In All Things...

⁷ And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. ⁸ Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. ⁹ And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. -2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Are we willing to praise God in weakness? In persecution? In infirmities?

To what degree are we willing to go to please God?

I do not intend to say that God wants to watch us wiggle under the weight of affliction. But how do we see God in such afflictions? Do we see Him as a tyrant bent on hurting us; or do we see Him as a loving Father molding us into His likeness?

I like to put things in terms easy to understand or identify with. If I may, I should like to do that here. Think back to one of the many post-Superbowl speeches. Have you ever heard the MVP say something like “I’m glad this season is over. The coach set unrealistic goals for us and tried to kill us. He had us killing ourselves in the heat of summer, and freezing in the dead of winter. Now that I have proven to the world how great I am, maybe another team who will appreciate me will buy my contract and treat me the way I deserve to be treated.”

I can’t ever remember that sort of speech; however, I have heard many statements such as “Coach pushed us hard and we had to over come injuries and obstacles; but coach refused to let us quit. He kept pushing us to be better; to fight through the pain. Thanks to God, Coach, the fans, my family; without you all, we wouldn’t be here today.” Why would anyone praise someone for making them suffer? or, family for not trying to stop it?

Anyone who has done weight training, or physical therapy knows to get stronger/better, you have to push through the pain, and any other obstacle. I remember well when I was in boot camp our Drill Instructors saying “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” I’m not sure how true that is, but I would agree to some extent.

If we appreciate those who push us to achieve great heights in this life, why are we not willing to praise God who pushes us to achieve far greater heights?  

Coaches don’t just pick random people off the street to push. They scrutinize hundreds of people and pick those they see potential in. It is an honor to be chosen and subsequently pushed hard. The same is true of God. If He is squeezing you, it is because He wants to use you and can see potential in you. 

I urge you today to get on your knees and thank Him for loving you and pushing you upward. There is no greater honor!

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Is God Our Passion? Part VI

¹ Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, ² being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

  
⁵ And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, ⁶ as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 

⁷ And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹ If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰ let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹ This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ¹² Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” 

¹⁸ So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” ²¹ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. ²² For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

  
²³ And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴ So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵ who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

      ‘ Why did the nations rage,
      And the people plot vain things?
       ²⁶ The kings of the earth took their stand,
      And the rulers were gathered together
      Against the LORD and against His Christ.’^[ Psalm 2:1, 2 <sup>]

27</sup> “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ²⁸ to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. ²⁹ Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, ³⁰ by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” -Acts 4:1-30

Here, Peter and John are arrested. They are put on trial and told to stop preaching.

Peter, who before had sworn he didn’t know Jesus when confronted, not only professes Jesus, but boldly tells the religious leaders that he will not stop preaching Christ. Peter went on to preach for the remainder of his life, and was finally put to death. Tradition states that he was crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die as his Savior.

With the exception of John, who died an old man in exile (and Judas who hung himself), all of the apostles were martyred (killed for their faith). They willingly died for their Lord.

What If?

What if you were arrested and put in prison for the rest of your life? What if this life sentence was to be in isolation? No contact with anyone but a guard, and only when he brought your food. No personal items like deodorant, toothpaste, nail clippers, hair brush, and especially no Bible. So here you sit; alone, smelly, itching, cold, damp, and you have nothing to do but sit on a cold, hard floor 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the rest of your life. Take a moment and let this sink in.  

This scenario plays out everyday in countries like North Korea, China, and Iran, as well as many others. Christians are dragged off to prison, many times the families do not even know where their loved ones are. For the fortunate few who get out, their stories are horrific. The majority of those I have heard say the worst part is the isolation. This in itself is a form of torture. For the believers, they wish for a Bible more than anything. Imagine being stripped of everything you hold dear and you have nothing but time. No doubt you would pray; and pray, and pray. The natural longing following all this prayer would be to desire God’s word.

Would your current knowledge of the Bible be enough to sustain you?

Would remembering the story of Jonah, Job, David, and Jesus be enough?

I believe you would hunger more for God’s word than you would for food. Here in America we take many things for granted; one of those being easy access to God’s word. However, there is coming a day (see Revelation) when those left behind after the rapture who come to saving faith will be hunted, imprisoned, and executed. No doubt they will hunger for God’s word.

But what if you were on vacation, or a business trip overseas and your plane was hi-jacked? What if you were kidnapped at the mall?

What if you were imprisoned as described above? It could happen. 

I remember hearing of a Vietnamese man after the fall of Saigon who was put in a prison camp. His daily job was to scrub the filthy latrine (rest room). He was a Christian, but after being put in this prison camp he began to question God. He prayed that if God really did exist to show him. One day he found some paper fragments in the latrine that the camp commander had used to wipe himself with. He noticed that it was the torn pages out of a Bible. He washed the feces and urine off the ragged pages and smuggled them back to his cell. He was actually excited the next day to clean the latrine in hopes that he would find more pages. He did indeed and over time was able to piece back together the entire Bible.

Years later he got out and made it to America. He told a friend how God had answered his prayer and today is sold out to the Lord.

Can you imagine yourself in this situation? Would you be willing to wash human excrement off the pages just to have a copy of God’s word? This was his most prized possession while in prison.

Why take a chance and wait? Please consider learning God’s word and storing it in your heart. None of us know what tomorrow may bring.

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. –Psalm 119:11

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. -Psalm 42:1 

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Selah -Psalm 32:7

  

Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face. -Psalm 5:8