Text: Luke 21:10-19.
“But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake, verse 12. (ESV). Here the verse mentions synagogues because at that time synagogues served both as centres for discipline and also as places of worship. As you determine to serve the Lord be sure that you will be persecuted by both; men and women, including your siblings and parents when they cannot bear the light of the gospel you are carrying. The apostles suffered great persecutions as evidenced in the Book of Acts and yet the early Church thrived in the midst of intense persecution. The Church in Uganda has suffered the same; Bishop Hannington and Arch Bishop Janan Luwum.
Because persecution helped Christianity to spread out, Church Father Tertullian, said, “the blood of Christians is seed.”
Reflect on verse 12, what is God teaching you in this verse, and how are you going to apply it to your life?
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I pray for the Church in the whole world especially the Church under persecution in many
parts of the world. Grant them victory. I pray for courage, safety and provision for missionaries. Amen.