Genesis 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
John 15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
Matthew 5:11-12 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Being hated without cause is an aspect of Messianic prophecy that applies to both Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. Just as Joseph was hated by his brothers, and David was hated by Saul without cause, is it any wonder that Yeshua (Jesus) was hated by the world without cause — thus fulfilling a Messianic Psalm. [Psalm 69:4]. And should it surprise us that He is still hated? And if Yeshua was hated without a cause, should we expect our lives to be any different?
As thousands of saints suffered intense persecution in ages past, and thousands are still being persecuted today, they prepare(d) the way for the salvation of millions of others. Since Yeshua said, “Greater love hath no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends,” the love expressed by the martyrs is a tremendous source of inspiration to all of us.
As we are rapidly approaching the end of the age, we can expect persecution to be on the rise. We’re sent out as sheep among wolves – so lift your head high when suffering persecution for the Lord. Your response of faith and love could well lead to the salvation of the ones persecuting you!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]There was a mailman, John Hand, who rode his mail truck through Los Altos Hills of California on his 50 mile route each day. The route was plain, all brown and virtually no color. One day he began to throw wild flower seeds out of the window as he drove. Today, if you travel his route in the Los Altos Hills you’ll find beautiful patches of flowers throughout, blossoming in many colors.
A farmer and his friend went duck hunting. Eventually, they got to talking about the things of God, as they always would. "You're always talking about these battles you have with the devil," the farmer's friend said to him. "It's so silly – I mean, I'm not even a Christian and I've never experienced anything like that."
Have you ever noticed that when people are in love, they tend to forget everything else? Everything becomes secondary — cars, houses, money — nothing matters — it is all secondary to love. Then, when they fall out of love, as in a divorce, all of a sudden those things mean everything! They argue about all the little meaningless things they ever owned together. Each wants it all for himself.
The Hebrew word for a dried up river bed is "Nachal". Israel has many of these. Here, in Israel it rains in winter, but not in summer. In the summer, these places stand as a testament of the rains that once fell and of the rains yet to come. Then, when they do come, the Nechalim (nachal plural) almost instantly fill with water. This is what the Scripture means when it says, "I will give you rivers in the desert." There is a promise in that for us.
In 1917, the Ottoman Empire controlled the city of Aqaba which seemed impregnable to any attack. Behind the city in every direction was a vast desert, and overlooking the city’s harbor were huge naval guns protecting it against any enemy attack from the sea.
Solomon wrote, “a merry heart has a continual feast!” But why does it seem like so many of us are not feasting? How do we maintain a merry heart?
A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of two hundred, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands immediately started going up.