How Would You Respond to Persecution? Is it possible to be excited about persecution? That seems almost impossible! But here in Acts 4, Israel’s ungodly leaders threatened Peter and John, telling them they were to no longer preach about Jesus. Instead of making them and the other disciples afraid, as John MacArthur says, “it exhilarated them.” And though God may allow men to criticize or persecute us sometimes, is it possible to rejoice when that happens? And why should we?
When is it right to disobey those in authority? As believers, we may be forced to consider that question more and more frequently. We know that God places a high priority on respect for authority. He commands us to live obediently under the authority of our government, our work structure, our church leadership, and within the family. So, when is it right to disobey those in authority?
When we looked at Psalm 73 a few days ago, we saw that the psalmist Asaph had been tempted to envy the wicked for their seeming prosperity and lack of problems. That is until he got his focus back onto God and remembered the judgment that awaited them if they didn’t repent. In today’s reading from the Psalms, he revisited that subject and praised God for His righteous judgment.
And at the end of 2 Kings, we see a great example of God’s mercy to His own even in the midst of national judgment.
Blame-shifting, most of us are tempted at times to blame others or various situations for our behavior. We blame our nationality, our temperament, our race, our financial situation, our social status, our lack of opportunities, and our lack of education. We blame our parents, our family of origin, our bosses, our spouses, and our children. And I’m sure we could all come up with other people and things that we’re tempted to blame. We even blame God. And if we don’t come up with our own excuses, there are plenty of so-called experts out there who will do it for us. But what does the Bible actually say about the subject?
Are you a person of prayer? Do you pray at the first sign of a problem? Or do you first exhaust all your other options and pray only as a last resort? And when you do pray, what is the focus of your prayers?
King Hezekiah gave us one of the greatest examples of prayer in the Old Testament. His amazing prayer has a lot to teach us about the importance and right focus of prayer.
In our Old Testament reading, we’ll see God’s patience come to an end with the Northern Kingdom when He allowed Israel to be taken into captivity by the Assyrians. The Assyrians brought in settlers from other areas to till the land and live there. But when God sent lions to kill them, they decided they needed to learn something about the “god of that land.” Not so they could truly worship Him. They just wanted to tack on a little Jewishness to what they were doing to pacify him. What about us … have we tried to add a little Jesus to our lives … put a Christian veneer over a heart that’s still worshiping other things?
Today (among other things), we’ll talk about something that can be one of the greatest challenges: responding well to criticism. But how we respond reveals things about us that God wants us to see. So, how can we respond in ways that allow us to benefit from even the most unfair criticism? And on the other hand, are there ways of responding that can result in God’s discipline?
Family feuds can be some of the most difficult to settle, yet God places a high priority on unity and peace within our biological families and within the family of God.
Sometimes that can be challenging to achieve in the midst of family feuds and misunderstandings. And there are times when we do all we can to be at peace with someone but the other person simply won’t. There can, also, be times when choosing what might look like peace is really a compromise at the cost of truth and righteousness.
Do you look around and see wicked people doing fine … even prospering? Have you ever thought, “Why bother doing what is right?!” or “I’ve been good for nothing!” Those were the Psalmist’s thoughts. Psalm 73 has a powerful message for every believer who has ever struggled with those kinds of thoughts and feelings about wicked people.
And speaking of wicked people, we’ll read about a grandmother so evil she had her own grandchildren murdered. We’ll, also, consider the influence wives and mothers can have on their children, grandchildren, and the world around them … for good or for evil.
And read about the foolishness of judging when you only hear one side of the story and the danger we run of taking sides without knowing the facts.
As human beings, we can withstand great physical and circumstantial difficulties, but when we lose hope even small problems can seem insurmountable. How do we find hope and learn to trust God when we have lost hope and the pressure seems too much to bear?
Also, how should we respond when someone speaks to us in unbiblical ways or threatens us foolishly? What can we learn from Jesus’ responses to Pilate?
And from our Old Testament reading:
Even though God is love, He is also the righteous Judge of the universe. In His mercy, He gives people many opportunities to repent and change, but He does eventually judge evil. Such was the case with Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab died in battle but his wicked wife Jezebel’s death was especially gruesome.
