Woe To Them

“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!”-Isaiah 31:1

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help. The “help” of this world can be sought and found in a variety of ways.  It can be friends, knowledge, experience, money, intuition, technology, etc.  It can be back dealing and rule bending. A “it’s not what you know or who you know” scenario.  However, worldly help is forever limited by worldly understanding.  God’s help is superior and sure.

Egypt was an example of worldly help. Egypt’s power was manpower.  The institution of every carnal means to obtain and gain power.  Chariots, horses, soldiers; all a product of this titan that was the nation of Egypt.  When king of Judah, Hezekiah, was faced with a seemingly unbeatable foe (the Assyrian army), his forces were outmatched in every way.  Hezekiah could be tempted to look to Egypt for help.  To seek an alliance with this behemoth to assist in his struggle with the Assyrian army. That Assyrian force, so overwhelming and powerful, it would be logical to ally with the Egyptians.  How is it possible to defeat them without help?  Why would they risk conquest and not send emissaries to Egypt?  Yet the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah says, “woe to them that go down to Egypt for help.”  In other words, don’t take this route or trust in this kind of help. Rather, seek the lord and ask of him!  Hezekiah heeded the word of the Lord and trusted in God against all odds.  He and his people were delivered of the Assyrian army in a mighty way.  The Lord sent an angel to kill them all.  Hezekiah trusted in the Lord to deliver him.  Where do you go for help?  Egypt or God?  The forces of Egypt may seem many and mighty, but they will fail you in the end.  The 401(k) cannot heal a sin sick soul.  All the education in the world cannot cure unrighteousness.  Your friends cannot lift you out of addiction or stop the violence warring in your guilty conscience.  These are tangible means, but they bring no victory against Satan’s forces and no glory to God in heaven. Furthermore, they will lead us away from the walk of faith.

 So many today are looking for Egypt to help.  Even in the church we fall into this snare.  Saying if we just had more funding, more staff, more technology, better organization, better experience, etc.  What happened to the old paths?  What of prayer?  Of travail?  Of obeying God, and tarrying by faith?  Is the Holy Spirit not enough?  Has the power of God been reserved only for those in the Bible?  While the glint of chariots, and tremors of battalions may strengthen, they will never deliver.  Only God and His Christ can deliver against the forces we face today.  The forces of sin and evil.  You cannot go to the world to find deliverance from the world.  You cannot look to the world to save the world.  Therefore, the message still rings out today from the prophet: “woe to them that go down to Egypt for help.”

As Soon As Zion Travailed

“Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”-Isaiah 66:8

Travail, there is no connotation of the word that invites pleasant thought.  Travail is to labor with pain, to toil.  The word is synonymous with the labor of childbirth.  There is nothing glamorous or glitzy about travail.  It is the precursor to birth, the final stage in the forge of life.  There is no birth without travail.    

It’s no great revelation to say that travail for a woman is a painful process; so much so that this was God’s curse to the women.  To labor in childbearing.  The women labors to bring forth life, and the man labors to sustain it.  Here is the balance of God’s justice on original sin.  Yet in labor we learn, we learn that there can be no children without travail.  As with natural babies, so it is with spiritual babies.  For there to be a new birth in Zion, there must be travail in Zion.  Zion represented the spiritual center of the Jewish nation.  The habitation of Almighty and the seal of His chosen people.  Today, we live in a spiritual Zion, an “heavenly Jerusalem”, and a “church of the firstborn”.  The church is every redeemed believer who is sealed with the Holy Spirit and living a holy life.  We who have been called out of the world and into the collective body of Christ.  This body is Christ’s church, and the church is the bride of Christ.  Zion today is a spiritual place inhabited by the church.  So, what is the travail of Zion today?  What is the labor of the church?  How might we bring forth children?  We cannot set the terms of growth, of revival, of revelation; no more than we can say for certain when a baby should come into this world.  God has set it all in his providence and given to us the burden to carry it.  We carry it in prayer.  The principal step to having children is wanting them.  A sincere desire to see lost souls found, broken hearts redeemed, sin sick lives healed.  To see the gospel, go out, and lives changed.  To rob the devil of his workforce and gather jewels for the Crown.  This desire cannot be tainted with a selfish notion of boosting the member list or adding to the donation box, but it must be a longing for life.  As a mother longs to hear life’s first cry; we long to see a soul awakened to Christ.  We carry it in witnessing, testifying, preaching, teaching.  The publishing of God’s truth through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.  Truth published unabridged, and unredacted.  Pure and powerful.  We carry it in love, and acts of service.  The church of Christ being the hands and feet of Christ.  Clothes for the naked, bread for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and healing for the sick.  Knowing no holiness that is not social, and no persons that are not worthy.

  Paul wrote to the Galatians: “whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,” herein the purpose of travail; that Christ would be formed in you.  How then can Christ be formed in anyone if the church is not carrying them to the birth?  Carrying them by nourishing, cherishing, and protecting.  Carrying them by being and living the example of Christ?  As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.  This is the essential element of childbirth.  Travail cannot be circumvented with handy promotional tools or false piety.  You cannot delegate travail or outsource burden.  It is the responsibility of the mother; for by divine right no one else is suited to the task.  Do you believe this?  That it is up to the church?  To you, to me?  If so, are we willing to enter travail?  This labor of love.  This means of life.  Who among the church today is willing to sacrifice?  To give, love, and serve?  That we might see new life, and see Christ formed in others.  As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 

Spiritual Christmas

“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” –Luke 1:17

A prepared heart is essential to the plan of salvation.  Repentance is as needful as sanctification and sanctification as repentance.  Repentance is turning away from sin, clearing out the old, and getting ready for the new.  If one wishes to be in complete fellowship with God, the Father; he must accept and be accepted by God the Son.     

