Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. Acts 12:1-5

Two reminders about persecution:

First, persecution of God’s people is (a) as old as human beings (Abel killed Cain over worship! Genesis 4:8), and (b) is standard procedure. Remember that Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.“

That verse has always troubled me, especially when I know that persecution is the norm for incredible numbers of our brothers and sisters around the world. Why don’t we suffer as so many do—and as scripture declares? Here are two possibilities:

We aren’t pursuing holiness as we ought. If we were, maybe would suffer more for our faith than we do—even here in the US. Think about your personal pursuit of holiness.
God’s sovereign kindness. He could be protecting us for His own reasons and purposes. But we can be assured, we are no more deserving of His sovereign kindness than we are of salvation. Give thanks in humility.

Second, because so many of our family in Christ suffer for following our Savior—and especially since we do not, let us neither forget them nor cease to pray for them. I’ll share a couple of tips I’ve learned to help me do just that.