Friday, February 22,
2013
Blessing In Serving
God Exclusively
Blessed are you when
men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as
evil, because of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22
The early believers
faced persecution and threats of death with joy in their hearts. They served
God with great delight and did not consider the implications in taking an
exclusive stand for the Lord. Bible says that Jesus told the early Christians
that they are blessed when men hate them, exclude them, insult them and reject
them for His sake.
Beloved, to be
hated, excluded, insulted and rejected is never pleasurable. But understand
that the world and its systems will always be against you because they first
rejected Christ. Your divine nature contradicts the systems of this world so
you cannot afford to conform to the patterns of the world. The world will look
at you with scorn and despise you because you have decided to serve the Lord
exclusively. But never allow any of these to destabilize your faith because you
know that in all these you are more than a conqueror.
The pain, affliction
and persecution from the world are not worth comparing to the blessings we
receive for living to for Jesus Christ. Romans 8:35 asks,“who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
Decide today that no matter what you will encounter, you will live exclusively
for the Lord. Refuse to compromise your faith because you are blessed for the
sake of Christ.
Prayer
I thank You my Lord
for this great day and for the opportunity to be a partaker of Your word. I
pray to receive grace to rejoice even in the midst of adversity and walking in
the consciousness that I am blessed if I am afflicted for your sake. Be glorified
in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reference: Matthew
5:11; Romans 8:35-37; 1 Peter 4:14
