Fruit of Suffering
Romans 8:18-19
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.”
Do we really understand what it means to suffer for our faith? Someone smirks at us when we bow our heads to thank God for our food and we feel we are being persecuted. We may even brag at our Bible study group about our courage in the face of these “vicious” attacks. (Oh, give me a break!)
I am in the process of reading a book on the lives of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are already aware that all of the disciples of Jesus, except John, died as martyrs. John was tortured by being dipped in hot oil but survived. What kind of persecution have you endured lately?
Archaeologists have unearthed death chambers under St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The most hideous was the place where Peter was reported to have been held chained to a post for nine months.
The Roman emperor, Nero had expected him to die in this place of total dark and disease. Virtually everyone who had been placed in this chamber died from disease or starvation. Peter was taken out of the pit and crucified upside down.
So what happened during those nine months of dark and suffering? God’s glorious light shone through in the most magnificent way. History tells us the amazing fact that in spite of all the torture, Peter led his jailers, keepers and forty-seven others to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
I hang my head in shame for the times I have complained. May God forgive me.
Pastor Cecil A. Thompson
Romans 8:18-19
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.”
Do we really understand what it means to suffer for our faith? Someone smirks at us when we bow our heads to thank God for our food and we feel we are being persecuted. We may even brag at our Bible study group about our courage in the face of these “vicious” attacks. (Oh, give me a break!)
I am in the process of reading a book on the lives of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are already aware that all of the disciples of Jesus, except John, died as martyrs. John was tortured by being dipped in hot oil but survived. What kind of persecution have you endured lately?
Archaeologists have unearthed death chambers under St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The most hideous was the place where Peter was reported to have been held chained to a post for nine months.
The Roman emperor, Nero had expected him to die in this place of total dark and disease. Virtually everyone who had been placed in this chamber died from disease or starvation. Peter was taken out of the pit and crucified upside down.
So what happened during those nine months of dark and suffering? God’s glorious light shone through in the most magnificent way. History tells us the amazing fact that in spite of all the torture, Peter led his jailers, keepers and forty-seven others to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
I hang my head in shame for the times I have complained. May God forgive me.
Pastor Cecil A. Thompson
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