Why do some earthly governments oppose God’s law? Why do they consider God an enemy of the State? God gave us His laws for our good. Stephen the martyr revealed that Biblical law was given to people by God’s angels. God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. He who loves fulfills God’s law. [1]
Something’s wrong when a society considers God’s commands offensive. The Bible says we love the children of God when we love God and carry out His commands. [2] It is when we throw off His commands that people get hurt.
“The mystery of lawlessness is already at work, only He who is keeping down now [will hinder] -- till He may be out of the way, and then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth and shall destroy with the manifestation of His presence.” [3]
Do we want anarchy? Do we want unfettered evil? Do we want the Lord to depart from our country? Do we want the Lord to stop holding back the forces of evil?
In Jeremiah’s days, God’s people no longer wanted to obey His commands. They wanted to be free to choose whatever behavior they preferred. The problem was that evildoers felt free to destroy the godly people in the nation.
As a result, Jeremiah’s nation became dark and evil. Finally, God gave them up to the King of Babylon. They lived under this cruel pagan king for seventy years. It was terrible.
I pray Americans will not have to live under the rule of a cruel tyrant for seventy years before returning to God. Paul said that when people refuse to know God, refuse to give Him thanks, and refuse to give Him glory, He hands them over to futility. To darkened hearts! The increase of sexual impurity and shameful lusts is a sign of God’s judgment not His blessing on a nation. When people curse the name of God, refuse to repent, and refuse to give Him glory, it is not a question of if they will experience plagues and suffering but a question of when. [4]
Do we want to live in a dirty aquarium? Fish die in murky water. “Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked.” [5] Let’s not compromise. Let’s ask God to help us clean up our country.
What can wash away our sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus! Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. There is no other name than the name of Jesus for salvation. Peter said to repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and for the gift of the Holy Spirit. [6]
So why do some rulers oppose faith in Jesus Christ? Why would anyone oppose the laws of God given to us by angels for our good? Could it be that their minds have been alienated from Christ by the devil? This is the mystery of lawlessness.
The Holy Spirit has been saying to me to turn from sin for the sake of love. Sin has bad consequences. I want to avoid bad consequences. But even more so, I want to love the Lord! Obedience to God’s commands is our Lord’s love language.
A greater mystery than the mystery of lawlessness is God’s love for us sinners. We have all sinned and fallen short of His glory, and yet He loves us. In Jeremiah’s day, God’s heart was broken over the punishment of the wicked. [7] God doesn’t want anyone to perish, but that all would repent and be saved.
[1] Deuteronomy 6:24; Acts 7:53; Psalm 119:105; Romans 13:8
[2] 1 John 5:2
[3] 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8
[4] Romans 1:21, 24, 26
[5] Proverbs 25:26
[6] Hebrews 9:22; Acts 4:12; Acts 2:38
[7] Jeremiah 23:9
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Boasting
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” [1]
Hop, hop, hop! Her right foot was damaged by a heavy round table falling on it at the church. She was embarrassed. She wanted to stay home. But returned to work the next day using crutches. The crutches added to her pain. So, next, she resorted to a wheelchair. The enemy dropped discouragement bombs on her. I did my best to encourage my wife. That is when the Holy Spirit reminded me of how the Apostle Paul boasted about his sufferings for Christ. Let’s read what Paul wrote!
“I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different Gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” [2]
False apostles were presenting a different kind of Jesus to people than the One who revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus. The Corinthians were beginning to shift their pure devotion from Christ to self-serving imposters. Paul sought to rescue them by reminding them how a true servant of Christ leads.
“I do not think I am in the least inferior to those super-apostles. I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the Gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way and will continue to do so.” [3]
Paul avoided becoming a burden to those he served. Nehemiah and Jeremiah were like that. They left good lives to selflessly serve others. Nehemiah had numerous enemies attempt to sabotage him. Jeremiah spoke faithfully for God to people who mistreated him. Christlike leaders put the well-being of others before themselves.
“As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” [4]
What should you do when self-serving leaders are leading God’s people astray? Paul called them imposters. The sufferings that the false apostles ridiculed him for, Paul used to defend the credibility of his authenticity.
