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Keep Your Faith to the End! - Matthew 24:9-14"Then people will treat you badly. People will give you {to the rulers} to be persecuted (hurt) and killed. All people will hate you. All these things will happen to you because you believe in me. At that time, many believers will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. Many false prophets will come. They will cause many people to believe wrong things. There will be more and more evil in the world. So most believers will stop showing love. But the person that continues strong to the end will be saved. The Good News about {God's} kingdom will be told in the whole world. It will be told to every nation. Then the end will come." (ERV) Full Text
Key ThoughtIf you read the story of the early Church in the book of Acts, this is a very apt description of the difficulties they faced as Christians taking the Gospel to others in a hostile world. They were beaten, arrested, martyred, left for dead, and despised. But not deterred! But not stopped! But not thwarted! Jesus' living and last word was that he had authority over all things. Upon his authority, they were to take the Message of his saving power to every culture. They were not to just be faithful, but they were to teach new disciples to be obedient and faithful. No matter what they faced, no matter what happened, they were to remember that he was with them. In the days when Christians are being persecuted simply for being Christians and so many in the Christian movement are sidetracked by sin, worldliness, and fear of offending someone else's sensibilities, Jesus' words are a sobering reminder that Satan will do anything he can to shut God's people up so the world will remain in darkness. But our heritage is a heritage of Good News, for all peoples, against all odds, and overcoming all costs! Today's PrayerToday's Verses in ContextJesus left the temple area and was walking away. But his followers came to him to show him the temple's buildings. Jesus asked the followers, "Are you looking at these buildings? I tell you the truth. They will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another." Later, Jesus was sitting at a place on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to be alone with Jesus. They said, "Tell us when these things will happen. And what will happen to show us that it is time for you to come again and time for the world to end?" Jesus answered: "Be careful! Don't let any person fool you. Many people will come and use my name. They will say, 'I am the Christ. ' And they will fool many people. You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don't be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. These things are like the first pains when something new is born. "Then people will treat you badly. People will give you {to the rulers} to be persecuted (hurt) and killed. All people will hate you. All these things will happen to you because you believe in me. At that time, many believers will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. Many false prophets will come. They will cause many people to believe wrong things. There will be more and more evil in the world. So most believers will stop showing love. But the person that continues strong to the end will be saved. The Good News about {God's} kingdom will be told in the whole world. It will be told to every nation. Then the end will come. — Matthew 24:1-14 (ERV)
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