Persecution: August 13, 2010

Today's Word for Friday August 13, 2010

PERSECUTION

DEFINITION

The act of persecuting; subject to harassing or cruel treatment as a result of religion, race, or beliefs; to annoy or trouble persistently; oppress.

SCRIPTURE

"Bless those that persecute you." Romans 12:14

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely." Matthew 5:11

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

When we think of persecution we think of one being killed or martyred for the cause of Christ. But there are other issues that some may consider persecution. Some may think that persecution is living in an unstable home situation, being talked to critically by a peer or friend or being hurt by somebody physically or mentally.

Teenagers today feel they are being "persecuted" by peers at their school who do not let them into their "group." Being accepted today is vital to children, youth and even adults. When one is not accepted they feel persecuted.

Even though people say they believe in freedom of religion, the reality is that those who take a strong stand for Christian standards and beliefs are not accepted and are often ridiculed for their faith. Jesus taught that we should consider ourselves blessed when we are persecuted if it is because of our faith. If this is so, we are not alone. Jesus certainly was persecuted and so were His disciples, other prophets and many that we read about in the Old and New Testament. If we are persecuted for our faith it means that we are doing what is right in God's sight and that we are being faithful to our belief in the Lord.

Recently, we read that over 70 million Christians have been martyred in the last 20 centuries because of their Christian faith. But the more startling fact is that more than 50% of these 70 million have been martyred in the last 60 years. Unfortunately, many Christians in many parts of the world are still being persecuted and killed for their faith.

We received an email just last week from a pastor in Pakistan that gets our devotionals daily and he told us of two young men in his church who were just martyred for their faith. That is why this TODAYS WORD DEVOTIONAL is so significant for each of us to read and evaluate as it relates to our life and gives us strength from God's Word to face any and all persecution we may face in our lifetime.

Here in America many feel that we are losing our spiritual emphasis. One of the reasons this is happening is because Christians are silent about their faith. Even though we may risk some persecution from others if we speak up, we need to speak up and be heard. When persecution comes are way, just remember and think about the persecution that Jesus went through for our salvation.

LEARNING

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 2:4:

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
PRAYER

Thank you Lord for what You did for me by dying on the cross. Help me to represent You today with a new fervor and determination so that others will have no doubt on what I believe. Help me to challenge my family and Christian friends to join me in standing tall for You.