Wickedness Will Not Go Unchallenged

 We are exhorted, as children of God who are born-again in Christ, towards purity of heart, the pursuit of peace, compassion, mercy, and godly living.  Yet this epistle is written during a time of severe suffering and increasingly intense Christian persecution similar to todays world.
 Peter cautioned the Church that in the midst of this heightened hatred for God and escalating animosity towards those that are His, we are to maintain a clear conscience in thought, word, and deed, and to endure the inevitable suffering, with a dignified, Christ-like courage.
 The Bible makes it very plain that sinners will be punished and Wickedness Will Not Go Unchallenged.  Evil is evil and will not be exonerated and God Himself warned, "vengeance is Mine, and I will repay."
 May we who have received the over-abounding mercy and grace of God in our lives, demonstrate a Christ-like character in our daily living through purity of heart, the pursuit of peace, the compassion of Christ, the mercy of God, and a life that is walking in spirit and truth, even during these increasingly difficult days of severe suffering and increasingly intense Christian persecution.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that Your eyes are over those that are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and that Your ears are ever open to our prayers. Have mercy on those who have not accepted Your gracious offer of salvation, and use us as  witnesses to Your goodness and grace. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN.