Display Your Christianity

Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 17 Repay no one evil for evil… 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Earlier this week, I received an interesting call from another pastor. When the man of God opened the conversation with the words, “I have a concern about one of your members,” I wasn’t prepared for the dialogue that followed. A disgruntled parishioner had disrupted his church’s adult Sunday school class with slanderous comments towards me. The pastor told me that his remarks were so offensive that he literally had to take him outside of the church to speak with him! The pastor informed me that he’d become angry because I didn’t help him in a particular area of need. The irony of the situation is that I’d assisted this gentleman on numerous occasions, but when I drew the line in the sand, he’d become upset.


I must admit that when I heard the news, I was more than mad; I was livid! Both my pulse and my blood pressure shot up, my palms started sweating, legs started shaking, and my mind was thinking thoughts that were not of God! How could he put me on blast like that to another congregation of believers who don’t even know me? As my flesh was, “having its way,” The Holy Spirit whispered to me, “Pray for him.” Now, I must admit that my initial thought was, “God, you must be kidding!” But as The Spirit of God continued to convict me, I yielded to His Leading and began to pray for my persecutor.


One of the pills that we must swallow in following Christ is the fact that His Ways of doing things are totally contrary to the yearnings of our flesh. But if we’re going to be Christ-like, then we’re going to have to bring our flesh into alignment with God’s Word. Jesus gives the following instructions on dealing with our enemies:


“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Repay no one evil for evil…Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:14, 17, 19-21, ESV)

The exhortation today is to always remember that your Christianity is best displayed in unfavorable situations.

Let’s Pray:
“Father, help us to obey Your Word and Your Spirit at all costs, in Jesus’ Name, amen.”

Daily Prayer:
“Oh, that You would bless me indeed,
and enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me,
and that You would keep me from evil,
that I may not cause pain!”
The Prayer of Jabez, I Chronicles 4:10