Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Remember this-- Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Those who seek the righteousness of Christ may be persecuted. Jesus knew this! Jesus understood the world we live in with all its injustices, all its horrors. Jesus knew the hearts of people and He knew there was real righteousness and real evil.
How many people have persecuted others in the name of our Lord? How many people have sought vengeance in the name of our Lord? How many commit great evils and do it all in the name of the Lord? So many believe they are being righteous when they destroy what they consider evil and they forget completely that our Savior did not kill people, our Savior did not make the evil people of His day suffer. Our Savior did not hunt down the unrighteous and wipe it off the face of the earth. Our Savior did NOT tell us we were to do any of that and yet people have killed over and over, people have made those who they consider evil suffer untold agonies believing they are only doing God's will.
Jesus does not say-- Blessed are they which get revenge on their enemies. He did not say-- Blessed are they who kill the evil people.
Jesus teaches us that the people who are persecuted will be blessed with the kingdom of heaven!
Persecuted.
'PER'SECUTED, pp. Harassed by troubles or punishments unjustly inflicted, particularly for religious opinions.'
The people who are harassed by troubles or punishment UNJUSTLY inflicted will be blessed with the kingdom of heaven, they will be bless with our Lord and Savior!
Persecution. Sometimes it's not just other people persecuting us, it is the persecution of the unseen world we share our lives with. It is the persecution of *LIFE*, what we consider to be life's- problems. Daily we are swamped with bad news, bad times, bad moments that mingle with good news, good times, good moments. We are persecuted and often is seems that we will succumb to all that persecution, that it is just too much for us to deal with and you know what, it's supposed to be. We have to place our all in all in Christ! We have to stop living for this world! No, I'm not saying to latch on to a death wish, not at all! We have to endure in Christ! We are to live IN Christ, FOR Christ, always! If we suffer we must do so knowing that our end is in CHRIST. Easy for me to say, right? It is easy to say and I pray to my Savior that if I'm called to suffer that I endure in HIM and only in HIM.
Our great Teacher doesn't leave us without the lessons we need to live.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We can't let this one point go without noting- PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE.
Every one is persecuted but only those who are persecuted for righteousness sake will have the kingdom of heaven.
Righteousness sake is… OUR SAVIOR who is OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!
It's for our Savior's sakes. Persecuted because we live for our Savior. Make NO mistake whatsoever, Satan will stop at nothing to persecute those who are Christ's. He knows our every weakness, he knows just how far to push us and when to pull back. Does Satan care about us? Do we matter to Him? YES!
Does Jesus care about us? Do we matter to Jesus? YES! Our Savior died for each and every one of us to give us the chance for salvation. If we don't find this hard to believe then why do we find it hard to believe that Satan wants us just as much to be His, to die eternally for him, with him.
The bottom line- if you believe in Jesus you have to believe in Satan. If you believe in Jesus dying for your salvation you have to believe that Satan wants just as desperately to keep you from that salvation.
This is REALITY! Our reality!
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior may we be persecuted for righteousness sake and for no other reason, may we have the kingdom of heaven, our Savior!
Amen.
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