All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
Persecution
Tammy will be thrilled to know that Joyce Meyer's site was down a bit today and therefore, I took to listening to Jackie Francis Chan. LOL I gotta pull her chain on this occasionally.
So Chan is talking about how most people say they're not persecuted because we live in America and he disagrees. He says if we're not persecuted it is because we don't go to the dangerous places to preach. He quotes about Paul going into the places he knew were dangerous but doing so because that's where God told him to go.
Ok...so God told Paul to go there. To some He called as pastors, some teachers, some evangelists, etc. And to some...maybe He told them to be missionaries, to go into dangerous places, etc. Perhaps He has another call for others. If we're not being shot at, imprisoned or threatened with death...is that all there is to persecution? How about being refuted by relatives, neighbors, friends? They may not threaten our lives, but then did God tell each of us to leave your home and family and go into the most dangerous places you can find?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ribbon on
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Hey how cool, I didn't know Jacky Chan preached. I remember loving watching him and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour mivies. Very funny actors
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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LT,
Because of John 15:20, we know we will be persecuted for our faith and belief in Jesus. But there are other forms of persecution, such as being reviled and insulted for one's race, gender, abilities/disabilities, etc ...
Persecution is being mocked and reviled and being insulted verbally and sometimes even physically assaulted, such as shoving, slapping, punching, kicking, etc ... and of course actual death.
I guess some subtle forms would be gossiping about and spreading lies, laughing at, staring at, and excluding someone.
My question is, are we supposed to take all forms of persecution and turn the other cheek? Or only when we are persecuted for righteousness' sake?
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt. 5:10-12).
No doubt, if we aren't being persecuted for wanting to live a godly life, then we should question whether or not we look too much like the world.
When persecuted for our faith it looks like Jesus says not to resist it. But does Jesus say to resist all forms of evil?
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also" (Matthew 5:38-39).
In James 4:7 we are told to resist the devil, and he will flee from us but it apears to contradict some of the things Jesus said in the sermon on the mount. In context, does it mean when we are persecuted for our faith we don't need to defend ourselves but we are to resist all other evil?
When our kids are being bullied in school for reasons that have nothing to do with being a Christian, such as a disability or being shy and introverted, or we are being bullied by in-laws for any number of things that have nothing to do with our belief in Jesus, such as just the kind of work we do for a living or who we are as a person-- being quiet and introverted (our personality) -- are we to turn the other cheek or resist?
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Amanda,
I'm looking forward to hearing LT's response...in the meantime I just wanted to share some of my own thoughts.
Matthew 5:38,39 is referring to people... 'but I tell you not to resist an evil person...'people are never our enemy. Our response to them which is gentle and respectful show them that we don't resist them, but that we see their worth and their value. People who have rejected Jesus are not trying to intentionally deceive us.. They are simply deceived themselves and are only saying the things of the lies they have believed. We have to continually see people for who they are and how God desires for them to be saved. Show them compassion and mercy and grace.. especially when they don't deserve it.
James 4:7 is referring to our enemy the devil (1 Peter:5:8)
Satan intentionally deceives us.. He is a liar and a thief. That's what we are to resist Him. We are not to allow ANYTHING of the enemy to penetrate into our hearts or our minds....if we do we too could be deceived.My thoughts.. looking forward to what LT says.
Blessings, Carla
(ps--my keyboard is doing the most annoying thing... The letters keep skipping all over the place.. I'll be typing a sentence and all of the sudden certain letters will start typing on a different line...I just had to vent that annoyance for a moment--random as it is.. )
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The keyboard problem could be the text cursor when using internet explorer. For some reason it jumps around. Char probably knows why :)
Most of the evil that happens to us appears to come through people who can be evil all on their own without being influenced by Satan or demons, because of the Fall, but they are serving their father, the devil, also, though they may not even believe in God or Satan. So ... I'm not sure if resisting Satan doesn't include resisting those who serve him.
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Permalink Reply by Seek on
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Why ya picking on me? I ain't no keyboard guru. LOL But if it's anything like the issue with skipping in the chatroom here, downloading and using Firefox to visit AAG solved the problem.
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In John 8:44 it looks like Jesus was resisting people.
New International Version
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Amanda,
Time is short as I am still dealing with the effects of moving and preparing for tomorrow. Let me be as short as possible.
I believe that each situation has to be evlauted accordingly. Some things really don't matter a whole lot, while others have major implications on our lives. I believe that God gives us the right to defend ourselves. Peter was carrying a sword the night Jesus was arrested. You don't hunt rabbits with swords. Jesus told them to go buy swords and they replied that they had two. Jesus said that was enough. Many will make much over the fact that we do not see Peter or Paul resisting. There are two facts here. 1) In some cases it was God's will for their life. Paul knew what would happen when he returned to Jerusalem. 2) How can a band of 20 hold up against an army of 200? To resist in some cases was certain death.
An example from every day life. If someone broke into my home intending physical harm for any one of my grandchildren I will do everything I can to stop them and not think twice about it or feel bad the next day.
The next thing we need to differentiate between why we are being persecuted. If it is for being a thief or a murder there is no value in that, but if for our association with Christ He promises to honor us. He does not say we will not be persecuted. In fact He tells us just the opposite.
We also need to identify what is persecution and recognize that some people are affected by certain things that others would not be. Thus, perseuction has a personal charateristic to it.
I will tell you a true story and stop after that :-) In my inventory business I had an owner of a store I used to count call me one night and ask me what I would do if I was robbed while counting his walk in cooler. I counted the store at 3 AM and the entrance to the cooler was outside the store and out of sight from the clerk. The store was located in a bad neighborhood. I told the owner that if the robber wanted his product that I would help the person load it. If he threatened my life (if I felt mortal danger) I would do everything in my power to take the person out. Thus, what is worth defending and when can change at times.
I am not a warmonger, but I am also not a pacificst.
Lord Bless,
LT
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