#persecution

[thewordfortheday]

“No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.” John 15:20

Jesus wasn't spared, He was persecuted even to the point of death. God's people have been persecuted right through the ages. You may think, that doesn't happen anymore. Even today, some of our Christian brothers and sisters face death every single day. 

While you and I are worried about trivial matters like "what to wear" or "what to eat", many of our fellow believers are paying the ultimate price for following Jesus. 

Every day I get messages from "Persecution Relief" requesting prayer for various pastors and missionaries, wrongly convicted under various charges. Let's take a few moments to pray for the persecuted believers, for boldness and strength.

[philosophybits]

It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster.

Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique

[internetcatholicism]

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

[alethianightsong]

"The prince with a thousand enemies" quote hits different when you're marginalized

The full quote is like 80% despair and 20% hope. Basically, God says to the semi-divine Prince of Rabbits "everything in this world wants to catch and kill you. But while you are powerless, you are not helpless. Run fast, hide well, warn and help others like you and you will never be erased from this earth." El-ahrairah is not given weapons but tools to help him and his people survive (claws to dig havens, ears to listen, legs to run, feet to thump and warn). And despite how hard it is for him to survive, despite all his enemies, he is still noble, admirable and possessing dignity. He is a Prince.

[blissfulcabin7]

[thelordismylightandmysalvation]

(via Verse of the Day - Matthew 5:43-44)

[civanticism]

A government that persecutes some of its people persecutes all of its people. Some are simply less under the thumb than others, so long as they remain compliant. Loosely fitted, padded shackles are still shackles, and can be tightened at any time the master pleases.

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Ronald Seth - In The Name Of The Devil - Tower - 1969

[apenitentialprayer]

You know, I like the "My brother in Christ, who killed them?" jokes about Anglican veneration of Catholics martyred during the English Reformation as much as the next guy, but...

... you know, there is something to be said about a church that can look at the ugliness of its past and go "You know, those people we oppressed were actually vindicated. We were wrong to do that." And that's not to say that Catholics never do that (John of the Cross and Joan of Arc come to mind), but. I don't know.

[gothicseverance]

If women are abused in the Gothic, then it is perhaps unsurprising to find that the fate of children, their powerlessness in the face of persecution, is another recurring Gothic theme.

—The Gothic

Gif by @ayo-edebiri 🖤

[frank-o-meter]

[aniah-who]

Guide them,

Direct them,

Comfort them,

And protect them,

Lord.

[jointinharmony]

Matthew 6:24 (TLV) – You Cannot Serve Two Masters

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick by one and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

🔹 Meaning: You are either devoted to God or drawn into the ways of the world, which ultimately lead to darkness. There is no neutral ground—if you are not actively walking with Christ, you are vulnerable to the influence of the enemy.

[blissfulcabin7]

Jesus loves you

[odinsblog]

Russia first occupied the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol in early March 2022. And Russian Secret Services, after persecuting pro-Ukrainian activists, former government officials and human rights defenders, have since targeted the churches and their pastors and congregants.

All across Russian-occupied Ukraine, soldiers are shutting down places of worship that don't fit the world Vladimir Putin wants to build.

(continue reading)