Persecution. Here in the United States, we
hardly know what the word means. In other countries like North Korea, Iraq,
Nigeria, Syria, and Somalia, Christians are experience REAL persecution—even death for their belief in Christ. Paul
advices the Romans not to curse those persecutors. We have a promise from God …The
LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who
hate you, who persecuted you. Deuteronomy 30:7. He will ultimately take
care of those evil doers—bless them instead of cursing them.
Jesus spoke about persecution…Blessed are those who have been persecuted
for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are
you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is
great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew
5:10-12. I cannot imagine rejoicing at being tortured, mistreated or killed—but
what a privilege to stand up for Christ. Those Christians are to be blessed—and
honored.
Who
will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:35.
Prayer
~ Jesus, be with our brothers and sisters around the world—and give them
strength to endure the persecution that they are experiencing. Remind us that nothing and no one can separate us from
Your love—and if we should ever have to face persecution…may we through the
Holy Spirit find our strength in Your love and grace in our lives.
© 2015 by Mickey
M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise
noted.
Biblical
search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
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