By God’s grace, Jesus’ followers didn’t back away from suffering and persecution. They acknowledged their hardships but weren’t crippled by it. They remembered not only the words of Jesus, as well as Psalm 2, but also that Jesus’ Crucifixion was carried about by the kings of earth. In their minds, Christian suffering was a routine matter, and their experience was nothing unique.

The persecution we face for our faith today is rarely, at least in America, near the level that our brothers and sisters in the book of Acts faced. Still, we need to be reminded that suffering for Christ is simply a part of biblical Christianity. We are not the rulers of this world – not yet (Revelation 5). Rather, we are exiles and sojourners rejected by the world, but we are on our way home (1 Peter 2:11).

What are some ways that you avoid suffering or persecution for Christ that you may need to face?