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TRUST JESUS TODAY

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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Walk (07/20/06)
Jesus says: LOVE your enemies, BLESS them that CURSE you, DO GOOD to them that HATE you, and PRAY for them which despitefully USE you, and PERSECUTE you. Matthew 5:43-48
How can I love, bless, do good, and pray for those that hate, curse, use, and persecute me? How can I love, bless, do good, and pray for those that are trying to tear me down and stop me from becoming who God created me to be?
In order for us even to call ourselves children of God these are things we MUST do. Because it is easy to love those that love you. The real test is when we can love those that don’t love us. When we can bless those that curse us. When we can pray for those that use and persecute us. But how can we do this? After all this isn’t something that comes natural to us. It is definitely not the example we see in the world every day.
Here is what the Lord showed me, which has really helped me to begin the process of loving, blessing, doing good, and praying for those that hate, curse, use and persecute me. I hope it will help you.
DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY and I’M ON THE RIGHT PATH.
1. DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY: What! How can I not take it personally when I am being attacked? When someone tells me they can’t stand me (hate), or verbally abuses me in front of others (curse), or lies on me to better themselves (use), or accuses me of doing things I haven’t done (persecute). I TEND TO TAKE THOSE THINGS PERSONALLY! Don’t you! How can I not take it personally? By realizing who they are attacking.
God’s Word says they are not attacking me, they are attacking what the Lord is doing in my life. They are trying to discredit the work of the Lord. II Corinthians 6:1-4
When we give our lives to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we become an enemy of the devil, and he is going to do use anybody he can to attack CHRIST IN US. The devil is not worried about us and what we think. He is worried about you learning to operate out of the mind of Christ and becoming powerful for the Kingdom of God. Think about it. Did you even worry the devil before you accepted Christ? Of course not! He didn’t have to worry about you bringing people into the Kingdom of God with the way you thought. But once we profess Christ in our lives to others the gloves come off and he is going to do everything he can to discredit the difference Christ is making in our lives.
2. YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH: When we begin to accept the ways of Christ in areas of our lives, we are now an enemy of the world and the Bible says the world will hate us. John 15:19
If everyone you live, work, talk, and associate with gives you no grief whatsoever in your life, then you are not living for the Lord, you are still following the world. Romans 12:1-2
If the Son of God was cursed, beaten, and whipped, don’t you think there will be uncomfortable times in your life. Even the very people who claimed they loved Christ and would never leave him, forsook him, ran, and denied they even knew him. Christ faced ALL the persecution, torture, and beatings for God and us. Mark 12:30-31 If we are truly learning to live in the way, the truth, and the life that Christ set for us, then we will be persecuted for it. John 15:20-21
So if someone comes at you with anger, hate, bitterness, rage, envy, pride, jealousy, cursing, or any other evil, remember this: DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY and YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH.
Start practicing to love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that use you, and pray for those who persecute you and watch the way, the truth, and the life of Christ begin to change them. People are miserable in this world and they really want to see the Lord. But they have to see it IN you, not just hear it FROM you. Can you walk the walk? Whether they accept it or not. It’s your responsibility to OBEY the Lord and love, bless, do good, and pray for them.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Julia May
07/29/06
This is good and something I needed to hear tonight. Thanks for the reminder. In His Love,

Julia
Joanne Sher 
07/29/06
Good exposition of this verse! Great explanation - to liven it up a bit, if you're interested, you might want to weave a real-life example throughout it. Thanks for sharing your heart!