Lust is the first inkling of sin, the seed of sin seeking fertile ground in which to grow.

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying...

 

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

 

This goes hand in hand with this--

 

Jas_1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

 

Lust.

 

We've been taught that LUST is normal.

 

Why have we been taught this? Because people want to make sin acceptable because once sin is labeled acceptable it is no longer sin, no longer wrong.  Tell me something though, has God EVER changed sin to make it acceptable?  Is sin always sin?

 

We'd much rather change our ideas of what sin is than stop sinning.  If we can't stop the sin,  we stop calling it sin, people do it ALL the time.

 

Jesus said that from old you've been told NOT to commit adultery.  Adultery is taking the wife of another sexually.  Jesus magnified that law to get to the MEANING behind the law, to the depths of the law. The depths, the meaning being there is MORE than the outcome of sin, that the sinning starts before the act brought about as a consequence of indulging the sin.  

 

Sin will occur without lust, without forethought. We even have sins of ignorance.

 

Sins brought about by lust, intentional sin is something we allow ourselves to indulge in.  This is much like the difference between murder and manslaughter.   Both murder and manslaughter are wrong but murder is more grievous and punished much more severely- understandably so.  Our LUSTS are sins.  Our LUSTS lead to greater sin.   We don't want to believe this because people say our natural desire is to lust and it's harmless. It's far from harmless.  Yes, we have natural desires, but we INDULGE what is natural to the point of making it unnatural, and that is wrong.  We were given the desire to procreate, it was made enjoyable, that does not mean because we were given this special gift of intimacy that we are to pervert it.

 

Having a desire for someone is different from indulged lust.

 

Lust is an INTENSE desire.

 

We can fuel our desires and turn them into lusts.

 

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

 

Tempted by our lust, enticed towards our LUST  being conceived-   being conceived is what leads towards being born.  Our conceived lusts bear the fruit of sin.  We cannot let our LUST be conceived, set in our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, our lives so it brings for sin!

 

We all know the process, but we'd much rather not think about that process. If we think about the process then we are held accountable for our knowledge of that process and how it works in us.

 

Jesus told us it was SIN to lust, and it is a sin to let LUST conceive in our hearts because it leads to greater SIN.

 

We all know sin is sin, and all sin deserves death.

All sin must be repented up as we seek forgiveness from our Savior.

 

Jesus doesn't want us to sin.

Jesus doesn't want us to let lust conceive inside us, because that lust is the first  inkling of sin, the seed of sin seeking fertile ground in which to grow.

 

We are being taught!

We must learn!

 

Let us, by the grace of GOD recognize the first twinge of desire that goes awry so that we might not let it be conceived into sin.

 

Please LORD help us!

 

Help us to learn what You are teaching, truly learn so that we can LIVE as You want us to live- in YOU always!

 

In Your LOVE.

 

 

Agree with your adversary quickly

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

 

Mat 5:25  Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Mat 5:26  Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

 

Be reconciled with our enemies.

 

It's true that people who purposely set out to hurt others and do as much damage to them as possible will not generally be swayed from that course of action. But while a situation is developing if at all possible we must do everything we possibly can - as children of God - to defuse it.  We ARE NOT to be stubborn- this is NOT what God wants of us, this is not what Christ is teaching us.  We ARE NOT to hold fast to our pride at the expense of all else.  A person who can, will make someone pay to the uttermost for any slight incurred- whether deliberate or not. When we get a hold of our pride and let it run away with us the damage it is causing can be irreparable.

 

Have you ever had an argument with someone that went on far longer than it had to because you held fast to your pride?

 

We are to be selfless, not prideful.

 

Even if we are RIGHT a person arguing how much they are right, refusing to just let a situation go, will often suffer for their insistence at being right.

 

I'm not talking about denouncing Christ or our walk with God, I'm talking about arguing over mundane things. Does the fact we are right- perhaps someone took money from us, stole from us and we know it but they insist they didn't. Do we hold fast to our belief that they stole from us to the point they are able to convince a judge that we are bad mouthing them, slandering them because we have no proof of the theft? Does the fact we are in the right mean that much to us? Should it?

 

The ultimate Judge, our God, our Savior will judge in truth knowing all things, nothing hidden from them. Rather than our desire to be RIGHT being paramount, we should be desiring leniency, desiring a way to reveal forgiveness and love even to those who do not want to admit to wrong doing.

 

Our Savior stood before judges and they ordered Him crucified. Did He throw a fit trying to convince them of His innocence?  Did He submit to His sentence, though it was of the grossest injustice? How did He behave as One who was completely innocent?  He is our EXAMPLE in all things.

 

We are NOT to give in to arguing and fighting - even if it's just verbally- with anyone  over anything.  

 

We do though. We argue all the time. Maybe not huge fights but little spats.  Is it possible our little spats are just as bad as larger arguments?  Is it better to have 100 little spats or 10 large fights?  Who determines all this?  The truth is  - it's better not to argue at all- a little bit, or a lot and this is what our SAVIOR was trying to teach us.  Not to be prone to arguing for ANY REASON AT ALL!

 

We don't know when any argument we have might snowball out of control far beyond anything we ever imagined.

 

Arguing is wrong.

 

We will pay in some way for all our arguing because all our arguing has consequences.

 

By the grace of God may we STOP fighting with others, STOP arguing, STOP trying to prove our rightness even if we are as right as right can be.  May we ever remember our SAVIOR standing before His judges and how He behaved. May we ever recall how our SAVIOR treated those who taunted Him.  May we LIVE with CHRIST ever our EXAMPLE, ever before us, ever in our LIVES.

 

All in HIS LOVE!

Reconciled

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying

 

Mat 5:23  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

Mat 5:24  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

 

God does NOT want us to be HIS if we aren't right with OTHERS.

 

We are NOT GOD'S if we have others against us and do NOTHING to be reconciled to them.  If we have angst with others we are NOT being God's.  If we've made others turn against us by our actions WE are NOT being GOD'S.

 

Jesus is teaching us to LOVE above ALL else.

 

To CHOOSE the good of others even before we choose our own good.

 

So we do NOT dare insult our God by trying to show our love to HIM when we will not show love to others as HE WANTS US TO DO!

 

He is our example. We talked yesterday about imitating Christ and we can ONLY do this through the GRACE of Christ, through HIS power, through the HOLY SPIRIT.  When we submit to God, when we surrender to God, when we allow ourselves to hold God as our CREATOR, our REDEEMER, we are INVITING HIM to take over our lives.  As He takes over our lives, we are able to imitate HIM.  When we are living IN HIM and HE in US, we will LOVE OTHERS as HE intends us to love them.

 

We will have NOTHING against others and we can freely offer to God all that we are.

 

Reconciled to our brothers.

 

Webster's -  'To conciliate anew; to call back into union and friendship the affections which have been alienated; to restore to friendship or favor after estrangement; as, to reconcile men or parties that have been at variance.'

 

If we believe we can hold grudges against others for wrongs they may have done to us, we are wrong.  Forgiveness to ALL.  We have no right to hold back forgiveness, none.

 

If we hold back forgiveness then WE ARE NOT FORGIVEN.

 

Remember this--

 

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 

We truly are forgiven as we forgive.

 

How we live our lives with others is what God sees, what God knows of us and our Savior is teaching us how we MUST love others. 

 

We must, by HIS GRACE, learn love.

Imitate Christ

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

 

Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

 

 

We are being taught by our Savior.

 

The lesson-

 

Our righteousness must NOT be for show.

Our love for our fellow man must NOT be for show.

 

We can try to  manufacture our own brand of righteousness, we can do our best and none of that will be good enough. We - in and of ourselves - have no real saving righteousness.  We must learn of our Savior HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, we must learn of our Savior HIS LOVE FOR US.

 

His LOVE goes far beyond our strict interpretation of the moral law.

 

The Scribes and Pharisees worked it so they could get around the moral laws by adding their own interpretations of them.

 

When the law says 'Thou shalt not kill' , the scribes and pharisees hold that to be true but have NO law against feeling hatred towards others, NO law against wanting to kill others, NO law against bad mouthing others, NO law against demeaning others.   They might not have killed anyone in reality but they tortured them unjustly in other ways.

 

How many people out there are brutal towards others all the while patting themselves on the back for not being like those sicko psycho murderers that come along?  They are honestly believing they much better than a murderer because they don't take that life. Their brutality with their words and actions that can kill another in other ways, means nothing to them.

 

Our Savior clarified, He magnified the law. He put the law under that microscope and called on us to look at it closer, to see the TRUTH in it that goes far beyond merely staying our hands from ending a life.

 

LOVE is the truth.

 

TRUE love as HE LOVES.

 

We can't imagine our SAVIOR treating us brutally, can we?  Take a moment and think about it. Can you imagine Jesus Christ our Lord being viciously nasty, cruel, snide, hateful, unkind, unloving in any way towards us?

