Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves —-Romans 12:19
Man’s sinful nature would have him strike back when smitten, to speak out when slandered, but God tells us to do otherwise. And, Paul was a man who practiced what he preached in this regard. His desire was to emulate Christ in all things and he refused to avenge himself when wronged. Should not we do the same? Margaret Bottome wrote:

“There are seasons when to be still demands immeasurably higher strength than to act. Composure is often the highest result of power. To the vilest and most deadly charges Jesus responded with deep, unbroken silence, such as excited the wonder of the judge and the spectators. To the grossest insults, the most violent ill-treatment and mockery that might well bring indignation into the feeblest heart, He responded with voiceless complacent calmness. Those who are unjustly accused, and causelessly ill-treated know what tremendous strength is necessary to keep silence to God.

Men may misjudge thy aim,
Think they have cause to blame,
Say, thou art wrong;
Keep on thy quiet way,
Christ is the Judge, not they,
Fear not, be strong.

St. Paul said, “None of these things move me.” He did not say, none of these things hurt me. It is one thing to be hurt, and quite another to be moved. St. Paul had a very tender heart. We do not read of any apostle who cried as St. Paul did. It takes a strong man to cry. Jesus wept, and He was the manliest Man that ever lived.

So it does not say, none of these things hurt me. But the apostle had determined not to move from what he believed was right. He did not count as we are apt to count; he did not care for ease; he did not care for this mortal life. He cared for only one thing, and that was to be loyal to Christ, to have His smile. To St. Paul, more than to any other man, His work was wages, His smile was Heaven.“

“Godliness with contentment is great gain!” 1 Timothy 6:6

My dear friend,
It befits every Christian to say–It is not necessary for me to be rich–or what the world accounts wise. It is not necessary for me to be healthy–or admired by my fellow-worms. It is not necessary for me to pass through life in a state of prosperity and outward comfort. These things may be, or they may not be–as the Lord in His wisdom shall appoint them for me.

But it is necessary for me to be humble and spiritual, to seek communion with God, to adorn my profession of the Gospel, and to yield submissively to His disposal, in whatever way, whether of service or suffering–that He shall be pleased to call me to glorify Him in this world. It is not necessary for me to live long–but highly expedient that while I do live–I should live unto Him! Here then, I would bound my desires; and here, having His Word for my rule, I am secured from asking amiss. Let me have His presence, wisdom to know my calling, and opportunities and faithfulness to improve them; and as to the rest, Lord, help me to sincerely pray,
  Whatever You will,
  whenever You will, and
  however You will.
— Letters of John Newton,

Yes: Jesus is precious to every believer. However Christians may differ upon some points, they all agree in this, JESUS IS PRECIOUS. They cannot always feel towards Him as they wish, but have always one and the same opinion of Him.

He is precious in His person, word, work, blood, righteousness, and intercession: as Prophet, Priest, and King: in every name He wears, every character He bears, every relation He fills, and every office He sustains: so precious that none can be compared with Him. His people love Him, but none of them think they love Him enough; they adore Him, but mourn over their want of fervour when addressing Him; they prefer Him above all things, and consider Him altogether lovely.

Do you find Christ precious this morning? If He was to be sold, what would you give for Him? If you could be gratified, how would you feel towards Him? He is precious to poor, sensible sinners; to strong believers; to holy angels; and to God our heavenly Father. Is He so to you? Live near to Him, be intimate with Him, and you will feel Him precious. The more you know of Him, the more you will prize Him.

Our Jesus is more precious far
Than life, and all its comforts, are;
More precious than our daily food;
More precious than our vital blood.— James Smith

Salvation comes “through faith”, but some have erred by putting their faith in faith, rather than Christ. Rather than trust the work of Christ on Calvary, they depend on their choice to save them. That is no better than wishful thinking– it won’t get you to heaven. Some sad souls know nothing about the person and work of Christ yet they profess to be Christians because from among all the religions they have made that their choice. But saving faith is based on Christ, not confidence in our choice. Believing you are a millionaire doesn’t make you one, nor does faith in faith make you a believer in Christ.

Horatius Bonar wrote:”Faith is not our saviour. It was not faith that was born at Bethlehem and died on Golgotha for us. It was not faith that loved us, and gave itself for us; that bore our sins in its own body on the tree; that died and rose again for our sins. Faith is one thing, the Saviour is another. Faith is one thing, and the cross is another. Let us not confound them, nor ascribe to a poor, imperfect act of man, that which belongs exclusively to the Son of the Living God.

Our security is this, that it matters not how poor or weak our faith may be: if it touches the perfect One, all is well. God has asked and provided a perfect righteousness; He nowhere asks nor expects a perfect faith. So a feeble, very feeble faith, will connect us with the righteousness of the Son of God; the faith, perhaps, that can only cry, ‘Lord, I believe; help mine unbelief.’”

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:— Eph. 2:8

Far too many have confused and deceived others by making salvation seem more difficult than it is. Never forget— it is not what we do for Him that saves us, but what He does for us. Salvation comes “through faith” alone. He who only believes is the only one who actually receives.

J. Gresham Machen put it like this:”Acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ, as He is offered to us in the gospel of His redeeming work, is saving faith. Despairing of any salvation to be obtained by our own efforts, we simply trust in Him to save us; we say no longer, as we contemplate the Cross, merely ‘He saved others’ or ‘He saved the world’ or ‘He saved the Church’; but we say, every one of us, by the strange individualizing power of faith, ‘He loved me and gave Himself for me.’

When a man once says that, in his heart and not merely with his lips, then no matter what his guilt may be, no matter how far he is beyond any human pale, not matter how little opportunity he has for making good the evil that he has done, he is a ransomed soul, a child of God forever.”