The meaning of Christmas is the birth of Christ.  The coming of our Savior into this world to bring hope through salvation to all mankind.  He is the main character and John the Baptist is part of the supporting cast.  John’s role was to prepare he was born before, he went before, and he preached to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus.  God wants each one of us to have a spiritual Christmas within our hearts.  The gospel of Luke (as well as other places in the Bible) tells us that John the Baptist was to go before Jesus.  He was to be the forerunner, preaching the gospel of repentance, witnessing to the Christ which was to come.  As the servants would prepare the road for the coming of the king, John prepared the way for the coming of the Savior.  John was sent preaching a gospel of preparation, not one of total salvation.  He continuously pointed to another, one who would come after himself, one that would be greater than he and bring the gospel of full deliverance from sin.  John came first and Jesus Christ who six months later was born to a virgin, came to be the Savior of the world.  John is first into this world, and Christ is after.  Repentance to prepare the heart for the coming of the Holy Spirit to sanctify it.  Before Jesus can come, we first need to be prepared.  We need to repent, turn away, ask God for forgiveness, and determine to never go back to our sinning ways.  God will forgive and forget, but we don’t stop there because He did not stop there.  There is full deliverance that is offered and a spiritual coming of Christ into your heart that needs to be requested and welcomed by faith.  You are not saved at forgiveness, you are prepared for the coming of the Savior.  The coming is not physical but spiritual; the spirit of the Holy Christ (the Comforter) is the born-again experience in you, and you thereby are reborn, sanctified, and made holy.  It is by faith and in faith, just as the birth of our Savior was by faith and in faith, the faith of Mary, the faith of Joseph.  With God, the impossible is possible.    

When Jesus comes into your heart, he saves you totally and completely from all sin and pulls you out of the darkness into light; that’s what he came into this world to do, to save us from our sins.  You can have a spiritual Christmas.

 

O Come Emmanuel

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”-Matthew 1:23

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” could rightly be the sentiments of both the prophets of old, as well as you and I.  It should be the cry of every human heart.  The invitation for Jesus Christ to come and dwell within; the Savior of the world to save everyman from sin.

Emmanuel, God with us.  Is it that Christ should come?  That he should be found as a man on the earth?  Born of women, live a life and die a cruel death?  Yes, and so much more than this.  Truly, he “was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities”, but he also brought “life and immortality to light through the gospel.”  He reveals the mystery, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. The invitation of Christ coming reaches much deeper than the history books.  It touches the Lamb's book of life, because it moves those who welcome Him from death to life.  It transcends from natural to spiritual.  That he might come and live and reign in the heart of everyman.  To ransom the captive that mourns in exile of sin.  To open the prison bars of unrighteousness and loose the chains of wickedness.  To lead us to that spiritual rest by which we can be fit subjects for heaven.  Emmanuel, “God with us.”  He wants to save you, yes you, from all sin.  He wants to come and live within your heart and “purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”  When the Son of God comes in, he changes you “from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to that of God.”  The change comes because the power is real.  Can it be that the Holy Child would come and die for me?  Yes, for He did.  Can it be that the Creator of the Universe would live in you, in me?  Yes, through Christ.  Christ is our dayspring, morning star, Prince of Peace, and King of Kings.  The battlefield for man’s soul is waged on a spiritual plain and the principal territory to be won is the heart.

 O Come Emmanuel.  Abide with us.  Deliver to us.  Transform us.  Sanctify us.  This is the cry at the altar.  The invitation of the earnest seeker.  O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.  Come to us, abide with us.  

Lessons From A Fire

 “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”-Acts 2:47

A fire, like a church, starts with a match or small spark.  Then you add some kindling for it to catch, followed by some fuel logs, and it soon grows into a bright burning blaze.  This catches the eye, but the heart of the fire has yet to fully develop, because the wood has not been consumed. 

Last week while observing the fire in my fireplace it came to me that in many ways a fire is like a church.  The needs of a fire are simple: fuel, air, ignition. Yet, in the beginning stages a fire is vulnerable and easily influenced.  However, once the wood catches and it goes up in a blaze (dramatic as it may be), the longevity of the fire is still not ensured, because the heart of the fire has not been formed.  The hot coals are not there yet.  The whole of logs and their purpose is to be consumed.  Once consumed the wood will fall to the ground to form a bed of hot coals.  This is the heart of a fire.  That hot bed of coals that are at the base of the fire is almost indistinguishable in the sense that you cannot tell if they are fire or wood.  It is a perfect union of the two.  This is holiness, this is God’s plan for the people of God, and His church.  You that are in perfect union with Christ are at the heart of the church because you are at the heart of God.  A hot bed of coals can convert into fire the wettest or greenest wood you lay to it.  The coldest heart, and the most burdened soul can come in amongst the church and feel the burning love of God, and/or conviction of sin.  You can pour water over a bed of coals, and by simply turning it over and breathing a fresh wind, the coals will ignite. No amount of doubt or deception will prevail upon holiness of heart and life.  The fire burns too deep and can withstand the downpour of Satan’s might.  You can’t hardly kill a fire with a big bed of coals, because they are steadily burning, with a fervent heat.  That heat is strong enough to ignite the coldest timber you can add.  The coals sit at the bottom of the fire, burning in obscurity.  They don’t draw the attention of the outsider but work to set new members ablaze.  It is not them per say but the fire that they have become, set ablaze by God, and burning for the Lord.  Their desire is not to garner all the attention, but to grow the fire!  To convert the sinner!  So is their purpose. 

The Lords adds to the church when the church is prepared to receive.  A young or underdeveloped fire cannot convert green, wet, or cold wood.  It will only become overburdened and return to a cold, lifeless state.  The Lord added to a church that is set to the heart of Himself.  This is vital, so that new members so added are set ablaze.  For no other reasons than they need to be consumed and find refuge at the heart of the fire.  The whole of the church consumed in love for God and taking refuge in holiness.

A Good Meal

 

“So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.” 1 Samuel 25:35

Never underestimate the power of a good meal, and the impact that those who prepare it can have.  Around a good meal we: congregate, share stories, learn, engage, and bond.  How many children have turned into adults at a birthday dinner?  How many sermons were discussed over Sunday afternoon fried chicken?  The table and the food that furnishes it is grafted into the fabric of our daily lives.  We can never underestimate the power of a good meal, or the profit that can come from simply gathering around the kitchen table.  There is a lot that can be said for good ole fashion home cookin’.

