Monday, March 18, 2024

"Present Suffering, Eternal Glory"

"He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn." Matthew 9:24 

"And they laughed Him to scorn." Not much has changed. People laughed at Jesus when He was following the Father's will. They laughed at His faith. They laughed at Him when He went against earthly thinking. They are still laughing at Him and laughing at His people. 
 
"Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." (John 15:20) We shouldn't think that it is strange when we are laughed at because of our faith in Jesus. We shouldn't think it is strange when we are mocked for our faith. We shouldn't think it is strange when we are persecuted for our stand for Christ. Neither should we think it strange when we are mocked and labeled as being fanatics, intolerant, ignorant, etc. We should think it is normal because they did the same thing to Jesus-- if they did it to Him, they will do it to His followers. He was despised, rejected, mocked and ridiculed. They called Him names-- prince of the devils, glutton, drunkard, blasphemer. They lied about Him. They tried to kill Him. They finally crucified Him. 
 
I guess I haven't painted a very lovely picture. Seems pretty gloomy and hopeless. Why would we want to follow Jesus if this is what we have to look forward to? This is just one side of it. We need to know that this is part of being a Christian so that we won't be disillusioned when the times come that we are ridiculed for our faith. So, what do we have to look forward to then? Things that the eye hasn't seen, the hear hasn't heard of and things that haven't even entered into our hearts-- blessings here and now and in the eternal future. In the now, we have a relationship with God the Father. He daily loads us with benefits. We have abundant life, wisdom, grace, joy unspeakable and peace that passes understanding. In the world to come we will have life everlasting. The privilege of hearing the Father say, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord". We have a home prepared for us in heaven. We will forever be with the Lord where there is no more suffering, no more pain, no more sickness, no more rejection, no more ridicule. 
 
"The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) Suffering for your faith is a part of this world. They did it to Jesus so they will do it to us. But what we go through here is not even worthy to be compared to what we will receive in eternity if we hold fast to our profession of faith and endure to the end.
 
Have a great day. We will suffer for the cause of Christ while on earth, but the glory that we will experience in eternity will make it all worth it.
 
For further reading:
1 Corinthians 2:9
Matthew 25:21,23
John 14:1-3
1 Thessalonians 4:17

Friday, March 15, 2024

"Dressed Or Naked?"

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;" Colossians 3:12 

I would never dream of leaving my house naked. I always put on clothes before I go anywhere. Sometimes it takes me longer to get dressed than it does at other times. If I know I have to go somewhere the next day, I will pick out what I am going to wear the evening before. If I want to wear a particular outfit, I make sure it has been washed and ready to wear ahead of time. If I have to attend a special event I will spend hours, even days, looking for the right outfit. 
 
More often than not we are too focused on dressing our bodies than we are dressing our spirit. The Bible tells us to "take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" (Matthew 6:25) That doesn't mean that we are not to care about our appearance and make sure we look presentable. It means that we shouldn't be anxious about it and make that the most important thing. 
 
Do you get dressed "spiritually" each day? Are you more concerned about what you wear on your body than having your spirit dressed? The words "put on" means "to be clothed". God's word tells us how we are to be clothed/dressed spiritually. Each day we are to make sure we don't face the world "naked". God has provided "clothing" for us. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God provided them with clothes of animal skins to cover their nakedness. He has provided us the same clothing of salvation through His Son Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Adam and Eve's bodies were dressed in the skins to cover their physical nakedness. We "wear" Christ, the Lamb, to cover our spiritual nakedness. 
 
The Lord has also provided us with additional clothing to wear every day. We are to be clothed with mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness and longsuffering. We are to be clothed with the armor of light. (Romans 13:12) Also we are to be clothed with the full armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11) And we are to be clothed with charity. (Colossians 3:14) He has provided us with not only clothes, but the right clothing for the right occasions that come our way each day, but we have to make sure we have put them on.
 
Have a great day. Have you put on your "spiritual clothes" today? Or are you walking around "spiritually naked"?
 
For further reading:
Galatians 3:27
Ephesians 4:24
Colossians 3:10
John 1:29,36

Thursday, March 14, 2024

"Endure To The End"

"And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Genesis 2:12 

I always find it sad that when something goes wrong in our lives, we start blaming God as if it was His fault. Adam blamed God (the woman YOU gave me) when he was the one who disobeyed. How was it God's fault? But there is something else that people do that I just cannot understand. When someone has let them down, when someone in their life has proven untrustworthy, when they have been wronged, many people turn their backs on God and walk away from Him. How did what another person do to you make you turn away from God? What did God have to do with that? Why was it His fault? Why is He the one to blame? 
 
We see this all the time. Those who once served the Lord have now turned away from following Him. Why did they do that? I submit to you that if a person's relationship with the Lord can be so easily broken, then they more than likely never had a relationship with Him to begin with-- they were just religious. 
 
