PERSECUTORS MIGHT BECOME SAINTS!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Verse for Today
Romans 12:14 - Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
All who want to live a godly life in this world will have persecution. This is because our godly lives are based on God's righteousness and grace which is diametrically opposite to that of this world. Thus when we follow God's pattern for our lives in this world, we are in essence challenging the standards of this world and turning this world upside down. This was how the Lord Jesus lived on this earth. He did good throughout His earthly life and continued to do good even when persecuted. He kept suffering mockery even in the pubs of Palestine and in the hands of the religious leaders who were trying to practice the Book which was written about Him. The people who ate the bread He broke and distributed shouted out against Him and were willing to trade Him for a riotous Barabbas. Even then He did good till the end. He prayed to the Father to forgive the people who brutally killed Him. He gave eternal life to a thief minutes before His death. When His beloved disciples John and James asked Him to bring down fire from Heaven to burn all His oppressors, He only rebuked them. He also warned His disciples that they will be persecuted because of Him. His message of forgiveness was practiced by Stephen when he also prayed for the Lord to forgive the religious mob which stoned him to death. But it is likely that we develop thoughts of revenge and curse because of the cruel things that people do against us. In the wake of gossip, slander, character assassination, oppression, suppression, misrepresentation, denial of justice and truth and ganging up against us, we might development thoughts about calling fire from Heaven to destroy those who oppose us. But such thoughts are not from the Spirit of Jesus. Instead, we are expected to pray that they be blessed by the Lord and not treated according to their acts of vandalism.
Have you been tempted to curse those who wronged you? Instead, ask God to forgive them and bless them. When you develop thoughts about curse or punishment for them, you have to recognize that such thoughts are from the enemy and not from the Lord. His desire for us is that we bless them and pray that God would bless them. If we try to convict them of their wrong doings, they will not become repentant. The only person who can give them repentance is the Spirit of God. If they have grieved and quenched the Spirit, it would be difficult to get convictions from the Spirit. So we will have to pray that they would get convicted by the Spirit through brokenness from the Lord so that they will feel sorry for their acts of unrighteousness against us. Let the Lord deal with them according to His mercy because if He deals with them on the basis of their wrong doings, it would grieve us also about the terrible predicament they would be in. Let them enjoy mercy and grace from the Lord to live a spiritual life and serve the Lord. If our oppressors are unsaved people, let us pray that they get saved so that their old life with its sinfulness will be forgiven and wiped away by God and that they will become saints. The Bible teaches us about the experience of Job and Paul who prayed for their oppressors and those who judged them wrongly. Let us use such examples to remind ourselves of our own failures and weaknesses and get ourselves cleansed so that our daily walk with the Lord will be without hindrance.
2 Timothy 4:16 - At my first defense, no-one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.
Thought for Today
It is for us to pray that God deals with our oppressors graciously rather than to call judgment on them.
Verse for Today
Romans 12:14 - Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
All who want to live a godly life in this world will have persecution. This is because our godly lives are based on God's righteousness and grace which is diametrically opposite to that of this world. Thus when we follow God's pattern for our lives in this world, we are in essence challenging the standards of this world and turning this world upside down. This was how the Lord Jesus lived on this earth. He did good throughout His earthly life and continued to do good even when persecuted. He kept suffering mockery even in the pubs of Palestine and in the hands of the religious leaders who were trying to practice the Book which was written about Him. The people who ate the bread He broke and distributed shouted out against Him and were willing to trade Him for a riotous Barabbas. Even then He did good till the end. He prayed to the Father to forgive the people who brutally killed Him. He gave eternal life to a thief minutes before His death. When His beloved disciples John and James asked Him to bring down fire from Heaven to burn all His oppressors, He only rebuked them. He also warned His disciples that they will be persecuted because of Him. His message of forgiveness was practiced by Stephen when he also prayed for the Lord to forgive the religious mob which stoned him to death. But it is likely that we develop thoughts of revenge and curse because of the cruel things that people do against us. In the wake of gossip, slander, character assassination, oppression, suppression, misrepresentation, denial of justice and truth and ganging up against us, we might development thoughts about calling fire from Heaven to destroy those who oppose us. But such thoughts are not from the Spirit of Jesus. Instead, we are expected to pray that they be blessed by the Lord and not treated according to their acts of vandalism.
Have you been tempted to curse those who wronged you? Instead, ask God to forgive them and bless them. When you develop thoughts about curse or punishment for them, you have to recognize that such thoughts are from the enemy and not from the Lord. His desire for us is that we bless them and pray that God would bless them. If we try to convict them of their wrong doings, they will not become repentant. The only person who can give them repentance is the Spirit of God. If they have grieved and quenched the Spirit, it would be difficult to get convictions from the Spirit. So we will have to pray that they would get convicted by the Spirit through brokenness from the Lord so that they will feel sorry for their acts of unrighteousness against us. Let the Lord deal with them according to His mercy because if He deals with them on the basis of their wrong doings, it would grieve us also about the terrible predicament they would be in. Let them enjoy mercy and grace from the Lord to live a spiritual life and serve the Lord. If our oppressors are unsaved people, let us pray that they get saved so that their old life with its sinfulness will be forgiven and wiped away by God and that they will become saints. The Bible teaches us about the experience of Job and Paul who prayed for their oppressors and those who judged them wrongly. Let us use such examples to remind ourselves of our own failures and weaknesses and get ourselves cleansed so that our daily walk with the Lord will be without hindrance.
2 Timothy 4:16 - At my first defense, no-one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.
Thought for Today
It is for us to pray that God deals with our oppressors graciously rather than to call judgment on them.
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