Daily Devotion

May 16, 2006

Psalms 119:157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.

David was a godly man.  He was godly because of his great love for God, his great faith in God, and because of his great repentance from his sins.  His heart was truly yielded to the heart of God and he did not resist the correction of the Almighty. Yet, in spite of all these great virtues, he had many enemies.

These enemies were not only foreign people, nations and armies, but were also counted among his own friends and kin (Psa 41:9; 2 Sam 15:4).  Do you wonder how it is that such a man who gave his all to God found very little peace during his lifetime?  Do you wonder why it is that his life seems to have been a constant struggle from within and from without?

Haven’t you read?  Haven’t you read the Words of the Master? How do you expect them to receive you who have not received Him?  How do you expect a world who crucifies Him daily to receive you?  How do you expect the prince of the power of the air to leave you, the “seed of the woman”, alone when he knows that you are a daily threat to his kingdom? Be thankful for any moment of peace in this world.  Consider it a treat that He has Himself had foregone while in ministry here.  He is certainly better to us that he was to Himself while He was on earth!

But Christian, there is yet another question to be asked.  Does your life roll along like a song without much ado or is it a fight?  Do the congregations of the world accept you, or are the enemies of your virtues many?  Do you find it easy to get along with all, or does even your own kin or best friend rise against you without a cause (John 15:25)? The life of every true child of God in history is marked with physical and spiritual persecutions. It is so because every true child of God is a witness to God’s power, and therefore a threat to the devil’s kingdom.  In the Greek, the word “witness”, is the word “martyr”. My question to you Christian is: are you a witness?  Are you a martyr?

John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Patrick Lumbroso
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http://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/