Is persecution coming?

The events which have taken place this electron year has me wondering what lies ahead for Christians?  Jesus told us more than once that we would be persecuted for our belief in Him.  Although some of us here in the United States has had to face some persecution it has never been as frequent nor as bad as it is in many other parts of the earth.

I wonder though?  Is this going to change?  Personally I believe that it will.  I am of the belief that Christians living here in the United States are going to be facing a tremendous increase in the frequency and severity of attacks on our belief in Jesus.  Our biblical stance is against everything that the left in our country is endorsing.  They now have the government and the power of the press standing behind them to push their anti-christian agenda into the laws of the land.  They are doing what they think is right in their own eyes.  Read the book of Judges to find out how that worked out for the Israelites.

In 2 Timothy 3:11, Paul made the statement "and out of them all the Lord rescued me".  Paul was talking about events recorded in Acts 13-15 where he and Barnabas had tremendous results preaching the gospel in Antioch.  Acts 13:44 tells us, "nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord."  But the enemies of Christ stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and finally threw them out of town.

Act 14:1-6 describes their next stop at Iconium where they spoke boldly for Christ but were forced to leave when a plot to murder them was uncovered.  They escaped to Lystra but were followed by men from Antioch and Iconium who stirred up the crowd against them.  In Acts 14:19, we are told that Paul was stoned and dragged out of town and left for dead.

Some years later, in his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote about these persecutions saying that through it all they were delivered by the Lord.  Think about that.  He escaped from Antioch and Iconium, but not Lystra, where he was stoned and left for dead.  But Paul doesn't say that he was delivered two out of three times.  He says "and out of them all ..."

If we are feeling a little bruised and battered right now or when the time comes where we will be facing extreme persecution, remember that although God can deliver us from the persecution, sometimes He only delivers us through the stones; not from the stones.  Our choice is to trust Him in every circumstance so that we can echo the triumphant testimony of the apostle Paul when he uttered, "and out of them all the Lord rescued me."

Paul rejoiced that he was counted worthy of suffering for the name of Jesus.  The time may be coming when we will have to face extreme persecution for Christs sake.  When that time comes for me I hope that I can be like Paul and count myself worthy for suffering in His name.