Standing Firm
Then Jesus said to His disciples,“If anyone desires to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Matthew 16:24
The persecution that Christians experience is a hard thing to handle. No one enjoys being rejected or dislike. Christ strongly warned Christians that to follow Him would not be popular, and that in most circumstances it would mean cross-bearing and persecution.
The Bible says all who “desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus said that as the time of His return draws near, “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you” (Luke 21:12). We have no scriptural foundation for believing that we can forever escape being persecuted for Christ’s sake. The normal condition for Christians is that we will suffer persecution.
Daniel and his companions were tempted to forsake their godly heritage, but they refused. They even faced a fiery furnace rather than compromise. God honoured their faith and mightily used them. Moses, as a prince of Egypt, was surrounded by the luxury and godlessness of the Egyptian court, but cast in his lot with his own people. Lot lived in Sodom and saw the obscenities of that doomed city. God saved him out of it because he trusted in Him. Every one of our Lord’s apostles sealed their faith with their lives. Since then, history has been filled with the lives of men and women who have put God and His way of life above all else.
Are you willing to face persecution and death for Christ’s sake?
Read
2 Timothy 3:10-16.
Prayer
Great God of wonders and of grace, I come before You and ask for Your strength within me. A strength not of the world, but of Your kingdom. Amen.
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