This Week’s Devotional / “Beware! Suffering Ahead!”

 

Matthew 10:16-26, 28 (NKJV)
¹⁶ “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ²⁰ for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. ²¹ “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²² And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶ Therefore do not fear them… ²⁸ Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Focus Point

The warning that Christ gave his disciples seem to have been lost in the midst of present age pleasure seekers and prosperity gospel preachers. Almost every Christian sect spews rhetoric that implies that to be blessed is to have material wealth and money. Worldly wealth, popularity and social acceptance are highly valued among many in our Christian culture. However, these things are contrary to what the Lord Jesus Christ taught.

Jesus warns us to expect suffering. A genuine disciple of Christ will face many different afflictions and persecutions. His or her life may even be forfeited for the sake of the Gospel. Suffering is a way of life for a disciple of Christ; not selfish pleasure seeking and wealth building.

We are also encouraged to stay the course of holiness and not to fear those who oppose God and who threaten to destroy our bodies but rather we are to fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell; we are to fear God. We are encouraged to endure to the end. And if we endure to the end, we shall receive the crown of life. (James 1:12)

Prayer

Father, I come to You today in the name of the LORD Jesus the Christ. I beg of You to hear my prayer Oh Lord and attend to my petition. Because I hold fast to Your Word I am troubled and persecuted by the children of this world. I have been abandoned by family members and my enemies are those who have supped with me. The ones whom I have prayed for have turned their backs on me. Have mercy upon me Oh God! Many have sought to take my life because I speak Your Word of Truth and stand firm on Your Word of righteousness. Empower me to endure persecution. Help me to hold out to the end. I do not seek to live above that which my Master lived but encourage my soul in the knowledge that if I share in the suffering of Christ my LORD I shall also share in His Resurrection Glory. This is my prayer in the name of my LORD Jesus the Christ, Amen.

Copyright © Othealor W. Prince 2011
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