Persecution we will suffer, but we shall have joy through it all.

[The_Light_Within]

I could share all the horrible things that happened in my life. My father leaving before I was born, my mother raising 3 of us on her own with no food to eat. Me living on my own at the age of 15 independently. Witness horrible tragedies that I will never get into because that was all the past. I don't need to dwell on them. I was able to rise above it all. Now I have a wonderful family that I have raised unlike my past and I will continue to raise them in genuine love.

Many of us go through trials and tribulations, I feel for everyone who goes through these things and for all the people across the globe. Not just here in North America where we really have only one perspective.

Many of the apostles were martyred for their faith. Matthew the tax collector was pinned to the ground and beheaded in Ethiopia. James was cast down from the temple tower and had his head smashed by a club. Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross in Edessa. Bartholomew was beaten to death by pagan idolaters.Thomas was tortured, run through with spears, and thrown into flames. And Peter was crucified upside down, saying he did not consider himself worthy to be crucified in the same manner as the Lord Jesus Christ. I also recall that John the Baptist preached his head off.
And before him, Jeremiah preached himself into imprisonment in a miry dungeon.
And before him, Micaiah preached himself into chains and a daily ration of the bread and water of affliction.
And before him, Elijah preached the brook dry, his only source of bodily sustenance at the time.... See More
And before they all, Abraham preached himself into estrangement.

Yea, and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution - 2Timothy 3:12

We are not better then anyone else.

Christians start out pretty much like everyone else. We're sometimes nice, at other times surly. We're often selfish, angry, and egotistical...sometimes kind and generous. The good news is that somewhere along the way God begins the process of transforming us so that we're more like Jesus. Considering the kind of person Jesus was, that sounds great...but the bad news is that until God gets well into the transformation process a person is often remarkably similar to what he was before he became a Christian. That's often not so great.

So: what do we do in the meantime? Well, fortunately for us, God gave us some instructions. The Bible tells us pretty plainly how to be more Christlike:

Romans 13:14 tells us to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts".

And that's not all...there's more! Not only are we supposed to 'put on Christ', we're also supposed to put on humility:

1 Peter 5:5 says "You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another...".

We're also supposed to put on something called 'the new self':

Ephesians 4:23-24 says that we should "...be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth".

Colossians 3:9 explains a bit more:

Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him...".

* And, we're told to put on:
* a heart of compassion
* kindness
* humility
* gentleness
* patience
* love

You get the picture. We're supposed to "put on" a whole bunch of things. In essence, we're supposed to act like Jesus until we become like Jesus. There's an old saying: "the clothes make the man". The general idea is that what you wear affects how you feel about yourself...and that by dressing like the person you want to be you will act like that person and eventually become that person. When the Bible tells us to "put on" those things, it's saying that we should act like Jesus. If we act like Jesus acted we will eventually become like Him.

Many non-Christians consider Jesus to have been a virtuous man. As Christians, our goal should be to be viewed in the same way. One last Bible verse...1 John 4:12: No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us". If we act like Jesus acted we become an example of what God is like. So, the next time you feel like just being yourself...don't.