"Persecution"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #78 – “Persecution”

               There is trouble in River City and it starts with P but it does not stand for Pool, it stands for Persecution.  Persecution is not a new concept, it began back in the Old Testament against the Israelites and continued through the New Testament.  “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.  And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” (Acts 8:1)   That was regarding the persecution and stoning death of Stephen.  It continues against the Jewish people around the world yet today.  For many years there has been persecution against Christians in China, the Middle Eastern countries, many other countries around the world, and now in America.  We should not be surprised by this as Jesus spoke of it, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18, 19)

               Persecution takes on many faces.  Kelly Shackleford, founder of Liberty Institute, states; “I have been doing these types of cases for almost 25 years now.  I have never seen the levels of attacks like these and how quickly they are now proliferating.  There are children being prohibited from writing Merry Christmas to the soldiers, senior citizens being banned from praying over their meals in the Senior Center, the VA banning the mention of God in military funerals, numerous attempts to have veterans memorials torn down if they have any religious symbols such as a cross, and I go on and on.”  Government is taking God out of the public square, out of public schools, universities, and even out of our military.  It continues and will not stop but only increase in frequency and intensity.  John writes, “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.” (1 John 3:13)  The world, is under the dominion of Satan.  Everyone is born into the world and is under the control or dominion of Satan beginning at birth.  We are born separated from God and are subject to Satan, the Prince of this world.  Jesus came to this world to save us from this dominion of sin.  When Jesus spoke to Saul, who becomes the Apostle Paul, on the Damascus road, He was making Paul a minister to the Gentiles and said this to him; “rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to who I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:17, 18)

               Those of us who have believed in Jesus Christ have been rescued by Jesus from the dominion of Satan and placed into the dominion of God.  We are still in this world but not of this world.  Because we are no longer of the world, we are hated by the world and will suffer persecution, if, we are ‘standing firm’ in the Lord and His Word.  Prepare yourself and STAND FIRM.

               You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish