Pursuit Of His Presence

Matthew 10:16-26 

16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

 

Devotional

Shine On!

by Gloria Copeland

“All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12
If you do anything that makes a mark for God in this world, persecution is going to come. It goes with the territory. Second Timothy 3:12 leaves no room for doubt about that.
But why is it that simply living a godly life causes so much trouble in this world? First John 5:19 tells us it’s because “the whole world lieth in wickedness.” We’re living in a world ruled by the spirit of darkness. And the brighter our light becomes, the more offensive we are to that realm of darkness.
The reverse is also true. As long as we aren’t doing much for God, we’re not bothered with persecution. If we look like the world, talk like the world and act like the world—worldly people will think we’re all right. A little crazy maybe, but no real threat.
So you might as well know right now, if you’re very turned on to God, the world isn’t going to like you much. Actually, that’s an understatement. Jesus put it this way:
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19).
You may be thinking, Well, I’m sure that’s true, but it’s also not very pleasant. Why do we have to talk about it?
We need to prepare ourselves so that when persecution comes, it doesn’t slow us down, much less stop us. That’s what persecution is designed to do, you know. It’s designed to discourage us and keep us from completing God’s plan for our lives.
But, praise God, if we learn how to handle it in advance, it won’t even slow us down.
So don’t be afraid of the darkness of this world. It may persecute you, but it can’t overcome you. Your family may even persecute you, but they can’t overcome you either. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). Just turn up your light a little brighter...and shine on!
Speak the Word
“Though I suffer persecution, I continue to live godly.” —2 Timothy 3:12
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