Take Joy in Being a "Bible-Thumper"

"Jesus Freak!" "Bible-Thumper!" If you have been a Christian very long, you are probably very familiar with these words. God said in 2 Timothy 3:12: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Some people in the world cannot understand why, we as Christians, live for God, so they act out harshly toward us. A term that is commonly used to describe Christians is "old-fashioned." The majority thinks that people need to live in the modern times, and believe everything that has recently came about, but the thing is, God is not modern. God has always been here, and He has been here for us. He laid the foundation to live by, being the Bible, and this should be followed up until the point He comes back to take His children to Heaven, no matter what the world begins to believe. God is not modern, He is timeless.

God knows what it is like to be hated. He has been hated by the world from the beginning times. God said, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you" (John 15:18). The world doesn't necessarily hate us, they hate God and the power that He has. People do not like the fact that God overpowers them. They want to be their own god, and do what they want. It is usually the concept of authority that they hate. Many hates the thought of someone telling them what to do, and being a Christian takes a lot of sacrifice. A person can't be number one in their own lives, and live for God the way that they should. It's impossible.

Although it may seem that the world is against you, God says to love those that hate us. "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" (Matthew 5:44). If we are to love those that hate us, and treat them right, our testimony will grow in the Lord. God will bless us for showing His kindness and mercy even in times where we are being persecuted for believing in Him. By showing the world that we have the love of God within us, and we are joyful, this might influence the world to find God as well.

No matter what a person calls you, no matter what they do to you, or say about you, God is on our side. God says, "Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). God will bless us with the joys of Heaven someday for living righteously. Unfortunately, those that act out in evil ways toward God will not receive the blessings of Heaven. "For [it is] better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing" (1Peter 3:17). God says that it is better to do good, so that we will have our names written in the Book of Life, rather than do evil and be happy on the Earth, and have to suffer in Hell for denying God and our sins.

God knows how hard persecution can be. He goes through it everyday, just like us. He understands how it feels to be put down for believing in Him, and how hard it is to show the world your beliefs in fear of being mistreated. For this reason, He gives the most blessings to those that serve Him. Christians sacrifice a lot in their life to serve Him, which they should, and God rewards effort.

"The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" (Psalm 118:6). People in this world only has so much power, but God has all power, and He won't let harm come upon you.