All Christians Should Expect Persecution

Just over a month ago the world learned of the tragic deaths of 21 Egyptian Christians on a beach in Libya. Persecution of Christians goes on all over the world. It has for as long as there have been people of faith Deuteronomy 30:7. Yet there was something different about what happened in Libya. It was so brazen. The perpetrators filmed it and posted in online for people to see. Where was the international outcry? What did world leaders do to address this abuse of human rights? Nothing.

How have we who are Christians who heard about it responded? We were shocked and saddened by it. But now, just one month later it’s a fading memory. We are so blessed in the USA that we don’t experience this kind of violent persecution. (There are other kinds of persecution we experience that aren't as violent but just as real.) How should we respond to this? Here are 5 things the Bible teaches us about persecution. [Tweet "May the blessing of not being persecuted compel us to pray for those who are being persecuted"]

5 Things Christians Can Do To Prepare For Persecution

1. Expect it 2 Timothy 3:12, Luke 11:49. All Christians experience persecution at some point in their lives.
2. Remember persecution is in God’s control Proverbs 16:4.
3. Purpose to be content when persecuted. We can, for the sake of Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:10
4. Believe God is with us when we’re persecuted 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Romans 8:35.
5. Plan to pray for those who persecute us Matthew 5:44. If it’s in your heart to pray for your persecutor before it happens, you will do it when it does happen.

There is one more thing we should do. Pray for our brothers and sister who are being persecuted right now!  We should pray for them every day. Pick a country and pray for the believers there. Find the name of someone who is in prison for Jesus and pray for him or her every day. It is such a small thing for us to pray, but it matters. There are many resources on the internet with more information. Here are four Christian organizations that will give you information: The Voice of the Martyrs  Prayer for the Persecuted Church  Open Doors Christian Freedom International And we should also pray God saves those who are doing the persecuting! Jesus tells us to. [Tweet "God changed the worst persecutor of the early church. Let's pray He does it again!"] I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or question below.