Bless Those Who Persecute You
First15 Devotional
First15
4.9 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 15 June 2023
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the middle of our week on the marks of a true Christian, today we’re looking at Paul’s command to bless those who persecute you. Truly blessing those around us that seem to be against us is an incredible act of love, producing fruit not only in the lives of others, but in our lives as well. May God give us insight into his heart for this command today, as well as the courage to live it out.
Our Scripture for today comes from Romans 12:14, and today's worship is Mercy by Amanda Cook.
First15 is a daily devotional written and recorded by Craig Denison. If you would like to learn more about the First15 app, books, blogs, videos and our other resources, please visit first15.org. You can always reach out to us on our contact page on the website.
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Live a life marked by faith.
The Bible has so much to say about our faith. And if I’m being honest, a lot of it is really confusing.
In Matthew 21 Jesus tells us that we’ll receive anything we ask for, if we have faith. Hebrews 11 tells us that it’s impossible to please God if we don’t have faith. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us that it is by faith that we “see” the path forward, and not with our physical sight.
But when I look into my own heart, I come face to face with ways I doubt on a daily basis.
I often trust in my own strength, lean on my own understanding, and seek to provide for myself with my own power rather than relying on the strength, empowering, and provision of God.
But, I also know that simply trying to have more faith doesn’t work either.
This is why I wrote a four-week devotional, Faith, to unpack what the Bible says about living a life marked by an authentic faith.
Faith isn’t something we muster up on our own. It’s not something we produce or create. Faith is the natural response to seeing, experiencing, and believing in God’s faithfulness.
And the pathway to greater faith is greater experience, greater understanding, and a true heart-knowledge of God’s faithfulness to us that guides our thoughts, emotions, and actions.
We've launched Volume 6 of our First15 Devotional Series, Faith, created to guide you into transformative experiences with God’s faithfulness and empower you to start living a life marked by authentic faith.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In the middle of our week on the marks of a true Christian, today we're looking at Paul's |
| 0:11.0 | command to bless those who persecute you. Truly blessing those around us that seem to |
| 0:17.2 | be against us is an incredible act of love, producing fruit not only in the lives of others, |
| 0:24.4 | but in our lives as well. May God give us insight into his heart for this command today, |
| 0:30.9 | as well as the courage to live it out. Welcome to the first fifteen podcasts. |
| 0:43.3 | Think back on unresolved conflict you've had, maybe a friend, spouse, family member or |
| 0:48.8 | coworker wronged you. Reflect on the anger, frustration, and sense of injustice you felt. |
| 0:55.5 | Maybe you still feel those feelings today when you remember the situation. Conflict without grace |
| 1:02.4 | and forgiveness is like a small hole in the fabric of our emotions that seem to tear larger and |
| 1:09.3 | larger with every passing day. The more we play the scenario over our inner heads, the worse it seems |
| 1:16.3 | to get. The feelings of unforgiveness and the need for fairness carry with them, an increasingly |
| 1:24.0 | heavy burden. And the Bible teaches us that unforgiveness and seeking fairness are weights we were never |
| 1:31.8 | intended to bear. Jesus completely turned our system of fairness on its head in Luke 6, 27-31. He |
| 1:41.2 | said, but I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who |
| 1:48.3 | curse you, pray for those who abuse you, to the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer him the |
| 1:54.5 | other also. And from the one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either, |
| 2:01.2 | give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods, do not demand them back. |
| 2:08.8 | And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. The way of God is grace-filled, |
| 2:17.0 | unconditional love, not fighting for what you feel owed. Jesus himself did not count equality |
| 2:24.0 | with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, |
| 2:30.0 | being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form. He humbled himself by becoming |
| 2:36.4 | obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus chose to never reciprocate the |
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