BLESSED!

“Blessed Are the Persecuted”

Steve Reed | 08.04.2013

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:10

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Whenever God calls a man to follow him, he says, come and die.”

• What has God called me to do?

Righteousness is not uprightness or adherence to an established norm (e.g. conformity, good works). It is rooted in relationships with God and with our fellow man. It is who we are, not what we do.

• In my life, in my pursuit of holiness and righteousness, what is substance, and what is
form?

Jerry Bridges: “Holiness does not consist of mystic speculations, or enthusiastic fervor, or uncommanded austerity, it consists of thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills. The Kingdom belongs not to those who profess a name, or do a great works in his name, it belongs to those who bend their will to God and accent blessings and persecutions as they come from His hand.”

• How am I doing in being in God’s will?