Hated by All

"And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
~ Jeremiah 33:16 (NKJV)

"A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth...
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
~ Jeremiah 23:5-6 (NKJV)

"And you will be hated by all for My name's sake."
~ Luke 21:17 (NKJV)

While in Best Buy, shopping an iPod to use as a pocket Bible, I used their internet to insure compatibility between the device and my favorite Bible program, E-Sword. I googled to get the desired hit, but clicking the link received only an error message, "Filtered for content, corporate level: RELIGION." An employee explained, "We protect kids from stuff they don't need to see." (It was enough to buy my iPod elsewhere.)

Corporate America evidently bows to the notion that religion is as threatening as pornography. Hostility toward religion in the USA has been around even before the masses extolled John Lennon when he serenely sang, "Imagine there's no heaven, and no religion too." As animosity becomes increasingly widespread, it is important to establish fidelity before an hour of testing.

In Jeremiah 23, the Lord establishes His name, YHWH our Righteousness. (YHWH Tsidke-nu). In Jeremiah 33, He puts the same name upon Jerusalem. As when a man puts his name on a woman to make her his, God calls Himself her Husband, and her fidelity is zealously expected.

Christians likewise bear the name of Christ, and with it, the promise to be hated by all. In whatever surprising place it springs upon us, may such hatred inspire our own zeal for Him.

Lord Jesus Christ, we long for Your coming as King, to reign and prosper, to execute judgment and righteousness in the earth as YHWH Our Righteousness. How privileged we are to bear Your name. Remind us that we are also privileged when we are considered worthy to suffer for Your name's sake.

"Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven."

Luke 6:22-23 NKJV

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