We are living in days of discord and upset. This troubled world has, in virtually every aspect, made our lives troubled lives.  Uncertainty has touched all of us.  Domestic politics, economic hardship, international relationships, wars and rumors of war, and a constant fear of loss of everything we have worked for and once thought was secure heaps emotional baggage on our shoulders and affects our outlook of our world and our lives.  Our quality of life has been down-graded and degraded.

All this has an effect on our Christian walk, as well.  Our  changed attitude toward daily life in turn affects those with whom we come in contact. Non-believers may well wonder why they would want to become a Christian when we look troubled ourselves and act poorly during times of trouble and believers may have their faith shaken seeing someone they (once) considered to be stable and mature in their faith.

Let us consider, as Christians, how hardship changes our attitude and outlook on life and on our relationship with God when emotional baggage is strapped to our backs.  Perhaps the following can help avert troubled lives.

We might begin questioning our faith.  I have often asked myself whether it is easier to have faith in good times or in bad times and have never come up with a concrete answer.  But I know this: It is easier to have faith in good times but a stronger faith results from the hard times.  Commit to grabbing onto Jesus and never let go.  There are plenty of people and things around you that will be tempting you to turn from God, but don’t do it.  Grab on and hold on for the duration.

We might begin doubting God’s plan for our life.  Sometimes it is hard to know if we are on the path that God has set out for us and now it seems that maybe we took a wrong fork in the road.   But does it make sense that God set us on a path of plenty only to take them away from us?  No.  God doesn’t work that way.  We are not pieces on a chess board.  He has promised to always be with us and we need to remember that promise (Matt 28:20Matt 28:20
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.  

WP-Bible plugin).  We can become a vehicle of his glory in our world by showing that even in adversity we trust him and believe him and will not let anything draw us from him.  Remember:  we follow the better way and even if we do not know the details of the plan that God has set out for us, it is better than any plan that man or committee or government can prepare.

We might doubt God’s omnipotence.  Go outside tonight and look at the stars – really look at them as if it was the first time blind eyes have ever seen. The Milky Way, the moon, the stars, the vastness of the universe, are all a testament to his power and his presence.  Our God created the universe and all it contains and he has not lost one bit of his power.  Our God started it all spinning and keeps it all from falling apart; he has not gone to sleep or taken a celestial train ride to the end of the universe and back.  He lives outside time, has always been and will always be.  He is the “I Am.”  (Ex. 3:14Ex. 3:14
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14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.  

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We might begin to listen to our fears and anxieties before listening to God.  As Christians we are to place every issue into the hand of God because we, quite frankly, do not have the big picture and we do not have the power to alter our course for anything longer than about a minute.  I know I have had many fears and anxieties.  When I wake up and see that I am bowing to anxieties, I begin to pray and I end up giving it all to God.  I put the situation or problem in his hands and I know it will be taken care of.  Jesus told us not to be anxious for the future – the future will take care of itself.  Trust in God who knows the number of hairs on your head and knows when a sparrow falls to the earth. (Matt. 6:25Matt. 6:25
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25 Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious 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 the food, and the body than the raiment?  

WP-Bible plugin, Matt. 10:28-32Matt. 10:28-32
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28 And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father: ³⁰ but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. ³² Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven.  

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What about Our Attitudes and Mannerisms?

Don’t walk around with a long face and a depressed attitude.   Having a “Pollyanna” (“everything’s going to be wonderful, no matter how many bullets I have to take”) attitude is not being realistic about our situation.  We can be realistic and empathize with others while radiating confidence that God still has us in his hand and cares for us.  We want to convey to non-believers that Christianity is the answer to hopelessness and anxiety.

Don’t grumble about having to cut back on our lifestyle or standard of living.    God had just lead the Israelites out of bondage and almost immediately they started talking about how good the had it in Egypt.  (Exo. 16:2-3Exo. 16:2-3
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness: ³ and the children of Israel said unto them, Would that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.  

WP-Bible plugin)   Grumbling not only shows disrespect toward God and his provision, but also a basic lack of trust.  We are implying that he either isn’t aware of our situation, that he isn’t taking care of us, or that he won’t do anything about it.  How can we justify this attitude toward the one who gives us every breathe we breathe?

Don’t stop witnessing to others about Jesus and the blessing God gives us.  If we are doubting God’s role in our life or grumbling about our situation, wouldn’t you think that it naturally follows that we would stop witnessing?  After all, if we don’t hang onto the promises of God during the hard times, when we need them most – what’s the use of hanging onto them at all?  If you have the gift of witnessing to the unsaved about Jesus, don’t stop.  Repeating the promises, the plans,  and the desires that God has for his children on earth will bolster your own faith and this may just be the ticket to help you out of the anxiety you may be feeling.

May God bless you in every way, every day.  Thank you for reading.

For the first post of the year, I think I’ll start with John, so let’s continue with the prolog as he is talks about the Word.

John 1:10John 1:10
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10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not.  

