Exeter Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Christian life is not always easy. It's in the Bible, Matthew 5:11-12, TLB. "When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because you are My followers—wonderful! Be happy about it! Be very glad! for a tremendous reward awaits you up in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too." and II Timothy 3:12-14, TLB. "Those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate Him. In fact, evil men and false teachers will become worse and worse, deceiving many, they themselves having been deceived by Satan. But you must keep on believing the things you have been taught. You know they are true for you know that you can trust those of us who have taught you."

Persecution does not last forever. It's in the Bible, I Peter 5:10, TLB. "After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you His eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever."

There is a promise for those persecuted by their family. It's in the Bible, Matthew 19:29, TLB. "And anyone who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow Me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life."

Trials help us grow spiritually. It's in the Bible, James 1:2-3, NIV. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."