Praying for those who mistreat us

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Isaiah 15:1–18:7 
Galatians 1:1-24 
Psalm 58:1-11 
Proverbs 23:12

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Galatians 1:23-24 (ESV) "They only were hearing it said, 'He who used to persecute us in now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.' And they glorified God because of me."


REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

In our Verse for Today, we read that Paul was talking about his conversion. Before Jesus saved him, he had been persecuting the church. He drug Christians off to jail regularly. And he did so with zeal because he believed he was serving God.

But, when he was gloriously saved, word began to get around. People were beginning to say, "Hey! I heard that Saul has been saved and is now preaching the Gospel! That is so hard to comprehend because he used to persecute those who preached that same Gospel! Isn't God wonderful!!!"

Friend, it is so easy to pray against someone who is harming us. It is so easy to pray that God would repay them for what they are doing. It's so easy to spend a prolonged time in God's presence elaborating on all of the injustices that are being done.

But, God doesn't get any glory when we do that.

What gives God glory? Just read our Verse for Today. God is praised when He changes someone's heart!

So, instead of praying against the person who is mistreating you, pray for them. Pray that God would give them a change of heart. Pray that God would draw them to Himself.

In other words, don't focus primarily on asking God to stop the injustice against you. Instead, pray that God would bless the one who is mistreating you. Take the focus off of you and put it onto them. Turn your negative prayers into positive ones.

Friend, if and when God answers your prayers and the one who is mistreating you gets a heart change from the Lord, you will have more than enough reason to praise Him!

Luke 6:27-28 (ESV) "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."


Update (Sept. 14, 2017 - 1:35 PM):
What I am addressing in this post is the heart attitude of the one who is being mistreated. This topic is a huge topic that is multi-faceted without the space or time to deal with it in this post. 

For instance, some mistreatments are so big that they cannot be ignored. While we continue to love and pray for the offender, we may feel the need to confront them, or ask someone to step in to help, or tell the authorities. 

This thing called "following Jesus" is often a balancing act that requires the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit within us to live it.

Standing strong in times of persecution

DAILY BIBLE READING:

1 Chronicles 5:18–6:81 
Acts 26:1-32 
Psalm 6:1-10 
Proverbs 18:20-21

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Acts 26:11 (CSB) "In all the synagogues I often punished them and tried to make them blaspheme. Since I was terribly enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

In America, we celebrate our freedoms. Unfortunately, our understanding of the power of the Gospel has become so intertwined with our national patriotism that we have come to an erroneous conclusion...

We believe that if and when we lose our religious freedoms (First Amendment) that Christianity will suffer. 

Further, we stand in amazement at the reports of revival taking place in Christandom in countries such as Iran. We cannot imagine how Christianity could survive, much less thrive, in persecution.

That shows how disconnected we have become from the biblical narrative. When we read the book of Acts, we are reading of the perpetual persecution of Christians.

Christians were jailed.

Christians were tortured. 

Christians were killed.

And Christianity was thriving!

In fact, while we lack a frame of reference to experientially understand the book of Acts, our brothers and sisters-in-Christ who live in countries like Iran, Syria, India and other persecuted countries understand it completely. They are living it.

When we read our Verse for Today, we hear the Apostle Paul saying that before he became a follower-of-Jesus, he persecuted Christians and did whatever he could to try to get them to reject their faith. He even cast his vote for some of them to be killed (Acts 26:10).

So, American Christian, what are we to do with this? Let me give you a couple of ideas:

• Pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. I would suggest downloading the app "Operation World," or purchasing the book by that same title, or simply going to their website by click here. You will learn much about the countries of the world and how to pray for fellow believers and those who need to give their life to our Savior.
• Assess your own level of devotion to the Lord. Do you believe your commitment to Jesus is so strong that it could withstand persecution? Or would you deny Jesus if times got tough? To answer that question, friend, are you ashamed to tell others of Jesus right now when you live in the land of the free?

It is my observation that Christians are losing ground in America. Persecution, in the form of litigation, is becoming more prevalent. Let us remain true to our Savior, regardless of the consequences and depend upon Him for the strength to testify of our allegiance to Him regardless of how difficult it may get.

