Christ's Important Message About Persecution

Modern culture is rapidly declining, approving sins that break God’s heart, and we’re seeing this bleed into the church. Don’t get me wrong. I think genuine Christians, often called “remnant Christians,” are growing stronger and more faithful, preparing themselves in God’s Word, persevering when rejected for their faith, standing strong.

But in the last few years, there has been a huge shift in the values of many “professing Christians.” Many who call themselves Christians have given up Christian values to fit in with culture.

True Christianity is counter cultural. 

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”  John 15:18-19 

That’s why we’re seeing an increase in hatred toward remnant Christians, even from “professing Christians.”  

Scripture promises hatred for faithful Christians: Luke 21:17; Matthew 5:11-12; Matthew 10:22; Mark 13:13; Luke 6:22; John 17:14; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 John 3:13.

So let’s share God’s truth patiently and graciously, knowing we'll be rewarded for sharing truth even when we're hated (Matthew 5:11-12).

See Never Popular, Always Wonderful and “Dead” People Expect Persecution.

Free Subscription to 1-Minute Bible Love Notes. Have a one-minute devotion like this one delivered to your email each weekday.

10 Reasons You'll Love the book Wisdom for Life. A collection of 100 one-minute devotions from Psalms and Proverbs and a great gift for people who love God's Word.

Full description of the book Lies in Disguise. A much needed book to uncover half-truths that misuse Scripture and weaken Christian faith.

 

 

Being an Internet "Missionary"

If you'd like to know if Bible Love Notes profits from our social media sites, please read the note at the bottom. Thanks! 

God doesn't call everyone to foreign missions, but God calls every Christian to share our faith.

Let me suggest some opportunities you might have overlooked:
 

1. Email Mission Field—friends and family 
Be deliberate about sending encouraging emails and letting others know you're praying for them. If you're a subscriber and enjoy a particular Bible Love Note, forward it to a friend and include this link that tells them how to get a free subscription.

2. Facebook Mission Field—3 billion active monthly users 
If you're on Facebook, share Scriptures on your wall and message friends to offer prayer and encouragement. Follow the Bible Love Notes main page, our Psalms and Proverbs page, and our Doors of Joy page.  Each page posts devotions and images that can help you share Christ on your personal page. 

3. Pinterest Mission Field—631 million monthly users 
While you're pinning your favorite recipes or crafts, take time to pin links to Christian devotions and images. Create a board for that purpose, and follow the Bible Love Notes Pinterest page for great things to share. 

 

4. YouTube—2.5 billion monthly users 

The Bible Love Notes YouTube site offers videos of our daily devotions. If you follow the page and give a thumbs up to the videos you watch, they go out to more people.

I encourage you to take advantage of these simple ways to share your faith, making social media more Christ-centered!

The internet can be used for great evil, but let's use it to serve the Lord (Colossians 3:23)!

P.S. Bible Love Notes is also on X and Instagram.

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Note: Bible Love Notes is not a profit-making ministry, so whenever you recommend or share Bible Love Notes images and devotions on a social network, you don't need to worry about advertising or requests for donations. We do feature Gail's books at the bottom of many devotions, but we don't do pop-up ads, we don't accept donations, and we never ask for money. Gail makes approximately 12% of the selling price for each book she sells, and that doesn't begin to cover the costs of the email service, image costs, domain name costs, costs of our International Bible Love Notes blogs, etc. So when we ask you to like and share things on social media, it isn't about making money—we're seeking to get God's Word out to more people. We feel blessed to be able to offer Bible Love Notes subscriptions free of charge at a time when many sites are charging for that service.

 

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The Development or Destruction of Our Conscience

Everyone is born with a conscience, helping them recognize God as their Creator and the source of truth: 

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20
 

Romans 2:13-16 also explains that all people (saved and unsaved) have “the requirements of the law…written on their hearts.” 

 

We can reinforce and develop our conscience with biblical truth or corrupt it with worldly lies. 

 

When we follow Christ, we reinforce our conscience by understanding God's Word, and the Holy Spirit warns (convicts) us of unhealthy, soul-damaging things like lying, deception, stealing, dishonoring parents, sex outside of marriage, abortion, LGBTQ lifestyles, gluttony, etc.

 

Unsaved people may not accept everything evil, but they pick and choose to believe what works for them. 

 

Christians can also violate their conscience, causing them to “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30). If this continues, they eventually “sear” (burn, desensitize) their knowledge of right and wrong (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
 

Our conscience is a wonderful gift from God, helping us understand and obey His loving commands. Let’s continually strengthen it in God’s Word.

 

For more on this subject:

The Rise of Mini-Crimes Among Middle-Class Americans and What's Your "Achilles' Heel"? 

 

Half-truth teachings damage our conscience and distort our understanding of God and His Word.

 

That's why I wrote my book, Lies in Disguise, and I highly recommend that you check it out: Lies in Disguise. 

