BLESSED ARE THE EDUCABLE

         If we were to examine the original Greek of the beatitudes, we would see that when Jesus said “blessed are the meek,” he could have meant, “blessed are the educable for they shall inherit the earth.” Educable people--those who are teachable--don’t suffer from a “know it all” attitude. They allow room in their life for growth. They listen. They’re not defensive. They’re not on an ego trip. Rather, they are on a success trip. If their way isn’t the best, they’ll switch. Blessed are the teachable, for they shall succeed.

PARDON THOSE WHO HAVE HURT YOU

“Not easy,” and you are right. One of the most difficult to do is to forgive someone who has hurt you. Again, we take a lesson from Jesus in dealing positively with your persecution.

      When he was on the cross, stripped of his dignity, Jesus cried out,” father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

Sometimes it is humanly impossible to forgive. When that happens, we need to call upon divine intervention. We ask god to forgive those who hurt us and to work on our hearts so that we can eventually see our hurt from their perspective.

Frequently, more often than not, people who hurt others through their words or their actions are unaware that they’ve injured anybody. They “know not what they do,”

THE PRINCE OF PEACE

        “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children if god.”

 Who are the peace makers? They neither are not necessarily the people who doing something, creatingsometing, bulding something— bridges, mostly!

 Maybe peacemakers are people like you and me who, in our own ways are trying to bring Jesus Christ into human hearts

 Do you want peace in your family? Do you want peace in your community? Do you want peace with other races and other cultures? There will not be peace anywhere as long as there is a war going on in your heart and in your soul.

Tremendous song from chris brown AND Tpain

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Persist in trusting god

               When we are suffering, it is tempting to lash out at everyone around us—including god. And it is hard to jeep on trusting him when we are being rejected or ridiculed. But if we are to be victorious in the face of persecution, it is vital to maintain our trust in him.

 The book of job has been hailed by students of literature as one of the greatest epic poems ever written. But it is far more than a beautiful piece of literature. Job is a story of triumphal trust – for surely nobody has ever faced more persecution than job.

PRAY FOR UNDERSTANDING THE STRENGTH

  Persecuted? Facing enormous adversity? Then don’t lash out. Don’t reject the help god offers. Grasp his helping hand and fall to your knees in prayer. Thank god for the help that he is giving you and will continue to give you. Ask him to send companions who can help. Ask him for a supernatural strength to believe and to rejoice anyway!

PASS TRUIMPHANTLY THROUGH THE PHASES

Now, to keep a positive, be-happy attitude in painful times, remember: “this, too, shall I pass away.” Persecution is never eternal. To recover from persecution, be prepared to pass through three phases. The first phase is collision. This is the phase that occurs when the consciousness of the awful reality of the situation really hits you. Your peace suddenly clashes with conflict. This is the phase when you realize the horrible thing that is happening is not a dream. It’s really happening—to you!

              The second phase is withdrawl .when you talk about fear, guilt, hatred, or anger, all of these emotions are expressions of the tendency to retreat, recoil, and withdraw from accepting the horrible reality.

STICKS AND STONES CAN BREAK YOUR BONES __ BUT Words HURT, TOO!

Persecution is something all of us have faced or will face. For some—especially in certain countries—persecution takes the form of physical torture. Through the years it has been everything from the rack to bamboo under the fingernails to cigarette burns and electric shock. With terrorism on the march today, this subject becomes painfully relevant.

              And persecution wears many faces! It is true that we in the free countries are not constantly shadowed by the threat of physical persecution for our beliefs. But at one time or another we can all expect to face some kind of harassment, snubs, rejection, or discrimination. Emotional persecution that attacks a person’s self –esteem can be devastating! The calculated insult, the contrived put down are weapons wielded even by religious people against their own kind.