Category: Love

Persecution Today

Do you feel like your efforts to live as a follower of Christ are being met by a rock wall? Is it that with every effort, it seems that something bad happens to you, and you are plagued by hard times? Are you going against the flow of what is popular and ‘fun’, and your peers laugh and mock you, or even bully you? Does it feel like you are the single light in the darkness? If all of this is true, then Paul’s words to Timothy will be especially poignant for you:

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is GOD-Breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of GOD may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:12‭-‬17 NIV

Not all of us are like Timothy, fortunate to grow up in a Bible-believing, Christ-following home, praying and reading scriptures, and learning the ways of a Christian. That is a wonderful blessing, but not required in order to live for Christ and to hold up His Light for the world to see. No matter what age we are when we come to JESUS, we can be hungry for the Word and learn it in order to share it. Persecution comes with Salvation. It comes in different forms. As a child, it can be in mocking and bullying. As a teenager and young adult, peer pressure can be brutal. As an adult going into the work force, bosses and coworkers can discriminate and keep you from advancing. Even as adults, we are subjected to mocking and bullying.

Becoming a Christian, a follower of Christ, guarantees you will be persecuted. It may be subtle and covert, and it may be blatantly overt. The enemy uses every weapon in his arsenol to strike Christians down, and the more we live and represent Christ, the bigger the weapond he employs. As adults, it can be a job loss and being unable to provide for ourselves and our families. Disease and illness and injuries are used by the enemy to make us doubt the Sovereignty of GOD. Families and friends will turn against us – look at Jesus. He was rejected by his neighbors and had to leave His home in order to begin His ministry.

Remember Paul? He lost everything to serve His LORD. Home, possessions, friends, status….

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of CHRIST. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD, for Whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from GOD on the basis of faith.” – Philippians 3:7‭-‬9 NIV

We have to choose for ourselves what is most important, the things of man or the Salvation offered by Christ. By choosing to follow Jesus, we are accepting that we will be targeted by the enemy. HOWEVER, by choosing the Freedom of Christ, we are also ensured of a home with Him FOREVER, with NO pain, NO sorrow, and NO tears. Today is fleeting, and our lives on earth will end (soon!), but the eternity after death lasts forever and ever, Amen.

Photo credit: Mark Campbell, Big Sur, California 2017. Used with permission.

Anonymous

The group calling themselves Anonymous is all over the internet, spreading their truth and their reality around the world. Who are they? They hide their identities behind masks and electronically altered voices.

The Ku Klux Klan, better known as the KKK, has pushed their agenda for years through fear-mongering, hiding their faces and identities behind robes and hoods, spewing hatred and persecuting anyone who disagrees with them.

Anonymity is a standing principal in AA and other recovery programs. You can call in tips to the police tip lines anonymously, and most companies have policies in place to protect your identity so that you can report unethical behavior.

These are just a few examples of anonymity in our world. I think Christians make up the biggest anonymous group in the world. We don’t talk about Jesus for fear of offending someone. We aren’t insisting that prayer be reestablished in schools. The Christian flag is missing from our churches….. and we no longer use the world ‘sanctuary’ to describe our main meeting room. Look around your church and your home. Is there a Bible in sight? Will the books and games and DVD’s convince anyone you believe in the Almighty God, and that you are a child of the Most High? I am vocal about my beliefs, but for years I hid them. This verse describes how our Christianity should ‘fit’ those who call themselves Chistians:

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ Lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NLT)

“Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” ” (Mark 4:21‭-‬23 NLT)

Anonymity may serve us well in certain situations and circumstances, but it is NEVER beneficial to be an anonymous Christian; in fact, isn’t that an oxymoron? By the words and example of Jesus, our mission as Christians is to spread His Story and ensure that every person has the opportunity to hear it. We can’t do that anonymously.

Just some thoughts that were on my mind this morning…..

Eyes On Jesus

It’s so easy to get distracted by the world, and take our eyes off of Jesus. Discouragement and sin creep in, especially when we think we have it all together and don’t see the need for fellowship with other Christians. Been there? I can relate! We fall back into relying on ourselves and forget how quickly we fall. Keep the words of Paul in mind:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race GOD has set before us.

We do this by keeping our eyes on JESUS, the Champion Who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. NowHhe is seated in the place of honor beside GOD’S throne.

Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words GOD spoke to you as His children?

He said, “My child, don’t make light of the LORD’S discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you. For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.” (Hebrews 12:1‭-‬6 NLT)

As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus…..

Grace and Peace

Are you searching for a way out of the chaos and messiness and the ugly of your life? I relate to that, because I was stuck in all that for many years. Chaos isn’t easy to walk away from. An acquaintance made a comment once, regarding a woman who was in an abusive situation. Her comment was that the woman was just stupid and weak for not leaving her abuser. It isn’t easy to leave. You may not be physically or verbally abused by a partner, but there are many things that create chaos and ugliness besides that abuse. Your physical state, or a mental disease or syndrome like autism or PTSD, can create plenty of messiness and chaos. We can’t just walk away from those, either. Maybe it’s an extreme example like Stockholm syndrome, or muscular dystrophy. It could be hidden, like a mild form of autism, or fibromyalgia, ….. or the threats you have received that if you should even attempt to leave a situation, you, your children, you family/friends will be hurt or even killed. Extreme? Yes, and no. There are counselors and psycologists, psychiatrists and physicians and other health care practitioners to assist us, but first we have to acknowledge and admit the issue. That can be excruciatingly difficult, especially when we think It’s our fault – for whatever reason. There is also the stigma that is attached to many of our situations. Many times in my life, I’ve wanted to run screaming to get away from something or someone, but i didn’t have the mental or physical strength to do it.

The first step is to admit we cannot ‘fix’ it ourselves. We have to admit we are broken. True healing, after we acknowledge our brokenness, comes only from GOD through His Son Jesus.

“May GOD THE FATHER and our LORD JESUS CHRIST give you Grace and Peace. Jesus gave His Life for our sins, just as GOD our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. ALL GLORY TO GOD FOREVER AND EVER! AMEN.” (Galatians 1:3‭-‬5 NLT)

It is never easy to admit there is something we cannot fix ourselves. We should be SELF sufficient, and not rely on anything or anyone to help us …. Right? No. Wrong. Humans were created to desire fellowship with one another, and especially with our LORD. Without Him, our lives will always have the hole that we try so hard to fill up with relationships or booze or drugs or food, shopping or sports or material things. ONE answer, and ONLY one, will satisfy our souls and give us the Grace and Peace we so desperately are looking for. The Name of JESUS. Can I get an Amen??

I AM

“God replied to Moses, “ I AM Who I AM . Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14 NLT)

and again:

“This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.” (Isaiah 48:17 NLT)

No equivocation, no hestitation.

“Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” …. Then He {Jesus} said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of GOD going up and down on the Son of Man, the One Who is the stairway between heaven and earth. ” ” (John 1:49‭, ‬51 NLT)

“Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.” (Matthew 14:33 NLT)

Why, why, why do we doubt God’s Sovereignty? How can we not see Him in every bit of creation, from the absolute tiniest organism or cell struction, to the immensity of the higest mountains and the deepest canyons in the seas? Researchers are finding more evidence every day that supports the Bible accounts, and yet we still have skeptics and denial from every quarter. Yes, it takes faith to believe in the unseen. Do you believe in the air we breathe? It is unseen…. Do you believe in sound waves, and wireless signals; in electricity and radio and television signals? We can’t see them, either. “But wait,” you say. “We can see the pictures on the television. We can talk on our phones. We hear the radio, so it doesn’t require faith to believe in them. There is evidence to support their existance.”

Then i can only say this: look around yourself, at the grass and dirt and flowers and trees; look at the animals – dogs, cats, birds, horses…. they just evolved from slime?? Picture this: a scientist is arguing with God, trying to prove the theory of evolution. God says, “Okay, let’s each create a living being.” The scientist grabs a handful of dirt to get started, and God says, “Put that down! Create your own dirt!” Simple choice: believe in a THEORY of evolution, or believe in I AM, Creator God….

I have a Friend in Jesus; He is my Hope, my Cleansing, my Protector, and my Salvation. There is no one like Him. He makes me WHOLE. Amen!

In The Dark

“There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” ” (John 3:1‭-‬2 NLT)

Are you a Nicodemus, an intellectual, a skeptic, who doesn’t understand the message of Jesus? He was a man who felt that it would harm his standing in the community if he were seen talking to this teacher Jesus, Who was teaching such radical lessons. This radical, this man Jesus, claimed to be the Son of the Living GOD, of Yahweh Himself. Certainly, Jesus was not someone a Pharisee should be seen visiting, so Nicodemus waited until after dark to go. Nicodemus admits that Jesus was sent from God, but the message is hard for him to hear.

