Nigerian Baptist Convention Seek Daily Devotional For September 16, 2022 : Topic – Embrace Persecution
SEEK DAILY (NBC)
EMBRACE PERSECUTION
Date: Friday, September 16, 2022
Bible Text: Matthew 5:10-12
Memory Verse: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10, NIV
Muslim soldiers in the early 1900s went throughout Turkey, questioning men, women, and children with swords pointed at them, “Mohammed or Christ?” Over one million Armenians went to their deaths, quoting their confession of faith, “Christ, only Christ.” Today, ISIS in Syria and Iraq and the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria are violently engaging in public executions of Christians and burning down of churches.
Jesus prepares His followers knowing that they would be persecuted not because of any offence but for righteousness sake. In the face of unjust suffering for Christ’s sake, Jesus admonishes us to rejoice and be glad because great is our reward in heaven.
Are you being persecuted because you are living for Christ or because of personal mistakes and errors? However, we are now in a time that demands a firm decision on your part to whom you will pay your allegiance. Suffering for Christ sake is inevitable because the Christian message and life stand at odds with the ways of the world, so it attracts persecution.
Insight: Persecution is not something new. It is inevitable in the Christian race.
Prayer: Help me, LORD, to stand firm for Your cause even in the face of persecution.
RBT Passage: Hosea 10-14