Christians Under Trial

I have a friend who has recently been under verbal attack from an anonymous commenter, so just as a refresher course, and since I have alot of Bible verses related to this handy, I'd like to discuss something that isn't often taught in churches these days.

We will suffer. Our faith is an offensive, politically incorrect, getting-to-the-core-of-things faith. It's not a faith that sits in the shadows. Our faith is something that we are going to be hated for.
Jesus doesn't ignore this; "If the world hates you, know it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world and I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. If they persecute me, they will persecute you," (John 15:18-20a) In Matthew 16, Jesus says, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." Matthew 24:9b says, "You will be hated by all nations because of my name."

But there is hope. God doesn't just leave us alone in the world to fend for ourselves. He gives us the privilege of prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit, and He gives us His promises in the Word.
In John 16, Jesus comforts the disciples by promising them the Helper (the Holy Spirit) who will guide us. We also have hope because later in the chapter, Jesus tells us, "in the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

In Matthew 5, Jesus says "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." We will be blessed when we suffer for Him! Our reward in heaven is worth it.

Finally, as one of my old youth pastors liked to say, "I feel GREAT because of Romans 8:28!"
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His pupose."

And in verses 35-39 of the same chapter, Paul tells us, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."