1 Peter 4:12 ¶ “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.”
Have you ever been persecuted for who knows what? I mean…it may be public knowledge that you are a Bible believing Christian, but you aren’t the type that is forcing your beliefs on everyone around you. You are just living your life, trying to keep a good attitude, and being the best person you can be. It’s not like you are living in the days of the early church where you could be seen as a threat or heretic to other established belief systems. It’s not like you are a missionary in a foreign land that is known to be hostile toward Christianity. You are in your own backyard, so to speak, a predominantly Christian country. But…the persecution comes and it’s ‘strange’ because it’s hard to identify why you are being persecuted and attacked. Ever been there?
In 2 Timothy 3:12-13 he says: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” I wonder sometimes about where that persecution comes from. Is it flesh and blood (Eph 6:12) or does satan do the persecuting? Does he take people captive to do his will (2 Tim 2:26)? Apparently so. Is satan persecuting you?
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