REJKOICE AND LEAP FOR JOY

REJOICE AND LEAP FOR JOY!

Luke 6:22-23

22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

           Leaping for joy is not our first or natural response to being hated and abused. Either God doesn’t understand our pain or we don’t understand His perspective. I think the latter might be the best guess. God does not think like we do and he doesn’t mark time the way that we do. Our frustration at His patience while we endure trials is due totally to our failed understanding. There is little hope of reconciling our thinking without a healthy dose of faith in the unseen.

           When, for our innocent attempts to serve the Lord and to serve people, we become the victims of rejection and harsh abuse, we find ourselves in some rare company. Jesus said: “for in like manner did they unto the prophets.” We do not feel worthy to sit with such a company but that is exactly where Jesus has placed those who suffer on His behalf. Paul suffered the equivalent of being run out of town. This was not the mega-church welcome that many of today’s servants have come to expect.

Acts 9:23-25

23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:

24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.

25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.

           Since Christianity has been driven from the streets and forced to reside inside the walls of churches, that has now become the devil’s battle ground. Pretend Christians and real Christians sit together at worship and it is inevitable that conflict will be the result. When we try to redefine genuine Christianity to fit a personal or particular mold then we exclude anyone that doesn’t fit. It’s painful but it’s common.

           Paul urged young Timothy to “endure hardness” as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3). That word “endure” speaks nothing of strategy or tactics. It simply points out that spiritual conflict will be cruel and uncomfortable. Brace yourself! Experience, hope and boldness are the products of pain. Read it for yourself in the following verses.

Rom 5:3-5

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; [makes us bold and confident] because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Dear Lord, it seems we have been lied to when we have been led to believe that Christian service involves large adoring crowds, fancy clothes and big smiles. In reality we soon learn that we are battling a foe that is hell bent on destroying us. Let us brace ourselves for the conflict and sternly endure the trouble that comes with serving you. Only be our captain! AMEN

BOTH SINNER AND SAINT

BOTH SINNER AND SAINT!

1 Peter 1:15-16

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

           Erik Thoennes, professor of biblical and theological studies at Biola University, sees the authenticity trend in the undergrads he teaches. At the beginning of each class he asks his students to write down two things they love and two things they hate. Consistently, one of the things they say they hate is “fake people.” But the Christian life involves a whole lot of “fakin' it” on the path to being integrated, Thoennes says.

Peter would not be my first choice for someone who would articulate God’s command to be holy. On second thought, all of God’s choice servants had horrible pasts to overcome. Moses was a murderer yet God used him to lead the Israelites across the Red Sea. In fact he was so near God that his face glowed after receiving the Ten Commandments.

Paul hated Christ and Christians. He persecuted the church and was complicit in the martyrdom of Stephen. His seventh chapter of Romans gives us insight into his tortured dual nature. Only in Romans chapter eight does he find release in the mercy and grace of the Christ he persecuted.

Most of us have broken wings! We have besetting sins. We live inconsistent lives. How then can we obey God’s command of holiness? Paul said it required a reckoning regarding ourselves. Look at what he said.

Rom 6:11-12

11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

“There's this idea that to live out of conformity with how I feel is hypocrisy; but that's a wrong definition of hypocrisy,” Thoennes said. “To live out of conformity to what I believe is hypocrisy. To live in conformity with what I believe, in spite of what I feel, isn't hypocrisy; it's integrity.”

2 Cor 4:6-7

6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Dear Lord, let the light of Your glorious treasure shine through my dirty and broken earthen vessel today. AMEN

FEELING SMALL

FEELING SMALL!

Ps 8:3-6

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

           I am blessed to be a Texan and I mention that to remind you that Texas has more visible stars than other states filled with tall buildings that clutter the sky. The lights of the boulevards often make it impossible to see the glory of the heavens. No such competition hampered the heavenly view of the psalmist. With the sheep at his feet (see verse 7) and the blanket of stars overhead, David began to consider God. Above the immensity of the heavens, David imagined God looking down upon man.

           Nothing makes a man feel small like the enormity of the starlit heavens! The most hardened doubter begins to consider that maybe there really is a God and if there is a God then what is my duty toward Him? These thoughts make one feel smaller still. Why does this God care for and provide for such a small speck as man?

           David used two wonderful words to describe God’s care for man. The first is the word “mindful” in verse four. This word is the Hebrew zakar and it means “to mark so as to be recognized.” Imagine God looking down and wanting to isolate you from all the rest of creation. He places a mark upon you. With this mark He can track your whereabouts and observe your circumstance. But this is more than a tracking device. It is a mark of possession and ownership.

           The second word is also in verse four and it is the word “visit.” Here David specifically alludes to God coming down to be with man. This is the wonder of Christmas! God came down but not just down. God came down to lowest man. He was born in the most humble circumstances so that he could meet man eye to eye. Such condescension is too full of wonder for expression. So John 3:16 describes the love of God with the tiny word “so.”

           If you are feeling abandoned by God don a jacket and go out under the night sky. Look up at the wonder of the work of His fingers and understand that God has placed a mark upon you. God has not lost you in the crowd. He knows who you are and what is happening in your life. He came down to visit you in your humanity so that he might lift you up to sit in heavenly places. (see Ephesians 2:6,7)

Wondrous God, I am overwhelmed and encouraged that you think on me. I know that you will never lose sight of me or forget my needs. I know that you are rich enough to pay all my debts and strong enough to defeat all my enemies. I know that I am loved – but I do not know why. Thank you, Marvelous Lord. AMEN