|
|
 | | From: | Frank | | Subject: | Great Is Your Reward | | Date: | Sat, 22 Jan 2005 14:16:55 GMT |
|
|
 | Christian newsgroups are absolutely delightful!
Here you can post the words of Jesus Christ,
his gospel, his teachings, his love,
and in return be insulted, harassed,
and spoken against.
If you are a Christian and this happens to you,
please do not be dismayed or annoyed
or upset or discouraged at all.
Jesus said to rejoice and be glad
because great is your reward in heaven.
(Matthew 5:11-12)
This is ecstasy!
--
http://roines.home.mindspring.com
|
|
| | From: | Dave Oldridge | | Subject: | Re: Great Is Your Reward | | Date: | Sun, 23 Jan 2005 04:19:21 GMT |
|
|
| "Frank" wrote in news:rftId.2399$r27.841
@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net:
> Christian newsgroups are absolutely delightful!
> Here you can post the words of Jesus Christ,
> his gospel, his teachings, his love,
> and in return be insulted, harassed,
> and spoken against.
Part of the reason for that is that so many are preaching hatred in
Jesus' name that a certain amount of the reaction simply spills off on
anyone who mentions that they are Christian.
> If you are a Christian and this happens to you,
> please do not be dismayed or annoyed
> or upset or discouraged at all.
I tend to experience all of these emotions and then get over them.
> Jesus said to rejoice and be glad
> because great is your reward in heaven.
> (Matthew 5:11-12)
> This is ecstasy!
True, though the road to that reward can sometimes be a tough one,
especially if God has tasked one with pointing out the sin in the
behaviour of self-righteous wannabe "witnesses" who spend way too much of
their time trying to put down Darwin and way too little of it raising up
Jesus Christ. They forget that Jesus died for the sins of mankind to
save our SOULS, regardless of how they came to be affixed to these
corporeal bodies.
--
Dave Oldridge+
ICQ 1800667
A false witness is worse than no witness at all.
|
|
| | From: | Nick | | Subject: | Re: Great Is Your Reward | | Date: | Sun, 23 Jan 2005 04:19:40 GMT |
|
|
|
"Frank" wrote:
> Christian newsgroups are absolutely delightful!
> Here you can post the words of Jesus Christ,
> his gospel, his teachings, his love,
> and in return be insulted, harassed,
> and spoken against.
> If you are a Christian and this happens to you,
> please do not be dismayed or annoyed
> or upset or discouraged at all.
> Jesus said to rejoice and be glad
> because great is your reward in heaven.
> (Matthew 5:11-12)
> This is ecstasy!
While I agree with your overall sentiment and Biblical message, I would add
that our goal is not to seek insults and persecution, but rather to rejoice
that we are suffering this as a consequence of advancing the Kingdom of God.
To evangelize and play a role in spiritual formation of ourselves and
others, we must try to approach heathens in a way that will cause them to
reflect and not just fling insults at us. Of course, we must take particular
care not to return evil for evil.
We can avoid personal discouragement through the realization that we cannot
convert anyone. No one can come to the Father unless the Holy Spirit draws
them, and they respond. While we try to sensitize others to the revelations
provided by the Holy Spirit, we should not be discouraged in the face of
repeated failures. We evangelize because we are obedient. We learn better
ways to evangelize because we love those lost souls and yearn for their
eternal redemption through Jesus Christ.
Your brother in Christ,
Nick
|
|
|
