Persecution/Accuser of Brethren - Just Hold On!
"If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for the have rejected the One who sent me. They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their since. Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. If i hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: 'They hated me without cause'" John 15:18-25
There are so many things we face in life as Christians, and one of them is persecution I will even go as far to say that alot of these persecutions come from within the walls of the "church" I'm not nagging on any specific church but the church as a whole. As I was reading today I came across this scripture and began to think about persecution and what it is. Merriam Webster's defines it as "to annoy with persistent or urgent approaches (as attacks, pleas, or importunities)"
So where are these persecutions coming from, why would a fellow Christian persecute another Christian? Is this not the very tactics of Satan? Revelations 12 refers to Satan as the "Accuser of the Brethren" or some translations read "Accuser of our brothers and sisters" I got to talk to a great spiritual mentor on this topic a few days ago and she really brought insight to the topic. If we as grounded in Christ then Satan knows this and he knows that we are not easily swayed or tempted, he knows that we see the world as empty and has nothing to offer us therefore we are not easily thrown off course if the world "accuses" of something that is not true. So what other tactics can he use? well there are many that he can use but one is using another brother or sister in Christ to accuse you. OUCH! It hurts deep to be accused of something that you are not guilty of doing (I know I've had this happen to me). For me it made me question my calling, my purpose, my Christianity, etc. Which is RIGHT where Satan wants you, he is able to deposit seeds of doubt and disbelief. The hardest thing to do when someone is accusing you of something that you have not done is to KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! As humans our first instinct is to want to lash back at them tell them they are wrong. I believe this is one of the reasons why Jesus warned his disciples that they would be persecuted, later on in John 16 Jesus says "I have told you these things so you won't abandon your faith." What was it I said earlier I did? I questioned my faith! I didn't abandon it because I realized that this was a tactic of Satan, that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. One thing you will realize when something like this happens when you try talking to the person accusing you is that they CAN NOT give you a straight up answer, they beat around the bush trying to find reasons why they "feel" this way etc.
I believe that God is telling us Christ Followers to JUST HOLD ON! We are living in the last days its evident. I have been listening to Hillsong United's CD Tear Down The Wall and part of the lyrics are :
Soon and very soon
My King is coming
Robed in righteousness
And crowned with love
When I see Him
I shall be made like Him
Soon and very soon
VERSE 2:
Soon and very soon I'll be going
To the place He has prepared for me
There my sin erased
My shame forgotten
Soon and very soon
CHORUS:
I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul will be satisfied
Soon and very soon
This excites me! Because I choose to JUST HANG ON, soon and very soon I will get to meet my Savior face to face! :) I challenge you if persecutions are coming your way you can guarantee this is not the last time they will come, just keep putting one foot in front of the the other with your eyes fixed on Jesus, its when we let our eyes move to the right or the left and not centered on Christ that we find ourselves dipping into the lies of Satan. So what if someone accuses you of something God sees your heart and He has already paid a price!!
I hope you find encouragement in this today, JUST HANG ON! :)
"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD."
There are so many things we face in life as Christians, and one of them is persecution I will even go as far to say that alot of these persecutions come from within the walls of the "church" I'm not nagging on any specific church but the church as a whole. As I was reading today I came across this scripture and began to think about persecution and what it is. Merriam Webster's defines it as "to annoy with persistent or urgent approaches (as attacks, pleas, or importunities)"
So where are these persecutions coming from, why would a fellow Christian persecute another Christian? Is this not the very tactics of Satan? Revelations 12 refers to Satan as the "Accuser of the Brethren" or some translations read "Accuser of our brothers and sisters" I got to talk to a great spiritual mentor on this topic a few days ago and she really brought insight to the topic. If we as grounded in Christ then Satan knows this and he knows that we are not easily swayed or tempted, he knows that we see the world as empty and has nothing to offer us therefore we are not easily thrown off course if the world "accuses" of something that is not true. So what other tactics can he use? well there are many that he can use but one is using another brother or sister in Christ to accuse you. OUCH! It hurts deep to be accused of something that you are not guilty of doing (I know I've had this happen to me). For me it made me question my calling, my purpose, my Christianity, etc. Which is RIGHT where Satan wants you, he is able to deposit seeds of doubt and disbelief. The hardest thing to do when someone is accusing you of something that you have not done is to KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! As humans our first instinct is to want to lash back at them tell them they are wrong. I believe this is one of the reasons why Jesus warned his disciples that they would be persecuted, later on in John 16 Jesus says "I have told you these things so you won't abandon your faith." What was it I said earlier I did? I questioned my faith! I didn't abandon it because I realized that this was a tactic of Satan, that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. One thing you will realize when something like this happens when you try talking to the person accusing you is that they CAN NOT give you a straight up answer, they beat around the bush trying to find reasons why they "feel" this way etc.
I believe that God is telling us Christ Followers to JUST HOLD ON! We are living in the last days its evident. I have been listening to Hillsong United's CD Tear Down The Wall and part of the lyrics are :
Soon and very soon
My King is coming
Robed in righteousness
And crowned with love
When I see Him
I shall be made like Him
Soon and very soon
VERSE 2:
Soon and very soon I'll be going
To the place He has prepared for me
There my sin erased
My shame forgotten
Soon and very soon
CHORUS:
I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul will be satisfied
Soon and very soon
This excites me! Because I choose to JUST HANG ON, soon and very soon I will get to meet my Savior face to face! :) I challenge you if persecutions are coming your way you can guarantee this is not the last time they will come, just keep putting one foot in front of the the other with your eyes fixed on Jesus, its when we let our eyes move to the right or the left and not centered on Christ that we find ourselves dipping into the lies of Satan. So what if someone accuses you of something God sees your heart and He has already paid a price!!
I hope you find encouragement in this today, JUST HANG ON! :)
"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD."
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