By Greg Laurie
| “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” | |
The great preacher John Wesley was riding along on his horse one day when he realized that three days had passed, and he had not been persecuted in any way. Not a single brick had been thrown in his direction. He had not been hit by an egg. So he actually stopped his horse and said out loud, “Could it be that I am backslidden or I have sinned?” Slipping down from his horse, he knelt on one knee and asked the Lord to show him if there was anything wrong with him spiritually.
A man who disliked Wesley saw him kneeling in prayer, so he picked up a brick and threw it at him, barely missing the preacher. When Wesley saw the brick fly by, he said, “Thank you, Lord! I know I still have Your presence.”
No wonder he was such a powerful preacher.
Your very presence and belief in God bothers some people. Sometimes you don’t even have to say anything. You are like a bright light, shining in a dark place. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18). You will be treated the same way Jesus was.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Sometimes persecution can show itself in a brick coming our way or in physical harm, even death. At other times, it can show itself in mockery or rejection or losing a job or friends. But if you are living a godly life, then you will face persecution.
Related articles
- Hated For The Light, Pastor Phil Sessa (magnifyhisword.wordpress.com)
- What if We Knew When the World Would End? (life4given.wordpress.com)
- The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God (countdowntoeternityblog.wordpress.com)
- Why Do People Hate a “Good Person”? The 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (thesacredpage.com)
About the author: Greg is a strong believer in Jesus Christ and is also a political analyst, author, and is the Editor-in-Chief for the National War Council. By day he is a self-employed non-emergency medical transport driver, as well as being an author and blogger. His articles are first published on Inspirational Christian Blogs, and I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! His articles have been widely published on many well-known conservative websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so leaving all links intact and crediting the author and the website that the article appeared on.
Greg is the author of the newly released book: Spiritual Darkness is Destroying America and the Church
Categories: INSPIRATIONAL DEVOTIONS
Are You Abiding in Christ? 
In Our Own Image
Amen bro, thank you. Lets watch for bricks, love it!
Yes, I thought this was an amazing story and quite the opposite of how we are today. Bring it on Lord and make us to be like this!
Thank you for helping us to keep the right perspective in our walk! God bless you!
Thank you Debbie, you are ever kind! Bless you sister.
This reminds me of something a friend said when I was a new Christian, many years ago. I was surprised when a friend said “The devil hasn’t been bothering me lately. I need to spend time with God to make sure there is nothing blocking our fellowship”
I also think of the words of a song by Steve Camp about 30 years ago, based on Acts 19:13-20 where the sons of Sceva tried to duplicate the miracles performed by Paul in the name of Jesus and the demon replied “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” . . .
“What would the devil say about YOUR life?
Do they know you in hell like they know your Christ?”