Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing … Chain Breaker … powerfully testifying in song that our King Jesus is a chain breaker when we are persecuted and even imprisoned in His Name.
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Highlight Verse[s]: 1 Peter 1:21 [NLT] … 21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
… Jesus, our Master, was our example of suffering for righteousness.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1st Peter 1:11-23 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Peter writes exhortation and encouragement for Christians persecuted for their faith.
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Reference Passage : … John 16:33 [NLT] … 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
… Jesus never promised that we’d be free of sorrows when we surrender to Him; but we know that He has overcome all such suffering.
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 [NLT] …USE THIS LINK …
… Paul learned to endure pain and privation for Christ’s sake.
Reference Passage : … 2 Timothy 2:12a [NLT] … 12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with Him. …
… Our Lord’s promise is that we will reign with Him in glory if we’re willing to endure hardship in His Name.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Lawrence Darmani, writes about a Christian who was persecuted by his family when He surrendered to Christ as they persecuted him because of Christ. … The ODB author wrote: When eighteen-year-old Sammy received Jesus as Savior, his family rejected him because their tradition was of a different faith. But the Christian community welcomed him, offering encouragement and financial resources for his education. Later, when his testimony was published in a magazine, his persecution intensified.
But Sammy did not stop seeing his family. He visited whenever he could and talked with his father, even though his siblings cruelly prevented him from participating in family affairs. When his father fell ill, Sammy overlooked his family’s slighting and attended to him, praying his father would get well. When God healed him, the family began to warm up toward Sammy. Over time, his loving witness softened their attitude toward him—and some of his family members became willing to hear about Jesus.
Jesus never promised His followers/disciples that they would be free from pain, persecution, or trials when they chose to give themselves over to follow Him. But He certainly showed us, thru the cross and His resurrection, that He had overcome persecution and pain (see John 16:33). And both Paul and Peter, after the resurrection, showed incredible strength to overcome the weakness of their humanity to stand strong in their faith [see highlight and reference passages above].
I pray that we’re all like young Sammy in the ODB entry today, standing strong in our faith when others ridicule or reject us because we’ve given our lives over as slaves to serve King Jesus. And let’s pray that our resolution to follow our Lord remains resolute, even if we sustain persecution and pain.
As the Brooklyn Tab choir sings … “If you believe it … somebody testify” that our Lord is a chain breaker!!!
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You showing us how we can overcome persecution in this world.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to have pain sustaining faith in Your Name and for Your glory. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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