| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Sanctification” Our Bible verse for today: “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4 (CSB) Our thought for today: “We will need to be strong” We have had a good run here in the USA in terms of religious freedom. There has been no real persecution of Christians because ours has been a society that honored and appreciated Biblical values. We’ve had a good run. It has lasted a long time – hundreds of years. But that good run appears to be coming to an end. In the last fifty years the tide has turned, our nation has drifted far from our Biblical roots, and at this point there doesn’t seem to be any turning back. We are on a long slippery slope and there’s an old saying that warns, “The longer you stay on a slippery slope the faster you go and the further you fall.” That does seem to be the case for us now. But as was noted in yesterday’s devotional, that shouldn’t surprise us. Historically, God’s people have always had to deal with opposition and persecution. Down through the ages most of God’s people have lived in societies that were not Biblically based and which have therefore been opposed to God and His ways (and by extension, opposed to His people). What we have experienced here in the USA over the course of the last few hundred years is unique in the history of Christianity and therefore, it has always been unlikely to last. But please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not giving up on America, there can still be revival and spiritual awakening, but we should also be preparing ourselves for something worse. In his book “The Insanity of God” author Nik Ripkin writes of how he once conducted an extensive study of the persecuted church. His goal was to learn how Christians survive and thrive in hostile cultures with oppressive governments. So, he traveled to places that were like that and he interviewed many Christians who had, and were, living in such conditions. One old pastor who had lived, served, and suffered in the Soviet Union explained to Nik that opposition and persecution were just a fact of life for Christians, and they therefore didn’t make a big deal out of it. They just accepted it as a fact of being a Christian in this world, and they then got on with faithfully serving the Lord each day under the conditions as they were. The old pastor said, “Nik, just as the sun rises in the east each morning, so too we know that opposition and persecution will come.” That attitude served to strengthen them and to increase their faithfulness. This is why good discipleship is so essential. As Christians in the USA today our focus has to be on growing deep and strong in the Lord and helping others to do so as well. Going forward, the remnant of God’s faithful people in this nation will have to be strong and courageous as we continue to faithfully do our part to build the kingdom of God in a broken, bleeding, and unreceptive society. We will need to be strong. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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Oak Hill Baptist Church 
“Broken, bleeding, and unreceptive society,” indeed. Good word, pastor Jim.