" . . . [B]ut share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace . . . "
How do ministers and parishioners suffer for the gospel "according to the power of God"? This is done through *identification* with Christ, His church, and His servants--especially those enduring Satan's wrath against God's grace. It *does* take God's power to share in gospel sufferings, because the tendency of our flesh is to *withdraw* from those who are most closely associated with suffering persecution for the cause of Christ.
May all God's children determine to count it a badge of honor, to be tightly-bound with Jesus, and His glorious gospel--no matter what the consequences may be.
[Puritan quote of the day: "A truly mortified man is like a warrior: he will either kill or be killed. He will kill his sins or else his sin will kill him." --Christopher Love, in "The Mortified Christian"]
