Skip to main content

The Trying Blessing

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
Romans 12:14

      All who desire to live godly will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12).  We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16).  We can’t hide from those around us. If we hide then we are not living right, we are not walking as He walked. So we will be persecuted because we must live faithfully a life that cannot be hidden.  Love and pray for your enemies that they may become children of God (Matt. 5:43-48). Love you enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.  Loving your neighbor does not mean hate your enemy (Lev. 19:18). As Christians we must do good for evil. Our goal is that they may be like we are.  We need to firmly and gently show them their error and try to correct that.

 Are you only loving those who love you?
Are you cursing those who curse you?
What are you doing to bless those who persecute you?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Your Structure

“But  I  discipline  my  body and bring it into subjection, lest, when  I  have preached to others,  I myself  should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). It would be best if you worked on creating in your mind mental structures for success. A study was done where  two basketball teams had to shoot free throws. One group went out and shot 100 free throws with something life 30% accuracy. The second group had sat for 30 minutes and visualized making a perfect free throw 100 times. That team went out and shot 100 free throws with 75% accuracy. What is the difference? The mental structure. You can do the same. Paul said, “I discipline my body, I seek to please God.” Just like Paul, we must get in our heads what we will do to be successful in Christ. Work to create Godly mental structures.                          ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Love Provoked

         The world is provoked for different reasons. Anything from God’s word to good deeds for others to envy can cause wrath to be poured out (Jonah 3:10-4:1; Luke 15:20-28; Genesis 30:1, 2). What should provoke a New Testament Christian is quite different. Things like idol worship, inadequate treatment of others, turning from God, and dishonoring the house of God should cause indignation to swell up inside us (Exodus 32:19-22: 1 Samuel 20:33, 34; Matthew 21:12, 13; Acts 17:16, 17). This type of anger is justified (Mark 3:1-5). However, when this righteous indignation sets in, we will not forget who we are. We must be slow to anger (Nahum 1:3). It should not set in fast (Titus 1:7; Ephesians 4:6). We should be seeking to stir up love and good works no matter what (Hebrews 10:24, 25; 1 Corinthians 9:1, 2). We love the Lord so much it should bother us when He and His are mistreated. We need to handle things right and make sure we are never at fault for mistreat...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reality

Mature souls have an understanding that transcends the world. Often, it even goes beyond those around them.  The hope we have in Christ is beyond anything in this world. All man’s pursuits will never reach what God gives us in eternity. This hope anchors us in Christ, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil” (Hebrews 6:19). As much as this anchor is tried and confirmed, there is still more to understand. Mature souls understand that worthy efforts may go unrewarded. In Christ, even our most significant accomplishments are simply out of obedience to Him. Jesus made it clear with this statement, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). The reality is those mature souls retain high hopes but know that worthy efforts may go unrewarded. Yet, they hold tight to those hopes and stay true to ...
Post a Comment
Read more