In the 25th chapter of Samuel, soon to be King David crosses paths with a foolish man (quite literally) named Nabal.  Nabal snubs the King in a way that enrages David.  Nabal was foolish by all accounts, but thankfully his wife Abigail was not.  She recognized the authority that David held through God, not simply because he was David the warrior, but rather because he was David the anointed King.  In faith she saw the Lord's anointed reigning on the throne and knew that to cross him was to cross God.  Knowing that David was hungry and needed food, her immediate response was to gather up a big feast for him and his men and run to meet them, before he came to seek vengeance on all that was in her house.  What she brought to the table and the way she brought it pleased David.  He heard her counsel and refrained himself from doing something that he might regret.  Who’s to say that the same would have transpired if she had brought nothing, but the reality is, a good meal granted her audience with the future king, and gave opportunity for counsel, guidance, and a moment to minister.  There is no virtue in food, like all things in this world, it is temporal.  However, as with many things in this world, it can be used as a resource for the ministry.  As a dear brother once said to me: “Brother, I think one of the biggest resources we have to minister with is this right here (as he pointed at the table).”  The kitchen table in the American home is a valuable resource to advance God’s kingdom.  Growing up, we ate a home cooked meal almost every night.  Day after day I watched my mother prepare, cook, and serve us.  It took work, sacrifice, and dedication.  When the table was set, we would all come stop what we were doing to gather around the table.  Then, we said the blessing.  Day after day, week after week, year after year; we thanked God as a family for what we had.  We discussed what had been, what was, and prepared for what was to come, as a family.  I can still remember saying my Sunday school verse again on Sunday afternoon at the kitchen table (and I can still say those verses), I can remember discussing the Sunday sermon, I can remember watching my dad ignore phone calls from work.  Dinner time was just dinner time for a child, but now looking back, it was a classroom, a sanctuary, and pillar of my childhood.   

The opportunity to minister and the tools to do it is right in your home.  The battle for America is not at the White House, it is in your house.  As it is in mine.  We can gain the audience of those we want to reach, and we have the tools to do it with.  How often is this opportunity squandered away with television, streaming service, iPhone, etc.?  What can television teach us about God?  What can the iPhone do for fellowship?  The world can only have as much influence in our homes as we allow.  We commission pastors, laymen, preachers, Sunday school teachers to educate our youth about God and Jesus, but honestly, what better teaching agent is there than the American home?  What better educators than a sanctified Husband and Wife?  What better venue than a good meal?  

I Was Afraid-Part 2

“And I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.”-Matthew 25:25

          The prophet Amos told us to “prepare to meet thy God.”  If the wicked servant Christ spoke about in Matthew chapter twenty-five showed us nothing else; he showed us that simply being able to return the lord’s investment is not enough.  Simply being able to describe a testimony back to Christ is not preparation enough to hear “well done” from our Lord Jesus.  

            The wicked servant said upon his lord’s coming: “lo, there thou hast that is thine.”  He could take him back to the spot where his lord’s investment was hidden.  He could produce precisely what he had been given.  Why?  Because it had been kept hidden and “safe.”  However, since it was kept hidden it had not been used.  It reminds me of the man who went to a country meeting and was converted then sanctified.  Terribly nervous about what his friends might think, the next day he went back to work among them.  Upon returning home his wife asked, “how was your day?”  He replied: “Great!  No one them knew a thing about my new salvation!”  We might rightly say: “the wicked servant”, but how many professing followers of Christ are just the like?  Never one to rock the boat.  Not inclined to be the salt or light of the world.  Paul in second Corinthians five tells us that we will be judged by our deeds done in the body.  True, we may have the earnest of the Spirit, and yes, the investment testifies to us that we are a trusted servant.  However, if all you can show at Judgment is the ability to describe the time you prayed or “met Jesus”; then I say to you that it is nothing more than saying as the wicked servant did: “lo, there thou hast that is thine.”  Locating the investment is not the whole job. We must live it, testify to it, and show our faith by our works.  Jesus said, “whosoever heareth these saying of mine and doeth them.”  He didn’t say “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and repeateth them back to me.”  It is not just saying but doing.  At Judgment I am not going to be able to say, I was going to do this or that, but my boss wouldn’t let me, or my friends didn’t want to, or my church wouldn’t get behind me, etc.  I might as well just say: “I was afraid.”  God gave the means, pointed us to the market, and now we go and invest, invest, invest!  As best we can, being governed by the leading of the precious Holy Ghost.  We must be careful not to but our entire hopes of salvation on a quick trip altar experience.  One may claim to be sanctified thirty years and can tell you about the time and take you to the place. Which it’s good they can, because otherwise no one would have known they were sanctified.  The whole of their life was drunk with worldliness and marred by selfishness.  We must be careful of our boasting, because Christ said: “every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account at the day of judgment.”  Imagine coming to judgment having said: “I was sanctified thirty years ago, and I have kept that testimony until this day.”  Then the Lord says: “these thirty years, have you clothed the naked?  Fed the hungry?   Or preached to the poor?  These thirty years have you blessed them that cursed you?  Have you prayed for them that despitefully use you and persecute you?  Have you lived dead to the world, and preached righteousness in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation?”  What would be your reply?  That you went to an altar or raised your hand when prompted?  You might as well say: “I was afraid and hid thy talent in the earth.”

Prepare to meet thy God.  Would it not serve us all to “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” and see where we stand before God today.  “While it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”  Let us not lean on grace, and cry mercy when we give neither to our fellow man.  Let us not testify of holiness, and righteousness when we emulate the godless and heathen.  God wants us to be the light of the world.  Light is not supposed to be hidden, in fact, it must stand out or it is no light at all!  It is meant for a candlestick.  Its sole purpose is to shine and to banish the darkness.

I Was Afraid: Part 1

 “And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.”-Matthew 25:25 

Talent.  In our modern day it can be correctly defined as a natural aptitude or skill set.  However, in the book of Matthew chapter twenty five, it is proper to think of talent as a sum of money.  This parable of the good and wicked servant(s) is not a lesson in finance, but instruction in righteousness and prudence.

The scripture in Matthew twenty five begins by telling us of the wise and foolish virgins. Then Jesus begins to teach on the good and wicked servants.  He tells of the lord of the house giving five talents, two talents, and one talent to each of servants; then proceeding to take his journey to a far country.  The first two doubled their lord's investment and the second simply kept it safe until the lord came back.  When the lord returned he commended the first two and casted the last “wicked and slothful” servant out.  The wise servants multiplied that which the lord gave them, and were “faithful over a few things”.  They were faithful because they understood that their lord's business was trading for profit.  They understood that in order to bring him profit from the money he gave them it must be put to use in the open market; and that risk was a necessary part of this use.  They understood that the expectation was to multiply.  Alternatively, the foolish servant was afraid.  He valued the lord's initial investment more than his lord's expectations.  Proving this by testifying “I knew” to the lord upon his return.  He testified that he knew his lord's character, his lord’s business model, and how his wealth was created.  He saw the other servants and their work.  He understood that the talents were a symbol of both trust and expectation.  He knew all this but his excuse was “I was afraid.”  He was afraid to lose, so he lost everything.  His principal object was maintenance so he went and hid his lord's money in the earth.  Maintenance is far easier than multiplication.  With this holy scripture and sacred lesson from Christ before our minds I ask: How might we apply this teaching to us?  To those who would call themselves the servants of the Lord.  Has not God bequeathed to us the Holy Spirit (by consequence all the benefits that come with it)? A precious investment we have been entrusted with. Its value far past the material riches of this world.  If it can be correctly said that this is the initial investment (I believe it can), that God has given to his people a precious gift.  What are we going to do with it? Christ gives us the answer in the same parable.  The market with which to employ our investment is that which will glorify Christ.  What does this mean in the practical sense?  Jesus said: “I was hungry and ye gave me meat, thirsty and ye gave me drink.”  The disciples, clearly confused, asked: “Whence saw we hungry, sick, etc.”  Jesus then says: “when it is done to the least of these my brethren it is done unto me”.  Herein is Christ glorified and served.  Christ is glorified when the least of humanity is served, by the followers of the greatest human to ever walk this earth.  When the “down and outer.”  The “least, last and lost”; when they are brought into close connection with Christ; by showing the love of Christ.  The same Lord that gave us the talent, gave us the instruction on where to put it to use.  Can it be that the Lord is concerned with works of charity over works for profit?  Yes.  Is it scriptural to say that Christ cares more about man than money?  Absolutely.  The Lord’s business is the care of souls.  Therefore the servants of the Lord should be employed in the same. 

 In clothing the naked, feeding the hungry we invest in souls.  In housing the stranger, visiting the sick and imprisoned, we invest in souls.  Should we do this in a temporal sense?  Yes.  In a spiritual sense?  Yes.  In every way we are to be serving, giving, and thereby investing.  “Sow to the spirit.”  We are instructed in another place.  We do this so that we might multiply our Lord’s investment.  That we might multiply the Lord’s business here on earth, and thereby have confidence at the day of Judgment.  That we may be “rich in good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.”  Does this absolve us of preaching, teaching, exhorting, and the like?  Of course not, it accompanies it.  The whole of our investment, employed in the Lord’s mission, working together for the deliverance of souls and the glory of Christ.  

Flour For A Shekel

 

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”-Romans 11:33

 

Circumstances of life can change so rapidly.  The things around us that are, in time will not be.  They are always in flux like the waves of the sea.  Life changes so quickly.  The most perilous and hopeless circumstances can turn into fruitful bliss.  The highest highs can become the lowest lows.  Our contentment, our faith, cannot be based on circumstances; though we can see in each and every day the hand of God.

 

In the book of second Kings chapter seven the scripture chronicles the siege of Samaria by the Syrians.  So terrible was the siege that the famine drove the people to eat everything in sight.  When Elisha the prophet told the people the word of the Lord.  He said that on the next day a measure of flour and barley shall be sold for a shekel.  A great deal of food, sold for next to nothing.  It was an incredible prophecy.  I have heard it said: “If you don’t like things the way they are, just wait a little while; it will change.”  It can be difficult sometimes when we are going through something bad to “wait a little while.”  It can be difficult to realize that God allows everything in His own time.  The good and the bad.  However, the providence of God comes part and parcel with the comfort of knowing that God is all powerful.  His providence and judgment are intertwined together, and he knows all.  The scripture says that “he is before all things and by him all things consist.”  As the people of Samaria sit starving to death, the word of the Lord may not have been so welcomed; yet a few lepers outside the gate acting in self-interest decided to walk down to the enemy camp.  Perhaps they would receive them in, better to do this than sit and die of hunger.  In arriving they found that the Lord had driven out the enemy and nobody knew!  He has worked out the day, hour, and minute of their deliverance.  The same as ours.  Our release from famine, pestilence, drought, turmoil, pain, etc.  It is lost on us but known to God.  It was unknown to the lepers of Israel that the Lord was working to drive out the Syrians.  In their good fortune they found character enough to help others who were less fortunate.  So, the lowliest of Israel became deliverers themselves.    Teaching us once again that the ways of God are past finding out. 

           

Who could have expected this turn of events?  Who would have laid to heart the word of the Lord prophesied by Elisha?  This remains an inescapable truth, and a constant lesson in humility to mortal man.  That his wisdom and knowledge is deep.  His judgments are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out. 

As Bold As A Lion

 “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” – Proverbs 28:1

Action is uncomfortable, and boldness will draw attention.  It is easier to hide, be quiet, and use any excuse to be apathetic.  Effectively “fleeing when no man pursueth.”  The devil uses fear and doubt as chains to shackle those in pursuit of righteousness.  Which is why the righteous are as bold as a lion.  We must be so.  

