So glad I got this done in time! The last month or so has been so hectic, and so I ended up starting the writing for this the day before I wanted it up! Today’s post is all about where I’ve been reading, and what God has been teaching me lately. Take today’s questions and really sit with them; allow God to work with you through your honest thoughts and responses to them. It’s uncomfortable sometimes, but necessary. Enjoy!
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For the last month or so, I have been reading in Acts, because I want to learn more about how the church was established and spread after the Ascension. In chapter 21, I was shocked when I read something that Paul said before heading to Jerusalem. Despite the warnings of many people around him, Paul decided to go. His response to the people was this: “‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13).
When passages like these are mentioned in a church service, and questions like “What are you willing to endure for Jesus?” are used, it can be really easy to blow them off. After all, if we’re saved, we’re better off than those that are rejecting Jesus, right?
I looked at this passage in total shock, because I realized that I absolutely am not willing to endure persecution and/or death for Jesus. I hate thinking about that, because it is something that I really don’t want to come to terms with. Even though I know that my faith should be so strong that everything becomes second to the will of God, I also know that in my heart that I am not there yet. I like to imagine that if somebody came to my door to lock me up or kill me because I was faithful to God, that I would be bold and stand up for the Lord Jesus, but I honestly am not sure what I would do if this happened.
I immediately decided that I wanted to write about this, because I am willing to bet that a lot of you feel the same way. So many people in the Bible have made incredible sacrifices, including losing their life, just so that the Gospel would be able to be shared to more people, and that God could continue to move in the lives of people. Are we willing to live like that?
Take Stephen, for example. He appears in the book of Acts and is described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”. He boldly spoke about the Gospel in his journeys, and was eventually seized because of how bold he was. When asked to speak about the false witnesses people gave about him in an attempt to get him to be quiet, Stephen made yet another brave move. He spoke to the educated counsel about what God has done in the past, and then begins to tell his audience that they were “stiff-necked” and “always resisting the Holy Spirit”, because of the way that they were living. This did not end well for Stephen, for by the end of Acts 7, he was attacked, and then stoned to death. There were people that were so against listening to the truth, that they killed Stephen! This isn’t just a story from 2,000 ago, because it also looks very similar to what many people still endure for their faith. Countless countries across the world have banned Christianity, and anyone found to be reading their Bible or preaching the Gospel is subject to punishment or death. In addition, many people travel to places like that to spread the Gospel where it hasn’t been spread yet, knowing the possible consequences.
One martyr that I learned of was named Jim Elliot, and his story is amazing. I’m going to share a link to his story here so you can learn more about it, but I’m going to sum it up quickly. He went with a group of a few others to share the Gospel with a tribe in Ecuador. This tribe was not friendly, and had killed all previous visitors, but Jim knew that they needed Jesus just as much as anyone else. Although he was killed by this tribe, the Aucas, God was able to work in this, and now many of the Aucas are saved, and all are friendly towards outsiders, including Jim’s wife and kids.
Why am I sharing all of this? Because Christianity is so different for all of us that live in America. We are blessed to be able to go to church publicly, and bring our Bible wherever we choose to do so. Even if other people don’t like it, we can freely share our faith. This is not the reality for everyone, though. We don’t understand how real persecution for faith is, and how many people have died and will die because of their faith in God. We won’t ever understand it until we see it for ourselves, and I believe that strongly.
Despite all of this, Paul set an example when he risked going to a place that he knew would not be accepting of this new Gospel. His life was on the line, but he knew that there was something so much more important than that, and this is the souls of men. Do we value our life more than the souls of men? Jesus gave his life away so that we could gain ours for eternity, and we are called to do the same.
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13).
I feel like it is important for me to pause and address what I mean when I say “persecution”, because that is a big spectrum. Persecution for some people means imprisonment or death, while in other places, persecution is more like being judged or left by people around you because of the way you live your life. For those of you called to missions, understand that depending on where you go, your life may very well be on the line. For everyone else, though, the sacrifices we are called to make for the spreading of the Gospel are going to look very different.
No matter where you are, it is guaranteed in the Bible that you will endure hardships and persecutions if you are being obedient to the Lord. If you aren’t enduring any sort of hardships from the world because of your faith, it is time for you to check yourself. “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19). The more you are living like Christ, the more you will have to endure for the sake of Christ. The question is…are you willing to endure that? Are you willing to even live in the way that would bring about this persecution?
These questions all boil down to your faith, because this is dependent on the strength of your faith in Jesus being who he says he is. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth’” (Revelation 3:15-16). Those that are described in this letter to the Laodiceans were known for having shallow, or “lukewarm” faith. They didn't suffer through what Smyrna, another church in Revelation, went through. This is because while the people of Smyrna were diligent and obedient, the Laodiceans were not. Just because you are saved does not make your faith strong. Your faith is not determined by one event, but instead by every single choice that you make. Therefore, you will not suffer persecution if you are saved, but if you are obedient. Even though it seems scary to endure physical hardship, and maybe even death, we need to be willing to do so if the Lord says that it is part of His plan for us.
When’s the last time you suffered for your faith? Are you willing to die for the Lord?
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