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"Happy are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me. Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. In the same way, people harassed the prophets who came before you."
Matthew 5:11-12 CEB
This is not about being happy about being insulted or harrassed or being lied about. 
It's about being aligned with Jesus. 
Why would those things happen "all because of me", all because of Jesus?
It probably won't be because you are kind, patient, caring, see others as image bearers of God.
It will be when our world, our culture, our community requires allegiance to someone or something other than Jesus. 
It will be when faith in Jesus is ridiculed, and that then includes us. 
It will be when someone with power (a teacher, a boss, someone with influence in your world) takes a dislike to you because you follow Jesus. 
It will be when truth claims collide. 
Jesus is giving us a "heads up" here. Following him could lead to being insulted, harrassed and lied about. 
And he reminds us that we're in good company, a community of people who stretch all the way back to the prophets.
#wordsofJesus
#redletterBible
#weareingoodcompany

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