To this day, I can still remember when my Dad first taught me how to cut the grass.  He showed me how to start it.  He showed me where to put gas in.  He showed me how to engage the blade and cut straight lines.  With sweat on my brow, ache in my legs, and a smile on my face, I led that mower over the entire yard.  Then cleaned it off, and put it up until our next engagement.  As time went by (a couple weeks or so), the joy of cutting the grass soon faded.  When it was time to mow the lawn there was no more spring in my step, I had to be persuaded, prodded, and lectured to get me to do anything.  The reason for my apathy was I had learned how to talk myself into apathy.  From the first time I cut the grass to the hundredth time I cut it; the obstacles that stood in my way, largely, had not changed.  The only thing that had changed was my outlook and attitude.  The first time, it was a new and exciting adventure.  The hundredth time, it was a chore, and when it became a chore I found reasons to do nothing.  In the morning, it was too wet, in the afternoon, it was too hot, and in the evening, it was too dark.  I was mentally searching for obstacles to use as excuses.  Intentionally enlarging minuscule adversity in order to justify not do anything!  The reality is, this does not just happen, when it comes to cutting the grass.  Stop and ask yourself, how many lost souls do you think remain that way, simply because the righteous talk themselves into apathy?  How often do we mentally search for obstacles to use as excuses to do or not do something for God.  Search your heart, has there been neglect to witness to your hairdresser, co-worker, grocer, schoolmate, simply because of reasoning to apathy?  I myself confess that there have been occasions where the only thing that kept me from proclaiming the message of Christ was a possible raised eyebrow.  Talking yourself into apathy can extend to many situations.  How many times have we quenched the moving of the Holy Ghost because, “that’s just not what they do here.”  How many times have we neglected our personal devotion time to the scriptures with a promise of “I will get to it later.”  I pray that I am very alone in this matter, but my fear is that I am not.  When God puts something on our hearts, whether it is a new and exciting adventure or nothing short of a chore, it does not matter, we must go out in obedience.  Fleeing from the task is shameful, and wicked.  The antidote to apathy is a good dose of faith. 

When we proclaim that we are Christian’s, followers of Christ, and the Master puts something on your heart; it is there for a reason.  You might think it uncomfortable to carry it out.  You might be a little embarrassed or feel a little corny…well, really, who cares?  Let us be bold as a lion!  Take the leap and say, “Lord, I will.”  He will guide and direct us.  God does not need us to be qualified; he needs us to be willing.  To be bold. 

Guest Week: The Sacrifice of Praise

 

The Sacrifice of Praise: by  Bro. Jake Rothfuss

¹⁵ By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Hebrews 13:15

“By him”

The only people ordained to give sacrifices under the Old Law were those of the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 5:4). Under the New Law we find that “pattern” (Hebrews 9:23) is the same (yet of things spiritual), those who are sanctified have been brought into a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9) under the “high priest,” Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1). Having become spiritual priests then, we are able to offer acceptable and worthy sacrifices through Christ because he is the “mediator between God and men” (Hebrews 8:6; 1 Timothy 2:5).

“offer the sacrifice of praise”

A sacrifice often gets a negative connotation in the world, they think of blood and slaughter, loss of goods, loss of life. Sacrifice has been all those things, but the meaning gets lost when we equate sacrifice with a simple loss. The true sacrifice is so relevant because it is a willful giving up of something important because it is counted as nothing before God (Philippians 3:8).

Knowing this, what makes praise a sacrifice? What is being given up? Times of extreme distress are the easiest examples. When times are good and easy, so is (often) all that is spiritual. It’s easier to praise the Lord (no matter on our knees, at our jobs, or in church) in times of plenty, we have that “plenty” to praise him for. Well, that doesn’t quite cover every day. Maybe the meal is running low and there’s only one cruse of oil left like the woman in 1 Kings 17, close to starvation and close to death for her and her son. Maybe you lost a family member, not uncommon but not easy either. These times (and far less than these) are the times when maybe you feel like you can give no more, but you give God your praise anyways because He is worthy (Revelation 4:11), and you have the confidence that no matter what happens, He’ll see you through. This is a blessed assurance; God sees His people through every time!

“continually”

            This is a call to action to give God the praise He deserves, and He deserves our all. So, what does it look like to give praise continually? How can we give Him a sacrifice of praise if we are not in times of famine? Praise is still a sacrifice if given in plenty (we still must offer up our time), it’s just a more overt sacrifice in famine. We are constrained in our love of God to find His praise continually in our mouth in the times when we are up or even in the times when we are getting up (as some of the older folks used to say). We can find that when we make it a point to praise God whenever we think of it, it will begin to be automatic throughout the day. To put things simply, David had it right in Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

May we all praise the Lord continually.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

“The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”-Psalms 23:1

        If the Lord is my shepherd I will want for nothing.  In some cases, the word want and lack can be used interchangeably; simply because if you have want for something then you obviously lack it.  If, (key word) the Lord is my shepherd I will want for nothing.
               
        No doubt Christ chose his examples and analogies very carefully.  When you consider the nature of a sheep, first and foremost you find they are skittish creatures.  At the first sign of danger they run the other way.  There is very little courage in a sheep.  Second, they are completely defenseless.  They have no claws, teeth, or venom; they are not very big, sheep are easy for a predator.  They are totally dependent on the shepherd; without him, they are as good as dead.  In your mind, imagine a sheepfold smack dab in the middle of a desert place.  If left to their own devices, will they find food?  No, they will starve.  Will they seek out still water?  No, they will die of dehydration, if not eaten first.  They cannot survive without the guiding, protecting hand of the shepherd.  Without the shepherd they want for everything, but with a good shepherd they want for nothing.  Are we not like sheep?  Without the Lord, what defense do we have against the onslaught of the enemy?  We are easy pickins for Satan.  Deceived, manipulated, led astray, and devoured.  This is our fate should we choose to live this life without Christ.  Without the power of the Holy Spirit.  We want for everything, however, with Christ as our Shepherd we "shall not want."

    As the sheep follow the good shepherd that will lead them to green pastures, so must we follow Jesus trusting that he will lead us to the nutrients that give us abiding life.  He will lead us, comfort, keep and protect; but sometimes we must wait for it and trust Him.  The devil will creep in, in these times of wait and try to make you want; or rather, try to convince you that you lack.  When you begin to believe this lie you begin to want, lust, covet, sin, and then, eventually….death.  However, we must remember that we are sheep of His pasture. 

Glory Filled The House

 

 “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.  And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house.”- 2 Chronicles 7:1-2

 

The glory of God, the power of God, the presence of God, was so great that it posted a proverbial DO NOT ENTER sign on the Lord’s house.  The Lord God had filled the room to every square foot.  It was so magnified in that place that there was no room left to be able to even stand.  Like looking into the sun, the brightness and awesome power is enough to cause us to turn our face away.  This was the glory in the house of God that day.  

