Daily Sacrifice, August 7 (5:41)
“They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name”— Acts 5:41.
THERE is a difference between suffering with Christ (Rom. 8:17) and suffering for Him (Acts 5:41). All Christians suffer with Him because of the very fact that they are partakers of the divine nature, and therefore are quick to feel the adverse conditions through which they are called to pass. But to suffer for Him is to bear shame and reproach—even unto persecution and death—for Christ’s name’s sake (Acts 9:16). We are told that unto us it is given, not only to believe on Him but to suffer for His sake.
—Isaac Watts.
―J. G. Deck.