1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian 9a - Blessed are those who are persecuted _1_ | Page 4

This family is just one of so many who have lived, and many who continue to
live, with the threat of persecution to the extent that they could lose their lives
for following Christ.
We should not be surprised by stories like this. It has always been this way. If
one looks back in Scripture, we see many of the heroes of the Bible, suffering the
same fate. We see people like Daniel being thrown into the lions’ den, and many
think that’s crazy! We look at the first century church and we read the historical
documents that speak graphically of the outrageous persecution towards
Christians and we say that’s crazy! You see the point I am trying to make today,
is not just found in the truth that evil has always persecuted good, but is found
in the glorious wonder of the beautiful sacrifice that passionate believers are
happy to make in order to please God. These people did not need to die, all they
needed to do was deny Christ and they would have been allowed to walk away
free, but for them the denial of Christ was something that they just could not do,
because of their crazy love for Him.
In our situation today, here in South Africa, the extent of the persecution of
Christians would be considered to be minimal, and we have every right to thank
God for that. But this week, I would like for us to be mindful of those who do not
have the same freedom that we enjoy and let usdo the one thing that we can all
do and that is pray fervently for the family of God in persecuted countries,
where the threat of violence and death is so imminent. Recently, our TV’s have
been full of incidents similar to the one I described above, which makes us more
and more mindful of the truth of what we are speaking. Won’t you do more than
just shake your head in disbelief when you see this, and take some time to
specifically pray for those who suffer this persecution in persecuted countries.

Prayer
Prayer Thought: Open Doors are an organisation with which our church has
built a relationship. They have up-to-date information that would be incredibly
helpful to you in praying for the persecuted church. Won’t you take some time to
visit their website (www.opendoors.org.za) and find their prayer requests and
pray according to these.

Tuesday
Reading:John 15 v 15 – 27
Reading:
We will continue today to discuss the “craziness” of Christians who are willing to
lose their lives for the name of Christ. Today, won’t you consider their craziness