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    Threads Articles
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Interviews
Join Us
  • Writing
    • Not in Vain: 1 Corinthians Devotional
    • Explore Lamentations
    • eBook: Good News People
    • eBook: Filtered Grace
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    • Threads Articles
    • Explore Ecclesiastes
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    • Evangelicals Now Articles
  • Book Reviews
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That Happy Certainty - Gospel | Culture | Planting
Colossians, Persecution

'They become identified with that instrument of shame and death which they have found to be life-giving…'

I’ve just been reading through an edition of ‘barnabas aid’, the magazine of barnabas fund, an organization focused on ‘hope and aid for the persecuted Church’. A friend was handing out backdated editions that had been gathering dust on his bookshelf in the hope of raising awareness as to what some of our brothers and sisters are going through around the world.

As I turn the pages there is story after story from across the globe about followers of the Lord Jesus under immense pressure in situations where life is incredibly difficult, whether that be because of violent persecution, famine, or the the plight of the ‘invisible Christians’ in Iraq who are ignored and neglected by all authority in their country.

Yesterday evening a friend and I were reading Colossians 1. One of the most striking things, as Paul prays for the Christians in Colossae, is his request that they may be ‘strengthened with all power, according to [God’s] glorious might…’. Why is this so striking? Because of the manner in which Paul sees this power taking shape: ‘…for all endurance and patience with joy…’ (Col 1.11).

This may sound like a dull and drab characteristic of the Christian life, but for Paul it is of immense importance, and I have no doubt that our brothers and sisters featured in the eye-opening articles I read this morning would affirm the priority ‘endurance and patience’ must hold. Indeed it is nothing less than a gift from God. In my comparatively ‘comfy’ Western context, do I see the need, do I have the same desperate necessity, for endurance and patience? If not, am I viewing ‘walking in Him’ in a distorted manner?

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May 9, 2006by Robin Ham

About Me

 

Hello, my name is Robin. Welcome to That Happy Certainty, where I write and collate on Christianity, culture, and ministry. I’m based in Barrow-in-Furness in South Cumbria, England, where I serve a church family called St Paul’s Barrow, recently merged together from two existing churches, St Paul’s Church and Grace Church Barrow.

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“If we could be fully persuaded that we are in the good grace of God, that our sins are forgiven, that we have the Spirit of Christ, that we are the beloved children of God, we would be ever so happy and grateful to God. But because we often fear and doubt we cannot come to that happy certainty.”
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