The Archives Devotional Magazine June 2015 | Page 25

DAY 4
“No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater
than his master. So a pupil should be satisfied to
become like his teacher, and a slave like his master. If
the head of the family is called Beelzebul, the members
of the family will be called even worse names!
“So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now
covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be
made known. What I am telling you in the dark you
must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have
heard in private you must announce from the
housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who
can destroy both body and soul in hell. For only a
penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow
falls to the ground without your Father's consent. As
for you, even the hairs of your head have all been
counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much
more than many sparrows!
“Those who declare publicly that they belong to
me, I will do the same for them before my Father in
heaven. But those who reject me publicly, I will reject
before my Father in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to
the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a
sword. I came to set sons against their fathers,
daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law
against their mothers-in-law; your worst enemies will
be the members of your own family.
“Those who love their father or mother more than
me are not fit to be my disciples; those who love their
son or daughter more than me are not fit to be my
disciples. Those who do not take up their cross and
follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. Those
who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who
lose their life for my sake will gain it.”

What does it mean to be fearless in the face of adversity?
In 1990, there was a girl named Abuk Ajing who lived in Sudan. Islamic
forces swept through her village when she was 14. Unable to escape,
she was grabbed by the militants, who told her to come with them.
She boldly said, “No!” They were angered and commanded her to say
the creed of Islam: “There is one God; Allah is his name, and
Muhammad is his prophet.” She refused to say it. The soldiers then
ripped off her clothes in anger, tied her up with rope, and pushed
scalding knives against her skin. She prayed again and again for God
to help her get through the torture. By the end, the soldiers left her for
dead, but she was not. In 2000, two missionaries discovered Abuk, still
in the village. She continued to live in pain from continual infections of
the wounds, but did not regret her actions. She was less concerned
with those who kill the body than the God who can kill the soul.

DAY 5
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me
welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes God's messenger
because he is God's messenger, will share in his reward. And whoever
welcomes a good man because he is good, will share in his reward. You
can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the
least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive
a reward.”
When Jesus finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples,
he left that place and went off to teach and preach in the towns near there.
When John the Baptist heard in prison about the things that Christ was
doing, he sent some of his disciples to him. “Tell us,” they asked Jesus,
“are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect
someone else?”
Jesus answered, “Go back and tell John what you are hearing and
seeing: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from
dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are
brought back to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. How
happy are those who have no doubts about me!”

NOTE