January 1
If you think becoming a Christian assures that your life will take on a heavenly glow, that your prospects of temporal treasure will become a given and that your relationships with people will evolve to the point where you shall be perceived as an indispensible piece to the puzzle of life, think again.
Jesus made it clear that to be a follower of His is to virtually assure that you will be persecuted to the point of death at worst or at least misunderstood and ridiculed. He said that if the world hated Him, those who believe in Him should also anticipate tribulation (John 16:33),
How should people of faith then respond in the face of the distain and persecution of unbelievers? Should we sequester ourselves in remote enclaves away from the scrutiny of those who hate us? No, the Word admonishes that we go among them and share our faith with them (Mark 16:15).
How may we enter a hostile environment with the faith that we shall be effective for the Kingdom? Ephesians 6:16, 17 tells us that to preach in power we must: “…take on the shield of faith wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked,” remembering our enemy is spiritual—as are our weapons.
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