In It Together
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Scripture: Acts 4:23 – 31
23 After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
I don’t want to be persecuted for being a follower of Jesus. I don’t want to be thrown in jail for worshiping God. I don’t want to be discriminated against on the job market, simply because I’m a Christian. I don’t want to be careful about what I preach or pray, in fear that my words will be reported to an unfriendly government. Luckily, I live in Canada.
If I’m honest, it’s not just that I don’t want to be persecuted for being a follower of Jesus; I don’t even want to be uncomfortable because of my faith. I don’t want to be embarrassed that I attend worship services. I don’t want to apologize for my call to preach. I don’t want to lose the historic rights and privileges that come with being among the majority population of my country.
I wonder if I would have survived the world of the earliest Christians. How would I have responded if I were in Peter and John’s shoes, arrested and told to stop causing such a ruckus. How would I have behaved if jail and even death were a real possibility?
Acts 4 is the beginning of the persecution of the earliest Jesus-followers. It starts out slow. But as Acts continues, we’ll see the powers-that-be respond to these Christians in increasingly hostile ways. I don’t imagine these Christians were all that surprised. After all, the Jesus they followed had been crucified. And yet, when they prayed together after Peter and John’s release from jail, they didn’t pray to be spared; they prayed to be bold. Oh, that I would be bold in my faith!
When we gather on Sunday, we’re going to consider what God has to say to us through the experiences and the faith of the early church. But as you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to spend some time in prayer for those Christians in the world who endure suffering because of their Christian faith. Have a look at the map provided by Voice of the Martyrs. Perhaps choose one of the specified countries and, if you are able, educate yourself as to their prayer needs. If nothing else, pray for them as the early Christians in Acts 4 prayed for themselves – to speak God’s word with all boldness.