“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” ” (John 3:3‭-‬4 NLT)

A respected Jewish teacher, a member of the elite society of the Pharisees, for Nicodemus to accept what Jesus said would cost him, and it appears that he wasn’t ready. We don’t know what happens to Nicodemus; perhaps he came to accept Jesus as his Saviour, but it’s likely that he chose his earthly position over Jesus. I see it in so many people in power today. Position and status are everything, and there just isn’t enough room for Jesus. So many people, from the poorest of the poor to the richest and most powerful person on this earth, prefer the darkness over the Light. If we choose the Light, the LIFE IN Jesus, how is it that we still let so much darkness in our lives?

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18 NLT)

I know this is true; there is no doubt in my mind the Jesus is the Trut and the Light. I am and will be eternally grateful for His Sacrifice and His Advocacy for me. WHY, then, do we as Christians continue to invite darkness into our lives? We celebrate Hallowee. Even though we try to disguise it in fun costumes and candy, or call it the Harvest Festival or other euphemism, it is still a satanic holiday. To many who are in the darkness, it is their highest holy day, and here are Christians, embracing it. I love Fall, and I thoroughly enjoy celebrating the harvests. It’s like our last hoorah before winter sets in, so we play in the leaves and gather the last of the summer’s bounty before it freezes. Decorating my house and porch with leaves and grasses and gourds is fun, and brings in a breath of warmth for the chilly weather. In the past, I was all about Halloween. I typically dressed as a witch or a vampire, and now I have so much remorse that I was actively inviting the enemy into my life and the lives of those around me. How many treats have we handed out to demons? I believe what Paul wrote in this letter:

“I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is? You say, “I am allowed to do anything” —but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.” (1 Corinthians 10:20‭-‬24 NLT)

Choose your path, whether in the Light of Jesus, or the dark of the enemy. Your choice. There are no shadows within GOD’S light.

It’s A HEART Problem…

“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.” – 1 Timothy 6:12 NLT

Cain killed Abel with a rock. It’s a heart problem, not a rock problem. OJ, a black man, killed his wife Nicole, a white woman, with a knife. It’s a heart problem, not a skin color or a knife problem. One person gets angry and shoots another person. It’s a heart problem, not a gun problem.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” – Jeremiah 17:9 NLT

Who can know another’s heart? Certainly not me; my “picker” has chosen badly too many times! I see what I want to see, and for years I was in ‘rescue’ mode, trying to save the next lost puppy (that’s a euphemism for a man, rather, a little lost boy in a man’s body). In the process, I lost money from buying things for them (computers, vehicles, tools, etc.); I lost emotionally through lies and cheating and affairs. My strays were not all men; there was a woman I befriended who thought nothing of using her friends to clean up her messes with their time and money and emotions. Through all of this, I forgot the faith I had grown up with, and wandered through it on my terms, without my Lord. Oh, I knew Him, and I prayed and called on Him for help, and He delivered me time after time, but I didn’t fully rely on Him.

Jeremiah had it right about the human heart. From the very beginning of humanity our hearts have gotten us into trouble. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Their firstborn, Cain, murdered his brother, Abel. The Old Testament is full of man’s deceitfulness, and even within the twelve men privileged to be with Jesus on earth there was the deceiver, Judas. Every man’s heart, every woman’s heart, is full of deceitfulness and wickedness. If you don’t believe me, just look at the around you. Everyone lies, everyone cheats, everyone deceives. It’s in our DNA, from the beginning. The GOOD NEWS is that we don’t have to sit back and take it! We have the Power of Jesus, the Power that calmed the raging sea, the Power of the burning bush, the Power that rolled away the stone that was holding His body in the grave…. we have access to the good faith, the true Faith, that comes though Jesus Christ. It is up to us, to those who have that Faith, to share it with the world. Fight the good fight. Hold tight to the LORD. Declare His Love and His Faithfulness to your world, without being self-righteous or condescending. Remember that there, except for the Grace of God, goes me, or you.

Don’t let your HEART problem keep you from the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.

Yes.

“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” – John 5:24 NLT

The following is from Right From The Heart 1-Minute Devotions. It’s right on target for people who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ.

