Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – June 9, 2017
For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. Galatians 1:13
Today there are religious terrorists like Paul (before he encountered Christ), whose aim is to destroy the church. They see Christians as the enemy. We are labeled infidels who deserve extinction. To our chagrin, even shame–fellow brothers and sisters around the world, because of their allegiance to Jesus, are being killed, raped and driven from their nations. Their holy presence is being extracted by unholy influences. Yes, the ultimate goal of darkness is to drive away light.
Persecuted Christians desperately need our prayers and support. How can we sit still while thousands of Jesus followers around the world are being silenced, captured or slain for their faith? Where is our compassion for these righteous refugees who are being exiled from their homeland with no land of their own? Religious freedom is the core of our country, therefore as a responsible and compassionate government, we must denounce these horrific acts of violence by religious zealots. Our eerie passivity only emboldens our enemies. We pray but we must act!
“Therefore, among God’s churches, we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring” (2 Thessalonians 1:4).
Furthermore, our own citizens are being denied religious freedom at home. Sometimes subtly and sometimes not so subtly, our Christian heritage and treasured traditions are being removed. Cannot common sense weigh in and say it’s ok to display a manger scene with baby Jesus at Christmas? Cannot the ten commandments that represent the bedrock beliefs of our civilization be publicly exhibited as a reminder of how we are to privately behave? Is the cross so offensive that its influence has to be stripped from our society? Persecution is not just over there–it’s also here.
Persecution should not be a surprise to those who love the Lord. Ungodliness is threatened by godliness. When we take a stand, we will be stood against. Let’s pray that from the fires of persecution God’s people become stronger and the church grows cleaner. Like a natural disaster disperses people and their influence, so we trust the Lord to leverage Christian persecution to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are blessed by God when we are persecuted for God!
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, empower me to pray for and support Christians under severe persecution.Application
Who needs my outspoken support that is being silenced for their faith in Jesus?Related Reading
Jeremiah 37:15; Psalm 119:86; 2 Corinthians 4:8-10; 2 Timothy 3:12; Hebrews 11:36-38; 1 Peter 3:14Post/Tweet today
Ungodliness is threatened by godliness. When we take a stand, we will be stood against. #wisdomhuntersWorship Resource
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In reference to our compassion for these righteous refugees who are being exiled from their homeland with no land of their own. I too would say we do need to pray for them.
However, I would remind you that OUR COUNTRY was founded on CHRISTIAN BELIEFS! Our Christian heritage and treasured traditions ARE being removed…due to Non-Christians and people/refugees of other religious beliefs coming to our country and influencing our children! Common sense should weigh-in and would, if not for the DARKNESS of other religions. And we are ACTING…as a Nation we have been at WAR for over 15 years battling DARKNESS on foreign soils. It takes more than common sense to determine who should be allowed in your home. Boyd, I believe you were a bit off base on this one Brother.
Dear Randy,
Thank you for reaching out to us with your sincere and thought-provoking comments after reading “Persecuted Christians”. We are always blessed to hear the passionate opinions of our readers and we are thankful that you are part of our Wisdom Hunter’s family. “Persecuted Christians” touched the hearts of many of our readers especially in today’s political climate and world events. How right you are when you stated “we need to pray for them” referring to the righteous refugees. Boyd’s “call to action” regarding prayer was a powerful reminder of one of our prayers: “Let’s pray that from the fires of persecution God’s people become stronger and the church grows cleaner”.
I am being blessed in this season of my life to be studying the Old Testament and I never cease to be amazed when I read the lessons that our “Ancients” had to learned through their struggles with other nations. Even as our “weeping” prophet, Jeremiah, pleads to his people to surrender and humble themselves before God, they, too, have to learn the hard way. Gracious…so sorry to get off track but I am reminded we are not that different from our forefathers…
Randy, your comments are appreciated and noted.
I rejoice in our God, who we love and trust, because HE is bigger than our fears and our concerns.
We look forward to hearing from you again.
Blessings,
Gwynne
“I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God.” Psalm 38:15
“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” Psalm 31:14