 

 

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It's Quizzical - Don't Be Taken Captive - Col. 2:8

I was amused by a Facebook post about the illogical spelling of “queue” (“q” followed by four silent letters). It means people standing in line, waiting for something.

It piqued my interest in another “q” word: “quiz.” And I discovered an interesting legend:

A man in Dublin made up the meaningless word “quiz” and bet his friend that he'd have Dubliners saying it within 48 hours. He hired people to scribble it on walls, doors, and windows, and the rest is history. (source)

True or not, this legend is possible because human beings are easily misled, especially when we hear something repeated often.

Joseph Goebbels, the evil head of Nazi propaganda, admitted that he could make people believe a complete lie by repeating it often. (source)

And a number of studies show “that humans are remarkably resistant to changing their minds – even when faced with contradictory evidence.” (source) 

There are many lies scribbled on the walls of our culture. But even more serious are the half-truths scribbled on modern church walls.

In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul is astonished that some of the Christians are being thrown into confusion by people “trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” 

The same thing happens today, so let's “see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8). 

✞✞✞ 

This human weakness is the basis for my book Lies in Disguise. It addresses half-truths that have been repeated so often that many Christians feel defensive when they realize these popular beliefs are not scriptural. It's one way you can help avoid “hollow and deceptive philosophy.”

 💙 Currently available from the publisher with a discount: CLC publishers. Also available on Amazon and CBD. And in the UK: CLC-UK or Eden UK.

 

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Consistency and Depth Rescue Us from Lies

Consistency and depth are key ingredients in Christian growth. 

 

If we’re too busy to spend regular, consistent time in God’s Word, we’re going to remain immature in our faith. But growth requires more than consistency. If we spend time in God’s Word, but never go beyond the basics, we’ll remain baby Christians. 

 
One reason genuine believers are taken in by “lies in disguise” (half-truths) is that they have consistency, but they aren't growing deeper. 

 
Besides letting God’s Word guide our thoughts and behavior, we need to study it so we can understand how to address the false teachings so prevalent in our culture.

 

Some lies have been around for centuries, such as claims that the Bible is full of errors, claims that Jesus isn’t God, or claims that everyone will be saved. And we need to know how to address them. 

 
But our current culture challenges us even more with lies about homosexuality and abortion that we didn't have to face 75 years ago.

 

The Apostle Paul admitted that he would continue growing in his faith as long as he was alive (Philippians 3:12-14). And that's what we should be doing as well.    

 

“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity.” Hebrews 6:1

See also Hebrews 5:12-14.

 

For more encouragement to grow in Christ, see 3 Aspects of Our Transformation and Transformed or Conformed?

 

💙One thing that can help both your consistency and depth is a free subscription to Bible Love Notes one-minute devotions.  Find out how to have them delivered to your email each weekday: Stay Connected. If you're already a subscriber, please tell your friends and family to sign up too!

 

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Recognizing Evolution as a Theory (Part 3)

These devotions will help you see the propaganda behind the claims of evolution.

The Honest See

Two atheists are confronted with truth. Two different outcomes, but both prove God's existence. This one-minute devotion explains their true stories.

How Coke Evolved from a Rock!!  
You have to read it before making up your mind. It's actually similar to the theory of evolution.

4 Reasons Evolution Never Happened  
Some Christians believe in theistic evolution, but these four things prove that you can't believe Scripture and believe in evolution. 

 
Use Your Brain – Rude Atheist Arguments

The atheist told me he knew God doesn't exist and I should use my brain. This one-minute devotion explains who first made that argument.

 

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Don't Listen to Any Teacher Who Makes This Claim About Paul's Writings

Philippians 4:8 is a popular verse: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

And it's followed by a verse that's not as well known: “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9

Paul wasn't perfect, but he taught pure truth from God, and he gave up everything to serve the Lord.

 
But I want to point out something even more important in this passage: We follow Paul's example because the Scriptures he wrote were divinely inspired. They reflected his personality and experiences, but they were given by God's Spirit. Paul didn’t share his misunderstandings, cultural prejudices, or human errors. He shared only what God’s Spirit inspired him to share. 

 
Those who claim Paul’s teachings about male leadership and sexual lifestyles were simply part of Paul’s ignorance or cultural prejudice are promoting a lie.

 
We must “put into practice” the things Paul wrote. And to assure us this isn’t about human prejudice, God divinely inspired Peter (who had some conflict with Paul - Galatians 2:11-13) to call Paul’s letters Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-17).

 
Never listen to a teacher who claims Paul’s writings are not divinely inspired truth from God. 

 

For more insights, see: 

When People Reject Inerrancy of Scripture and The Time Is Coming.  

 

Click the image to find out more about Lies in Disguise, which also covers false teachings like this.

