play_arrow
Premier Christian Radio Your voice of hope!
By investing £10 per month you'll be stepping in at a crucial time and sustaining YOUR Premier and enabling all that God has planned for the ministry through a new permanent home. With society turning away from Jesus, your monthly support will also secure Premier’s strong Christian voice and enable God’s word to be broadcast across the nation, impacting millions.
Monthly Partners needed
READ: Matthew 5.10 NLT
‘God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.’
The life to which Jesus calls us is one of blessing. This is life at its very best. But Jesus never tried to disguise the fact that his followers would face rejection and persecution just as he did. Jesus assures his followers in every age that it is inevitable that if they stand up for the truth, there will be many people who have a vested interest in bringing them down.
Persecution is normally subtle. For the majority of Christians in Eastern Europe during the communist era the challenge was not the likelihood of imprisonment or martyrdom. That happened from time to time for a few, but the ever-present challenge was in education and employment. I recall talking this through at the time with parents in Romania who wanted to know how to help their children at school when they had to sit through atheism classes. Christian children would find it very hard to enter university and because they were not card-carrying communists they would find it very difficult to find a good job. If they did find a job then, almost always, it would be completely unrelated to their abilities and opportunities for promotion were almost unthinkable. To work hard in an ill-fitting job would need exceptional grace and that was the daily experience of most Christians.
In our society the challenges are very different but they are inevitable. In a society that has long since rejected Christianity, it can be exceptionally hard to speak about personal faith. We will often be accused and even mocked for being out of touch with the way things are these days. To live with a continual barrage of sarcasm is the experience of many Christians and it can be very hard to bear. And if you find yourself in a position where you believe your organisation is acting unethically, it can be incredibly tough to stand up for truth and justice.
Jesus is not encouraging us to go looking for persecution and suffering, but rather to be totally unsurprised when it happens.
QUESTIONS: In what ways have you faced resistance because of your Christian faith?
PRAYER: Loving God, give me your strength day by day so that I will be able to stand strongly for you, whatever the challenges. Amen
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Or via your preferred podcast platform here
Be Still Know Romans 12.9-10 NLT'Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.'Napoleon once said, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I founded empires; but upon what did […]
