Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:10-12
One of the most impacting books I ever read is not a best seller. The author is not a household name. But the book changed my life. The 145 pages of this little paperback book, penned by Jan Pit, is entitled, “Persecution: It Will Never Happen Here?”
The opening words of the first chapter replay a common occurrence on a passenger airplane. The flight attendant calmly says, “In the unlikely event of an emergency…” before explaining what to do in the event of an in-air emergency.
Who listens to this memorized spiel? First time fliers. The seasoned traveler doesn’t normally pay much attention because he hasn’t experienced an emergency, so the thought of one happening is remote enough to disregard the warning and instructions. Sound familiar?
The rest of the book is about places in our world where Christianity was a fixture of society, and persecution was not expected. Until it suddenly happened! The stories are gripping. So are the warnings of why we should plan for persecution and what to do to be prepared. Some highlights include:
Understanding what the Bible says about persecution.
The necessity of a life dependent on the Holy Spirit.
The necessity of a life of knowing (and memorizing) scripture.
The necessity of being associated with a local church.
The necessity of training our children (persecutors always take the children and forbid child evangelism).
Understanding spiritual warfare.
Standing on Christ’s promise that His Church cannot fail!
If you want to borrow my copy of the book, I’ll gladly loan it to you. If you want to buy your own copy, though the book is sadly out of print, you can get one from amazon: Click Here