Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 22; 1 Peter 3; Micah 1; Luke 10
1 Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.
Suffering is not a happy time. We try to avoid times of suffering, but the Bible teaches us that as disciples of Jesus there will be times when we suffer. One of those times is when you live the Christ life in a culture that hates Christianity. Jesus told his disciples that a day would come when:
John 16:2-3 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
Can you imagine a person who kills a Christ follower thinking they are doing service for God? Our world is full of people just like that today. The Bible teaches us that when we encounter that kind of suffering, we can be happy because we know that we know Jesus Christ. We know that they hated him and they will hate his followers. We can have great assurance that for us to die is gain because we depart to be with Christ.
We are not to live in fear of people like this. We are not to be troubled; instead we are to be ready.
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
When opposition and persecution come to us because of the gospel, we are to be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope in us. We are to be like the martyrs of old who went to their deaths proclaiming the goodness of Jesus Christ and begging their persecutors to repent and trust in Jesus Christ. When we live a righteous life, the hope we have will be evident. Others will see that even in suffering a Christian is different.
In Christ,
Rody
