I am in Acts 11 and the theme is the Expansion of the Church
There are two things I want you to notice here:
- First, the church continued to grow…regardless of the difficulties it encountered; and,
- secondly, we are introduced to Barnabas, one man who encouraged his fellow Christians.
What I want us to consider is that while we can not stop difficult times from reoccurring, we do have the ability to persevere through them, while encouraging others to do the same.
Also, remember this: while the hardships we encounter can be lessened when we acquiesce to the powers that be, we WILL LOOSE our Christian identities. In the end, we will loose our very lives…and our very souls.
So, in closing, I urge you to encourage others in the faith to hang on, push through, be an example of courage to others who are going through difficult times.
And, the only way to do this is to grow in your love for Christ, by learning and relearning each day just how much He loves you,