Is it possible to be excited about persecution? 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.” Though God may allow men to criticize or persecute us at times, knowing He will turn it to our good and His glory can help us rejoice in the midst of it.
In the book of Isaiah, God said we were created for His glory. One definition for bringing someone glory is to give others the right opinion of that person. How do you look to others? If you claim to be a follower of Christ, do you live in a way that brings Him glory? If, like me, you believe you could do better, here are four ways we can better give others the right opinion of God.
Also, read about what often happens when we try to share our faith with those closest to us and how to keep an eternal perspective instead of being offended by a common reaction.
Do you and I really shine the light of Christ to those around us? Do others see the difference He has made in our lives? Are we bringing Him glory by how we live and treat others? Let’s not answer too quickly. We can be a little like the Pharisees, seeing all the “good things” we believe we do while we are harsh with our family, dishonoring to our parents, unforgiving, and unkind to those we believe have mistreated us. Maybe we need to look a little closer to see if we are living in light of Christ’s omnipresence and omniscience.
There is also a beautiful prayer to pray for ourselves and others in today’s readings and a description of how God wants us to regard His Word.
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