Home / Meditation for Today / Meditation For Today June 11, 2018 : TOPIC - THE IRONY OF PERSECUTION

Meditation For Today June 11, 2018 : TOPIC - THE IRONY OF PERSECUTION

-
--> Note :- Are you born again? You are never going to win the battle against the devil if you are not born again. I plead with you to give your life to Jesus today because the longer you stay in sin and remain unsaved, the more hardened your nature becomes against the purpose and the way God wants you to be for His purpose. To give your life to Jesus now, say this prayer: “Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus. I know that I am a sinner and I cannot save myself but Jesus died for me and shed His blood that I might be saved. Today, I accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Jesus, I ask You to come into my heart, be my Lord, wash me with Your blood and make me whole. I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord. Thank You for saving me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.” I congratulate you and welcome you to the family of God if you have sincerely said that prayer. Now you are fit to discover, know and walk in your destiny. Call our helpline on +2348037252124, Join Our Daily Whatsapp Devotionals Group : +2347033046607 for Daily Devotionals, crucial discipleship and counselling.s"
Meditation For Today June 11, 2018 : TOPIC - THE IRONY OF PERSECUTION

                               


TOPIC - THE IRONY OF PERSECUTION

“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria…But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.”  Acts 8:1-3

Very often God uses the persecution of the Church to spread the Gospel. It’s incredibly ironic how something intended to eliminate the church ends up helping it grow. That’s exactly what happened after Stephen became the early church’s first martyr.  At that time, almost all believers were Jews who believed Jesus to be the long awaited Messiah. For the orthodox Jewish community, this belief was heresy; so Saul and other religious leaders began persecuting the church. Fleeing for their lives, the church scattered throughout Judea and even into Samaria.

Now, the last place any Jew would voluntarily go would be Samaria. The Samaritans were hated and looked down upon. Yet when persecution hit the early church, believers fled into Samaria and took the Gospel with them. Time and time again we see God use for good what man desires for evil. One of the greatest examples of this was God using Stephen’s martyrdom to convict Saul. It prepared Saul’s heart for his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This transformed Saul’s life from the original religious terrorist to the great missionary and writer of much of the New Testament.

I really believe that the reason Saul moved from being such a zealous defender of traditional Judaism to being a religious terrorist seeking to destroy and imprison followers of Jesus was that he couldn’t shake the haunting scene of seeing Stephen die. He was so calm, so peaceful and praying for those who would unjustly murder him. Sometimes those who are the angriest at Christians and the church are the ones battling an internal war of doubts, questions, and fears about Jesus – wondering, could it all be true?

When facing rejection, discrimination, and even persecution whether at work or home, trust that God can use for good what man desires for evil. He did for the early church and He did for Saul. He certainly can then for you.
Meditation For Today June 11, 2018 : TOPIC - THE IRONY OF PERSECUTION Meditation For Today June 11, 2018 : TOPIC - THE IRONY OF PERSECUTION Reviewed by Muyiwa Abodunrin (Muyilight) on June 22, 2018 Rating: 5

No comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )
Powered by Blogger.