The deceitful workers boasted that they were apostles of Christ. Paul boasted about his weaknesses so people would know that the power that was coming out of him was from Christ and not from himself. A servant of Christ points people to Christ.
People need leaders who point them to God. Jeremiah asked the people of his day what wrong God had committed that they forsook Him. [5] Their desire to sin had led them from God. They wanted boundless self-indulgence not boundless salvation.
“I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you, exploits you, takes advantage of you, or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!” [6]
Paul did not want to boast, but he did want his readers to discern between imposter leaders and true servants of Christ. Imposter leaders sought to enslave, exploit, demean, and physically abuse them. Paul professed himself to be too weak to do that to them. Paul felt better about himself when he was not a burden to anyone. The imposters were foxes seeking to enter the hen house for self-serving purposes.
“Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?” [7]
How many churches today would call Paul to be their pastor? His previous experiences included audiences who imprisoned, whipped, and beat him with rods. Paul did not take God lightly. He didn’t pamper his congregants. He called them to work. He urged them to testify for Christ.
The other day I saw a jigsaw puzzle. The words, “killing time” came to mind. Why do people spend money on items that kill time. I prayed, “Lord, please raise up laborers for the harvest.” Advancing the kingdom of God to unreached people is work. People who live for pleasure do not get the job done. Soldiers do!
Jesus Christ came down from heaven not to do His own will. He had marching orders from His Heavenly Father, and He completed His mission perfectly. He was a laborer for God working alongside others who wanted to work for God.
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.” [8]
Paul boasted about the difficult circumstances he had endured to advance the Gospel. I heard preachers in China boast like this. For example, Pastor Samuel Lamb boasted that he coupled train cars for twenty years in a political reeducation camp, and never lost a finger by the grace of God.
As for me, once, a co-worker representing other co-workers said to me, “We know you are of God because we see how much you suffer and yet you keep serving the Lord.” That was one of the best compliments I ever received. Glory to God!
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” May Jesus be glorified in our lives by whatever means it takes to spread His Gospel!
[1] 2 Corinthians 11:30
[2] 2 Corinthians 11:1-4
[3] 2 Corinthians 11:5-9
[4] 2 Corinthians 11:10-15
[5] Jeremiah 2:4
[6] 2 Corinthians 11:16-21
[7] 2 Corinthians 11:22-29
[8] 2 Corinthians 11:30-33
Hop, hop, hop! Her right foot was damaged by a heavy round table falling on it at the church. She was embarrassed. She wanted to stay home. But returned to work the next day using crutches. The crutches added to her pain. So, next, she resorted to a wheelchair. The enemy dropped discouragement bombs on her. I did my best to encourage my wife. That is when the Holy Spirit reminded me of how the Apostle Paul boasted about his sufferings for Christ. Let’s read what Paul wrote!
“I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different Gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” [2]
False apostles were presenting a different kind of Jesus to people than the One who revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus. The Corinthians were beginning to shift their pure devotion from Christ to self-serving imposters. Paul sought to rescue them by reminding them how a true servant of Christ leads.
“I do not think I am in the least inferior to those super-apostles. I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the Gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way and will continue to do so.” [3]
Paul avoided becoming a burden to those he served. Nehemiah and Jeremiah were like that. They left good lives to selflessly serve others. Nehemiah had numerous enemies attempt to sabotage him. Jeremiah spoke faithfully for God to people who mistreated him. Christlike leaders put the well-being of others before themselves.
“As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” [4]
What should you do when self-serving leaders are leading God’s people astray? Paul called them imposters. The sufferings that the false apostles ridiculed him for, Paul used to defend the credibility of his authenticity.
The deceitful workers boasted that they were apostles of Christ. Paul boasted about his weaknesses so people would know that the power that was coming out of him was from Christ and not from himself. A servant of Christ points people to Christ.
People need leaders who point them to God. Jeremiah asked the people of his day what wrong God had committed that they forsook Him. [5] Their desire to sin had led them from God. They wanted boundless self-indulgence not boundless salvation.
