I got these in my email, and thought I'd share. They really blessed me today.<BR>_________________________________________<BR>From: angel@eprayer.com <BR>Your Daily Inspiration<P>"If I become discouraged with today and impatient for tomorrow, may I be able to see how much better today is than the one I left behind yesterday."<P>"May I always have enough love to touch the hearts of those around me in such a way as to let them see God's goodness in me."<P>"May I let go of yesterday and rejoice in the freedom this will bring and use yesterday only as the foundation on which I will build a new day, a new life."<BR>------------------------------------------<BR>From: "Terri Main" <terrim@evangeltab.org><P>"Blessed are they which are perseccuted for righteousness sake for their's is the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 5. 10<P> The word blessed means happy, joyful, fortunate. It is hard to imagine how being persecuted fits into any of those categories. Those of us who at one time or another have faced persecution for our faith will tell you that at the time of the persecution we really don't feel "blessed." I think this is a blessing that comes with perspective. From my vantage point as an adult, I can see the blessings which ensued from the abuse I received during my high school years in part because of my faith. It's harder to see that in the trials I face today.<P> There seems to be four values in persecution.<P> <B>1. Clarifying your faith.</B> Someone only partially committed to a cause will not stand up in the face of opposition. Only the person who is totally sold out will take the hits for what he or she believes in. The "nominal" Christian won't stand against the winds of persecution. The first taunt, the first bit of ridicule, the first friend who leaves, the first difficulty at work sends the uncommitted Christian running back to his former master. On the other hand, the Christian who really believes finds in persecution a faith defining experience. On the other side of the persecution, he or she can look back and say, "Yes, it was worth it. I see now that I really can live for Christ in a fallen world."<P> <B>2. Strengthening your faith.</B> As a young person in high school, I didn't have any Christian friends. The youth in our church were either much younger or older than I was, and I really didn't connect with any Christians from other churches at school. When I faced the taunts of my unsaved classmates, I did it alone. I believe this instilled in me a strength to stand alone when I had to. It made Christianity a commitment to God, and not a social activity with friends. When you successfully withstand the persecution with your faith in tact, you are that much stronger. Remember the words of God, given through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, "In the furnace of much affliction, I have chosen you.....for your iron I'll give you silver, for your brass I'll give you gold."<P> <B>3. Witnessing to others.</B> I think about Stephen and Paul. As Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was being stoned, Paul (then called Saul) held the coats of the ones doing the stoning. I have to believe that seeing Stephen die with a prayer on his lips for his persecutors made an impression on that young man. So, later, when God spoke directly to Saul, he had a visible example of the power of salvation. I am reminded that our English word "martyr" comes from the Greek word martus which is translated in Acts 1.8 as "witness." When we stand firm in our faith, regardless of the opposition around us, we testify that Jesus is Lord.<P> <B>4. Sharing the sufferings of our Lord.</B> One of the most blessed things that happens when we are persecuted by the world is that we share in the sufferings of our Lord. I was writing a poem once about the abuse a Christian often takes and the Lord gave me this line which stopped me dead in my tracks: "Shall I bear the cross, but never bear the pain." Yes, I'm willing to bear the cross as long as it isn't too heavy and it doesn't have splinters and I have enough padding on my shoulders and it has wheels on the back. A foam rubber cross would be ideal. Jesus carried a wooden cross. It was heavy. It had splinters. It had no wheels or padding. It rested on a back torn to ribbons by a Roman scourge. Yet, Hebrews 12 tells us that "For the joy that was set before him he endured." We certainly want to reign with him. Yes, that will be a great reward. But let's not over look the rewards we also have when we endure with him.<P>Lord, when I face persecution in my life remind me of your suffering that I, like you, may look past the cross to the crown. Amen
