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JANUARY 16
master of the house Beelzebub, how much earth. I did not come to bring peace but a
more will they call those of his household! sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against
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26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is his father, a daughter against her mother, and
nothing covered that will not be revealed, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;
hidden that will not be known. 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own
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27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in household.’ He who loves father or mother
the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he
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on the housetops. And do not fear those who who loves son or daughter more than Me is
kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But not worthy of Me. And he who does not take
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rather fear Him who is able to destroy both his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of
soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he
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39
sold for a copper coin? And not one of them who loses his life for My sake will find it.
falls to the ground apart from your Father’s 40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he
will. But the very hairs of your head are all who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
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31
numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a
more value than many sparrows. prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before he who receives a righteous man in the name
men, him I will also confess before My Father of a righteous man shall receive a righteous
who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me man’s reward. And whoever gives one of
42
33
before men, him I will also deny before My these little ones only a cup of cold water in the
Father who is in heaven. name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on shall by no means lose his reward.”
DAY 15: Should I expect to be persecuted for my faith?
In Matthew 10:32, Jesus makes the amazing promise that the person who acknowledges Him
as Lord in life or in death,if necessary,is the one whom He will acknowledge personally before God
as His own (Matt. 13:20; 2 Tim. 2:10–13). Conversely, He describes the soul-damning denial of Christ
of those who through fear, shame, neglect, or love of the world reject all evidence and revelation
and decline to confess Christ as Savior and King.
Though the ultimate end of the gospel is peace with God (John 14:27; Rom.8:6), the immedi-
ate result of the gospel is frequently conflict (v. 34). Conversion to Christ can result in strained fam-
ily relationships (vv. 35,36), persecution, and even martyrdom. Following Christ presupposes a will-
ingness to endure such hardships (vv. 32,33,37–39). Though He is called “Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6),
Christ will have no one deluded into thinking that He calls believers to a life devoid of all conflict.
When Jesus adds that a disciple must “take his cross”(v. 38), it is His first mention of the word
“cross”to His disciples.To them it would have evoked a picture of a violent,degrading death.He was
demanding total commitment from them—even unto physical death—and making this call to full
surrender a part of the message they were to proclaim to others.For those who come to Christ with
self-renouncing faith, there will be true and eternal life (v. 39).

January 16 to the field, to his flock, and said to them, “I
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see your father’s countenance, that it is not fa-
vorable toward me as before; but the God of my
father has been with me. And you know that
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Genesis 31:1–32:32
with all my might I have served your father.
Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s 7 Yet your father has deceived me and changed
31 sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all my wages ten times, but God did not allow
that was our father’s, and from what was our him to hurt me. If he said thus: ‘The speckled
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father’s he has acquired all this wealth.” And shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore
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Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked
indeed it was not favorable toward him as shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore
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before. Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return streaked. So God has taken away the live-
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to the land of your fathers and to your family, stock of your father and given them to me.
and I will be with you.” 10 “And it happened, at the time when the
4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw
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