Friday, January 13th

Today's Scripture

“Now, remember, it is I who sends you out, even though you feel vulnerable as lambs going into a pack of wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes yet as harmless as doves. Be on your guard! For there will be those who will betray you before their religious councils and brutally beat you with whips in their public gatherings. And because you follow me, they will take you to stand trial in front of rulers and even kings as an opportunity to testify of me before them and the unbelievers. So when they arrest you, don’t worry about how to speak or what you are to say, for the Holy Spirit will give you at that very moment the words to speak. It won’t be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father repeatedly speaking through you. “A brother will betray his brother unto death, even a father his child! Children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death. Expect to be hated by all because of my name, but be faithful to the end and you will experience life and deliverance. And when they persecute you in one town, flee to another. But I promise you this: you will not deliver all the cities and towns of Israel until the Son of Man will have made his appearance. A student is not superior to his teacher any more than a servant would be greater than his master. The student must be satisfied to share his teacher’s fate and the servant his master’s. If they have called the head of the family ‘lord of flies,’ no wonder they malign the members of his family.”      

Matthew 10:16-25

Today’s Thought

Don’t be surprised when you are persecuted for your beliefs in Jesus. Make a stand against the ungodly agenda of the enemy. Stand guard in your faith and remember, persecution is promised to the believer but it’s also a reward.

Today’s Confession

Lord, you are with me when I share my faith in you. Even when it's with family and friends or with strangers, they scoff and reject me because the enemy has blinded them. I will persevere in my faith and not waiver. Your Word says persecution will be a part of my life, as it was with yours. Fortunately, rejection is a gift, it ensures I’ll be with you for eternity.