“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”— Matthew 5:12 (ESV) “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”— James 1:2-3 (ESV) The words of Jesus […]
Read More OTKC 04: Rejoice in Persecution(Reflections on the context for the letter to the seven churches in Revelation 1-3. Catch up on the series so far by reading part one as well as part two in the series so far.) “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and […]
Read More What The Spirit Says … 03 Three Factors to ConsiderJust leave them alone. That’s often the advice given when someone is picking on you. Rather than engage them in conflict and get in trouble or get hurt, it’s best to just leave the other person alone. As we keep our distance from them so we can use the space to paint the pictures about […]
Read More The Marks 09: Bless Those Who Persecute You(It’s a great honour to share this special entry. These are words that were shared on a prayer meeting held recently. The inspired writer and speaker – Cynthia Bourne – loves Jesus and shares that love with saints in a church based in Manchester. I trust your weeping will be put into heavenly cperspective as […]
Read More Guest Entry: Weeping births JoyAnother incident. Another incident in the build up of years of oppression and abuse. Another incident to endure. And the response … Long-suffering. Enduring. Loving the enemy. Sharing the gospel and forgiving those that spitefully use you. Those yet to be who cannot be. Those who are and are snuffed out. Why? Much air, much […]
Read More Dryden Shorts: Different StandardsBlessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew […]
Read More The Kind Of Response To ExpectRoughly 15 years ago I was big into reading about church growth techniques. Sure, somebody could have told me to just read scriptures and then see how God does it in His own time and His own way and developing a science about it is like looking to bottle brilliance and sell it as a […]
Read More For Rapid Growth Just Add Oppression and PersecutionWith what anguish and loss Jesus went to the cross And He carried my sins with Him there I am a fan of the sci-fi programme Dr. Who, which his been in existence for over fifty years. An important key to its longevity is the concept of regeneration. Here the lead actor goes through a […]
Read More SufferHere are some of the bits about being a Christian and following Jesus that I would definitely put in a brochure to market it: Being a Christian means having your sins forgiven and a clean slate with God Following Jesus is an assurance of rest for your soul Living the way God wants strengthens you […]
Read More Welcome To Suffering!!Last month I read this list of the countries defined as the top persecutors of Christians in the world. As you may know I’m all about the prayer and so I ask of you to have a look at the list and use it as a focus for prayer today. Thanks. (HT: Cranmer) For His […]
Read More Christian Persecution: Prayer Point
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