Reading about and hearing first hand accounts of persecution toward followers of Jesus is heart breaking. The courage and stamina of these Believers is more than a personal will power. It is the power of God sustaining each one in the darkest of times. We are fortunate to live in a nation with the freedom to choose what we believe, yet the subtle and sometimes open sarcasm toward faith in Christ is growing. I wonder if we will experience more criticism as we seek His kingdom rather than joining the power to crush opponents, often demonstrated by many professing Christians today. Kingdom living often means sharing the burdens of the powerless and marginalized. It may mean that we are not invited to the parties hosted by the powerful and prestigious celebrities.
“Discipleship to Jesus isn’t separation from the world but deeper engagement in its suffering. Those who follow the Jesus Way don’t escape, they enter in.“ - Graham Joseph Hill
“I had always assumed that persecution was abnormal, exceptional, unusual, out of the ordinary. In my mind, persecution was something to avoid. It was a problem, a setback, a barrier. I was captivated by the thought: what if persecution is the normal, expected situation for a believer? And what if the persecution is, in fact, soil in which faith can grow? What if persecution can be, in fact, good soil? I began to wonder about what that might mean for the church in America—and I began to wonder about what that might mean for the potential church in Somalia.” - Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected
“The opposition and rejection the disciples would face went beyond those in positions of authority in the hierarchal system. They would also experience it from their own families. “Brothers will betray brother to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death” (Mark 13:12). The ways of God Jesus taught and lived were a threat to the hierarchal social system of his culture. It was also a threat to the family systems within that culture.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford
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