Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
Why did so many of God's own people reject Jesus when he came to save them? "He came unto his own and his own received him not." Days before he was betrayed by one of his closest friends and then crucified, he stood broken-hearted on the Mount of Olives and wept for the deep and abiding love he felt for God's rebellious children. Why did so few of God's own people love Nehemiah, after he had traveled from distant Susa to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem for their good and safety? Why was tender-hearted Jeremiah falsely accused and thrown into prison by God's own people, the very people he was sent by God to help? Why was Paul beaten within an inch of his life by his fellow Jews, when by his own testimony, he would have gladly suffered death for them?
While listening to some of the music God has given to us lately and feeling the great love God has for His people, this prayer rose up in my heart: "God, save your people from hurting us." The most difficult sufferings of God's servants have always been those inflicted upon them by God's own children. Paul grieved continually for the hard-heartedness of the people who belonged to God. Jeremiah knew that disasters were soon to befall Jerusalem and Judah and wept bitterly because his beloved fellow Jews hated him for warning them of it. "Rivers of waters" ran from David's eyes because God's own people refused to walk in the light of His Law. It seems that we who serve Christ Jesus can endure any misunderstanding and contempt as long as it is the world's, not scorn that we feel from God's own people. But to see God's own people turn away from the truth and condemn those who bring it can be so hard!
"Lord, save your people from hurting us!" I feel that in giving me that prayer to pray for His people, God was inviting me-us-to pray for His people, that they will be patient and wise. Oh, that all of God's children would be wise as the Jews in Berea were, who having heard Paul preach, "searched the Scriptures daily to see if such things were true" (Acts 17:11).
Pray for God's children, that they will not join forces with the world against those who know and proclaim the precious truth of Jesus. They have been badly taught. They have been trained not to be wise as the Bereans were, but to trust in the wisdom of the ministers they have hired to teach them. But Jesus is their Friend. He offers them his wisdom because his truth belongs to them. The promises of God are theirs, and we are their servants.
Dear God, help your precious people to understand how very much you love them, and save them from doing us harm who are your servants for their sakes.