REJOICE

-

Text : Matt. 5:11-12

 *How blessed are you whenever people insult you, persecute you, and say all sorts of evil things against you falsely because of me!* 

 *Rejoice and be extremely glad, because your reward in heaven is great! That’s how they persecuted the prophets who came before you.* 

One of the blessedness that Jesus pronounced on the mount while teaching His disciples was for those who are wrongly persecuted. 

To be wrongly persecuted is to suffer for an offence you did not commit, for Jesus' sake. 

1 Pet 2:20 says What good does it do if, when you sin, you patiently receive punishment for it? But if you suffer for doing good and receive it patiently, you have God’s approval. So you must be able to draw the line from when you are receiving the consequences of your actions and when you are simply being persecuted. 

Now Jesus' words to His disciples that are being persecuted is not an advice but a command. He said, "Rejoice and be extremely glad." Obviously, the natural reactions of any man to persecution, moreso when wrongly accused is not rejoicing. But you are not natural man but a spiritual being if so be that the Spirit of Christ dwells in you. Rom 8:9.

 *Your reactions as a Spiritual being to persecution should be rejoicing, because your reward in heaven is great.* 

Paul said he takes pleasure in persecutions for Jesus' sake. What do you take pleasure in? 

 *PRAYER FOCUS* 

1. Lord, give me the grace to see persecution as an opportunity to accumulate more reward for myself in heaven. Help me to rejoice even in the face of persecution. 

Bible Reading : Matt. 5:1-12.


CIA CAMPUS MOVEMENT PUBLICATION, +233241109074, +233558355977 https://hisvoicedevotional.blogspot.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE GOOD FIGHT-2

-
Image
Text:  1 Timothy  6:12   Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. Another thing to pursue in fighting the good fight of faith is Godliness. We understand through the Holy scriptures that godliness is profitable unto all things.   *For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.* 1 Timothy  4:8.  You will reap the reward of your godliness not only when you get to heaven, but from here on earth. And this is why we are admonished to exercise ourselves unto godliness. (1 Timothy  4:7), because godliness with contentment is great gain.1 Timothy  6:6. Godliness is the practice of conforming to the image of God by reflecting the nature of the kingdom of God in the course of everyday life. In other words, godliness is living and portraying the nature of God here on earth.  2 Peter  1:
Read more

PRAYING MEN

-
Image
Text : 1Timothy 2:8. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. God gave explicit instructions to all of His children as to how we must live our lives. Some of these instructions cut across boards, of which all of God's children must obey. However, there are some instructions that are specific to gender or portfolios. We we'll be looking at some of these instructions today.  *THE MEN* From our text, there are two distinct responsibilities God wants men to undertake, and the two are intertwined. First, God wants men to pray. The word  'men' as used in our text is not generic as to mean all human beings. It is specifically requesting that all men should pray. Yes, God expects every of His children to pray, but He specifically called men out here.  A number of times,  when prayer meetings are called, the proportion of women in attendance always outnumbered men. This is because the devil knows the import of praying men.   
Read more

BE CALM & LISTEN-3

-
Image
Text: 1 Kings 19:12 "...and after the earthquake a fire, [but] the LORD [was] not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice" Prophet Elijah fled after he received the life threatening message from Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, because he didn't keep himself calm before the Lord.  *Endeavouring to listen to God in difficult times is a major prerequisite to your deliverance.*  Are you faced with a life threatening situation like Prophet Elijah, the first and most important thing you need to do is: "Set yourself before the Lord for His still small voice."  *"You will be saved from many unwarranted troubles if only you will always maintain your calm before the Lord and listen to Him."*  After Prophet Elijah heard the still small voice, then the Lord asked him, "What are you doing here?" This question shows that Prophet Elijah had left his rightful location and God-given assignment.  The windstorm he saw, revealed that he has been blow
Read more