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1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 Love Another, Deliberately and Well

8/30/2015

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 on Photo of The Church of Life Prayer Lounge at Waves of Glory, Orlando, Florida
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 on Photo of The Church of Life Prayer Lounge at Waves of Glory, Orlando, Florida
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

What does loving one another look like? What should the body of Christ look like? I would venture to say the body of Christ should look like Jesus. Our traits as individuals and as a whole should be conformed to His image. His Holy Spirit in us should be evident and fully functioning among us. Our love should be apparent. And we shouldn’t resemble the world.

The world doesn’t like to submit to authority or recognize the people who work so hard behind the scenes. They want to show up to a church without being part of the church. They want to be served and not serve themselves. They expect the pastor to give them a nice little message, listen to their whining, give them what they need, and then ignore them for the next 6 days. But the people who do that, though they may come to church are not of the church they are still of the world. There is no unity with the body. Verses 12-13 read,

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”

Paul urges us to respect the people who work among us. We are to regard their work, note it, and give the workers reverence. There shouldn’t be anyone whose work is going unappreciated, but too often there is. Too often the person who cleans the meeting place, who opens her home for fellowship, or who makes the calls to the visitors and absent are overlooked. But when everyone in the church is serving, then most of us will remember to appreciate all the others, and the burden on everyone is lightened. We are all expected to serve. Our gifts were given to us for a reason. Ephesians 4:11-16 says it like this,

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

We are also to give deference to those who are over us, submitting to their wisdom, maturity, and leadership as they guide us toward completion. Hebrews 13:17 says,

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

In submitting to, respecting, and esteeming one another and the contributions each of us makes to the body, we have peace among us. We don’t need to be jealous, envious, or disrespectful of each other. We are in it together, sharing the same Spirit and the same mission. We want the best for each other. We are family, we are interwoven together, each thread is needed and adds to the beauty of the tapestry.

We cannot in love, let someone waste their gifts or remain a new born who never experiences the fullness of Christ during this life. Verse 14-15 puts it this way,

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”

Our unified walk as the body of Christ does not stop at the church doors. We are good to one another, but we also must be good to the world. We should be beneficent, that is intentionally doing good in a concrete way. We deliberately ensure we are not being maleficent, which is to cause harm. Nonmaleficence should be just as premeditated as beneficence.

Hebrews 13:15-16 reads,

“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

It is an act of worship and praise to be charitable and kind. It is glorifying Christ, that is reflecting Jesus, being like Jesus to do good for people. Verses 16-18 say,

“Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

When do we rejoice? When do we pray? When do we thank God and what do we thank Him for? Always, continually, and all the time, for everything. The Holy Spirit wants to shine through us. He wants to glorify Jesus in us. He wants to fill us to overflowing and show us He can’t be exhausted. Verses 19-22 read,

“Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”

He cannot be exhausted, but He can be quenched, that is stifled, smothered, and left to smolder instead of burn bright. How do we do that? We do it by not rejoicing, praying, and thanking God. We do it by not recognizing that our circumstances have the purpose of conforming us to the image of Christ. (Romans 8:26-30). We stifle the Holy Spirit of God when we disregard His work, or we accept all works that might be from God are and do not discern Godly from worldly. (1 John 4:1-6). We douse His fire in us when we take part in the desires of the flesh instead of the desires of The Spirit.

The muffled and subdued Spirit will not produce the fruit that makes it evident we are sons and daughters of Abba God. Galatians 5:16-26 reads,

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

The fruit of The Spirit is the image of Christ. As we walk, we become more and more mature, showing more and more the character of Jesus. One day we will be instantly perfected but that doesn’t mean we do not strive toward that goal now. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Philippians 3:12-14). We trust the Lord to complete us and keep us. Verses 23-24 read,

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

God does this great work in us. He perfects us. He doesn’t and won’t do it against our will. We have to be in a relationship with Him. We have to want it. And so we pray, we love, we walk, and we strive, not in a futile struggle, but in the peaceful rest of Jesus’ grace. Verses 25-28 close the letter.

“Brothers, pray for us.

26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

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Psalm 69 Suffering for Jesus is not Fun but it is Good

7/29/2015

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Psalm 69

Although Jesus promised us we would be hated for His sake, (Matthew 10:21-25) He didn’t say we wouldn’t feel the sting of that animosity. Suffering for Jesus is not called suffering because it’s enjoyable. David felt overwhelmed with the enmity and hostility of his enemies. Verses 1-5 read,

“Save me, O God!
    For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
    where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
    and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying out;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
    with waiting for my God.


4 More in number than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
    those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
    must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly;
    the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.”


We know God is with us, yet sometimes at the height of suffering we can wonder if we will ever reach the end of it. We can wonder if The Lord will ever deliver and avenge us. If faith we easy or automatic everyone would have faith. The enemy lies to us and about us. The world of haters finds false reasons and flawed assumptions to hate us. But we know we do not need to hide our wrongs from The Lord and we couldn’t if we wanted to. It is futile to hide our shortcomings from the world. If they think we haven’t ever fallen as they do, then they wouldn’t see how God has saved us and how He can save them too.

That doesn’t give license to sin. We are citizens of Heaven, representatives of God, and ambassadors of the church. We live and walk in obedience to Christ. We don’t hide our sin, but we also live in a manner that honors our Father’s name and doesn’t shame our Brothers and Sisters. Verses 6-12 say,

“Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
    O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
    O God of Israel.
7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
    that dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
    an alien to my mother's sons.


9 For zeal for your house has consumed me,
    and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,
    it became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
    I became a byword to them.
12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
    and the drunkards make songs about me.”


The deeper our passion for Jesus, our fervor for The Father, and our zest for The Spirit the more the world will despise us and be repulsed by us. They will call us fools, the will shake their heads and think we are ridiculous. Even our blood families will talk about us with derision. They see our behavior and it is peculiar. It makes no sense to them that we would submit to God, one another, or them. It makes no sense that instead of fighting back we would offer ourselves for more beatings. But we are meant to stand out from the world.

We are meant to look, act, and sound like Jesus. It isn’t always easy to be the butt of the joke but we know the Truth. We just can’t be like the world imprisoned to lies and ignorant of the chains and oppression they are under. For us, suffering is temporary. It is knowing that which allows us to make it through. For the believer, suffering for righteousness’ sake has purpose and that purpose is great. We can rejoice and continue to live as Jesus lived with love and virtue. We do not earn salvation through our uprightness, we are saved because we have faith in Jesus. Romans 5:1-6 says,

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

We know that suffering is necessary and good. We know that The Holy Spirit uses it to conform us to Christ’s image. And in Him we can tell the world about how wonderful He is, how He saved us and can save them too. Those awesome purposes mean that there are times when we may suffer longer than we would like. But faith reminds us that misery and affliction will end at the perfect time. Verses 13-18 read,

“But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
    At an acceptable time, O God,
    in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14 Deliver me
    from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
    and from the deep waters.
15 Let not the flood sweep over me,
    or the deep swallow me up,
    or the pit close its mouth over me.


16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
    according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Hide not your face from your servant;
    for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
    ransom me because of my enemies!”


The lost are headed toward the eternal pit. They are not aware of why they might suffer. But The Lord uses their suffering to bring them to a place where they realize they can only call out to Jesus to be saved. He uses us, our entire lives including our suffering and our response to suffering to demonstrate His saving power to the world.

When we suffer, we call out to The Lord, we don’t try to numb or relieve the pain by our own strength. We do not seek the answers or provisions of the world. We seek the Kingdom of God, His will, provision, strength, healing, and joy. When we seek God first, everything else falls into place and worry about our distress becomes foreign to us, the children of Almighty God. (Matthew 6:25-34).

We can’t look to the world for compassion, provision, or anything we should be receiving from The Lord. They hate us because they hate Jesus. They hated Him so completely and utterly that they wanted to murder Him in the most horrific and tortuous way a person could be killed. But they didn’t take Jesus’ life, He gave it. We like Jesus must be ready to do the same. We must be willing to suffer for Jesus’ sake which is the sake of the whole world. Verses 19-21 read,

“You know my reproach,
    and my shame and my dishonor;
    my foes are all known to you.
20 Reproaches have broken my heart,
    so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
    and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food,
    and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.”


