“The Apostle Peter was on point. When being persecuted, as children of God, we have to remain clear-minded and look for our enemy the devil who seeks to destroy us. We resist evilness by focusing on God and staying firm in our faith with trust and belief in His promises.” – #ToddCPittman
Yep, I Said It!
. . . and so did 1 Peter 5:9 (NLT) – “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.”
“This morning I kept coming back to 1 Peter 5:9. This scripture is preceded by one of my favorite scriptures, 1 Peter 5:8. You see for me, 5:8 is a part of an everyday strategy to win internal and external battles. In today’s environment, we frequently hear that we have to “stay woke.” This concept – this term – is nothing new. Most folks will date this African-American vernacular back to the 1940s when J. Saunders Redding used the term in the first volume of the Negro Digest in his article about labor unions. Others might associate the term with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution” commencement address in 1965. Regardless, the reality is that the message to stay woke has been communicated since approximately AD 65 when the Apostle Peter urged folks to be sober-minded and stay alert because the enemy was on the prowl. Associated with Peter’s message to stay woke was also the message to fight back. Surprisingly, Peter’s message to fight back contradicted his repeated messages to submit to those in authority and to those in control. But you see when it came to dealing with the devil, Peter commanded the opposite. Peter’s communication was not to submit, but to fight! This same message that applied as the early church was growing and the Roman Empire began persecuting Christians, applies to those that are being persecuted today. We can’t let the chaos of the world undermine our trust in the God of heaven. We’ve got to be accountable to each other through the reminder that no authority that seeks to divide, no disease that seeks to kill, nor any misperception of superiority will weaken our dependence on the Father who is strong to meet our need and who loves us. So, if we want to know how to ‘stay woke’ the answer is simple – We stand strong in our faith!” – #ToddCPittman
Yep, I Said It! 