SUFFERING INCLUDED

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Philippians 1:29-30

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When you choose to believe in Jesus and follow Him, receiving the blessed gift of salvation freely given by God the Father, know what you are signing up for.

This is a warning not often talked about as people are hearing the Gospel but if full disclosure is in play, as it should be, then we need to make sure people know all that they need to know when it comes to being a Christian because the lifestyle can contain hazards.

If you don’t believe that, consider the following current events involving Christians in our world today:

Two days ago in Libya, two American school teachers were arrested and charged with inviting Muslim Libyans to convert to Christianity.

An attack on a Nigerian Christian community by Fulani militants left 33 dead. In 2022, over 8,000 Nigerian Christians were either kidnapped or murdered.

In early April this year, three Christians were arrested after being attacked by a mob of radical Hindu nationalists in India.

In Azerbaijan, Armenian Christians living in the region of Artsakh have been cut off from outside resources for more than 110 days.

What’s the point?

Many Christians suffer because of their belief in Jesus and it can be in-your-face or more insidious as we are seeing in the United States these days.

Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised that we would come under attack. Go back to the adult ministry years of our Savior Jesus as documented in the scriptures and you will find He was under constant attack by the Jewish religious authorities and others. Even those in His hometown of Nazareth wanted to throw Him off a cliff after He preached in their synagogue (Luke 4:28-30). This persecution for the cause of the Gospel led to arrest under false charges, an unjust conviction, severe torture, and then execution through crucifixion. Jesus suffered greatly and so too might those who follow in His evangelistic footsteps.

Need a couple of examples in the Bible?

Consider Stephen, one of the seven associates to the disciples who was hand selected by their fellow believers. These seven men took care of the social needs of the church, allowing the disciples to preach and minister.

Like Jesus, Stephen was falsely accused and arrested before being sentenced to stoning. And as his execution was being carried out, guess who looked on in favor?

A man named Saul who would later become the great Apostle Paul.

Yes, Paul was first called Saul and he was a fervent Jew. He didn’t profess belief in Jesus until he was confronted by Him on the road to Damascus. You may remember this exchange of dialogue, a dialogue that was only between Jesus and Saul:

Jesus: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

Saul: “Who are you, Lord?”

Jesus: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”  Acts 9:4-6

In Paul’s past, his role as a Christian persecutor always lingered. Many Christians suffered for their belief in Jesus because of him.

In Paul’s present, as he writes to the Christians in Philippi, he is on the receiving end of persecution, imprisoned in Rome for sharing the Gospel of salvation through Christ Jesus and Him alone. This was just the last instance of many other incidents of hardship and suffering that Paul had endured during his missionary journeys. Prior, he had been stoned, beaten, jailed, and even threatened with death on many occasions.

Indeed, Paul knew all too well that one would have to suffer for the cause of Christ, just as Christ had suffered to bring salvation to all who believed in Him. This is why we find him writing these words in our passage, the final verses of Philippians 1:

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. Vv. 29-30

Believing in Jesus and professing that faith can and will lead to suffering which is included in the Christian package when one signs up to be a Christ follower. Persecution is alive and well today, and if you read into the Book of Revelation and what’s to come, you will know it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

So let’s not be surprised when our belief in Jesus is held against us. In those times, we can always look to the cross to understand that we are suffering as our Savior did and that no present suffering can take away the eternal life that awaits us when the journey and struggle are over.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com