Skip to main content

Persecution

 

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4)

His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5:40-42) 

          A friend loaned me a book that provides an inside view of what the Huguenots (French Protestants) faced in the late 1600s. If you read Fox’s Book of Martyrs, you’ll discover the horrors faced by other Christians. According to Aid to the Church in Need, 2019 was one of the bloodiest years ever in terms of attacks on Christians.[1] I don’t know the parameters they used, and I don’t know whether or not they are accurate in that claim, but I do know that attacks on Christians seem to be increasing, and I’ve read Daniel and Revelation. I have a tiny clue about what’s coming at some point.

          Quite frankly, I can’t imagine not recanting if the choice to were to recant or face what the girl in the book I’m reading faced. I can’t imagine being as strong as she’s depicted. Even more, I can’t imagine considering it an honor to be tortured, as the apostles did. I am greatly convinced of my weakness, but I am also greatly convinced that God can give the grace needed to survive such torment. My hope, should that day come, is not in my courage, strength, or will, but in God’s mercy and provision.

          I’ve read of people who put themselves on diets of moldy, maggoty bread and rotten fruit to prepare

          I know a lot of people who are less fond of confrontation than they believe I am. I don’t actually like confrontation, either, but I’m trying to learn to handle it better. One of the things I need to do is what I’ve been talking about frequently of late – to turn my focus to God instead of blaming or pitying myself. Another is to study even harder. Becoming physically stronger may help a little, but deepening my faith in God through the Word, that’s a better answer.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more