Daily Devotional
“And they will hate you…”
Text: John 15:18
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”
MESSAGE
One offence that runs against any iota of evidence is to charge Jesus Christ with the concealment of what the world is, and holds therein, or the conspiracy to lure, drawed men to himself. For instance the phrase “they will hate you” refers to the teachings of Jesus in John 15:18, where he states that the world hated him before it hated his followers, because believers do not belong to the ways of the world, and the world will always responds with aggravated hostility.
He went further in John 15:20, to reminds his disciples that a servant is not greater than a master, so if people persecuted him, they will persecute his followers too.
Matthew 10:22 puts Jesus warning that believers will face widespread rejection for following his name, but those who endure to the end find salvation.
The truth is, life will not always be easy, and destiny will not always come without resistance. Sometimes, life presents a paradox, a box of intricate puzzles to solve, and an individual and sometimes collective, a must drink tea. A few example will suffice.
Lets start with “Tamar” which literally means “palm tree,” “date palm,” or “date fruit” in Hebrew. We have three Tamar in the Bible. Tamar in Genesis 38; her husbands, Judah’s wicked older sons died. Judah failed to give her his youngest son as promised. She disguised herself and tricked Judah into sleeping with her to secure her family’s survival and lineage. She gave birth to twins, Perez and Zerah. Perez is an ancestor of King David and Jesus. This Tamar name appears in the genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament. Whao!
Another Tamar, the daughter of King David in 2 Samuel 13, was a royal princess and the sister of Absalom. For her beauty her half-brother Amnon prooded by her beauty, and the spirit of lust, assaulted, defiled and abused her. Her trauma led to deep family history of vengeance, curses and violence. Her full brother Absalom, later killed Amnon to avenge her, which tore King David’s heart and family apart.
The last of the Tamar was the granddaughter of King David in 2 Samuel 14:27. She was the daughter of Absalom named after her aunt and was known for her exceptional beauty!
All three, same names but different life experiences and destines.
Joseph case in Genesis 37, was brotherly hate for his dream of dreams. Series of things followed, that relocated the entire Jacob from Canaan, the land of promise to Egypt, as generations of slaves for over 430years! Joseph dreams nevertheless came to pass as planned by God.
The hate for Daniel in Daniel 6:1-16, was of unresolved jealousy and conspiracy, because he had an excellent spirit of God in him which made Darius, the King preferred him. Above all no fault could be found against him except concerning his devotion to prayers and the worship of his God. This led him to the lions den. But he prevailed.
Brother Job case is more than all. It was God himself who pointed him to Satan, as a righteous, perfect and just man of his generation. He lost all his earthly possessions to that except his life. But God put a mark of touch not and do no harm upon his life. Not only that, his storyline ended on his being restored in double folds.
What are we pointing out in all of these?
It is that those having no dream to pursue or have gotten careless, reckless and mismanaged their destiny, instead of going about living at an “If I die, I die” angle in order to fulfill their dream, will not leave you alone to let you be, pursuing your dream, or walking on your own lane. Instead, they will challenge and create obstacles on your way to your Canaan. They will turn you to an enemy. They will for want of a better word make you be and become their dream, a work to steal, kill and destroy at all cost. They will make you their life project, leaving their loads and making yours heavier than normal for you.
While not fighting flesh and blood, (people), you must confront and manifest your Jesus Christ given mandate of a conqueror over the spirit of doubt, hatred, fear, bitterness, self low esteem, limitations, discouragement, failure, near misses, wrong relationships, and associations, distractions, the temptation to give up etc, for you cannot rise above what you are unwilling to confront.
Your resistance today may be the training ground for your tomorrow advancement and elevation. So, stand your ground. Keep believing, and take actions moving the mountains until you can ablely say beyond doubt or controversy, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, and I have obtained my crowns.” That shall be your testimonies. Amen.
St. Matthew 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. St. Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Loneliness because you belong to Jesus Christ is the price you pay to build yourself up, and the greatest thing you can build is yourself in Him, with you decreasing and Him increasing in your life that His glory in you may be made manifest.
Truth is, “The mind does not fear the truth first. It fears the life the truth will demand. That is why denial feels calm. It postpones a decision, not a consequence.” No wonder we get the wages of sin, which is death.
Believers should understand that sometimes our prayers are answered but the answer is No!
In other word, “You cannot think your way into becoming the person only your actions can introduce. When the storm beats the tree, many birds fly away—but the one that remains through the thunder is the one that truly calls it home.”
Is sin not attractive to you?
Sin keeps inviting you, “Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further, for you are a magnet for success and opportunities.”
Beloved, all that ends in this world. You will soon discovered, albeit too late that all that gilliters are not gold, and that vanity upon vanity, is a life lived without Jesus Christ.
Remember that one day you will wake up and do things for the last time without knowing it’s the last time. The sleep or that going out or coming in, eating, fighting, quarrelling etc will look normal, yet will be the last time! Nothing extra ordinary except that you would have said good night on the earthly side and find yourself woke up on the otherside of the terrestrial. There you have welcome to your eternity in heaven or hell, on the right or left side of Jesus who you obeyed or betrayed, condemned, rejected and ignored when you had the opportunity to accept on earth.
Unfortunately, you cannot and have not the luxury of a repeat journey! Then you will remember the saying that, “Most betrayals begin long before trust is broken. They begin the day curiosity ends. The moment someone believes they no longer need to understand you, they begin speaking to a memory instead of a person.”
Accept and follow Jesus now.
