MEMORISE : And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.
Luke 21 : 17.
Luke 21 : 17.
READ : LUKE 6 : 22 - 23.
22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out
your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
23 Rejoice ye in
that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven:
for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : EZEKIEL 42 : 1 - 44 : 14; PSALM 76.
The Psalmist in Psalm 69 : 8 wrote:
“I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.”
“I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.”
Why this sorry situation? He gives the reason in Psalm 69 : 9 :
“For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.”
This is equally the lamentation of those who would live a righteous
life in this world. The world is becoming more ungodly than ever before.
Wickedness is becoming the accepted norm of our society. Worldliness is
the order of the day in present day Christianity. Ruminating on this
reality, one cannot but ask the following questions: If this continues,
is there any hope for godly living? For how long would the wicked
continue to hold sway in our society? The answers to these questions
are: this ugly situation will not continue perpetually, there is hope
for those who are on the Lord’s side, and a doomsday of judgement awaits
the ungodly.
When you decide to live a godly life, there is
bound to be persecution from the ungodly. The most painful aspect of
this is that, the ungodly who once were outside the Church are not just
in Church today, but are also taking positions and are “persecuting”
those who are trying to go the extra mile for the Master. The Lord in
our Bible reading foretold the persecutions, shunning and reproach that
will befall those who will live godly lives in this world. He did this
in order to comfort us. The Psalmist also was perplexed by this
situation until he received insight from God.
“Behold, these are
the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. When I
thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the
sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set
them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.”
Psalm 73 : 12 & 16 - 18
Our Lord Jesus Christ explained to us the reason why the world will hate us in John 15 : 19 :
“If ye were of the world, the world would love is own: but because ye
are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you.”
Beloved, in spite of all these, keep your
eyes on the Lord. Every persecution ends at His coming. To someone using
this devotional, the Lord is encouraging you to endure the present
persecution you are facing. The next phase of your life is all-round
promotion. Praise the Lord.
PRAYER POINT :
Father, give me the grace to identify with you in this evil generation in Jesus’ Name.
AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE