Joni and Friends Daily Devotional 10 June 2022 || Friday Message
Read Joni and Friends Daily Devotional 10 June 2022 2022
Topic: Our Adversity…and a Watching World
I blew the dust off an old quote the other day. It was in one of those obscure volumes off the top shelf in a back closet—one that would have never made it into a stack of bestsellers at Wal-Mart or Costco.
The phrase went like this: “The final crown of glory in this world is martyrdom, and the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
Don’t hear that kind of talk much these days, do we?
It’s not the kind of feel-good stuff that draws top ratings on Christian talk podcasts. That’s one quote you’ll never see inscribed in gold calligraphy on a greeting card. Not the sort of phrase likely to end up accompanying a smiley face on a tee-shirt.
Words like those seem a little musty…linked to another age, long ago and far away.
That may be true in our comfortable Western world. But in many parts of the world today, that statement on martyrdom is as current as the latest item on your newsfeed. Every day, believers in Christ are being persecuted, hounded from one place to another, subjected to humiliation and torture, or killed for the simple reason that they own the name of Jesus.
And it’s still true to this moment: Nothing, nothing, nothing draws the attention of unbelievers as the way believers endure hardship. What, they ask themselves, is the mysterious power that enables these people to remain so calm—even joyful—in the middle of terrible circumstances?
Most of our trials are Styrofoam-light compared to what the martyrs of the church endured—and still endure. As Scripture reminds us, most of us have never suffered to the point of shedding blood in our struggle against sin (Hebrews 12:4). No lions, no fiery death at the stake, no facing a firing squad.
When we do suffer—whether from the bumps and bruises of daily living or for our testimony for Jesus—we ought to respond with double the thanksgiving and triple the joy.
The Lord has spared contemporary believers in the Western world from so much pain and suffering. He has been so gracious to us!
Perhaps even to the point that when trials do come our way we are “surprised…as though something strange were happening” to us (1 Peter 4:12).
But it’s as true now as it was hundreds of years ago. Nothing will confound, convict, and convince those around us like the peaceful and positive way you and I respond to our twenty-first century hurts and distress. The unbelieving world—your neighbors, the guy at the gas station, the postal worker, the lady at the cleaners, your boss at work—they all observe the way we undergo our trials.
By God’s grace, you can hang on without a grumble or complaint, remain joyful in tribulation, shun the temptation to grandstand as a “martyr”, offer thanks in all things, trust and obey, no matter what.
It may not be martyrdom, but it will still startle and puzzle a watching world. It will still compel seeking men and women to reconsider Jesus.
Joni And Friends Daily Devotional 10 June 2022 | Wayside Interlude
“You need neither fear men’s threats nor worry about them; simply concentrate on being completely devoted to Christ in your hearts. Be ready at any time to give a quiet and reverent answer to any man who wants a reason for the hope that you have within you.” – 1 Peter 3:15, Phillips
What would make someone ask about the hope in our lives? It is the contrast that catches their attention: everyone else is complaining and griping, but you’re not. Everyone else is nervous and uptight, but you have a peace that radiates from within. Everyone else is pushing for more money, more prestige, more toys and more entertainment, but you have a quiet contentment about your life. The simple keys are in the verse above: Concentrate on being devoted to Christ, and be ready at all times to explain the reason for the hope and joy that they can’t miss!
Thanks for reading Joni and Friends Daily Devotional 10 June 2022
