Worldwide 10,000 Believers every year are tortured and die at the hands of Christian-haters so even if it is not an issue where you live now, it may well be in the future. Persecution comes in many forms, loss of jobs or status within a company, loss of friends, marriage breakups, attacks against children or relatives, dirty tricks, and the obvious, physical torture and death.
What they don’t tell you is that do not even need to be a very good Christian to be on the devil’s hit list. Here is the scripture hiding in plain sight.
Deciding on a Holy Life
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
You will notice on careful examination you do not necessarily need to be Godly, only to, by an act of your will, seek that kind if life. Your first scuffle with the flesh around you will be the sinners in your group of friends and relatives who think you are going too far. The first level of holiness is sexual purity and sure to raise the ire of those who want to ignore the basics.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
Sex is the first test
Fornication means any kind of sexual behavior outside of a legal marriage, one man , one woman. You can see how millions are not going to buy this. Sexual deviance is the quickest and surest way to live outside of the Kingdom of God, which means away from his blessings. Too many people will beg God for revelation, help, healing and influence while all the time carrying on something with someone they know is wrong.
Teaching a short Bible study a few years back to some middle aged women, they were visibly shocked when I said that the first step in salvation is not having sex with anyone with whom you are not legally married. The teachings in many Protestant churches now is so slack that they were ignorant of this basic rule.
Prayers that go nowhere
God has said clearly, Proverbs 28:9 God doesn’t listen to the prayers of those who flout the law.
Examine Yourself
How often have you heard that scripture? That is one reason the Bible tells us to examine ourselves before we start praying. How often has God not listened to your prayers and then you realized you had disobeyed something He told you and you had forgotten about it. People who tell me, “God didn’t answer my prayer” is frequent, but blaming God is not the answer. Rejecting some known sin in your life is the quickest path to answered prayers.