 

Glory doesn’t come unless God sends it.  Unless he sees the sacrifice and longing of his people to experience it.  Solomon continued upon the path set by David’s perfect heart of devotion.  He built the temple that his father had planned to build and with the material his people sacrificed.  Solomon contributed to it in his own right, and took great care in building God’s house, not because God needed it, but because he deserved at least this much.  The temple would stand as a place of worship, forgiveness, and where God would put His name.  How wonderful would it be if this was the testimony of every church service?  That the preacher could not preach, the singers could not sing, because there was so much of God’s glory.  We could only fall on our faces and worship Him.  Where the people did not leave because they were arrested by God’s awesome presence.   Where they felt that they could not stay in the presence of God's glory lest they die.  The presence of God is so strong it fills the room and would seem to fill the whole earth and grind humanity to dust if He did not stay his own hand.  How wonderful would this presence be in our devotion time?   Or in our prayer life.  In our small groups or prayer groups.  There is nothing so enriching, inspiring, or all-consuming as the glory of God.  What are you willing to sacrifice to experience this glory?  What are we willing to give up, to seek after, to consecrate; so that God would fill the house?  Not just the house of God, but this house; this mortal flesh; yes, you, and even me.   

 

God’s own Son, Jesus Christ paved the way so that God could fill us with His Spirit, and we could experience His presence and glory.  Jesus brought to us the glory of God by his resurrection.  We now look to Jesus for forgiveness and our sanctification.  Christ paved the way and gave us the example to follow.  The example of sacrifice, of self-denial, of grace and mercy.  Now we are the temple of the living God, and he can come and dwell with us.  We have what we have because Jesus did what he did.  We can have the abiding presence of God in our life if we repent of our sins and commit our lives to Jesus Christ.  By faith believing in Him for our salvation from sin.  Christ our redeemer, deliver, sanctifier, keeper, and abiding presence.  He can fill every corner of our heart, every square foot of this earthly house.

All The Way Home

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” – Isaiah 55:7

If you have ever been hiking, skiing, or climbing in the mountains, before you go up you must alway know the way home.  Mountain ranges like the Rockies or Sierra Nevada are so vast that any deviation from the way home could place you in a lost and life threatening position.  It is dangerous to not know the way home, and dangerous still to know it and decide to ignore it.  To create your own way.

 
When Moses left Egypt with the children of Israel; God carried them out into the wilderness and they were headed for their new home.  They were headed for Canaan and the land of promise.  It was supposed to be a short trip, but they lost faith in God and began to trust in idols.  In this way they deviated from the path and took on themselves their own way and their own devices.  They may not have known geographically where Canaan was, they didn’t have it plotted on a map, but they had the God of the universe guiding them home; because they knew Him so they knew the way.  If they would have trusted in God, they would have made it, but they lost faith and that cost them their lives.  As Christians and sanctified people, the devil is always trying to tempt us to lose faith, and trick us into going our own way.  This world is not our home, and it will never be our home, we are a people seeking a country that is not temporal but spiritual.  It is a country that you cannot see, that Google maps cannot find, and we may not know the way home in that sense, but we “know the knower”(as a dear brother in our church used to say).  The God of creation lives within the heart of the born again and he is taking you home.  We have to trust in him, and yield to him.  The devil would try to convince us to take our own way home and find our own path.  He is always trying to belittle God, tell you lies, and make you trust in idols.  Whether it’s money, people, theology, pleasure; you name it, he wants you to have your own way, take your own path; the biggest idol is yourself.  This is dangerous and wicked.  Once I had the privilege to ski the Rocky Mountains.  The size of those mountains are indescribable; signs are posted all over urging people to stay on the trails, and not go out of bounds.  If you do, you do it at your own risk.  There was a certain trail that traversed back to the lodge from the west side of the mountain labeled “Way Home.”  It was narrow, long, and flat; sometimes uncomfortable to ride on, but it was your last chance to get home.  If you missed this trail or tried to go your own way, then you would be lost to the mountain.  The trail was there for your sake, the signs were there for your sake, and the way home was traveled by the obedient.  It was not a matter of intelligence or talent, but of trust.  It was trust that got you home, trusting in the path, the path that had been trodden before, a path that’s not your way, but yours all the same.  

        As the children of Israel, if you try to make your own path or want your own way it will cost you your life.  It will cost you your home in Heaven.  This is why the Bible tells us to forsake our way, and our thoughts; turn to the Lord.  It is for our own good.  Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow him.  Jesus wants us to be as he was, to be Christians, Christ like, that is: “Lord thy will be done.”  Jesus did always the will of the Father and we are called to the same.  It is not our will but His, and His will is the way home.  

Commit Thy Way

“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”-Psalm 37:5

 

         When you hear the word commit, it calls to mind a proactive connotation.  Synonyms like carry out, execute, or follow through.  The word is fraught with action.  You might also think of it in the proactive sense of devoted or dedicated.  However, the translation of the word commit here reads closer to roll, cast, or leave off.  One might well say the text is exhorting us to give it over to God, trust in Him, and he shall bring it to pass. 

 

The scripture here is not an instruction in persistence, execution, or dedication.  It is not an excuse to plan, coordinate and perform your own ambitions; all the while “committing” them to God.  Pledging to God the outcome of your own ideals.  No, in fact the scripture is calling us to do the opposite.  It is calling us to yield.  To trust.  To lay it off your shoulders and onto the Almighty's.  Trusting that the Lord will bring to pass “thy way."  Not what you had in mind, but what He does, and wants you to follow.  Which is incredibly contrary to human nature.  The commitment is not an excuse to underscore my own plans or ambitions with scripture.  It is the call of God to yield over all my plans and ambitions.  It is not, I will go and do such and such, committing this or that to God.  It is the determination that “I will give such and such over to God and let him bring the vision and path to me.”  Committing here is one of unburdening yourself, of giving over.  The key element is trust.  As Christ trusted the Father and committed himself to Him.  This is not something that I am carrying or orchestrating or striving to oversee.  This way, this progress, this life, is not mine but God’s.  It is the Lords.  How easy it is for us to slip into going at life in our own way, with our own ambitions and mindset.  We are trained and taught by culture to be the captain of our own ship.  However, just like in Acts twenty-seven when the sea was too boisterous for the sailors; their only option was to “let her drive.”  In other words, they let go of the helm and let the force of the sea them in their predestined course.  This is contrary to a commitment to follow through on your predetermined plan.  No, it is a commitment to allow the Almighty God to direct your steps.  Leading and guiding us in the way we should go. 