 

We can't imagine it because HE lived the law in it's fullest, in all it's LOVE.

 

He LOVED, He is LOVE, we can ONLY imitate that love and cling to HIM allowing HIM to love in the reality what we can only strive towards.

 

Eph 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children

 

The word for followers is this--

 

- Transliteration: Mimetes

- Phonetic: mim-ay-tace'

- Definition:

1. an imitator

 

IMITATOR!

 

The Literal Translation of the Holy Bible - interprets Eph. 5:1 this way--

 

Eph 5:1  Then become imitators of God, as beloved children

 

Imitators of God.

 

What does it mean to be an imitator?

 

Webster-

Imitate

IMI'TATE, v.t. [L. imitor; allied perhaps to Gr. similar, equal.]

 

1. To follow in manners; to copy in form, color or quality. We imitate another in dress or manners; we imitate a statue, a painting, a sound, an action, when we make or do that which resembles it. We should seek the best models to imitate, and in morals and piety, it is our duty to imitate the example of our Savior. But as we cannot always make an exact similitude of the original,hence,

 

2. To attempt or endeavor to copy or resemble; as, to imitate the colors of the rainbow, or any of the beauties of nature. Cicero appears to have imitated the Greek orators.

 

3. To counterfeit.

 

This hand appear'd a shining sword to wield,

 

And that sustain'd an imitated shield.

 

4. To pursue the course of a composition, so as to use like images and examples.

 

*******

 

Eph 5:1  Then become imitators of God, as beloved children

 

As beloved children.

 

A beloved child  will imitate it's parents- you see it all the time. Right now I have a young 11month old niece a few weeks shy of being a year old and she imitates so much it amazes me!  We know that she is learning as she imitates, taking everything in, absorbing it all like a sponge as her intellect grows as she matures.   I have a step great niece three years old whom I've seen pictures of as she imitates her mother's hair stylist job.  Children imitate and as they do they truly are learning.

 

We are to imitate GOD, to imitate CHRIST! He is teaching us to do this! He wants us to do this! We can only truly strive to do this and in doing so we will learn to LOVE as HE would have us LOVE, as HE LOVES.

 

Our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the supposed religious leaders, those who claim to be closest to God, and the only way this can be is if we seek CHRIST and in seeking Him we seek to IMITATE HIM- we- His beloved children.

 

All by HIS LOVE!

All by HIS GRACE!

All by HIS MERCY!

Jesus said- Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying-

 

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Mat 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

The law.

The prophets.

 

Our Savior did not come to destroy all that had been built already. Our Savior's birth, life, death, and resurrection are all foretold by the prophets- to destroy them would be to destroy His own foretelling. Messages given by prophets long ago are relevant to us TODAY.

 

Jesus said this--

 

Mat_24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

 

Jesus is reaffirming the prophet Daniel who lived hundreds and hundreds of years before He took on flesh. A prophecy of Daniel's would be relevant to those in the future yet, not all of Daniel's prophecies had been fulfilled and Jesus is reaffirming this.  He did NOT come to destroy the prophets or their prophecies as some would have others believe. Some want to believe that the entire old testament is meaningless. Some want to believe Jesus came to give NEW teachings to replace all the OLD, doing away with the old. The truth is, Jesus EXPANDED on old truths, Jesus became the living sacrifice the old sacrificial system portrayed,  and Jesus lived all the truths, keeping all the moral laws of His own creation.  How could anyone claim Jesus DESTROYED the moral laws if HE LIVED THEM and HE is our EXAMPLE.

 

1Pe_2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps

 

If we are to follow in Christ's steps we must keep the LAW as HE kept the law, He magnified the law taking it to the next level, not letting anyone get away with merely keeping the letter of the law, but charging them to keep the spirit of the law as well.

 

Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

 

The spirit of the law.

 

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

 

The spirit of the law.

 

Jesus did NOT come to destroy the law or the prophets.

 

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Mat 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

 

He came to fulfil- to LIVE the law, to LIVE His life as foretold by the prophets.

 

In magnifying the law our SAVIOR brought it to life and taught us how we are to live the law.

 

If we break HIS commandments in any way- if we do not LOVE Him, if we do not LOVE others as we are commanded and do so in ALL our actions- every single ONE, teaching others these LAWS, these COMMANDMENTS of the purest love, then we will be held accountable.

 

Our SAVIOR is TEACHING US!

 

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them

 

ARE WE LEARNING?!

 

By HIS GRACE may we LEARN all that we need to LEARN, all the HE would have us LEARN.

