“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Matthew 5:11-12 (New Living Translation)
Sticks and stones may break my bones.. but words will never hurt me.
If you don't have anything nice to say... don't say anything at all.
It's easier to attract bees with honey than with vinegar.
And my personal favorite...
I'm Rubber, you're glue - Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to YOU.
How many times have you heard or even better said any of these catchy phrases?
**Blog challenge... I challenge you to say one of these phrases at least once today..**
Ladies and Gentlemen.. we are talking about persecution yet again today... awesome!
This scripture talks about so much more than persecution... it talks about words.
Words are powerful.
We learned about the weight of our words the first time we were grounded or sent to time out when we lied to our parents. The first time we used a forbidden word or obscene word we were reminded of its inappropriateness or offensiveness by having a bar of soap in our mouth.. or experiencing the embarrassment once we found out what that word really meant.
Words have weight.
I love you are words that are thrown around without a second thought these days.
I hate you are words that are thrown around without a second thought these days.
Apparently this is not a new concept in this scripture either...
Jesus is on a hillside talking to his committed walking companions and he is telling them the honest truth.. people will literally hate them and lie about them because of being committed to Him.
Nobody can escape the hate... not even Christ.
But the weight of words can only be determined by the power you give them. "I don't love you anymore" can only hurt as much as the power that you assign to those words.
Christ calls us to be happy and be very glad when somebody lies about you or says evil things about you. What? You want me to be happy when somebody is spreading rumors about me? What? You mean I can't post something mean on facebook about somebody who said something mean about me? What?
Christ calls us to find joy in Him.
Joy is contagious.
When we find true happiness in our Creator... the rest is just words.
Allow the words Christ gives us to have more power over our lives than the lies spread about us.
I am going to say it again...
Allow the words Christ gives us to have more power over our lives than the lies spread about us.
Christ's words > others lies.
In the word battle Christ's words are stronger than anything we can say or hear.
Thats why it is so important to speak the truth... to speak in love... because Christ is love.
My prayer today is that we remember that life is not easy. We are going to be persecuted... but allow Christ's words flow from your mouths and finger-tips. Allow Christ's words to take root into your heart and replace the words of others that have lived there for so long.
Christ's words > others lies.
Amen.
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