Faith Filled Family Magazine December 2016 | Page 27

Revelation you can see satan
standing against the word and
the ways of God. Throughout the
Bible, we have seen evidence of
satan working through common
men, Pharaohs, and evil kings.
There have even been nations
that have fought against God,
in an effort to destroy His people. If we fast forward to present day, we can see many in the
world that are doing likewise and
God has called them enemies.
(James 4:4) When faced with
persecution, we should never
take it personally, it’s just business; satan’s occupation; it’s
who he is and what he does. 1
Peter 5:8 says that we should
be clear-headed and watchful
because our adversary, the devil
roams the earth trying to ruin
our relationship with God and
kill our witness. (paraphrased)
Think about it, if we behave out
of character what would be the
consequences; the repercussions of that? Speaking from
personal experience, we would
lose our ability to ever witness to
that person; our behavior would
not represent the love of God
and as a result, we become separated from our relationship with
God. If you don’t believe me, it’s
in the manual; right here in the
5th chapter of Matthew. I want
you to use your highlighter on
verses 25 and 26. Here, Jesus
says we should “agree” quickly
when faced with persecution. I
believe Jesus was saying we
should make a decision to behave, respond and show the love
of God immediately when we are
treated unfairly. It’s a choice to
retaliate with unkind words or
deeds. We are Christians and
as such we live by a higher
standard and God expects His

children to remember what they
have been taught and follow His
instructions or face separation
until we obey. It’s not personal,
it’s Kingdom business; making
the Lord’s name great and winning souls for Christ!
NEVER LOSE YOUR WITNESS
When Jesus stood on the Mount
to teach this powerful lesson on
love, (Christian behavior and attitude) He understood that there
would be persecution, simply because we are believers. Jesus
knew that the disciples would
be targeted and some killed for
righteousness sake and He also
knew that over 2,000 years later,
we would face similar persecution. So, Jesus lends a particular emphasis on how we should
conduct ourselves when the enemy (satan) comes against us.
In Matthew 5:10-11, Jesus says,
“Blessed are they which are
persecuted for righteousness’
sake...and when men revile and
say all manner of evil against
you falsely” because of the life
you live for Him.” (paraphrased)
He concludes this lesson on
Christ-like conduct by telling the
disciples to REJOICE and BE
GLAD because there would be a
great reward for them in heaven
if they were obedient and did not
respond or behave out of character. We can conclude from
Jesus’ instructions that there is
an enemy among us. He warns
us that there will be times when
we will face persecution; people
will say evil things against us,
yet, He admonishes us to make
His name great by following His
example. Jesus says that we are
salt and light (verse 13-16) and

we should never lose our savor.
He further reminds us that in all
things, God should get the glory
out of our lives.
But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate
you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the
children of your Father which
is in heaven: for he maketh his
sun to rise on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5: 44-45
So, what is this secret weapon
that equips us to “bless” those
who curse us and “do good” and
“pray” when we are treated unfairly?
HIS BANNER OVER ME IS
LOVE: “The Robe”
“And now abideth faith, hope,
charity, these three; but the
greatest of these is charity.” 1
Corinthians 13:13
From this passage in Corinthians, God shares His view on
the greatest quality we can possess as a Christian, and that is
LOVE. He gives us a strong
message that although we may
be saved, sanctified and filled
with Holy Spirit, without love it
means NOTHING! God tells us
that those who are believers in
the Lord Jesus Christ must put
on the garment of love.
“…and his banner over me was
love.” Song of Solomon 2:4b
So, what does this garment look
like? When I use my Holy Ghost