 

Please Lord, bless us, help us! Keep us in YOU LORD!

 

IN YOUR LOVE!

Salt of the earth

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

 

Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

 

Would you USE salt if it had no flavor to it?

What would be the point in using salt in our food if it added nothing to the food. In and of itself the salt isn't something we can eat very much of, but add it to our food and it gives it amazing new flavors. It can take a very bland meal and make it any thing but bland. Salt has amazing powers to transform the taste of the foods we eat. A lot of chefs will tell you that people make the mistake of using too little salt but that robs the food of it's potential flavor. Go to restaurants where they have no trouble adding a lot of salt to their food and people enjoy eating their immensely. They don't have to overly concern themselves with the amount of salt they are getting, it's a special treat. They're indulging themselves. Without the salt in most of our processed food, we would not eat much of it. Time and again I've tried low salt soups and inevitably there are complaints about it just not tasting good. Yes, it's probably healthier not to eat so much salt, but even recently there was an article in some magazine about how maybe, just maybe salt has been given a really bad rap-undeservedly and it's not quite as bad for you as it's been made to seem.  Of course that's neither here nor there, the fact remains that leave the salt out of your food and you will know right away that something is missing.

 

So back to the question- would you use salt if it had not flavor to it, if it added nothing to your food?

 

No.  There would be no point. It would be like adding tasteless grit for absolutely no reason.  You would not bother to add something to your food that brought no value to it. Every single ingredient put into the various recipes you make has it's purpose.  Even if that purpose is to add color to a colorless meal, it has a purpose.

Salt without it's ability to be salty would be useless just as the dirt of the ground, you wouldn't eat the dirt.

WE ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH.

 

As the salt of the earth we have something to give to others, something of great benefit.  If we do NOT have anything to give, if we've lost our ability to reveal Christ to others as we LIVE for HIM, SUFFER for HIM, MOURN for HIM, are POOR in SPIRIT for HIM, as we are REVILED and PERSECUTED for HIM, then we are as pointless as salt that adds NOTHING to the things being salted.

 

Our lives are to be revelations of CHRIST to the world.

Not just an hour a week part of us, not just a daily blog, not just a single day set aside, not just being good in many ways, not just about giving to the poor, helping the needy, or even reading God's word. Our ENTIRE lives are to be revelations of CHRIST.

 

If we are revealing Christ in our lives to others we are not Christ's. We can pretend to be Christ's, we can imagine ourselves as being His as we willfully sin over and over without any true repentance, but that's all it is- pretend.

 

Salt of the earth.

 

If you heard that saying in a movie, one person telling another they're the salt of the earth, what would you imagine it meant? That they were a good person, a worthy person, down to earth, reliable. 

 

Our Savior wants us to learn that being the salt of the earth with great savor, with something to offer to those around us is a great thing. To be someone who has nothing to offer others is not to be such a great thing at all.

 

The following verses go hand in hand with the lesson being taught-

 

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

 

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

The light of the world.

A city on a hill- unable to be hidden.

A candle on a candlestick- not hidden under a bush but lighting up all around it.

 

WE are these things!

 

How are we these things?!

 

We have to let those around us SEE OUR GOOD WORKS-and know they are of GOD and glorify GOD.

 

Our lives are to be spent as living witnesses of CHRIST, not as self-absorbed, self obsessed, egotistical people. 

 

If all our lives do is reflect ourselves- there is NO GLORIFYING God in that, none.  He is to be GLORIFIED in us!

 

Others are to KNOW that any good that comes from us in reality comes from our GOD, we are not to take any glory for ourselves. We won't want to as we realize without our GOD we have nothing, we are nothing!

 

God is all things!

 

Those suffering can glorify God because they KNOW their suffering is for a purpose most likely far beyond their ability to comprehend, yet they TRUST in GOD, knowing HE is in CONTROL of ALL THINGS! The ETERNITY offered with HIM is the prize, the working towards that prize is all the pain and suffering, all the abuse we suffer here and now. Only comprehending this do we find a reason for life being what it is. Only in this comprehension can we find real HOPE.

 

This existence is NOT all there is for us and this is the message our Savior came to bring to the world. There is HOPE of existing with HIM in heaven, in a new earth!

 

Our HOPE is CHRIST and this is the HOPE we must share with the world! 

 

Our good works are the works that come from HIS lessons! Our good works are works that point to HIM!

By HIS grace and love, by HIS mercy and forgiveness, by HIS amazing existence we can have HOPE!

