Summer 2011 Bible Study: Week 2 Day 2

As I sat in church yesterday I realized that I didn’t included Matthew 5:11-12 in yesterday’s material. As the “end” of the Beatitudes section, it would have made sense, but I have come to realize that the Lord had a different plan for those two scriptures, and I cannot wait to dive in. But, before we do that, how is everyone? Sometimes I wish we were all around a large table, coffee and snacks in hand enjoying the Word and each other in person. I have loved each and every one of your comments and I know there are those of you out there that have not commented, which is just fine, but I have loved praying over you as well. I love knowing that the Word of Jesus is being opened and hearts are learning about who Jesus really is. I am not sure if we can cover everything there is to cover about Him in 91 days, but one thing I do know, is that the material we do get to cover is exactly the material He has planned for us and I cannot wait!

Well, my husband and I found out last week that we will be having a baby girl in the fall. Which is fabulously exciting and terrifying at the same time. I have loved every minute of being the mama to a boy. I love the dirt. I love the trains, I love the bugs (kind of), I love the skinned up knees and the run until he literally falls asleep life style. But, I will say, that I had the opportunity to go shopping with some of my most beloved people yesterday and I could not get my eyes away from the girlie clothes. I have found myself day dreaming of pink dresses, yellow dresses, bows, shoes, cute socks and lots of ribbon! I am excited to see what the Lord has planned for me as a mama of a sweet baby girl! And her big brother LOVES her already, it is the most precious thing I have ever seen. He calls her “baby Rosie”, who happens to be the little sister off a TV show he adores, but it is still precious!

Lord, I praise You for the Word You have planned for me to learn from today. I love that You know everything that is in front of me. I ask You to bless me with uninterrupted time with You today. May the stress of life leave for a moment or two so we can have quality time together, just YOU and Me. I pray that my eyes are open to see the Words You have planned for my heart to receive. I pray for me ears to be focused in on You, so I might hear Your voice today. Speak to me, I am ready to hear You. I am listening. Amen.

Turn with me to Matthew 5:11-12

Spend a few moments reading over it, carefully.

Now, turn with me to Matthew 5:13-16 and take a few moments and read those Words carefully.

I think these five verses go perfectly together.

I think Matthew 5:11-12 is a perfect lead in into our discussion on Matthew 5:13-16. Praise Jesus for His plan and my ability to cut off our lesson a titch early!

Matthew 5:11-12 serves as a warning to us, it states that persecution will happen. People will say mean things about us, people will say false things about us, we will be talked about and not in a nice way, all because of our choice to love Sweet Jesus. Trust me when I say I have experienced this painful part of loving Sweet Jesus so tenderly in the past two years I still cry over it. I cannot believe what people will say or do. I have never experienced heart ache so deep as what I have walked through in the past two years, and yet, I have also never experienced such provision, blessing and love from my Sweet Jesus either.

I believe persecution will happen, but I also firmly believe that it is NOT a punishment. You see, Jesus said to rejoice when we are persecuted. And from personal experience, rejoicing wasn’t my first response… nor was it the second or the third… but none the less, I have come to learn that persecution can be good. I believe it has been good for me in four ways and I believe it can be good for your in the following four ways as well.

#1. Persecution takes our eyes off early rewards. We are often stripped of something like money, integrity, popularity, relationships, and so forth. It is in these moments that our eyes are open to the “bigger picture”…

#2. Persecution strips away false belief. If you ever want to know exactly what Jesus will do for Him beloved siblings, which are YOU and ME, then, by all means, welcome persecution. I have NEVER seen Him open the flood gates of protection and blessing like I have experienced in the last two years. Man, the wounds are deep and they are still tender, but He has come to the rescue and I know, that I know, that I know, because of experience that my Sweet Jesus is the ONE AND ONLY. And that nothing is greater than He, no high powered attorney, no Executive title, no amount of money and no one will ever be or can ever be GREATER THAN MY SWEET JESUS. And persecution, allows us to experience that first hand.

#3. Persecution will strengthen our faith. Although it felt like these past two years and these mean people would never go away and pick on someone else, it did not last forever, and I am still standing. My faith is strengthened. My love for Sweet Jesus is more personal than ever and in the end, I walked away with more than I lost. Mostly because I walked away with more of Him and less of them. It was in the hard times, the never ending months, that I had some of the most precious time I have ever had in the Word and in prayer. I spent hours with my mentor crying and I spent even longer with my Savior expressing my thoughts on the entire ordeal. But in the end, I walked away with more of Him and less of them.

#4. Persecution refines our attitudes towards others. Well, this is the part I hated the most about the last two years, mostly because I wanted to say what I wanted to say no matter how it sounded. And, because of the circumstances, I could say nothing. So, “they” got to say whatever they wanted, to who every they wanted, and I said nothing… literally. Which is really hard for me. I learned to tell Him rather than others. I learned to be respectful and forgive without having to have a relationship with the people that hurt me. I have even managed to run into them since and was able to genuinely say hello, and walk away with peace and pride about Who I stand for and the freedom I have in Him.

So this leads us into Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13 identifies us, Sweet Jesus lovers, as the salt of the earth. We are given permission to be spicy. Now, I have just started to really cook dinners at our house, when I worked out of the home, we did a lot of drive thru. But I have come to love homemade food, really homemade, not just home cooked. But, one of the things that I have learned is that the spices I got as a wedding gift 7 years ago, no longer have spice to them. So, they are useless. They have no value and they frankly take up space. We, as Sweet Jesus Lovers are spices in His spice rack, if we lose our spicy, if we lose Him, we are useless and frankly just take up space.

If we are no prepared for the persecution that is to come, I firmly believe we will end up just taking up space in His spice cabinet. If we do not run to Him first, if we do not maintain a love for the Lover of our Soul, we will go stale. We very well could be overcome and trampled by those who persecute us.

Not only are the spice in His spice cabinet, we are, according to Matthew 5:14-16, the light of the world. We are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. We are set apart to shine in the darkness with the lantern of love that glows from within. We can reflect Him, His light with the actions we have. Most of all, with the way we deal with persecution.

One of the greatest joys of the last two years has been to watch the Lover of my Soul, my Sweet Jesus get all the glory possible. He has given my more than I could have ever imagined and yet, some might look in on our life and say we lost a lot. But, what we have gained has been bigger. Sweet Jesus has been gloried by the simple action of me not saying what I really wanted to say, no matter how it came out in the moment.

Are you with me? Have you been here to? Tell me about it… share your persecution, give Him the glory by sharing what He has done in your life. Feel free to comment, however, please do not name names or businesses or people, in our sharing, out of respect for the Lord, let’s comment with HIM as the topic of discussion.

Lord, Your word is powerful. I love that it offers me warnings and ways to handle what is to come. I adore You for the words You have given me today. Remain with me as I go about my day and remind me of what You have taught me during our One on One time. Amen.