#LiveAsConquerors
1 Peter 4:12-19
Even in the greatest of sorrows, God can give His own something to sing.
Stephen called them out and it cost him his life. "Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute?" —Acts 7:51
Exhibit A:
• They threatened him
• They mocked him
• They hit him
• They restricted his movements
• They burned his message
• They put him in public stocks
• They imprisoned him for years
• They put him in a dungeon to die
Jesus gave a heads-up to His disciples that they could expect the pattern of rejection and affliction to continue. "Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you."—John 15:20
The narrative of Scripture and the promise of the Word is this: A commitment to following Christ WILL require an increasing measure of enduring grace. It was so with the saints of the Old Testament, it was so with the Savior Himself, and it was so with those who loved Him first. Therefore, expectation of affliction must mark the one who, today, desires to follow Him. Jesus said very bluntly, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."—Luke 14:27
What an encouraging Friday devotional post THIS is turning out to be! But…
"The steadfast love of the Lord NEVER ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new EVERY morning; (new EVERY morning!)
great is Your faithfulness!"
My "aha" moment? This following word of comfort and hope was penned in the hour of "Exhibit A's" GREATEST despair. As he was drug in captive's chains away from his home, the burning rubble of the city of God growing dimmer and dimmer on the fading horizon, the Weeping Prophet wrote in his journal: "Remember my affliction and wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind and I have hope: 'The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…'" Sorely oppressed and brutally persecuted by the very ones called the "people of God," he still found hope in the mercies of the Living God. "Great is Your faithfulness!"—Lamentations 3
Even in the greatest of sorrows, God can give His own something to sing!
See you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom