“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)
“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.” (1 Peter 4:14)
As a Christian who speaks out for Jesus we are ridiculed and even reproached. I usually avoided such occurrences. But my wife is a brave woman and she is determined to share the Gospel with her ailing father. Her brothers scolded her and even threatened her. At times it was so bad that she cried. Of course she felt hurt under the insult and ill treatment from her siblings. She became sad and miserable.
If being persecuted results in unhappy feelings, then what did Jesus mean when He asked us to do the opposite? How can one rejoice exceedingly when one normally feels hurt and being unfairly treated?
Today when I read these two verses spoken by Jesus and their cross reference to 1 Peter 4:14, I realized that Jesus was right. Being persecuted for Jesus’ sake is a good thing and signs of a lot of good happenings!
1. You are raised to the status of the prophets.
2. Great reward immediately comes from heaven.
3. The Holy Spirit rests on you.
4. God considers you glorifying Him.
Of course, the evil person (bully who persecutes you) cannot get off scot free, as he has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit! Jesus has warned that those who blasphemed against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)
Application: I share with my wife about what I read and she feels comforted now. As for me, I pray that I will not be afraid to stand up for my faith too. Again, it is a matter of whether I care about living before God more than living before man. I need to really ponder on this.
AAA Jack
2009-03-03
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这是最艰难的爱的体现之一，因为它承认了我们不愿面对的真相。
昨天读了关于亚伯拉罕的信心和行动的好文章，与大家分享其中一些摘要。 “他与他们交谈，说：‘你们若以为我愿将逝者埋葬在我眼前以外的地方，就请听我的话，为我求告琐辖的儿子以弗仑。’”（创世纪23:4） 这节经文延续了撒拉去世后那感人而又沉重的场景。亚伯拉罕哀悼过，痛哭过，他从逝者（撒...
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