Pastor Robert Jeffress knows well that God wants His children to do more than just get by in life. He wants them to thrive, even in this chaotic and hostile world where persecution of Christians worsens daily.
The senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Jeffress says believers need to find the courage to stand up for their faith, and there are effective strategies for doing so.
“I don’t think there has ever been a time, at least in American history, when it’s been more difficult for Christians to live out their faith,” Jeffress told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “Think about the world in which we live. C.S. Lewis called it ‘enemy occupied territory.’ If you’re a child of God in this world, you’re in enemy occupied territory, and you’re taking incoming from every direction. We have attacks from a hostile culture that is increasingly at odds with God.
“But you also have attacks from within your own sin nature, or at least the residue of it, that pulls you away from God. And if that weren’t enough, we have attacks from below from our adversary—the devil—who has a blueprint to destroy everything important to us. And yet, God says we can live courageously.
“He has given us 10 survival tactics that we need to use in threatening situations—things like, ‘don’t panic; do the next right thing.’ Remember your training and apply those 10 strategies to living the Christian life. You don’t have to just survive. You can thrive with joy.”
For more on the strategies to thrive in this Christian-unfriendly world, listen to the entire podcast.
Billy Hallowell 
James Lasher 
