A REASON TO REJOICE!​​ – Matthew 5:12 Devotional by Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

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Matthew 5:12

“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven!”

When I attended high school we were not large enough to field an eleven-man football team, we competed in an eight-man football league. The rules were the same, but with fewer players.

In my senior year we had won all of our games. The final game of the season was played under the lights at the home field of our toughest competitor. They played hard, but our team won the game and the championship. As the final gun sounded, wild cheering surrounded and rose up all around us. We were rejoicing because we had been declared the winner.

In His “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus presented an unusual reason for rejoicing. I did not include the verse that precedes today’s topic Scripture because I wanted to stress the difference Jesus gave. Here is what He said in verse 11: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”

Wow! What a difference. Jesus calls us to rejoice even when we experience severe opposition. Usually we whimper and whine? Jesus calls His believers to be different by exhibiting radiant joy even when things are tough. Do we?

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil