Matthew 5:11-12

"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..."

Inspirational illustration of Matthew 5:11-12 -- 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 perse

"[Jesus continued:] "God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. "God blesses you when people mock..."

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me."

Are you willing to suffer if it spreads the Gospel? We must be ready to suffer; our brothers and sisters all around the world are and have!

A simple reminder of grace from one in a difficult place. Phil Ware shares the sweet prayer request from one of the translators in a predominantly Muslim nation wracked with violence and bloodshed: "Please pray for the terrorists that they know Jesus Christ like Saul who became Paul :)"

"Dear Beloved, Many mortals chase after so many things thinking that a fulfilling life will be found in those things... those pursuits... those..."

God promises us a sacred blessing and a sacred delight in these words of Jesus! Max Lucado reminds us that while the Beatitudes are demanding, they are also life-giving and a privilege to live as an answer to God's call in our lives.

Do you want to be lucky or blessed? Luck has many definitions depending upon those with whom you visit; but Christians are blessed!

What do your ears want to hear? Some folks only want to hear the cheery stuff from God, not the hard stuff, too.

When's the last time you felt the joy of being truly thankful? We need to recover the lost art of giving thanks and there are some steps we can take to do just that.

The power of grace, the gift of life in marriage. Phil Ware continues his series called 50 shades of grace that focuses on the intimacy between a husband and wife in marriage.

Prayer becomes a tuning fork that helps us sing the song of God's magnificence with both holy praise as well as genuine concern for the people in our world. Phil Ware continues his series of thoughts on living as a disciple that is JesuShaped and focuses on how the Lord's Prayer tunes our hearts to living the JesuShaped life.

Does it matter if we don't do some things that are hard Imagine that we all approached life with the attitude of, "If it's not on the test then I'm not going to learn it."

Are you lucky or just blessed? We don't like being passive, so we have a hard time recognizing that we have what we have because we are blessed.