Huge MN Fraud Scheme