10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12
King James Version (KJV)
Suffering comes with the territory of being a Christian. This life style will attract persecution even from family members. 2 Timothy 2:12 lest us know that "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us." Suffering sounds better & better. It's definitely better than denying Christ & being denied by Christ. Our suffering is temporary. Eternal life is forever. 1 Peter 3:14 provides further instruction. We should be happy to suffer for righteousness' sake & not be afraid of what others will do to us. We know that many of us will lose our life for Jesus. Therefore, we should not be worried or troubled by this, but accept it-embrace it. Matthew 10:22, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." It's about endurance people. We have to ride the wave of terror/hate out because it's not worth turning our backs on Christ because of it. Hell is not preferred. We will be hated & persecuted. We have to tough it out. 1 Peter 4:14 further goes on & reiterates being happy when we are insulted for the name of Christ. The spirit of glory & God rests on us. They speak evil of Him, but we glorify Him. 2 Chronicles 36:16, "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy." Isaiah was sawed in half. Persecution happened then, & it will happen now. We're not different as far as persecution goes. God's people are constant targets. Matthew 23:37 > They killed the prophets which was sent unto them. Jesus wanted to gather them in, but they would have none of it. Acts 7:52 > Way back, the people killed the prophets. They had participated in killing Jesus. Hebrews 11:32-38 provides us with examples of these that went through. James 5:10 > Those prophets that spoke in the name of the Lord suffered affliction & they are an example of this & patience. There is a long list of those that suffered for righteousness' sake. Instead of saying why me, why not say why not me?.
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