Page 21 - Living Light 87

Friday December 20 - The best to come...
“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven...”
Matthew 5:12
I wonder how Jesus’ first hearers felt, being told that mistreatment would be the norm for his faithful ones? We feel heartbroken when we hear of Christians being mistreated, and fearful at the thought of persecution ourselves; but Jesus gently lifts our gaze heavenwards, comforting us with a reward that promises great joy.
Jesus reminds us that God’s beloved sons and daughters will see God, inherit the earth, be comforted and be filled with righteousness and mercy. Jesus ‘bookends’ these blessings by overarching them with the promise of verses 3 and 10 that ours “is the Kingdom of Heaven.” In other words, even more blessedness will come: we glimpse now only dimly the greater glory there will be when our earthly life in Jesus ends, and our heavenly life with him begins!
For those ‘found guilty’ of following him, Jesus promises a blessedness that comes from faith that is proved genuine! It’s hard to imagine now, but we can ask Jesus to help us trust him for when times of persecution come. Meanwhile, ‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross... Consider him, who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart’ (Hebrews 12:2-3).
Dear Lord Jesus, you in all your glory are your Church’s great reward! I am safe in your arms now, and trust I will be with you in your glorious heaven, when you ordain it! Amen.
Saturday December 21 - On earth... for heaven!
“...for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:12
We instinctively shrink at the thought of persecution, but Jesus says that’s the norm for his followers. In today’s verse, he commends the prophets who suffered for speaking God’s truth – keeping their eyes on ‘the prize’ even though it lay far ahead of them!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who courageously spoke against Hitler’s anti-Christian Nazi regime, said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Bonhoeffer was hanged only days before the liberation of his prison, and his last words were, “This end is for me the beginning.”
We’re not all called to die physically for Jesus – but we are called to ‘die’ to our sinful desires every day and live as true citizens of his Kingdom! We can humbly speak of Jesus and live his way in our generation, knowing that God loves us deeply, and will help us trust Jesus as our Saviour and obey him as our Lord. All God’s loving blessedness is ours in Jesus; his forgiveness, mercy, peace, righteousness; his close presence... ours for all eternity. How richly blessed we are in Jesus!
Let’s prepare our hearts to celebrate, this Christmas, the coming of our beautiful Lord Jesus, and keep our eyes fixed on him... our glorious prize! Jesus is building his Kingdom, his Church, on earth for heaven!
Precious Jesus, please comfort Christians suffering persecution and help us all live for your glory, and your church’s growth. I worship you with joy and gratitude. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY