January 19, 2002

BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED
FOR DOING WHAT IS RIGHT

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10, KJV).

"While the Lord has not promised His people exemption from trials, He has promised that which is far better. He has said, 'My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness' (2 Corinthians 12:9). If you are called to go through the fiery furnace for His sake, Jesus will be by your side even as He was with the faithful three in Babylon.. Those who love their Redeemer will rejoice at every opportunity of sharing with Him humiliation and reproach. The love they bear their Lord makes suffering for His sake sweet.

"In all ages Satan has persecuted the people of God. He has tortured them and put them to death, but in dying they became conquerors. They revealed in their steadfast faith a mightier One than Satan. Satan could torture and kill the body, but he could not touch the life that was hid with Christ in God. He could incarcerate in prison walls, but he could not bind the spirit. They could look beyond the gloom to the glory, saying, 'Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory' (2 Corinthians 4:17).

"Through trials and persecution, the glory (character) of God is revealed in His chosen ones. The church of God, hated and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. They walk in narrow paths on earth; they are purified in the furnace of affliction. They follow Christ through sore conflicts; they endure self-denial and experience bitter disappointments; but their painful experience teaches them the guilt and woe of sin, and they look upon it with abhorrence. Being partakers of Christ's sufferings, they are destined to be partakers of His glory"--Thoughts From The Mount Of Blessing, pp., 29-31.