Persecution should strengthen us all

Persecution is on the rise, many of our Brothers and Sisters especially to the East in Africa, and Asia to name a few are suffering hardships because they have put their Faith and Belief on our Lord, whom came in the flesh of Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sinful nature and offer His gift of salvation; because of this they face daily ridicule, verbal abuse, physical assault, and even being murdered when they refuse to deny who Jesus Christ is. Those of us living in the West mostly are presecuted to a much lesser degree and we should not forget how much easier we have it than our Brothers and Sisters in the East.

I say the above not to shame us or make us feel guilty, but to rather strengthen us in our Faith the way our Eastern family are. Let us not be luke warm, but scorching hot.

As we grow in our faith, our sins that are in our own lifes and the sins that we see in the world around us daily become more apparent to us and can lead us at times to carry burdens that we ought not to carry; or cause us to doubt, fear or even question our relationship with Jesus himself, with us asking "am I really saved?, has God washed his hands of me?"

"See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." Hebrews ch 13: v12-v13

Take encouragement from God's word, stand firm in the Faith, dont let your heart be discouraged when these thoughts arise in your mind, for this our sinful flesh, sometimes even forces of dakrness knocking at the door looking for a way in so that you will distance yourself from the love of God, and the further you distance yourself from God, your love for God grows colder and your heart hardens to stone. When the sin in your life, feels like it is overwhelmimg you, don't distance yourself from God but open your heart to Him. "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded". James ch 4: v8

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." 1 John ch 1: v9-v10