Good Morning Everyone,

So let me ask… how’s your Christmas prep going at this time? How about your Christmas budget? In my family, we’ve had to tighten our belt during this economic season of discontent… and presents from our family are more creative this year. When we visit family, we’re going to use the “drawing names” approach for gift-giving. Does anybody else on this email list do this? In our family, we’ve agreed to a dollar amount AND three gift options for that dollar amount. Though we want to ultimately save money, we don’t want to get gypped either, ha!

And of course we all really give gifts to express our joy that the Lord is come… Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing! Right??!! Amen!

Oooh, indulge me to copy additional lyrics from Joy to the World too…

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found…

The blessings do flow indeed! And the Apostle Matthew helps me transition on the word blessings by recording our last beatitude from the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount for this week’s thoughts…

Matthew 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Wow! Right off the bat you may think “Is it a blessing to be persecuted?” It is, but only for the right reasons, namely things concerning righteousness. Let’s dig deeper on this beatitude to see how this plays out…

First consider the word “persecuted”. This is a negative word. Merriam-Webster says:

1 : to harass or punish in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict; specifically : to cause to suffer because of belief 

Such harassments and punishments can take on many and diverse forms. Persecution can be mental, verbal, and/ or physical. I say mental because wicked and sinful thoughts wound a conscience. Verbal persecution is harmful words towards someone, and physical persecution is actual bodily injury. We are not too hard pressed to recall some awful examples of persecution in the past and also now in the present.

But now look to the reason for persecution… “for righteousness’ sake”. Remember, righteousness is being right with God by being one of His own children. A true believer has Christ’s righteousness imputed (given to/ provided for) to them. Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty of their sins (past, present, future). Subsequently, they are now holy and are considered as children in God’s sight.

So, “for righteousness’ sake” implies all the good things of God. Being persecuted for racial reasons is not the same…  or any other human demographic. Persecution for immoral behaviors is not the same thing either. To be persecuted for being righteous, that is the person who will be blessed.

Let me show you some examples of believers being persecuted, yet being blessed at the same time! This is the beatitude in action…

Acts 7:55-58a
But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they (the Council of the high priest) cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears and, ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him (to death).

Here you see Stephen being blessed, while being reviled and subsequently murdered! God lets him see where he is about to go. The wonderfulness of heaven captivated him… and even while the pain and skull-shattering blows were sapping his life, he lovingly prays for them that God would forgive them!

Acts 12:17a
But motioning to them (the disciples) with his hand to keep silent, he (Peter) declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison.

Peter was in jail… locked up for proclaiming the good news of the gospel. How blessed was he to be jail-broken and set free by God’s messengers!

Acts 16:23-25
And when they (raging mob) had laid many stripes (of bloody lashes) on them (Paul and Silas), they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge (of troubling the city and teaching unlawful customs), he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the (other) prisoners were listening to them.

Praying and singing to God while laying stretched out and bloodied in stocks in jail!  Wow! God blessed them with such supernatural joy, they burst forth in song! Awesome! Can you see how adverse circumstances have no influence on these men’s spirit? This promise of blessedness extends not just to such heroes of the faith, but to all of The Shepherd’s sheep.

Queen Mary (Bloody Mary) was a Catholic monarch who burned many Reformers at the stake in the mid 1500s. Two believers, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned together for their faith in Christ. While buried in bales of wood, knowing painful death was imminent, hear Hugh Latimer’s blessing of supernatural joy in his final comforting words to his “burn-buddy” …

Hugh Latimer, October 16^th, 1555
“Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”

Later on in the Apostles lives, with many years and experiences of maturity, they remained unwavering in their convictions. Look what dear Peter wrote many years after his supernatural release from jail…

1^st Peter 4:14
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 (the persecutors) part He (God) is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

And look what Paul wrote with years of horrible treatment from Christ-haters…

Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (on earth) are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (in heaven).

In closing, the Lord is a promise keeper… and if you are faithful to Him and share your faith with others, but receive ill treatment and even are persecuted, such pain and distress will sting at first. But… inexplicable joy will flood your souls that your loving reactions to a watchful audience will glorify God! As Christ suffered and was glorified, so shall His own suffer for His name’s sake and ultimately be glorified in His kingdom.

**Comments/ questions/ testimonies/ objections most encouraged!

Dear Lord, thank you for this time to consider Your word and Your ways. May our thoughts, words, and deeds bring You glory… and glory to You alone. –Amen

Peace,
Jim