Persecution

As every true follower of Christ understands, persecution is to be expected in the Christian life. Before I received my calling into ministry I was simply a marginal Christian. I went to church regularly, went to Bible Studies, and perhaps involved myself in mission work from time to time, but I was never fully devoted to Christ like I have been for the past four years. When I put Christ above anything in my life, including my family, and began taking unpopular stands on moral and ethical issues, I felt spiritual attacks like never before. I committed to speaking truth and never being politically correct on issues where the Bible was clear. I was going to take every "thought captive to obey Christ" and I vowed to never be ashamed of my faith. I've never been the kind of person who cares what other people think, which has a lot to do with my upbringing, but mostly a God given confidence in who I am. But I feel led to share this story.
Since June of 2012, I have experienced a unique blend of persecution which Satan has tried to use to discourage and discredit me in my military ministry. This persecution began when some people decided to begin spreading lies and rumors about me. These lies were based upon statements I supposedly said about certain religious groups. As a human I was irritated, as a Christian I immediately began examining my heart to to determine whether I had said the things which were spread. A sense of peace came over me and I felt led to confront the main perpetrator face to face, which I did. As I expected he lied about saying it. To complicate matters, two Army chaplains in the NC Guard were also involved in these lies. They never once called me to find out if they were true, they chose to respond with malicious intent towards me. But as a mature Christian I understand that the battle is not with flesh and blood, but with the powers of the darkness. For the first time in my life I uderstand what Jesus meant when he said "you are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you (John 15:19).
As I learn of new lies and rumors about me, as crazy as it may sound, I have learned to love those who seem to hate me. It's liberating and joyful to feel this way.

As I was reading Psalm 119, I came across two verses which hit me hard and brought me great comfort, which prompted me to write this post. Verse 51 says that "the arrogant ridicule me, but I do not turn away from your instruction" and then verse 69 says the "the arrogant have smeared me with lies." This accurately portrays what has happen to me and it has driven me closer to the Lord than ever before. Presecution is to be expected and is nothing to be afraid of.

Use the presecution to show Christ how much you love Him!