Life is one big series of events-- some are good, some are bad. People hurt us, people betray us, friends come and go, jobs can be lost, situations can change at the drop of a hat, family will even let us down. But we must have a true relationship with the Lord that keeps us "rooted and grounded" in the ever changing, ever trying events of life. 
 
"... he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:22b) The meaning of the word endure here means: to remain, abide, not recede or flee; to preserver under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ; to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments. This doesn't sound like those who give up on God and turn from following Him. It won't be the one who started the race that gets the prize, but the one who finishes it- those who continue going all the way to the end. It will be those who endure persecution, hardship, unkind treatment, betrayal, ridicule, difficulties, accusations, etc. It will be those who endure in their relationship with the Lord and resist the temptation to turn from following Him when times get bad or hard. 
 
Are you grounded in your relationship with the Lord? Do you actually have a relationship with Him? Are you going to let what others do to you cause you to turn from Him? Are you going to let trying times cause you to stop following Him? Or are you determined to endure to the end? 
 
Have a great day. Why would you turn your back on God because of what someone else did? 
 
For further reading:
1 John 2:19
Philippians 3:18
1 Corinthians 9:24
 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

"Jesus Stood Up"

"But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." Acts 7:55,56 

The Bible tells us that after Jesus ascended into heaven He sat down at the Father's right hand. It also tells us that He is seated there until the appointed time when He will make His enemies His "footstool". Yet at the stoning of Stephen, Stephen clearly saw Him standing at the right hand of God. 
 
When God the Father finished His work of creation, He rested-- He sat down. Jesus having finished His work of redemption, rested-- He sat down. But just because He sat down and entered into His rest doesn't mean that He is unaware or uncaring of what is going on in our lives. He is not asleep in His rest. He takes note of us. This is evident from the fact that He "stood" up to see what was happening to Stephen. 
 
The fact that Jesus stood up represents several things to me. On earth when an important person- a dignitary, a king or a bride- enters the room the audience stands. To Jesus those He died for are important to Him. Stephen had an audience with Him, so Jesus stood because Stephen was getting ready to "enter the room" (heaven). 
 
Also on earth, at a football game when the team we are rooting for makes a touchdown, the audience stands. They stand because of joy, excitement and the victory of the touchdown. Jesus stood out of joy over Stephen's victory and faithfulness to Him even in the midst of adversity. 
 
When someone comes into a room, it is customary to stand and give them a welcome. This is another reason, why I believe Jesus stood-- to welcome Stephen home. Lastly, as I have already mentioned, we stand when we want to get a closer look at what is going on. Jesus stood at the stoning of Stephen. He didn't stay seated. He didn't turn His head. He didn't walk away. He stood acknowledging that He was watching and had His eye on Stephen. 
 
This morning, be encouraged through this story of Stephen. You are an important person to Jesus. He is rooting you on in your daily walk. He rejoices over you. He is awaiting your arrival and will be there to greet you. But also, be encouraged to know that whatever you are going through, whatever adversity you are facing, whatever the trial that is surrounding you, even if you feel like you are "being stoned", Jesus notices and is watching over your life.
 
Have a great day. Though Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, He is completely aware of where you are and what you are going through.
 
For further reading:
Romans 8:34
Hebrews 12:2; 4:10
Psalm 110:1
Genesis 2:2,3

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

"Earning Trust"

"Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield." Psalm 115:11 

I was talking with a young man recently who is in a situation that involves others trusting him. I encouraged, and warned, him to make good choices and not do anything that would put that trust in jeopardy because once trust is broken it isn't easy to get back. Trust has to be earned. Trust is earned not by what we say alone, but by what we do.
 
Many people have fallen prey to scams because they trusted what someone said. Teens have given their bodies away because they trusted the words, "but I love you." Men have fallen prey to "gold-digging" women because of their flattering words. Once the words were trusted, the actions did not back them up-- they were untrustworthy. 
 
Employers gain trust in employees by watching their performance on the job. Parents trust teens with an automobile when they have proven themselves trustworthy to obey the laws of the road. As a child I remember being able to get a pet after I proved I could be trusted to take care of it.
 
Repeatedly, the Bible tells us to trust the Lord. Can we trust Him? If trust is earned by what a person does, then there is no way we could ever possibly not trust Him. Jesus proved He could be trusted- not by what He said, but by what He did. He said He loved us, but then He proved He loved us by dying on the cross. (His actions backed up His words.) So to answer the question-- yes, we can trust Him. 
 
Have a great day. We can't always trust what people say, the proof is in what they do. But we can always trust what Jesus says because the proof of His trustworthiness was in what He did. 
 
For further reading:
Romans 5:8
John 3:16