- Our Encouragement – God’s faithful people have experienced and endured persecution for a long time. Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
- Our Value – God made us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). Because we are His offspring (Acts 17:28-29) we have inherent value. After all, God sees us as worth dying for (Romans 5:6-8).
- Our Commitment – Truly following Jesus takes knowledge, humility, and passion because ignorance, arrogance, and apathy all draw us away from Him. Though following Christ is a personal decision, we are not alone in our pursuit. God’s sanctified people walk together, encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:24-25).
- Our Purpose – Jesus is the Originator of Life (Acts 3:15). As we live, remember that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10). We live to glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)!
- Our Integrity – God’s holiness is to become our holiness (1 Peter 1:14-16).
- Our Goal – “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8-11).
– LS
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