Do Not Wonder…

Persecution.

1 Thessalonians 3:2-4 NIV – … to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted.

” … shame and division are the works of our spiritual enemies, the devil and the other fallen angels, who are our ultimate persecutors.” -Cole, VOM Magazine September 2026

     But… “Once we can see the eternal belonging and loving fellowship that are at the heart of the gospel,” It’s clear where the shame and division come from. This is what Jesus said:

John 10:10 NKJV – The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

     In the One Year Praying For The Persecuted Bible, the persecution testimony for July 23rd [pg. 652] hit me hard.

“WHEN MUSLIM EXTREMESTS In Indonesia’s Matuku Islands attacked Sue’s church, she watched an attacker shoot her husband, killing him.  Sue ran to the nearest Indonesian soldier for help, but he placed his pistol in Sue’s mouth and shot off the left side of her face.”

     Can you imagine being in her place? It makes anything I’m going through pale in comparison.  I’m praying for her healing, for trauma to be broken off of Sue and her family, and for the gospel to flourish there because of the testimonies coming from this episode.

     This came after reading David’s account in Psalm 18, how the LORD rescued him from King Saul and all his attackers.

Psalm 18:1-3 NKJV –                                         I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

16 He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the LORD was my support.
19 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

     We shall not be dismayed when things come against us, for the LORD is encamped around us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus, our Messiah.

     Psalm 18 describes how His Light exposed the depths of the sea, as well as the foundations of the earth! Is anything too hard for Him to get us through?

     All praise to the LORD God Almighty, who is on our side through all this earthly life, and for Eternity beyond. Thank you, Jesus Christ!