Get Real October 19 Devotional
October 19, 2024
1 PETER 1:6 | 6 In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials.
Early on, Christians were often protected by the Romans because the latter did not distinguish them from Jews, and Jewish faith was a “religio licta,” a protected faith. Peter’s first letter speaks to a different situation. There are “manifold trials,” suffering for righteousness sake (3:14), false accusations of evil doing (3:16), and a world wide situation of persecution (5:9). The change came with the empower Nero. Rome experienced a devastating fire, losing the Temple of Luna, Jupiter Stator, the shrine of Vesta, the Ara Maxima, many other ancient landmarks, and a great deal of housing. Tacitus, the great historian, recounts the common belief that Nero started the fire to remove old construction and make way for new building, even expressing pleasure at the beauty of the flames. To divert public anger, he blamed the “Christians,” nailing them to crosses, dressing them in animal skins, and letting them be torn to shreds by hunting dogs and even using them as human torches, coated in pitch, to light his evening parties. By 112 AD, Christianity was a “religio illicta,” a forbidden faith.
Pray for Christians persecuted in another part of the world today.
Gracious God,
Thank You for the courage of the early Christians, who endured many difficult trials to maintain and to spread the truth of our faith.
Amen.
