Matt 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus made clear His followers would suffer persecution. Paul said something very similar in 2 Tim 3:12 “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” He did not say some. He said all. If we are striving to live a godly life we will face some push back and persecution for our walk with God. A good check up to do on our walk with the Lord is to see if we are facing any persecution for doing right. The Bible says we will and we should expect it.

Christ emphasized the one who suffers is blessed only if they are persecuted because of righteousness. We aren’t being persecuted for righteousness if we are not doing what is right in God’s eyes. Some are suffering, but, it is from doing wrong. That is not persecution. That is reaping what we have sown.

Christ says we can be blessed and happy when we face persecution. At first thought we do not expect that to be the case. I do not enjoy suffering the slings and arrows that on occasion come my way for taking stands for Christ and His Word. Still, it is true that we are blessed because heaven awaits all of us who are not ashamed to stand up for Christ when called to do so.

We are abundantly blessed concerning this issue in our country compared to many places around the world. Most of our persecution consists of being made fun of by people, being mocked by the media elites and being belittled by those in higher education. By contrast, there are many places in the world where people suffer greatly because of their relationship to Christ. Many face the loss of homes, livelihoods and even their lives.

I fear if we do not have revival in our country that Christians here may face much more persecution in the days ahead. Many describe the times we are living in as Americans as Post-Christian. Tony Evans describes these days in America as Anti-Christian. I agree with him. Still, there is a faithful remnant in this great land and we are blessed to be a part of this group. Let’s stand up for Christ no matter the consequences today and all the days of our lives. We will be much blessed and rewarded by our great God for staying true to Him.

Tim