God is sovereign over persecution

What do you think of when you hear the word “persecution“? If you are like I am, you probably have a negative feeling when you read the word persecution. I know that I do. I do not want to face persecution and I am sure that you do not either. As we examine Acts 12, I want us to view persecution from God’s perspective. Once we do this, I think we will have a different opinion of the idea of persecution. I know that sounds strange. I feel strange just writing it.

As a church, we have been walking through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation over a 3 year period. It has been quite a journey! We have traced God’s perfect plan of salvation for all mankind all the way through the Scriptures. We are currently in the book of Acts. We have seen the birth of the church and we have walked with the members of the early church as the ministry has grown. Persecution was a way of life for the early church. They did not seek out persecution, they simply lived out their faith, proclaimed the Gospel, and made disciples.

Interview with Naghmeh Abedini

I had the honor and privilege of meeting Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of Pastor Saeed Abedini, the Iran born, American pastor who has been in prison in Iran for almost two years. He was captured and taken to prison because of his faith in Jesus Christ and the fact that he was sharing the hope he found in Christ with others. I had heard a little about his case from the ACLJ’s Jay Sekulow but I was not very familiar with the details. Naghmeh came to Hoffmantown church in Albuquerque, New Mexico last week to speak at our annual Missions Conference. I was blessed to hear her share her story two different times during the conference. Before the second meeting time, I spoke with her privately and asked if I could do an interview with her. She conceded and immediately after speaking, she joined me in my office and shared with me. I would like to share what I learned here with you via this article.