'And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; persecuted, we suffer it: (1 Corinthians 4:12).
Paul was not one to be concerned about what others think of him or perceived him. He laboured with his hands making tents for a living as he went about saving souls for the kingdom of God. Paul choose not to depend on the church for his sustenance, but to be independent, as he laboured for Christ. He and others went through extreme hardship and choose not to live in defeat and discouragement. When they were reviled, they blessed those who treated them disrespectful. Being persecuted and suffered much for Christ's sake, they never gave up, but keep going. As believers, we should recognise and understand what it means to serve Christ and suffer for Him. Christ our Saviour suffered greatly for us while He was on earth. He was able to accomplish all for us because He looked to His Father for strength and assurance. Everyday we live for Christ, we should count it a blessing; and to be able to go through hardship or persecution for His name sake, we should count it joy. We may be hard press on every side, but not crushed; persecuted, but not alone or abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed because Christ is on our side. He is with us in all our trials and tribulations. Let us be tolerant in presenting Christ to the world; not murmuring and repining at our unhappy circumstances, but taking it with confidence and boldness, knowing the will of God and giving glory to Him. Some of us may be persecuted at our place of work, in our homes, or in our country for our faith in Jesus Christ. Like Paul and others, do not allow these hardships or act of persecution to lead us to resentment, bitterness or hinder us from preaching the Word of God. Let us look to Jesus as our source of help and encouragement in our quest to do His will.
Have a wonderful day 🌹🌹
'But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you' (Matthew 6:33). The Lord is our Provider and knows all that we are in need of before we even ask. We do not need to worry or fret ourselves about what we shall eat or drink. Our Father in heaven will take care of these things we need. We are told by Jesus, 'To seek first the kingdom of God.' What does that mean? It means we should lean on, and trust in the grace of Jesus Christ. We should repent of our sins and have a desire to turn away from it. We should seek to put God first in our praise to Him, in our worship of Him, to put our total trust in Him and to rely on Him rather than ourselves or others. We need to seek Him first in our reassurance and acknowledging who He is and what He can do. We also need to seek God's righteousness by loving our neighbors and feeding the poor and destitute, seek justice for the vulnerable. We should put God's plan and
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