“I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you, exploits you, takes advantage of you, or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!” [6]
Paul did not want to boast, but he did want his readers to discern between imposter leaders and true servants of Christ. Imposter leaders sought to enslave, exploit, demean, and physically abuse them. Paul professed himself to be too weak to do that to them. Paul felt better about himself when he was not a burden to anyone. The imposters were foxes seeking to enter the hen house for self-serving purposes.
“Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?” [7]
How many churches today would call Paul to be their pastor? His previous experiences included audiences who imprisoned, whipped, and beat him with rods. Paul did not take God lightly. He didn’t pamper his congregants. He called them to work. He urged them to testify for Christ.
The other day I saw a jigsaw puzzle. The words, “killing time” came to mind. Why do people spend money on items that kill time. I prayed, “Lord, please raise up laborers for the harvest.” Advancing the kingdom of God to unreached people is work. People who live for pleasure do not get the job done. Soldiers do!
Jesus Christ came down from heaven not to do His own will. He had marching orders from His Heavenly Father, and He completed His mission perfectly. He was a laborer for God working alongside others who wanted to work for God.
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.” [8]
Paul boasted about the difficult circumstances he had endured to advance the Gospel. I heard preachers in China boast like this. For example, Pastor Samuel Lamb boasted that he coupled train cars for twenty years in a political reeducation camp, and never lost a finger by the grace of God.
As for me, once, a co-worker representing other co-workers said to me, “We know you are of God because we see how much you suffer and yet you keep serving the Lord.” That was one of the best compliments I ever received. Glory to God!
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” May Jesus be glorified in our lives by whatever means it takes to spread His Gospel!
[1] 2 Corinthians 11:30
[2] 2 Corinthians 11:1-4
[3] 2 Corinthians 11:5-9
[4] 2 Corinthians 11:10-15
[5] Jeremiah 2:4
[6] 2 Corinthians 11:16-21
[7] 2 Corinthians 11:22-29
[8] 2 Corinthians 11:30-33
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Who Is Your Sculptor
Our lives are like clay.
God allows us to choose our sculptor.
There is no sculptor like Jesus.
We become the finest artwork when yielded to Him.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Condemning Condemnation Welcoming Conviction
Satan hurt Job deeply. He ruthlessly attacked him and deceived even his best friends into thinking God had done it to Job. Thus, further deepening Job’s wounds!
Job lamented, “I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down, I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.” [1]
No Job, you’re going to be all right. I read the end of the book. God comes through for you!
God helped Paul overcome condemnation, “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” [2]
The Lord helps His people to overcome condemnation: “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you; the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give to you a victor’s crown of life.” [3]
The devil tempts people to sin. He hurts people with afflictions. He robs people. He trips people. Then, he slanders and condemns them for falling.
The Lord Jesus underwent trials and temptations in this world. He empathizes with our sufferings. Jesus says to His co-laborer, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give to you a victor’s crown of life.”
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin to help us avoid its consequences. He convicts us of sin to help us make choices that lead to eternal rewards. He convicts us of sin to lead us to good behavior such as sharing the Gospel with the lost, and praying for people.
Be comforted in knowing that the Lord is for not against you!
“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one! Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” [4]
Job lamented, “I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down, I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.” [1]
No Job, you’re going to be all right. I read the end of the book. God comes through for you!
God helped Paul overcome condemnation, “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” [2]
The Lord helps His people to overcome condemnation: “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you; the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give to you a victor’s crown of life.” [3]
The devil tempts people to sin. He hurts people with afflictions. He robs people. He trips people. Then, he slanders and condemns them for falling.
The Lord Jesus underwent trials and temptations in this world. He empathizes with our sufferings. Jesus says to His co-laborer, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give to you a victor’s crown of life.”
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin to help us avoid its consequences. He convicts us of sin to help us make choices that lead to eternal rewards. He convicts us of sin to lead us to good behavior such as sharing the Gospel with the lost, and praying for people.
Be comforted in knowing that the Lord is for not against you!
“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one! Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” [4]
Praise the Lord!
[1] Job 7:3-6
[2] 2 Timothy 4:16-17
[3] Revelation 2:9-10
[4] Romans 8:32-34
[1] Job 7:3-6
[2] 2 Timothy 4:16-17
[3] Revelation 2:9-10
[4] Romans 8:32-34
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