 

There is SO MUCH MORE THAN LIFE AS WE KNOW IT TO BE!

 

We are living the life of a caterpillar, slinking about on our bellies on short little legs right now but we have the HOPE of becoming butterflies, God's butterflies! He will transform us. We live untransformed here and now and we enter the cocoon of death's sleep and by GOD'S GRACE we will be awakened by HIM when He returns and transformed into new beings we will fly to meet Him in the air and EVER BE WITH HIM! 

 

Right now our lives might be great big messes in the worldly sense, but by faith in our God they can still be revelations for others of GOD'S LOVE, our lives can glorify GOD.

Reviled, persecuted, falsely accused

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying-

 

Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

 

Revile-   'Criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.'

 

Persecute-   'Subject (someone) to hostility and ill-treatment.  Harass or annoy (someone) persistently.'

 

Say all manner of EVIL against you.

 

 Evil -

'1. Morally bad or wrong; wicked: an evil tyrant.

2. Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful: the evil effects of a poor diet.

3. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous: evil omens.

4. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous: an evil reputation.

5. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious: an evil temper.

n.

1. The quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.

2. That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction: a leader's power to do both good and evil.

3. An evil force, power, or personification.

4. Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction: the social evils of poverty and injustice.

adv. Archaic

In an evil manner.'

 

*******

 

When you are criticized in an abusive, angrily, insulting manner, subject to hostility, ill treated, harassed, annoyed persistently, called evil in all ways- you are BLESSED.

 

BLESSED!

 

Again, it's so hard to imagine being blessed in those things! When you feel at your worse, at your lowest, degraded, bullied, beaten, emotionally, mentally, and often physically tortured you are being BLESSED in your agony.

 

People would easily say you are CRAZY if you really believe that. Crazy to believe that being abused in any way is a blessing.

 

The thing is… SATAN rules the world and has many, many subjects in us humans that outnumber God's subjects, and Satan will use every single one of his subjects to use any means possible to bring a person to despair- to hopelessness. How incredibly and unfortunately, heartbreakingly successful he's been at producing seemingly hopeless situations. He loves instigating hopelessness and he uses anyone he can to do this. The LAST thing Satan wants is for us to even have a spark of inclination that we are BLESSED in our tortured persecution!

 

Blessed in suffering!? No! Impossible! To believe that means we somehow accept the persecution, condone it in some tiny way even just by believing we are blessed in it.

 

Blessed in our agony.

Blessed in our abuse.

 

Horrific thinking that so many support groups, so many rights groups, so many people would get up in arms about because they just can't begin to imagine any sort of torture being a blessing, the mere idea is completely repulsive.

 

And torture in all it's many, many forms is repulsive, it's hideous, it's despicable, it's atrocious I could go on and on talking about it in all its degrading evilness- the fact that people can be blessed in torture does NOT negates its evil in any way.

 

Being blessed in torture is comprehending that THIS IS NOT THE END OF ALL THINGS, this is NOT WHAT DEFINES US and our LIVES, this horrific torture does NOT take away our HOPE, in fact it can in fact make our hope more real, especially when it is all we all, HOPE in CHRIST and all HIS MANY PROMISES that will be realized fully when HE RETURNS.

 

Stripping us of all hope is the most powerful tool there is because it not only destroys us now, but for eternity. Take away our HOPE of SALVATION IN CHRIST and we are left with NOTHING.

 

 

Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

 

There are right now, today in our world hundreds if not thousands of people being tortured for the sake of their belief in our SAVIOR.

 

There are right now, today in our world millions being tortured in some way- great or small, physically or emotionally, mentally and manipulatively all in order to keep them from gaining an awareness of their need of Christ. Satan doesn't want a single person loving Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, not one single person.

 

So what about all those who do not feel any abuse in any way at all? Could it be that Satan has them in another way?

 

We are blessed in our persecution, the prophets were persecuted, God's people are persecuted. 

 

Is it true you can be persecuted even if you are not God's? Yes. But every single human being has the chance of being God's, EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE WORLD!

 

The HOPE found in Christ this causes us to REJOICE in our suffering, the HOPE found in Christ this causes us to be EXCEEDING GLAD. The HOPE found in CHRIST is our REWARD in HEAVEN!

 

By HIS GRACE and MERCY, all through HIS LOVE may we have HOPE no matter what, no matter what!

 

This life is TEMPORARY to ETERNITY. Our suffering temporary to eternity.

 

Please LORD bless us, keep us in YOU always!