Persecution

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Tuesday February 10, 2009

2 Thessalonians 1:4-10 (NIV)
4. Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5. All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
6. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7. and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
8. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10. on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

These verses tell us some very important things about God's punishment for those who cause trouble for Christians.

According to verse 6 above, God will pay back trouble to those who trouble us. But it will not happen immediately. According to verses 7-10, this trouble will not come upon them until the Day Of The Lord!

The one suffering we are required to endure as Christians is persecution! Jesus told us we would be persecuted, and even why we would be:

John 15:19-21 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
19. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
20. Remember the words I spoke to you: `No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.

Jesus even said we are blessed when we are persecuted for His sake:

Matthew 5:11,12 (NIV)
11. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Apostle John included suffering as one of the things that are ours as believers:

Revelation 1:9 (NIV)
I, John, your brother and companion in the SUFFERING and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Peter told us it is nothing strange to suffer for Christ:

1 Peter 4:12-16 (NIV)
12. Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
14. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

Peter even told us where the persecution was coming from. He told us that the devil would try to devour us, and the devil has always used people to try to do that:

1 Peter 5:8,9 (NIV)
8. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Then there was Paul. He not only wanted to share in the power of God, he wanted to share in the suffering of Christ, which is persecution:

Philippians 3:10 (NIV)
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Paul told Timothy to "join with him" in suffering for the Gospel:

2 Timothy 1:8,11,12 (NIV)
8. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God
11. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

Paul also told us that, along with the persecution, we can also receive comfort:

2 Corinthians 1:5-7 (NIV)
5. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
7. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

It is plain that-- although we are redeemed from sickness, poverty, and spiritual death-- persecution is something we should expect! Those who persecute us are being used by the devil, and if they do not receive salvation, they will be paid back for their persecuting on the Day Of The Lord, and then will also receive eternal suffering.

We should not try to hurry the payback on those who persecute us, because punishment for eternity is more severe than anything we can ever think of. Therefore we should pray for those who persecute us, so they will be saved and avoid everlasting torment:

Matthew 5:44 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your Word, which tells us the Good News about what You have done for us. Help me to be patient with those who reject You, knowing that they may still accept You later on, and receive the salvation You want for them.
In Jesus' Name, Amen

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