Always faithful.

The Gospel, prison, and what it means to the rest of us

In my Bible reading this morning, I couldn't help but notice the last verse of Colossians.

"I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you." (Colossians 4:18)

As I read that, it seemed as if the words "Remember my chains" lifted off the page and demanded my attention. 

"Remember my chains." Honestly, I can't relate. I've never been in chains. I've never been in prison. I've never been handcuffed. I've never been a suspect in a criminal proceeding. 

So, when I think of someone in chains, I'm on the outside looking in. I suspect that most of the Christians in Colossae were, too.

Then what does Paul mean when he asks them to "remember his chains?" As I reflected on the answer to that question, I couldn't help but realize that God was speaking to me as well. 

Here are four responses that came to mind:

It creates sympathy
As we read of Paul's chains, we are reminded that He was in prison in Rome for preaching the Gospel. He was a man with a passion to travel the known world and a mission to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to all who would listen. Yet, he wrote this letter wasting away in a prison cell in Rome. Our hearts go out to him.

When we think of Christians such as Saeed Abedini who is has been a prisoner in Iran for over 3 years, we can't help but be broken-hearted. Our hearts are moved with compassion for a fellow brother-in-Christ who is being detained, almost certainly tortured in the infamous Evin Prison and kept from his family for the Gospel.

But sympathy, on it's own, is not of much use unless ...

It motivates prayer
When we think of men and women in prison for the Gospel, follows of Jesus are moved to pray. What can we pray for?

For continued doors of opportunity to share the Gospel in prison (Colossians 4:3-4).
For safety in prison.
For patience, courage, wisdom, strength and other attributes that will enable them to continue standing for Christ.

But, if we truly care and are praying for a fellow Christian in prison, we won't be able to sit idly by and do nothing...

It calls for action
Simply put, if we have the ability to help then we are obligated to help. 

Whether that means providing assistance or visiting them in prison or petitioning the government to release our fellow Christian from prison, we cannot simply sit idly by. Words without action are useless (James 2:15-16). 

If there is absolutely nothing that we can do, then we must still continue to lift them up in prayer.

Focuses priorities

When I read Paul's words, "remember my chains," it did something else in me. It caused me to reflect on some serious questions:

• Is my allegiance to Jesus so obvious that an anti-Jesus culture would see to it that I'm thrown into prison?
• Is my proclamation of the Gospel so loud that others would desire to shut me up?
• If I were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me?
• Would I willingly embrace prison as my plight or would I deny Jesus and/or quit proclaiming the Gospel if the heat got turned up?

Paul's words cause me to reflect upon my own walk with Jesus. Am I really taking it seriously enough?

By God's grace, I am and will.

Sermon (video): Maintaining our First Love (Revelation 2:1-7)

Did you know that it is quite possible that Jesus could remove His hand of blessing from a church even if it was 1) theologically correct, 2) busy in ministry, and 3) enduring persecution for their faith? It is in Revelation 2:1-7 that we realize just how important it is to maintain our first love for Jesus. If we don't, nothing else really matters. This sermon delves into why it is so important to fan into flame a passion for Jesus.

This sermon was preached at Westside Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky on April 28, 2013. The occasion was "Call Sunday", the day that the pastoral candidate, Matt Ellis, preached for Westside. At the conclusion of the service, the congregation voted to call him as their pastor with a 99.5% vote.

To view the worship service in its entirety, click here.

Book Review: "Tortured for Christ" by Richard Wurmbrand

This is an incredible, sobering book! It is so easy for us who enjoy the freedom of the West to forget that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are presently experiencing persecution for their faith. We read of Jesus’ words in John 15:20, “Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” Yet, we cannot relate to this statement. We know little if anything of persecution. Thus, we fail to fathom what it is like for other Christians who are experiencing persecution. The end result? Indifference to their plight.

Richard Wurmbrand, who wrote this book many years ago, has done the Christian community a great service by reminding us of the persecuted, underground church. He speaks firsthand of the torture he experienced for Christ and calls upon the church in the West to rise up and come to the aid of our brothers and sisters.