Hated By The World

How does that make you feel? Have you experienced any pushback recently because of your faith in Jesus Christ? Have you been “canceled” in any way?

If we’ve read God’s word, we are to expect this “cancel culture” because Jesus prepared us. He tells us in John 15:18-25 that the world is going to hate you (and me) because the world hates him. Let that sink in. The world hates Jesus. The world is completely anti (against) Christ and anything that has to do with Christ— including and especially his followers. So, it’s reasonable to expect that the world is going to hate us because they hate Jesus. They’re going to hate us on account of our love and our devotion and our belief in Jesus Christ— and because of our love for “one another” as his disciples.

This attack has been going on for years and seems to be heating up these days. Have you noticed? Are you prepared to stand in the truth in defense of the gospel? Are your children prepared to stand in the truth? What if you’re excluded? What if you’re canceled from something? What if your kids are shunned and overlooked by their friends or their teachers or coaches, or even a potential college they want to go to; what if your business suffers because of your belief in Jesus Christ? What if you take a hit in some way, because you have stood firm in your faith? Are you prepared to take a hit?

Are you prepared to speak up and speak out about what you believe? Is your faith in Jesus Christ so deep within your life, that you can be threatened to the point of anything and not abandon it? Is your love for Jesus so deep that there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for him? Or do you just want to tuck your head, step back into the shadows, and wait until it all blows over?

Personally, I don’t think it’s going to blow over. I’ve read the Bible and I know how it ends; and though it end very well for us on the day of Christ’s return, there will be hell on earth before that day comes. So, friend, I ask again– are you equipped to stand confident in your faith? That’s why I’m teaching this series on the podcast… to encourage you to START NOW (if you aren’t already) standing firm in your faith because the wind is going to blow a bit harder for sure.

If you don’t know how to stand firm, study along with me. Catch up on the first 3 episodes of this podcast season at punkytolson.com/podcast.

I love y’all!

xo – P♥️