Jeremiah 11:18-20; Matthew 5:11-12
Today’s passages are very interesting. A lot of people would love these passages. Personally, I had a sense of satisfaction when I read through them. This is because it had to do with God taking vengeance against our enemies. And also based on the conviction that we all have enemies and people who are plotting evil against us. But even as we all love to see God deal with our enemies, we Should be very careful not to be enemies to others or to be involved in plotting evil against others.
The rate at which we pray against our enemies and those plotting evil against us is a bit alarming. I would have become a dealer in fire extinguishers and coffins if God were to answer those prayers the way we wished. We would have seen fire engulfing people even in church, up to the altar because of the rate of “die-by-fire” prayers. Even people praying such prayers would not have been spared because in one way or the other, they might have plotted evil against someone else or became enemies to others who would also be involved in this kind of prayers .
In Jeremiah 11 verse 20, we saw that after God had told Jeremiah about the plots his enemies were making against him, he asked God to take vengeance, and he committed is cause to God. This is what we should always try to do; letting God take the vengeance, while we commit our cause to him. We should be confident of the fact that as God’s elect, no plan or evil plot of the enemy will affect us if God does not allow it.
In Matthew chapter 5 verse 11 and 12 we are admonished to be happy and very glad when people mock and persecute us, and also lie about us, even going all out to say all sorts of evil things against us. The main point in all this is that we should remain God’s followers. As God‘s faithful followers, we are bound to have enemies and persecutors. If God’s prophets were persecuted, then we should not expect anything less. God himself will see us through every persecution, and handle the persecutors in his own way, just as it did in the case of Jesus Christ.
In all this, it is my prayer that we should not become the persecutors of God‘s elect, either knowingly or unknowingly. And that God should help us by His Spirit not to plan evil against others. Amen. Remain forever blessed and highly favored.
Papa Mbos 