Be Pleasant to our Lord

By Pastor Vam Foung Vang

2 Timothy 2:3-4
3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer

Voice of the Martyr magazine was my first introduction to the historical and current worldwide persecution of our brothers and sisters, because they hold to the name of Jesus Christ. The early Christian martyr Stephen (Acts 6 and 7) was a man full of Christ and full of the power of the Holy Spirit, and with compassion he tried to reason with the angry stone carrying mob. But in their planned hatred, they paid people to lie about Stephen to justify their crime.

A young 19 yrs. old lady, Deborah Samuel Yukubu, who lived in Sokoto, Nigeria, suffered the same fate as Stephen on May 12, 2022. Both of them in their persecution and death did not hate but was concern for the salvation of their murderers.

Paul writes to Timothy about suffering like a soldier of Christ (v. 3) and I believe many martyrs are examples of believers experiencing pain and death like a soldier in the battle for people’s salvation. Stephan was a busy soldier of Christ, evangelizing and healing the people in Jerusalem, which brought him into conflict with the local Jews and religious leaders. Because he was pleasant to his Lord (v. 4) the world hated him, which was what Jesus taught us in John 15:18 to 25.

When we look into martyrs like Deborah, we see they lived a typical life and were busy with family, friends, education, and their faith. They were busy like ants (Proverbs 6:6-8) in their life but they never stopped pleasing their Lord; by serving others. They never got lost in their busyness (v. 4) with daily life and placed worldly success above pleasing their Lord.

Reflection:
How is your life pleasant to your Lord Jesus Christ?
Please pray for our brothers and sisters around the world so it will rise as pleasant offerings to God.