"You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22)

Many will try to insult and mock on what we believe in but as long as we stay strong in our faith, Jesus gives us the assurance that we will be saved.

Jesus said this verse to his disciples. Before Jesus died for us, even He, was tested. People of the church and others mock Him and did not believe in Him. Worse, they all wanted Him to die. And by the time Jesus has already risen, the apostles go on with their mission to let the Gospel be known but there were people who opposed them, also mock them and even hurt them physically until they die.

Just this afternoon, while I was browsing the news feed in Facebook, I saw a post from my former classmate about Mormons not having a day off in evangelizing people. He was in awe, bad mouthed them, and even called the ones to be evangelized as victims. It was very hurting for me, and I felt the pain struck my heart deep. I want to defend God, His people, His soldiers. I can't ignore what I saw and seek the Holy Spirit as I replied to my former classmate's post. I believe that what I wrote was what the Holy Spirit tells me, paying respect and being humble before whom I speak to but with the authority of God because of His Word that I know of. And he and his friend replied with insults about respect and evangelizing. My heart again was hurt. Part of it was for God and I admit part of it was pride because it is not what I believed in. Thinking that he became a close friend of mine when I was in elementary, we spent a lot of times playing with each other, he became such a person. I could not blame him for being like it. I felt the aura of the devil eating me up as he shows me the blindness of my former classmate and his friend. What I did is reached out to my Cell Leader and my friends in Christ. I seek comfort and advise from them. And my Cell Leader, Ate Nova, shared me this verse. She also said that because of my love for the Lord, I was hurt. But instead of confronting them I should pray for them and that what I did was enough. They were blinded, as she said. And also my friends told me that what I did was good enough as well. And they also said that they are blinded with wordly things, and that they will pray for these people and for me as well. I felt unity and comfort in their words - words from the Holy Spirit that is within all of them. The Holy Spirit even told me that Jesus said to forgive because they did not know what they are doing. But still I was not fully comfortable even after all their words. I decided to just ignore it but there were still notifications popping on the post I. God knows my heart is still roaring up so high. Until some friend of his liked my comments. A Christian, I believe. I felt she backed me up for just liking my comment. And there was comfort again. What more could I ask for? God loves me. I felt His assurance through His children. I'm already saved. I felt that He told me to stop screaming inside and just let it go, forgive them and pray for them.

Lord God, thank you for your wonderful day. Thanks to you Jesus was born. As we celebrate this day, there maybe some challenges and tests of patience. Thank you that I felt your presence and the warmth of your love to fully heal my raging heart against the challenge I faced today. Lord God, I pray that you bless my spiritual family. Let them also feel your love in situations that tests their patience and provide them the comfort and assurance of salvation in your arms. I also pray Lord God that in whatever circumstances that we will be experiencing in the future, continue to remind us about You and how we are supposed to live for You. Take away our pride and let us easily forgive those who cause us pain. Lord God, truly this day is all about your love, and I really appreciate how you showed your love to us. I praise you oh God. I pray all these, in Jesus' Name. Amen.