The World Will Hate Us

John 15:17-16:4
 17 This is my command: Love each other. 18 "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: 'They hated me without cause.' 26 "But I will send you the Advocate--the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. 27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.   1 "I have told you these things so that you won't abandon your faith. 2 For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. 3 This is because they have never known the Father or me. 4 Yes, I'm telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn't tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer." (NLT)

Oh, Lord,
The world is no different than it was when You spoke this to the disciples.  In the Middle East right now Christians are being martyred for their faith, and it could start here in the USA and in Europe.  The Enemy is beheading children who will not denounce You, in front of their parents, and they are sending these precious ones into Heaven.  The Christian relief workers who are bringing aid and Your Gospel to the region are the parents of these children.  However; they are followers, not fans.  These parents have prepared their children for martyrdom and are remaining with these same people to minister to them and face torture and martyrdom themselves for the furtherance of Your Kingdom and out of Your love for these poor deceived people.

Lord, I must confess that it is hard to hate the sin, but not the sinner in this situation, and I need Your help to do so.

The perpetrators of these atrocities think they are winning the approval of their god, and they are.  However; they are blind to the fact that their god is Satan himself.  He may go by another name, but it is him; and because he is the Father of Lies, he has led them to believe they will be rewarded for what they have done with worldly pleasures and other rewards.  How very sad that their reward, if they do not repent, will be an eternity paying for their sins in hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [Mat 13:49-50 NIV] 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
 [Luk 9:25 NLT]  "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?"

Lord, help me to be like those missionaries and remember:
[Jhn 3:16-21 NLT] 16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18 "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."

Help me to pray for salvation for those in darkness, and to prepare myself and my family as these dear folks did so if the time comes to us, we will be faithful and not try to save our lives by denouncing You, who is our Savior and Lord!