Verse 21 presages Jesus’ agony on the cross. He endured that torture for us. When He cried out that He was thirsty they gave him sour wine, vinegar instead of wine. First mixed with gall and myrrh to decrease his pain, but Jesus refused it. (Matthew 27:34). Then later he accepted sour wine without the gall to prolong his suffering. (Matthew 27:48). Neither was to slake his thirst. The world may offer us money, power, and revelry, but none of it is for our true benefit. Let them seek their profit from the world, eventually all their wealth, all their rich foods, and all their false power will be a stumbling block. They will either fall on their knees before Jesus or be thrown into the pits of Hell. We cannot be like them and therefore send them to Hell ourselves. Verses 22-28 describe it.

“Let their own table before them become a snare;
    and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
    and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them,
    and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp be a desolation;
    let no one dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
    and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Add to them punishment upon punishment;
    may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
    let them not be enrolled among the righteous.”


The sinner will never be counted with the righteous. Only those made good and holy by Jesus’ blood will be in the Book of Life. Everyone starts out with the opportunity to be saved. God, our Father has chosen that all can be saved by Jesus. But many will not listen to the urgings of The Holy Spirit. Many will close their ears and harden their hearts against Him and so they will be blotted out of the Book of Life and instead die eternally.

For us who humble ourselves before The Lord, admit our sin, and let God be our God, He saves us. He keeps us and carries us through the suffering. He won’t save someone who won’t admit they need saving. He helps those who ask for His help and rescue. Verses 29-33 read,

“But I am afflicted and in pain;
    let your salvation, O God, set me on high!


30 I will praise the name of God with a song;
    I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox
    or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 When the humble see it they will be glad;
    you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy
    and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.”


So Believer, do not be afraid to suffer. Do not be afraid to call out to The Lord for deliverance. Call out to Him and praise Him for His Salvation. Let the world know how great our Lord is. Let the church know how good The Lord is. Verses 34-36 read,

“Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
    and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36     the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
    and those who love his name shall dwell in it.”


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Psalm 55 In Whom Do You Trust?

7/15/2015

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Psalm 55

Who or what do you put your faith in? Do you put your faith into yourself, trusting your instincts ad emotions to lead you? Our feelings do not always guide us with wisdom. David had been betrayed by a friend. He was greatly wounded and in his distress he wrote this poem, a prayer to The Lord. Verses 1-8 read,

“Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.


4 My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
7 yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
    from the raging wind and tempest.”


David’s emotions lied to him. He felt like God wasn’t hearing his prayers. He was suffering and afraid. Those feelings made him want to fly away from it all and seek refuge in a tent in the wilderness. He wanted to escape his suffering rather than go through it.

But we know that God will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5). Although our emotions, our flesh leads us to cower and escape torment, troubles, and trials, God calls us to let him be our refuge. Romans 8:5-8 puts it this way,

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Our emotions (our flesh) do not always lead us properly, but the Spirit always does. The Spirit carries us through the difficulties we experience and conforms us to Jesus’ beautiful likeness through them. Romans 8:26-29 reads,

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

David was hurting over the betrayal of a friend. He put his trust in this friend and the friend helped those who sought to kill David. Putting our faith in people isn’t a great idea. People are fallible. We are not all-powerful, perfect, and holy like our Lord God. We fail. We fall short of the mark. Only God almighty is worthy of our faith. Jesus lived the only perfect life ever. We trust Him and when people let us down, as they undoubtedly will or when we let others down as we undoubtedly will, God is still with us strengthening, leading, and perfecting us.

David was deeply hurt by the person he had once called friend. He cried out to God to punish him. Verses 9-15 record his passionate plea.

“Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
    for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11     ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.


12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me--
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me--
    then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God's house we walked in the throng.
15 Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.”


Have you ever felt so hurt that you like David asked God to kill someone? The deep emotions David felt prompted his injured soul to hate the betrayer. I know that I have experienced that sort of hate when someone hurt me. Those feelings are tantamount to murder. Seriously, we are not perfect. We all sin grievously. In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus spoke about our anger and thought life this way,

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

David’s personal Judas deserved punishment, but so did David. Our enemies deserve punishment, but so do we. God is graceful and merciful. He loves us enough to give us Jesus. He loves us enough to count Jesus perfect love and life as our own just for the asking. He loves us enough to reform us as new creatures whose nature align with His own. When we depend on God, His love, mercy and grace become ours too and we can extend it to even the vilest of persons. We realize we were that despicable too. If God forgave us, shouldn’t we also forgive others? Verses 16-21 read,

“But I call to God,
    and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
    I utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not change
    and do not fear God.


20 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
21 His speech was smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were drawn swords.”


People will hurt us. People can lie, they can feign sincerity. We want to believe them. David wanted to believe his one-time friend. Hoping the best of someone is not a sin. Wanting people to be sincere is not wrong. But putting out faith in them instead of God is a sin. If we trust God, then when we are hurt by people we can extend His grace, mercy, and love to them too. It won’t mean we aren’t hurt, but it lessens that wound and brings healing to us and maybe even to the one who hurt us.

When you are hurt don’t lash out at the person who wronged you, call out to The Lord, give Him your pain and sorrow and let Him make it beautiful. Trust that those who wronged you will be dealt with by your Lord, your Father, your Savior, and your Peace. Verses 22-23 read,

“Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.


23 But you, O God, will cast them down
    into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
    shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.”


Do you put your trust in your feelings? Do you allow circumstances to rule you? Do you put your faith in people including yourself? Put your faith and trust in God. He is able. He is worthy. He is God The LORD.


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Ezekiel 21 If You Hate The Father's Discipline, You are Hating the Father

3/7/2015

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Picture
Ezekiel Chapter 21

This chapter prophesies the King of Babylon and the Ammonites making wars on Jerusalem. This was something Israel didn’t think would happen because they had made deals with Babylon and were already captives. They thought Babylon would stick by their word and leave Jerusalem alone and even protect the city. But the Lord would allow Babylon’s false divinations to lead them to destroy Jerusalem and He would remind the King of Jerusalem’s sins against him. (Verses 18-32).

Israel and Jerusalem were so stubborn they refused to give up their false religions, idols, and acceptance of worldly philosophies. The Lord steadfastly told them He wouldn’t put up with it, and unfalteringly disciplined them for this grievous sin. Yet they just as persistently ignored the chastisement. Verse 5 reads,

 “And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.”

Israel had reached the point, even though they were living in the midst of prophecies coming about they were treating God’s word like a fairy tale. They were barely reacting. The Lord wanted a response. Israel acted like hostile smug teenagers and kept up what they were doing. The Lord would keep doing what He was doing until they responded. And He knew that meant His stubborn children would be brought to their breaking point and beyond. He knows that for many of us, our pride makes it so we must break before we will acknowledge Him. Verse 7 reads,

“And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord God.”

The Lord described the sword He would unsheathe and He told them why He was doing it. Verses 9-13 read,

 “Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say:

“A sword, a sword is sharpened
    and also polished,
10 sharpened for slaughter,
    polished to flash like lightning!


(Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.) 11 So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer. 12 Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh. 13 For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise the rod?” declares the Lord God.”

Israel despised the rod. They discounted God’s discipline. They refused to allow His corrective measures to correct them, instead they cried and whined and turned to wooden statues for help, when the Lord was right there waiting for them to respond to Him. Even though they hated the punishment they chose it over God.

Don’t we do the same thing? God allows circumstances to teach us, guide us, shape us, or otherwise discipline us and we hate them. We cry, but we don’t cry out to the Lord. We whine. We turn everywhere but to Jesus for answers. We look for money to solve the problem instead of depending on God. We read a hundred self-help books instead of the Word of God. We lean on crutches of worldly philosophy instead of God.

God loves us. He allows difficulties, pain, sorrow, and trials for reasons. Rather than hate the pain, loathe the suffering, and spurn the trials we can cling to Jesus and take joy in His deep and perfect love for us. We can be glad that He cares enough to want to transform us. We can allow the Comforter to comfort us as He uses the sword to deftly conform us to the image of Christ. That means not ignoring the trial but experiencing it. Romans 5:3-5 reads,

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Are you in the midst of terrible conditions? Are you suffering? How are you coping? Are you leaning on the Lord? Are you being upheld by the Brethren? Are you rejoicing, praying, thanking and praising? Or are you wallowing in self-pity? Are you looking for answers from self-help books and other idols? Are you seeking help from money? Are you trying to deaden the experience with alcohol, drugs, TV, or work?

