They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. (John 16:2)
In the farewell discourses Jesus prepares the disciples for the trouble and hardship that is to come. While their grief will turn to joy (16:22) Jesus warns them that in this world they will have trouble (16:33). Decades after Jesus spoke these words, Rome crushed Jerusalem, destroying the temple. In the aftermath, the simmering antagonism between Jewish Christians and synagogue leaders erupted into outright conflict it seems. Not long before in Rome, Emperor Nero lead one of the first great persecutions against the church, amongst other barbarities, burning believers on poles as grotesque human torches. These were some of the first martyrs - those who witnessed to their faith with their lives.
Roll forward almost 2000 years, and it has been estimated that more believers have died as a result of their faith in the last century than in the previous nineteen. Even today, in Muslim extremists kill hundreds of Christians in northern Nigeria. Iraq's Christian minority has been decimated by post 'liberation' atrocities and Christian leaders continue to be persecuted, tortured and imprisoned in countries like China. We must not, should never forgetour brothers and sisters persecuted for Jesus' name. It is so important we keep informed regarding persecution around our world, and that this information prompts us to prayer. One website that can help is: http://www.persecution.com.au/
Finally, Jesus' warning that I will have trouble in this world haunts me with a question; Do I experience enough trouble? Now, I am not a masochist searching out pain for the sake of it, but if I am truly living in the world and not of it then I should feel the friction. Is there enough God-honoring friction in my life. I wonder.
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