WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: ‘If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others’ (1 Peter 4:14, The Message). Shared story It feels as though the writer is adding a few exclamation marks to this passage. There are countless examples of extraordinary faith in their shared history, he says. It even turns into a bit of a guessing game for the Hebrew readers as they mentally match the figure from their history with their story. Perhaps you can spot Isaiah in there, or Elijah? This is, in fact, the point: it is their shared story. The writer is trying to help the Hebrew church find themselves in the middle of a gushing stream of history – right down the centuries. Suffering for faith It wasn’t all good: faith in God got a lot of people killed and made life extremely uncomfortable for others. But this, the writer says, is par for the course. Peter’s words back this up (see above), as do Paul’s (eg Acts 14:22; Philippians 3:10; 2 Timothy 3:12). Today it’s salutary to think of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world suffering for their faith right now; this goes well beyond our own. Respond: Take some time today to find out more about the persecuted church around the world. You could start at www.opendoorsuk.org or www.barnabasfund.org. http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-08-22