Is that a promise?
If someone makes us a promise, we expect them to keep it. When God makes us a promise, we know that He will keep it. We, as Christians, love the promises of God, go into any Christian bookstore and you will see how many books you can find written about the promises of God. I went in recently and managed to find eleven in a short space of time.
Do you promise me?
As Christians it is important that we treasure the promises that God has given to us, but we need to ensure that they are for us. It’s important to remember that the every book of the Bible was written to a specific people in a specific place, at a specific time, so when we read it we must keep this in mind. Also, we need to try and realise that we live in a specific place at a specific time, and we understand things in our own specific way, and this affects our understanding of what we read in the Bible. It is important to read a verse in its context, so instead of just reading a single verse, read a few before and a few after.
I promise you.
Read through 2Timothy 3v5→10 and see if you can identify the promise that God is making to us… It’s in verse 12; Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted… The only requirement for this promise is that you desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, if that is the case for you, then God promises you that you will suffer persecution. We spoke briefly about this verse in last weeks devotion, but this week it will be good for us to look at the comfort and the conviction that this verse brings us in our walk with God.
Believe this.
This verse is convicting for us if we live a life calling ourselves Christians, and we have no idea what persecution actually is. Many Christians have given in too the cultural teaching that we must avoid persecution at all costs, but this is not the case. God is calling us to be a witness where we are, in our office, school, with our friends, and in our families, wherever we find ourselves. We are not supposed to seek out persecution, rather we should seek to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, and persecution will find us. There is comfort here, for those who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, and are suffering for it, take comfort! You are living as God would have you to live, persecution is not a curse from God, no, rather it is a blessing (Acts 5v41), through persecution we grow stronger in our walk, and closer to God. Remember this, God has promised us, that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer some form of persecution, check your life.
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I don’t know if this is meant to be challenging or encouraging or both but its definitely both for me.
That’s awesome! God was convicting and encouraging me through it so i’m glad i could pass it on