LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, October 13, 2026

I am accustomed to being mocked, criticized, and verbally abused for my choice of football loyalty. But I have never been physically accosted. But even if I was, my loyalty would not change, and I would still wear my team’s colors proudly.

I assume that you have loyalties that you will never renounce no matter how much abuse you receive for having it.

Can the same be said of your faith in Jesus Christ?

As the church of Jesus Christ is getting started, great persecution arose against its members. They were driven from their homes and livelihoods and were scattered to different locations so they could no longer connect as a church. They lost their support network. Then Saul pursued them and they were thrown in prison and even killed for their public loyalty to Jesus.

Here’s how it is described in the book of Acts chapter  8.

“And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

But did that change their loyalty to Christ? Did they stop making Christ a big deal in their public lives?

NO!

Immediately after telling us that people were being thrown in prison we read this.  “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”

Persecution does not change loyalty when loyalty is rooted in love. But why does love for a football team seem more significant than love for our Savior? What are we afraid of in this world? What do we love so much about our life in this world that we would remain silent about the life we have in Christ?

Serious questions to seriously consider. May the love of Jesus our Savior so dominate our hearts and minds that we begin to live publicly for Christ even if death is the result.

Pastor John