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Broken and the Blessed Week 8, Day 7

by David Joynt on March 04, 2017


DAY 56

MATTHEW 5:12 

What a command—”Rejoice and be happy when you are persecuted for Jesus’ sake!?” But notice that this command has a great promise —“your reward will be great in heaven.” Jesus puts persecuted followers into the company of the great prophets of Israel, here and also in 10:41 and 23:34.

The joy Jesus describes here is a supernatural gift—an assurance that God is present in our suffering and that He will bless those who faithfully endure in wonderful ways in the future. We are blessed, even in the brokenness of persecution.

 

Pray for Christians in the Middle East who have suffered greatly for the “crime” of being Jesus’ friends and followers.

 

FAMILY TIME:

Do you know anyone at school whom other people persecute?

What should you do about it?

 

Tags: persecution

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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