SHARING CHRIST: ATTEMPTING FIRE RESCUE

Whenever I find something written by others that blesses me, and I feel the Lord directing me to share it, I do.  Below is today's devotion from Our Daily Bread.  I hope you are touched by the writer's beautiful description of the fire which burns within born again believers to share the Good News about Jesus with others.  If you have no desire to "rescue the lost," then perhaps it is time to ask yourself:  Am I born again, and upon what have I been basing my salvation?  While we cannot get saved by works (Eph. 2:8-9), those who are genuinely born again, do works of the Lord (Eph. 2:10)!  And what is the root of all works done in obedience to God's will?  Our love and concern for our fellow man; both the saved and unsaved!  Police and firefighters are heroes for saving people from physical death; can you imagine what God thinks of us when we are burdened to encourage the brethren, "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh" (Jude 1:23)?!  Being a soul winner is wise (Prov. 11:30)!

I know very little about persecution. My physical well-being has never been threatened because of what I believe or what I say. What little I “know” about the subject comes from what I hear and read. But that is not true for many of our brothers and sisters around the world. Some of them live in danger every day simply because they love Jesus and want others to know Him too.

There is another form of persecution that may not be life-threatening, but it is heartbreaking. It’s the persecution that comes from non-Christian family members. When loved ones ridicule our faith and mock us for what we believe and how we express our love for God, we feel rejected and unloved.

Paul warned believers that following Jesus would result in persecution: “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12), and we know that sometimes rejection will come from those we love (Matt. 10:34-36). But when people we love reject the God we love, the rejection feels personal.

Jesus told us to pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44), and that includes more than strangers who hate us. God is able to give us grace to persevere through persecution even when it comes from those we love.

Lord, give us grace to pray for those
Who seek our harm and not our good;
And teach us how to show them love
In ways that will be understood. —Sper

People may mock our message but they can’t stop our prayers.