 

Commit thy ways.  Roll them off your shoulders and onto the abiding strength of Almighty God.  Let Christ direct our steps.  This is done, I believe, principally through the vehicle of prayer.  Prayer is a neglected art.  It is sedentary in the physical, but active in the spiritual.  It is a deliberate act of Christian discipline whereby we invest the valuable commodity of time in devotion to God.  Searching, asking, and yielding to the will of God.  God’s will cannot be discerned and implemented any other way.  Prayer coupled with our study of God’s Word yields the way we should go.  As we are reading to find out more about His character, his thoughts, desires, and design for creation.  We find out more about ourselves.  The Holy Spirit searches our own hearts and leads us down the path.  The direction we go is further rooted in the Word of God.  The way we walk is further committed, and we are more given to trust also in him.  How much good could the Church do if we were to commit our ways to the Lord in such a manner as this?

Where Do You Find Rest?

“Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.” – Psalm 90:1

 

God knows us far better than we could ever know ourselves.  The Bible teaches that he knows “my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:2).  For those who are charging headlong in sin, this should be a fearful thing.  However, to the child of God, the knowledge that we are known is a great comfort.  The Holy Ghost brings this knowledge of being known to our hearts and in it we find a glorious dwelling place.  We find a rest and comfort in the fact that God is in control.  No matter how dark the night or how long the day; Jesus Christ knows the situation and “he can supply all our need according to his riches in glory.”  In this we find rest, in this we find peace amiss great chaos.

 

God is “before all things and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17) There is nothing that happens in our lives that he stops and says: “well, I didn’t see that coming.”  He has the help lined up before the problem hits.  He had the donkey tied up before Jesus came to Jerusalem.  He had the upper room prepared and furnished long before the Passover feast.  Simon was going to help carry Jesus’s cross, and Joseph of Arimathea was going to handle the burial.  God had it all under control, and he has it all under control.  We do not have to worry.  I ask you: what can you turn to in this world to find help such as this?  What rest, or what comfort is there, like the rest and comfort in the Lord?  The devil wants us to take comfort, and try to find rest, in the things of this world, because it takes our eyes off God.  Furthermore, the devil knows the things of this world will fail us.  “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7) There are so many places and people looking for rest; looking for comfort in this world.  However, no substantial comfort can be given.  The only true comfort is in the arms of Jesus.  When you have the Holy Ghost on the inside, he witnesses to your heart that you are a child of God.  Through this vehicle God says to us “you are mine.”  When we yield to His divine leading it brings glorious assurance that he is in control and in this we find rest and comfort, because the God of this universe is guiding our life.  This is a dwelling place that is unparalleled.  This rest is only found by faith in Jesus Christ; men come and go, pleasures come and go, but Jesus is steadfast and unmovable; he is eternal in heaven and because of that he has been and will be a dwelling place across many generations.

 

One day, we, each one, will no longer be on this earth.  Somewhere, someone, will likely be standing over our lifeless bodies giving an account of the life we lived.  As they speak, those coming behind us who knew us, they will recount in their minds the life we led.  They will remember the choices we made, and the choices we made will be self-evident.  Where we turned to for rest will be apparent.  Those behind us looking to us, they will see where we found our strength in times of crisis, and they will look to lean on what we leaned on; run to who we ran too.  They will look at where we looked.  They look because they are looking, so stop and ask yourself.  Where are you pointing them?  Where is your place of rest?

“Sanctification? What Is That?”

 

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”-John 3:5-6

 

Sin is the sum of two parts that make a whole.  Like a weed plant growing in the dirt; it has a root and a branch.  God’s plan of salvation deals with both parts.  The branches of sin are sins committed.  It is what we know is wrong and do anyway.  That could be lying, cheating, stealing, etc.  These are transgressions against God, that we knowingly committed.  The root of sin is carnal sin.  It lives in every person, and it drives us to commit sin.  Without the destruction of both the root and the branch, sin will remain in you and in your life. 

To truly be saved, one must first repent.  That is to confess your sins committed and turn from them.  Then one must seek sanctification.  Which is the coming of the Holy Spirit of God into your life.  This is sought through sacrifice.  The giving up of all of who you are.  Your plans, ambitions, wishes, hopes, dreams, loves, etc.  With your whole heart you must give up your all and promise your all to God.  By faith, ask God to sanctify you and give you the Holy Spirit.  Once you do this, he will keep His promise (because of Jesus) and sanctify you.

This will take the sin out of your heart, and put righteousness in.  This is how God deals with sin.  Branch and root.  He removes them altogether and sows instead the seed of righteousness; by which will grow up a tree of holiness in your heart and life.  Love for God and love for your fellowman; this is the sanctified life. Sin moves out, and Christ moves in.  

 

Q. Who can be sanctified?

            A. All persons.  Jesus said: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”-Matthew 11:28

Q. What is sanctification?

A. It is the promise and plan of God: “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”-2 Thessalonians 2:13

·      It is God’s love towards us.  “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”-Romans 5:8

·      It is through Jesus’s sacrifice for us.  “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.”-John 17:19

·      It is the Holy Spirit in us “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit”- 1 John 4:13.

·      It is that which makes you holy (godly, righteous, free from sin): “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”-Romans 6:22

Q. When can a person be sanctified?  

A. The moment after repentance (that is turning away from sin); when one has faith to give up all of himself to Jesus, and to ask for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Q. Where can a person be sanctified?