WP-Bible plugin  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

One commentator (Gill) considers this phrase as referring to the Word’s presence in the beginning of the world, not at the time of His incarnation. Another commentator (Henry) thinks this phrase refers to the Word’s presence in the world from its very beginning.  While Henry’s claim is true, I cannot agree with either one.  I think John is focusing on the incarnate Christ only.  He shows in the next phrase Jesus’ role in the creation of the world, and finally tells us that in spite of all this, the world didn’t recognize Him.

1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Now we are focusing on the time of the Word’s walk among the Jews.  Jesus revealed Himself to His own people: Not only the townspeople He grew up with in Nazareth, but to the nation of Israel.  This time, however, they would not accept Him for who he was even though He was revealing His true identity almost daily.  The religious leaders probably knew He was the Son of God, but refused to accept Him.

1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Here we see an attribute of God that we see throughout the New Testament: The grace of God.   Jesus welcomes any and all that believe (receive) Him.  He is always ready to forgive and accept any who believe “on His name.”

1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Here is the key we gentiles must always remember: as Christians we were born of God. We cannot call Abraham our father, as the Jewish people do. We were born a second time into the family of God as co-heirs with Jesus.  This is the only way we can become sons of God.  Because we acknowledge and believe in Christ, we are adopted into the family.  Nothing we can do on our own will get us a position in the family.

1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

And the Word of God became Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One, and dwelt with us.  His glory was the glory of God. And again, attributes: “full of grace and truth.”   That is to say, God is love and God is the light which reveals our own foolishness and shows us the right path.

Thank you for reading. God bless you.

For the last few days, I have been reading Romans 8, to be specific, verses 37 through 39.  These are three verses that are a salve to the wounded heart and belong in the Christian’s spiritual warfare arsenal.

… we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Rom 8:37-39Rom 8:37-39
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37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

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I have been firmly convinced for several years now that the Christian must glom onto Jesus and never let go under any circumstances.

As you walk through this life as a Christian, you will be attacked by the enemy.  The enemy may take the form of a stranger who walks down the street as in the following true story.

A friend and her daughter made a shopping trip to a popular mall one Christmas.  As they walked through the crowds, there were two teenaged boys dressed in black with all the accoutrements of the basic Goth look walking towards them.  When they passed, both boys looked at the daughter, which isn’t unusual in itself,  but one of them made motions with his hand – as if crossing himself in a twisted sort of way – and said “Obey the Master” in a low and sinister tone. That was a little weird – even for Goth-types in a shopping mall.  It was very upsetting to the two ladies and especially to the daughter.  The lesson is that those two boys recognized the qualities of Christ in the daughter, who, by the way, has a very strong relationship with Christ.

Sad-to-say, the attack may come from someone you consider to be a good friend in the church you attend.  This happens, too!

I tell you this because you will be recognized for what you believe – sometime, somewhere, somehow – and you need to be prepared.  We must remember that those who do attack may be innocently subject to the whisperings and persuasions of the evil one and they, themselves, are not the enemy at all.  We need to have grace for them and not condemn them, for we are not to judge them – that is God’s domain.

But, by the same token, we do not have to suffer each blow they deliver and be beat down.  It may even be that they will not back down from their attack, even when you try to explain your actions or your beliefs.  Just make sure your beliefs are in step with the teachings of Jesus and of the Bible.  We need to stand and fight.

Others, like those my friends encountered, have given themselves over to evil.  From those, we need to flee.  There is no help that a single person can bring to them other than through prayer.

Know this: even though we are attacked, we have a Comforter to help us through the circumstance and these three verses in Romans can help us get back on track if we recall them to our memory when we become beat up and downtrodden.

Romans 8 is a wonderful chapter to read and re-read and carefully study.  I will look at some of the other verses in the future, but in the meantime, why don’t you read it a few times and see what you glean from it.  Try reading it through quickly a couple of times and then read deliberately and let each word speak to you.

I’d like to know your thoughts and insights as a result of your reading — perhaps something in the chapter resonated with what you are dealing with at this particular point in time.  If you feel free enough to share that, that would be good.

I will honor any and all requests for privacy, but I would say that the level of privacy that you would like must begin with you.  Don’t write anything that you would not want your mother to see!

The holidays are upon us …

and they can be very depressing for some people. If you are one of those who approach the holidays with a grimace in stead of a smile, perhaps these verses can help to dispel some of those depressed feelings.  For us in America, Thursday the 24th of November, is Thanksgiving and it sort of marks the beginning of the holiday season – at least in my mind.  It is a day set aside for us to be thankful for all that God has given us.

Then, of course, Christmas comes a month later.  In between there is plenty of time for fellowship with friends and family.  Unfortunately, some people cannot look forward to the holidays with anticipation and instead they cautiously approach it with fear driven by the prospect of being alone at a time when many people are with friends and family.  Let’s try to ease someone’s hurts this holiday season.  Remember that it is not always apparent when someone is hurting – they can be good cover-up artists!

Thank you for reading and God bless you all.