John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”

The storms of difficulty in our lives can paralyze us and take away our joy.  The past two weeks have been one of persecution and growing in the strength of Jesus to overcome persecution.  What do you do when the storms of life come?  Who do you turn to?

In “A Christian Selfie”, my last chapter deals with rejoicing in the Lord.  I chose to relate a story where David and I had been persecuted to show that no matter the problem, God can give us a rejoicing heart!  You may say, “how?”  There is an amazing truth that God gives us in the Bible.  If we can take hold of it, even during the most trying of situations, we have an anchor that we can cling to in all of life’s storms.  It is this:  Jesus Christ never changes!

In our ever-changing world, we struggle to comprehend that there is anything that doesn’t change.  The average person changes jobs at least five times during their lifetime.  There are statistics that say even more.  We change our relationships, our finances, and we are continually learning how to keep up in our ever-changing world.  However, as alluded to in the above scripture, we will be persecuted if we take a stand for Jesus.  That will not change.  You may have been persecuted for going through a divorce.  You may have been persecuted for your beliefs on a worldly issue.  You may have been persecuted for telling others the truth, yet, they thought it was not the truth.  You may have been persecuted for not hanging with the “old druggie crowd” when you are trying to stay away from that old life.  Whatever, you are being persecuted for, make sure you are allowing Jesus to carry you through this time of persecution.

In Romans 12:14, it states, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (NKJV) The very next verse tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice!  To do this we must first remember that Jesus is sovereign!  He has complete control of our storms if we allow Him to control our storms.  He was in control with the disciples when they were in the storm on the Sea of Galilee.  They called on Him and He calmed the storm.  He will do that for you too!  “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NKJV)

Remember that Jesus is Protective!  The same night of that storm, Peter was allowed to sink just enough to recognize his own helplessness so that he would turn to the Lord for rescue.  We are protected when we recognize that we are absolutely helpless without Jesus.  Now that is something to rejoice about!  In our helplessness, we are made strong!  You can withstand the temptation of drugs and alcohol!  You can withstand when those you counted your friends persecute you! Bless those who persecute you!

You might ask, “How can I do this when I hate what they have done to me?”  First, you must ask forgiveness of your hate.  Realize you can hate the sin, yet like Christ, love the sinner.  Second, you must ask Jesus to protect from temptation. We are tempted to dislike anyone who doesn’t agree with us.  There are evangelical professing Christians who persecute the lifestyle of anyone that they look at as contrary to what the Bible may teach.  Jesus tells us to love everyone!  We are not to pass judgment!  We are to pray and give unconditional love for all mankind.  That is why we can rejoice when we are persecuted!

Do you have a relationship with Jesus?  If not, I pray you ask Him into your heart today!  Read 1 John 4:7-10 and let God’s love shine in your life.  Pray these verses become real in your life today!  Verse 11 says it all, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  Count it a joy to be persecuted.  Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice!!

James 3:16  “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

It is evident in our culture that we have an all time high in selfishness.  In my book, “A Christian Selfie,” I point out that people may cut us off just to get a parking space or use a finger jesture when we are going too slow or stop at a yellow light.  We find chaos in our world because people want what they want on their terms!  I state  in my book that we can overcome selfishness by walking with the Lord.  We can stop and take a “selfie” and resolve to purge ourselves, with God’s help, of selfishness.

How can we stop our selfishness?  After further study, I have concluded that there are three things we can do to gain a spirit of humility.  We can begin by giving back to God what belongs to Him.  We must honor God with our tithe.  He requires one tenth.  He has promised us that our nine-tenths will go further than when we try to live on ten-tenths.  This is so true!  My husband and I were teachers on a modest income, but we tithed all our lives.  We marvel that in our retirement, how God gave us such blessings to live on.  We have excess to give away and share with those less fortunate.  That is such a blessing!  So, I won’t share how we give because God does want us to keep our gifts secret. (Matthew 6:1-4)

Second, we are to acknowledge that whatever we have accomplished, God has done it for us!  (Isaiah 26:12)  God has blessed me beyond measure!  God gave me a voice to share His love.  God gave me a message to share with the world in the book I penned for His glory.  God has given me and my family many miracles of healing and the grace of salvation.  To God be the glory!  I am so inadequate and fail Him when I know I should speak up and invite someone to His church on Sunday.  Don’t we all?  I have a friend who is so good at inviting total strangers to church.  And, you know what, they come!!  She has such a gift.  I only wish I could be so bold.  I will make myself available and God will give me the words just like he did Moses.  Remember, God gave the words to Joshua and Caleb to say for Moses.  Maybe that is why I have been given such a good friend! To God be the glory!

Third, we are to make humility a goal for our daily living.  We are to live as Paul taught us in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”  We are to become servants as we depend totally on God.  We are to follow the old acronym of JOY: Jesus first, Others second and, You third.  When we practice loving others unconditionally and acting with kindness, we are practicing humility.  If we get upset we didn’t get our way and think only of how we feel, what is convenient for us, or how we can profit from a situation, we are acting out of selfishness.  We are not demonstrating the love of Jesus.  We are in sin.  Therefore, when  humility is our goal, then love, forgiveness, and kindness will grow out of it.  We can live a joy filled life!  To God be the glory!!