I encourage you to rejoice in your suffering, embrace the pain. Cling to Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit have His way with you. Pay attention to and extract all the benefits of the sword you can. Be transformed.

Jesus doesn’t make your life idealistic. He doesn’t take away the pain and brutality of life. In fact, following Jesus can add pain to one’s life. But He does bring us through the suffering to a better end in which we, not our lives are made more ideal, like our Perfect Savior.




Matthew 10:34-39 reads,

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

We can turn to the world to solve our problems. We can love the world more than the Word. If we choose the world over Jesus, we will not be transformed, we will die to the sword along with the world. But if we truly belong to God, we will choose Him. We will choose the sword over the wooden statues and the sword will give us life.

Examine your life and your heart. Have you despised the rod with wood? Have you hated the sword and loved the world? Respond to the Father’s discipline.


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James 1:1-8 Celebrate and Be Glad When You Face Trials

1/27/2015

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James Chapter 1 Verses 1-8

Today we begin reading the letter written by James to the church dispersed by persecution. His greeting is very short and rather than give qualifiers for himself such as “Apostle” or “Elder” he called himself simply, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Verse 1). It is this role that he encouraged us to take, active humble enduring doers of the word.

Verses 2-4 read,

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James immediately got to the meat in his letter. He started with a deep and difficult statement. “Count it all joy…when you meet trials.” He didn’t say suffer through it. He didn’t say lament, groan, and complain. He said to count it all joy. He wasn’t talking to people who had barely faced a hard time in their lives. He was talking to people who had left their homes and moved to other countries because of the persecution they had faced. They had seen brothers and sisters jailed, beaten, and killed. They had very likely lost loved ones, careers, and reputations for Jesus. Even after all that they would continue to face trials of various kinds. It is par for the course of Christianity, not if you face trials, but when you do.

How is it that we can count it all joy? How can we embrace the pain or be joyful even through the tears? Because we know that this bad stuff has good results. Because when we exercise our faith it produces steadfastness which is persistence, stability, dedication, loyalty and faith. And when that persistence has its full effect and we are fully devoted and faithful we will lack nothing. James said, “that you may be perfect and complete.”

I know many people in today’s culture consider our spiritual walk to be one of never-ending search, but James said that our trials faced in a godly manner result in completion, that we will lack nothing. We will lack nothing because we will have the faith to ask God to give us whatever we ask for. If we need wisdom, we ask God and He gives it. If we lack joy, mercy, or whichever of Christ’s characteristics it might be, we ask and God will give it to us. He will conform us to the image of Christ. Verses 5-8 read,

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

God gives generously. James says though the child of God doing the asking needs to ask with faith. He didn’t refer here to healings and such. He referred to asking God for our spiritual needs. We have to ask with faith because the way God gives us wisdom, patience, and joy is usually through trials. When we go through those trials with faith, knowing there is a good purpose for us, knowing there is a lesson to learn, and maturity to be gained, we can go through it looking to learn the lesson, develop the trait, and become more Christ-like. But if we go through it without faith, we won’t see the lessons, we won’t receive any of the blessings, gifts, or growth the Father has for us. That is an unstable man, not a steadfast one. He hasn’t yet gained the faith in order to develop the endurance. He doesn’t have the wisdom or discernment to see the goodness that can come out of suffering.

Remember this God allows you to suffer for a reason. He is sovereign. He loves you. He works it all together for good for those who love Him. And that good is your completion, your maturation to be like Jesus. Romans 8:28-29 say it like this,

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

The trials we suffer bring about the traits of Christ in us. James said we are to count it all joy. Paul also said we are to rejoice in our suffering and in the hope of the glory of God. Not only does our suffering produce wholeness in us, but it glorifies God! Romans 5:1-5 says,

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

So Brothers and Sisters, not if you suffer, but when you do, rejoice! Celebrate and be glad because good things are happening. You are being conformed to Christ’s image, you are being made faithful, perseverant, patient, and wise. The joyful manner you live your life and endure your troubles brings glory to God. Pay attention be wise, have faith, and grow through your hardships, and always always praise God and thank Him for being there with you.

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