Anyone can become a Christian, a follower of Christ. Jesus gives of the choice for free. But when we take the first steps to becoming a disciple, we realize that that we won’t get as much as we bargained for. The cost of becoming a disciple is everything, even death.
If we look back to our examples of disciples (the twelve), how do their lives end. Most probably death or corporal punishment (which results in death). Romans 8:28 says “Or that all things work together for good, for those who love God…” When it seems like bad things get in our way, we tend to go backwards and never continue our walk with God. No matter how many obstacles got in the disciples way, they still passed them. Even those who failed the obstacles (e.g When Paul denied Jesus three times), even though they were hurt, they still continued their walk.
In John 15:20, Jesus says that no slave is greater then their master. When we become Christians, we proclaim that Jesus is our master. If we relate back to what Jesus went through, and then come back to what we are going through, we can see a huge difference.
Whether we are going through verbal, social or physical persecution, we have to remember that God is on our side. Romans 8:31 b says “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” I believe that this is a powerful verse (especially for spiritual warfare), because no matter how hard this world pushes us into the ground, God will always help us up even higher then we had started before.
Especially in modern times (considering the last 100 years), Christian persecution is going from a unusual event, to an everyday thing. How are we reacting to this? Surely we will be next. We must be prepared for what is coming next.
If we look at the example of WWII, we will see that Hitler thought that the Jews caused all of Germany’s problems. When Hitler sent them out, no one would take the Jews into their country.
If we look at what is happening in Israel today we think “Why is God letting this happen to his people?”
The point is, no disciple is safe from persecution. You can’t become a disciple if you’re afraid of being persecuted from the world. Just like you can’t be a baker if you’re afraid to get your hands dirty. Its all or nothing. God expects us as Christians, to follow that commitment.
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