Persecution

Let Them Go, Pick Up Your Cross, and Stay the Course Until the End

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If those of the world hate you, love them still.

If they have forsaken you, remember them by praying for them.

If they curse you, even to your face, do not retaliate-bless them, or say nothing and at least pray for their souls, and leave the judgment for them up to the Lord.

As much as it hurts your heart, if they choose to forsake you, let them go. Do not chase after them. Why?

Because God does not force anyone to love Him or follow Him. And if we are to follow in His ways, we are to do the same. Love them, but do not force them to love you back.

Let them go. Pray for them. Desire God’s Spirit to draw them to Himself, in order to save their souls. But do not force them to be kept in your life when they do not want to be there.

There will be much more persecution among the Lord Jesus’ followers-His Children-in the days to come, because those who are opposed to God, have their minds set on the world, and the things of this world (Rom. 8:6-8).

Those in the world who mind the things of the flesh, do not accept anyone who abides in the Spirit of God, and walks in His Way (1 Cor. 2:13-14). They are unable to understand, hence the reason there is animosity towards a believer in Christ, even if that person is their own family member.

Let the Spirit of God deal with them-all of them.
Stay the course. Let them go, but continue to love them and pray for them.
Endure to the end, for as the Lord Jesus said, “great is your reward in Heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets which were before you” (Matt. 5:12).

The path to follow IS a hard Path. Be prepared TO lose much…here.

But look forward to that “inexpressible and glorious joy” that Peter spoke of (1 Peter 1:8), which is “the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls…”(1 Pet. 1:9)

Let them go. Pick up your Cross, move forward in Christ, and know that He loves them even more than you do; He will do all in His Power to convince them of His Truth. But He cannot go against His own “prime directive”—the very Free Will gift He has given every person. It ultimately will be their own choice, to accept Him or reject Him.

Now go and fulfill Deuteronomy 6:5, Eph. 6:10-18, & Ps. 27:14.

No Matter the Losses Here, Your Eternal Gain is Jesus!

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BUT, realize when you do all these things, it IS for certain that you will:
Lose friends like Jesus did.
Lose family members like Jesus did.
Have people ignore you like they did to Jesus.
Have those who were the closest to you, as best friends, even, no longer want to talk to you or see you anymore, like what they did to Jesus (that actually happened to Joseph and Mary, His parents, as well).
Have people hate you for no reason at all, like they hated Jesus.
Have people ostracize you, like they did Jesus.
Have people tell lies about you, like they did to Jesus.
Have some want to even harm you or kill you, like how they wanted to do to Jesus.
Have some put curses on you, like they did with Jesus.
Have people not include you in family gatherings anymore, because your love for Jesus.
Have people try to silence you because of your love for Jesus.

The devil moves people to see you as their enemy, because you put God and His Word first in your life, as Jesus did.
They will persecute you, because they persecuted Jesus.

No matter how many times you reach out,
No matter how many times you try to let them know you still love them,
No matter how many times you tell them you miss them and want to stay in touch with them,
No matter how successful and accomplished you can be-if you love Jesus, most will have hardly anything to do with you.

But did not Jesus tell us that would all happen? He did.
Is it still worth following Him, then, to lose all those who would rather not have anything to do with you, because of your love for the Lord Jesus, His Father, and the Holy Spirit?
Is it REALLY all worth it?

YES, IT IS.

I do not like it; it breaks my heart that loved ones have nothing to do with me anymore. And if you are a follower of Christ, it WILL happen to you too.

BUT I will STILL go on, loving, caring, praying, forgiving, being patient with and serving others, even if while I’m here on this Earth, I do not see the “fruit” of my labors. I will see them fulfilled One Day, when my Lord soon calls me Home, and honestly, that is really all that matters.

Jesus IS all that matters to me.

Because as HE hung on that Cross, I was ALL that MATTERED to HIM.