WE CAN TRUST HIM

WE CAN TRUST HIM

READ:
Matthew 10:32-38

Bless those who curse you, do
good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who...
persecute you.  -Matthew 5:44

I know very little about persecution.  My physical well-being has never been threatened because of what I believe or what I say.  What little I "know" about the subject comes from what I hear and read.  But that is not true for many of our brothers and sisters around the world.  Some of them live in danger every day simply because they love Jesus and want others to know Him too.

There is another form of persecution that may not be life-threatening, but it is heartbreaking.  It's the persecution that comes from non-Christian family members.  When loved ones ridicule our faith and mock us for what we believe and how we express our live for God, we feel rejected and unloved. 

Paul warned believers that following Jesus would result in persecution: "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12), and we know that sometimes rejection will come from those we love (Matthew 10:34-36).  But when people we love reject the God we love, the rejection feels personal.

Jesus told us to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44), and that includes more than strangers who hate us.  God is able to give us grace to persevere through persecution even when it comes from those we love. - Julie Ackerman Link

Lord, give us grace to pray for those
Who seek our harm and not our good;
And teach us how to show them love
In ways that will be understood. - Sper
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People may mock our message
but they can't stop our prayers.

INSIGHT
The context for today's reading is the calling and commissioning of the twelve disciples for their first ministry trip without Jesus accompanying them.  Since the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus had been engaging people at the point of their most desperate needs.  Here He encouraged the disciples and launched them to accomplish His purposes in the hearts and lives of the people of the Galilee region.  The mistreatment the disciples would receive at the hands of some of whom they sought to help would be similar to the rejection Christ Himself would experience.

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace