Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
What of Today’s Verse …
For most who can read this Internet message, the sentiments of this verse seem foreign. But among those who closely study persecution, believers in Christ are enduring perhaps the greatest amount of persecution in the history of Christianity. For those of us who live in cozy places where belief is tolerated and Christians are just considered "unhip" or a bit out of touch, we need to be thankful that our lives make enough of a distinction from our culture to be noticed, even if it’s a bit unfavourably. But at the same time, we need to pray for other believers throughout the world who are undergoing the wrath of hell for the faith.
Let us Pray:
Great Deliverer, we have many who call on your name with faith in Jesus who face persecution and hardship every day. I pray that they will not lose heart and give up their confidence. I pray that you will bring deliverance from this time of persecution. I pray that their sufferings will be the source of powerful witness so others will come to see the great value of Jesus and our allegiance to him. This I pray in his precious and holy name. Amen.
Words of Wisdom
Frustration…
Are you constantly frustrated?
Good!
Tony Robbins tells us that all successful people know "success is buried on the other side of frustration". The only people who are not ever frustrated are those who never attempt anything.
If you’re taking action and working toward achievement of your goals, you will become frustrated on a routine basis. People don’t follow through on their word, machines break down, and projects take longer than you estimated, accidents happen. There are thousands of things that can go wrong.
But that doesn’t need to stop you. The best way to deal with frustration is to adjust your attitude. Accept the fact that you’ll have setbacks, and look for what you can learn from them. Beating yourself up, because of something over which you have no control, is certainly not productive. Instead, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?" "How can I make sure this doesn’t happen again?"
And you can take the concept one step further. If something is frustrating you, there’s a good chance that it’s a problem for other people as well. Perhaps if you developed a good solution, it would be valuable to a lot of people. Who knows, you might be able to even make some money from it. Look at your frustrations as opportunities for improvement.