 

 

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There's No Such Thing as a Moral Majority

Despite our desire to have heaven on earth, we need to understand that there never has been and never will be a time when Christians are in the majority.

There's a recurring theme in Scripture:

✔ God told Jeremiah that when he spoke God's message, the majority wouldn't listen because “truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips” (Jeremiah 7:27-28). 

✔ He told Ezekiel that when he spoke God's truth, the majority would be “hardened and obstinate” (Ezekiel 3:4-9).

✔ Jesus warned us that people would hate us if we follow Him (John 15:18-25). 

✔ Jesus explained that the majority of people on earth will choose Hell (Matthew 7:13-14).

Despite these sad truths, it's important for us to understand that we must keep fighting the good fight of faith (Ephesians 6:10-18).  

If we live for the Lord, we can expect people to reject us and even despise us. But we can be encouraged by looking at the great cloud of faithful witnesses who've gone before us and by continuing to focus on Jesus, our loving Savior (Hebrews 12:1-2).

So let's keep fighting the good fight, using every opportunity to share God's truth. Even though we'll never be the majority, as we live our faith and share the gospel, we know there are others who will listen to the gospel and join us in the fight. 

For more inspiration to keep fighting the good fight, see We Need It: Courage and Biblical Battle Strategy. 

Free Subscription to 1-Minute Bible Love Notes. Have a one-minute devotion like this one delivered to your email each weekday.

10 Reasons You'll Love the Book Wisdom for Life. A collection of 100 one-minute devotions from Psalms and Proverbs and a great gift for people who love God's Word.

Full Description of the Book Lies in Disguise. A much-needed book to uncover half-truths that misuse Scripture and weaken Christian faith.

 

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Adults Need to Act like Adults

When I write on biblical parenting, I never have anyone write and tell me that some children don't deserve to be brought up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). 
 

Does this mean all children are good, kind, and obedient? No. It means most Christian parents seek God's help in parenting imperfect children. They persevere out of love for their children and respect for the Lord. 
 

Whenever I share devotions about honoring parents, I have people write and tell me their parents don't deserve honor. Does this mean most parents are abusive, unsafe, and toxic as these children describe? No. It means that most of these children refuse to grow up, seek God's help, and persevere.

 

The dramatic rise in parent-child estrangement isn't because parents have become increasingly evil in the last twenty years. It's because culture promotes selfishness and victim-hood.

 

Ephesians 6:2-3 says, “Honor your father and mother” without any excuses attached. 

 

But many adult children have rewritten it to say, “Honor your father and mother if they honor you, have no expectations of you, make your life easy, and live up to your standards.” 

 

Christians must deny major elements of the gospel to dishonor parents, and they lose enormous blessings and remain spiritually weak (e.g., Romans 12:1-2; Romans 12:9-21). 

 

Scripture speaks of this deadly trend (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

 

Are there actual cases that require estrangement? Yes, but they're extremely rare and involve genuinely dangerous situations. And they don't account for the increasing dishonor shown to parents in our modern culture. 

 

So let's honor God this Father's Day by honoring our fathers!

 

I hope these devotions will encourage you further: Do You Believe God Means What He Says? and 3 Aspects of Honoring Parents. 

 

Please click the image below to find out more about Lies in Disguise. The half-truths fully explained in the book include half-truths used to dishonor parents.

 

 

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My Teeth Marks Are On That Apple

Food is an essential part of life, but it was also part of our spiritual death.

Although we commonly refer to the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden as an apple, the fruit is not specified in Scripture. All we know is that it came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and it was the only fruit Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat.

Shockingly, when Satan told Eve that God was a liar and the forbidden fruit wouldn't hurt her, she believed him and ate it. Satan said the fruit would make her wise like God (Genesis 3).

• Instead of wisdom, she ingested insecurity, guilt, and suffering.
• Instead of nourishing God's image in herself, she weakened it.
• Instead of feeding on God's truth, she fed on Satan's lies.

All of us are sinners by choice. And we are without excuse because God has left clear evidence of His existence in creation (Romans 1:18-20). Even before we hear the gospel, we are born with a conscience that directs us to God (Romans 2:14-15). We can ignore the evidence and suppress our conscience, or we can respond to God's love.

So you might say our teeth marks are on that "apple" too…for all of us "have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

But Christ redeemed us from that deadly bite and from every lie of Satan.

In every decision we make today, let’s bite into God’s truth!

Read a poem Gail wrote about this subject: On the Eve of Destruction - Poetic Justice. 

Free Subscription to 1-Minute Bible Love Notes. Have a one-minute devotion like this one delivered to your email each weekday.

10 Reasons You'll Love the Book Wisdom for Life. A collection of 100 one-minute devotions from Psalms and Proverbs and a great gift for people who love God's Word.

Full Description of the Book Lies in Disguise. A much-needed book to uncover half-truths that misuse Scripture and weaken Christian faith.

 

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