Friday, March 1, 2013

DAY 1: Rejoice & Be Glad!



“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” - Matthew 5:11,12


TODAY, take 5 minutes and rehearse in your mind the times that you have been insulted, persecuted or slandered because of Jesus in your life. This could include being slighted at work, in your family or among your friends for ANY stand you have taken due to conscience sake.

Then, take 5 minutes and write out a list of names and/or situations when this has happened on a sheet of paper or in a document.

Now, take 5 minutes, maybe turn on some happy music and FORCE YOURSELF to REJOICE and BE EXCEEDINGLY GLAD over that situation. Smile, dance, laugh, thank and praise God that you have an eternal reward for enduring that time of difficulty.

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CONGRATULATIONS! You DID the Word of God today! Your foundation (what you DO with the words of Jesus) just got a little bit more SOLID & SECURE. Just imagine where you'll be 50 days from now!


Felt good, didn't it? Tell us how that felt in the comments section. Get ready to share your experiences here and we'll build a community of accountability and encouragement.

9 comments:

  1. Dalton and I just did it! We listed names and turned up the music...Deep Cries Out. Danced and praised God for our great reward! Dalton and I both agree that it felt FREEING! Also in the future, when people insult us, persecute us and falsely say all kinds of evil against us because of Him...we know exactly what to do. Something about putting the scripture into action as opposed to just knowing it.

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  2. Loved doing that....First time I've really meditated on the reward of those situations, instead of just forgiving and forgetting.

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  3. @Kelli - That's great!
    @Micah - Me too!!

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  4. For the first time I realized I could turn the offenses from arrows in my back to rewards in heaven. I am still rejoicing.

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  5. This was a really good time of reflection doing this exercise. It was also nice to see how much I have grown because in reflecting I actually realized a lot of things that used to "set me off" really don't have a hold on me anymore. Don't get me wrong, the insult, slander, etc. still hurts but I made a decision to not let it control me.

    The best part of today's exercise was minutes of total rejoicing with the family with some Holy Ghost party tunes. Looking forward to the next 49 days and this becoming a lifestyle.

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  6. this thought kept bouncing around in my head yesterday; 'our love for God needs to be GREATER than the hatred, mockery, and insults we receive because of our testimony about Jesus. IF we love God more than people hate us, then the persecution will just bounce off and will have no effects. We will not be offended bc our need for God's approval will be higher than our need for the approval of men. this is a huge challenge for me, but I am pressing on to be where I need to be. : )

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  7. @Justin: That's a good word! It's a challenge for me too, but I'm thinking if I keep singing/dancing and REJOICING when it happens, I can WIN!

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