A. Anywhere.  In church, in their home, on the side of the road; God sanctifies those who desire to be so.    

Q. How can a person be sanctified?

            A. They can be sanctified because of Jesus, and his offering on the cross.

If It Be Marvelous

 

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.” - Zechariah 8:6

 

            Only God himself can send revival, and only God himself can accomplish it. Revival cannot be birthed through man's ingenuity.  It cannot be orchestrated or commanded.  True, genuine, Holy Ghost revival is the presences of God himself.   

 

In the eight chapter of Zechariah, the Word of the Lord is given to the prophet in the second year of Darius king of Persia.  Zechariah is prophesying at the same time as Haggai who said, “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?”  Ezra the scribe is now back in Jerusalem trying to rebuild the temple (the Lord’s house that lies in waste).  There is a lot going on.  In this time, the Word of the Lord comes to Zechariah and tells him that he jealous over Jerusalem.  He tells him I will dwell in Jerusalem, and the aged men and women will dwell rejoice in the streets.  That the streets of the city will be filled with children at play.  He paints a picture of revival.  Then the Word of the Lord says, if it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in mine eyes?  Try to imagine your homeland in desolation (sadly, some may not have to imagine), imagine the things you hold most dear in ruin.  That feeling of great loss, and hopelessness.  This was the state of Jerusalem. It was God’s people removed from their country, and just a few left there.  Now, can you imagine the faith it would take to believe that God would be there?  That men, women, and children would be together in the streets: safe, secure, and happy?  God says if it be marvelous in your eyes, it will be marvelous in mine.  God says, if this scene is marvelous, wonderful, incredible to you; it will be to me.  This is the message from God to God’s people.  When you look out at our land and country today, if holiness people think themselves just a remnant living in a desolate decaying land, and that is all there is; we will never see revival.  Worse still, if we love this present world, and long to return to it; what hope is there when that is what is marvelous in our eyes?  What is attractive to you is what you attract.  COVID drove us into our homes, and we walled ourselves off from so many things.  What was interesting, was not what we forsook, but what it was that finally got us out of the cave.  The who or what that finally made us say: “yes, this is worth the risk.”  That is what is marvelous to us.  What is marvelous in your eyes?  What is incredible to you?  What gives you pause, causes you to stop and look, or rise and seek?  Is it worldly possessions?   Abundance of talent?  The newest trend, latest fashion, coolest gadget?  Do we really want to see a sinner break with the world and fall in love with God; or simply talk about it?  Would you rather see the Holy Ghost grip this nation and turn us back to holiness, or see another Facebook feed or concert, television show, ballgame, etc.?  What is marvelous in your eyes?  

 

Jesus told of an unjust judge who totally ignored a widow woman that had been wronged.  The Word of God says that by her “continually coming” she persuaded the judge.  If an unjust judge would do right by her, how much more the Judge of all the Earth? How much more would God in heaven if we but humble ourselves, continually seek His face, and make holiness marvelous in our eyes?  Revival starts within, not without.  As in the days of Josiah the King, we must look to our own house and ask God to clean out the rubbish and clear out all the mess.  Read His Word, commit to prayer, and be honest with God.  When he answers by fire in our heart, it will make revival marvelous in our eyes, consequently in His, and by God’s grace he will make it marvelous to the world.  

Press On

 

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”-Romans 8:18

 

Suffering is God’s graduate program.  The Lord told Satan: “hast thou considered my servant Job.”  You wouldn’t give a child a sledge hammer, would you?  They are not ready for that. Even so God would not have put Job in Satan’s cross hairs unless he knew Job was ready for a season of suffering.  The suffering of this present time yields a testimony for ages to come, and more than that; it is nothing to be compared to the revelation of glory which shall be when Jesus calls us home. 

 

We sing a song in our church titled “He’ll Take You Through.”  A verse in this hymn says: “Then, O brother, never waver, Even though in prison cast, Though you lose all worldly favor You will gain a crown at last; And when trials all have ended, If to Jesus you’ve been true, Then the pearly gates will open, He’ll take you through.”  There are Christians who have experienced these words in a very literal way.  Persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and killed for their profession of Christ.  They have faced suffering of every kind, and though the grace of God stood for Christ.  They should be writing this.  Then there are many Christians who have not experienced this (or anything close to it).  I find myself in this group.  The trials and suffering that befall us, one might say (and justifiably so), are insignificant compared to what others face.  Yet whatever we face, we stand on the truth of scripture that it is nothing compared to the glory and reward that awaits the faithful.  Whatever the suffering, though it be of body, of mind, of spirit, or all three.  It is real to the one who is experiencing it; and a trial to them, whether small or great to others.  Jesus knows the trail of our faith and he can comfort and help us each one.  For Satan is always working and although the tools change, they are drawn from a very limited but often too effective toolbox.  His methods of lies, lusts, deceit, manipulation, division, bitterness, worldly influence, doctrinal perversion, are packaged in a variety of ways but ultimately, the goal is to steal, kill, and destroy.  His aim is to cause us to renounce our faith in Jesus and embrace faith in ourselves, or some other god.  Anything to dethrone God, and his Christ from our hearts will do.  This has been and continues to be his chief aim.  We have an "adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour."  But Peter exhorts us to “resist steadfast in the faith.”  Faith is our resistance strategy.  It is faith that conquers fear, access power from on high, anchors us in Christ, and instructs us in humility.  Faith can save and faith can keep.  So says Peter that when we add to our “faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.”  We will not be barren, unfruitful, and we will never fall.  When we build on the faith in Christ, adding bricks on top of this sure foundation, it raises up a bulwark against the attacks of the enemy.  The addition is day by day, through prayer, reading of scripture, fellowship, testifying, and of course enduring hardness “as a good soldier.”  Until one day our faith will be lost in sight; our faith will be transformed into reality.  We will see Jesus, and he will welcome in each suffering pilgrim.  We will drop this mortal robe and receive an everlasting garment. 

 

O brother, sister, never waver.  Never cease to press on, to walk Calvary’s Road, and fly our dear Savior’s flag of redemption.  Even if in prison of body, or prison of mind.  If buffeted by whips or words.  No matter the affliction, the trial, temptation, or loss; continue in the faith.  Believe Jesus above all else.  A light is brightest in the darkest night.  Stand for Jesus or fall to sin; herein is our gospel and our charge.