God’s Family Trait… Persecution

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Bible Reading

Matthew 10

Acts 8

Devotional Thoughts

When Jesus said the words in Matthew 10, the Spirit had not yet come, so I have to wonder what the disciples thought about what Jesus said, “The words you will speak will not be yours..” The Spirit did come on people for specific enabling, so I am sure they were picturing that. But, what Jesus gave us in the person of his resurrected life is so much more!

As I continue to look for references to God’s Fatherly care of us, I thought this passage was particularly interesting. Matt 10:25-30 Jesus says, “If the head of the family (that would be Him) is mistreated, then you can be sure they won’t treat the rest of the family any better.” So, if we are going to be a part of this family, one of the family traits is persecution! If we are going to resemble our Father, and follow in his footsteps, it is going to mean the world may not like us. But God says, “Don’t worry about it, because they can’t do anything without our Father’s permission.” Even a sparrow doesn’t fall and die without His permission. And your Father sees you as much more precious that many sparrows. So, we can trust our Father’s care of us!

The way Matt 10:18-20 reads it’s almost like Jesus is saying, “Because of me (because you are my kids) you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings…” but when you are, don’t be afraid, instead see it as me giving you the opportunity to tell the Good News to them!

In light of what Jesus said, it’s interesting to look at the early church. This definitely rang true with them. Acts 8 describes the great persecution. But as they went out, they shared the message of Christ every where they went.

Prayer Points:

  1. Trust your Father’s care
  2. Rest in knowing that he is going to look after you even better than the sparrows
  3. Don’t worry about how the world treats you. Look at it as an opportunity to tell them the Good News.
  4. Believe / Expect when you speak to them, the words that come out will be God’s Word speaking through you.

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