Daily Devotions

December 16, 2025                                                          
 
Luke 21:12-19… “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.” vs. 12

While it is true that in some parts of the world Christians are being persecuted and sometimes even killed because of their allegiance to Jesus, nearly all of us live in places where Christians are able to practice their faith freely and openly. We certainly don’t face the opposition that the earliest followers of Jesus experienced. Those folks had enormous courage and risked their lives by declaring their allegiance to Christ. But they didn’t back down and the Church continued to gain adherents. In fact, one early Church leader, Tertullian in 197 A.D. wrote, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Because opposition does inspire resistance, some Christians today operate with a chip on their shoulder. They seem to look for things to be upset about, e.g. people being encouraged to say “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas,” and imagine that Christians are being persecuted. The truth is that the greatest threat to our faith today is not opposition but apathy. Too many people who call themselves Christians don’t even show up for worship except on Christmas. And most importantly, they forget that old camp song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Thought for the Day: What is the greatest threat to my faith?