“WILL BE PERSECUTED!”

 

2 Timothy 3:12-17                      (ESV)

“[12] Indeed, ALL WHO DESIRE TO LIVE A GODLY LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS “WILL BE PERSECUTED”, [13] while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. [14] But as for you, continue in what you have LEARNED and have firmly BELIEVED, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in CHRIST JESUS. [16] All Scripture is breathed out by GOD and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of GOD may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Briefly today, the first verse of the focal passages could be written about BY THEMSELVES, ALL WHO DESIRE TO LIVE A GODLY LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS “WILL BE PERSECUTED”!  Sometimes it FEELS like the HARD ROAD is reserved solely for me, with no one else to assist me.  “The enemy”, the master deceiver, was spoken about in Genesis 3:1a saying “Now the serpent was MORE CRAFTY than any other beast of the field that the LORD GOD had made…”.  It seems that FOR ME, he magnifies himself and minimizes the WORDS OF CHRIST in the final verse of the Gospel of Matthew when HE PROMISES “…I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, to the end of the age.”

Apparently satan doesn’t want me to focus on JESUS being IN ME because it might remind him that he is DEFEATED???  As humans, we need to be FOCUSED on the REALITY that OUR HOPE is in JESUS and NOT in the things of this world (1 John 2:15-17)!  “The enemy” WILL attempt to “muddy the waters” with anything and everything to circumvent THE WORD OF GOD being lives by we who BELIEVE!  

ALL WHO DESIRE TO LIVE A GODLY LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS “WILL BE PERSECUTED”!  This is something that we MUST CONSTANTLY remind ourselves, and the enemy about!  Just because we “WILL BE PERSECUTED” doesn’t mean that we are defeated!  When we UNDERSTAND that WE BELONG TO JESUS, knowing that we “WILL BE PERSECUTED” should confirm to us that WE ARE CHOSEN, NOT DEFEATED!!!