Whats on your mind? Daily Manna: Suffering For Christ? Tuesday 18, March 2014 TEXT: MATTHEW 10:16-33;[King James Version (KJV)] 16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Key verse:“And ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22). The Lord Jesus Christ did not leave His disciples in any doubt about the perils in the way of their service. He repeatedly emphasised that persecutions and tribulations await those who stick-out their necks to testify on His behalf. He, however, provided a consolation for those who endure these harsh treatments: they would be rewarded in time and eternity. As the Lord sent the disciples out on their first missionary journey, He made them know that the preaching of the good news of the kingdom of God would, of course, attract the indignation of the religious and the hypocrites, whose position would be severely threatened by the simplicity and antithetical message (to their position) of the gospel. Consequently, rebellion would be stirred up against the disciples. They would face rejection from siblings, dragged before the courts and convicted. The gospel message is a necessary assault against the prevailing unjust and decadent world system. It must, therefore, be expected that the purveyors of the new life would be subjected to the worst forms of indignity, especially by those who benefit largely from the present earthly arrangement. Christians are not to be deterred by such cruel treatments. Indeed, they are to welcome such as underscoring the divine origin of their message. Perhaps, as you daily serve the Lord, you encounter extremely difficult persecution. Perhaps also, as a result of this, you are contemplating abandoning your duty post to avoid more troubles. The call of God today is that you remain, because the abandonment of the work does not guarantee the cessation of troubles. You indeed run the grave risk of eternal rejection by the Lord, should you make a shipwreck of your ministry. A quitter never wins, while a winner never quits. Stick it out and be persuaded of God’s grace to pull you through. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The cross ultimately midwives the crown.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 05:56:22 +0000
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