“I had an interesting conversation with a friend who is an atheist. He had visited our church and heard statistics on the high number of families who give nothing to the Lord’s work each year. The basic minimum in faithful giving, according to the Bible, is ten percent, or a tithe. My friend said to me, ‘I was shocked. I thought if you people really believe this stuff about God, heaven, and hell, and the importance of spreading the message, you’d want to give more than ten percent. ‘Cause what could be more important than that?’ Jesus would agree, for He clearly said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” In short, where you spend your money reveals the priorities of your heart. So, what does your checkbook say about your priorities? The checkbook doesn’t lie. To all you folks who profess to be Christians, what does your checkbook say about your faith in God? Do you really believe what you profess to believe?”

Am I really listening to God’s message? What does your checkbook say? Where do your (our) priorities lie today? Are we generous or stingy with our giving – time, talent, AND money….? Somehow I don’t think it’s being left up to us to determine whether we’ve been generous or stingy; God will make that call.

“Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.” – 2 Corinthians 9:6 NLT

46 Degrees

Bright sunshine, no clouds, a hint of a breeze…. It’s 46° outside. I can live with that. In fact, I adore this weather. Cold isn’t as difficult to deal with when the sun is shining. I think it got down in the mid-30’s last night (Fahrenheit, not Celsius!), which is fabulous weather to snuggle up with the pups under flannel sheets and a quilt. If the plants could take it and still produce flowers and fruits and grains and veggie, it wouldn’t bother me to have those low temps every night and 60’s and 70’s every day so the pesty bugs would die. (I don’t like bugs). Wouldn’t that mean we lived in an almost perfect world? Of course, that almost perfect world would also mean that everyone, every single human, would have a warm, soft bed to go to every night, and food so their bellies were full. It would mean that all of the violent, evil people were neutralized, too…..

I think I must be dreaming of heaven. When God created the seasons, He filled them with beautiful symbolism. Spring is new life. Plants are bursting out with beauty, and the animals are filling the planet with their offspring. Babies and flowers and newness, purity, are everywhere. Even in the big cities, grasses poke up through sidewalks, trees leaf out, and birds are busy singing. He created Summer to give everything time to mature, to provide us with the foods we need to survive. Summer is also a time of trials, with too much water or not enough water; with heat that can be both pleasant and devastating. Fall is full with harvest and preparation for the coming Winter. It’s a time to be out and savor the beauty of our earth, the smell and taste and feel of the air around us; a time we prepare what we will need to survive the period of rest for the earth. Finally, Winter is a time to slow down, to relax with the fruits of our endeavours; a time of reflection and contemplation of our lives. It’s the time we need to reconnect with loved ones; to enjoy times with friends and family that we neglected in our times of labor. Then Springs comes again, and the cycle repeats.

I think it’s important to look at the seasons and apply them to our lives. Physically, it easy to see the correlation. Spring is birth and childhood, Summer is young adulthood, finding our way into productivity. Fall is mature adulthood, where we are preparing for retirement and learning to savor our lives. Old age is like Winter, with time for reflection. It should be a time where we can enjoy looking back on our lives and sharing the lessons we have learned with the next generation. Spiritually, I believe our personal Fall and Winter are the times we need to be contemplating our God and perhaps evaluating our relationship with Him. Our personal seasons don’t have a set timeline. Some don’t make it past their Spring because they have died young. Others go out in a blaze, like a fire consuming a forest in the hottest summer. If we make it to our Fall, and I am one of many baby boomers who believed I would have died years ago, some of us find ourselves woefully unprepared for our Winter.

Like the ant and the grasshopper, some are ready for their Winter because they focused on their goal to be ready, and many are like the grasshopper, having spent their productive years playing and jumping around. I was a grasshopper, unable to settle down, too busy having “fun” to focus on anything as unfullfilling as work. Now I am spending my Fall working frantically to prepare. I could be worried to the point of making myself ill, or I can choose to believe that my God is more powerful than anything and place my trust in Him. I choose to believe what Jesus said:

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly FATHER feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (Matthew 6:25‭-‬27 NLT)

Do I believe that this means I can just sit back and expect to be taken of; that I shouldn’t be working and preparing for Winter? Not at all! Jesus said not to worry about every day life. He never says not to work. Instead, through Paul’s letter, we are told not to be lazy and to work.

“Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident Hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When GOD’S ’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:11‭-‬13 NLT

It’s pretty clear that it is worry we are to avoid, not work. Seems to me that 46° is a beautiful temperature to go to work in….