A Stubborness in My Soul

Matthew 26:33,35 - Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

No one ever truly knows how they might react to a confrontation about their faith. In the comfort of my "room" within our house it's easy to say I would stand my ground for Jesus. But you can see above even Peter (as well as the other disciples) failed according to Jesus' own words. When Jesus was arrested, they scattered and Peter denied the Lord three times. Three times! These guys walked with Jesus, lived with Him, touched Him, heard Him speak, yet they denied knowing Him when trouble came upon Him. They feared for their own lives.

After Jesus' death He sent, as He said He would, the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit gives us wisdom, strength and guidance, elements of being a follower of Christ. Because we are made of flesh and blood we need His Spirit to guide us through certain things, strengthen us when our flesh fails us and wisdom through the remembrance of His Word how to react or what to say. We need to be truly rooted and grounded in Him and His Word to experience this...and have given ourselves over to Him.

Peter and the disciples had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew their weaknesses, as He knows all of ours . He said this to them: ... All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: "I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." ... Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. (Matthew 26:31,34)

I have always been independent and somewhat strong-willed to the things I believe most in. I have a bit of rebelliousness in this area too. No one is going to tell me that belief in our Lord to the degree with which I feel it is wrong. It may not be for everyone, which is sad, but it's right for me. It's right no matter how one looks at it because Jesus said so....I am the way, the truth and the life. No one **no one** comes to the Father except by Me. (John 14:6)

There is a stubbornness in my soul and the souls of others who believe wholeheartedly this is true. We have spiritually met God and He has convinced us of this. I don't say this with a proud spirit or arrogance but in humility because confrontation by the God of all creation is a very humbling experience...as well as freeing and exhilarating...and available to anyone!

So if I should be confronted by someone who asks what my beliefs are in God I would gladly respond. I would love to share my beliefs if someone would only be interested in hearing. To be stifled in this is very hard. It's why I write. I would not argue but let it go if they didn't agree or felt I was a little fanatical! I would hope that at that time the Holy Spirit of God would give me the words to speak. He has on occasion.

If it would ever come to the point where defending my faith to save my life were to happen I would definitely need the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen me. We could be told if we didn't deny our faith our spouse or a loved one would be killed. A very hard decision to have to make. If I would deny my Lord it would be a similar fate as Judas, the disciple Jesus chose and knew would betray Him. First the realization of what was done, then the remorse. Judas killed himself for his betrayal because the guilt was so great. This was, after all, the Son of God.

What happens when there's an automobile accident and the one who caused it and caused a death realizes what has happened? Imagine the pain of knowing a death occurred. The guilt. They may not take their lives but they certainly will feel the agony for a long time. 

In the case of our denying Jesus, something even more as severe as Judas' death takes place. We lose all hope of eternal life because we have denied Him. This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.” (2Timothy 2:11-12) We must give up our idea of what it means to know God and submit to His. This submission is far from bad or wrong. We must die to our ideas, our sin, in order to be alive in and with Him. Then will come the Spirit and His guidance.

We have two options. Know God, know His promises (both good and bad) and maintain a strong stance on this, through the power of the Holy Spirit, or...deny God, scoff at His promises and remain rebellious against Him. One way leads to life, the other death. 

Jesus has never wanted, nor ever will, anyone to perish. The love He has for all of us is immeasurable by our human standards. He loves us while we are still sinners and no matter what we believe, how much we balk, how much we scoff, He will take a sinner's repentance in a heartbeat. That's the best news anyone could get. He is available to any and all. He's no respecter of persons. A heartfelt plea to Him for forgiveness of our wickedness to and without Him is all it takes for Him to transform anyone. 

So while this is a hard word, it is true. I continue to be stubborn about this because all throughout the Bible God has told us these things. His Word is the truth. His Son Jesus is the truth. To deny Him is to deny the truth. 

Mark 8:38 - For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

Cost of our Beliefs

Daniel 3:11-12,14-18 - ...and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” 

Taking yet another break from the Proverbs! But not from wisdom...

I read an article or listened the other day to something that got me thinking. How willing would I be if put in a situation to stand my ground for Christ? Look at Peter. He denied Jesus the times when he said he never would, when he said he'd be willing to die or go into prison for Him. And then there's the other end of the story about the three young men above who would not bow down to any other god.

Lord, have mercy on us.

What if, and it could happen, the time came when we would be called out for speaking the truth when others didn't want to hear it...or it was against the law? Can't you see the push for tolerance today? There is denial going on right now. There is compromise even in the Church. There is a desire for all denominations to come together but not necessarily in unity and one belief but in the belief that there are many ways to believe. Sadly, Jesus is not always considered the only way, truth and life anymore. His Gospel message is becoming compromised so as to not offend. Hey, Jesus offended people...they even put Him to death for it. Even some who call themselves Christians say it is okay to change the truth of God's Word. Who's believing the lie?

Anyway, would we shrink back and remain silent if we were counted as those who believe Jesus is the only way to the Father? Or would we say what we know to be truth? The thought crossed my mind: what if I was told I'd gone too far and it was time to take back what I had said, renounce my belief that Jesus is the only way to the Father? That if I didn't others I know would be killed, tortured or imprisoned? That sent a chill.

More than once in the past few months this has been said or read: I might lose my wife (husband) for my beliefs in Christ. He can be quite the divider at times! Are we willing to allow that to happen to save our own soul from eternal hell? Only if the time presents itself will we know. I wrote earlier about Denying Christ. That's what we do if we say someone else's life is more important to us that His. Ouch.

Anyway, this sounds pretty ominous. We may think it even sounds far fetched. But the Bible talks about it. Many back in Christ's day were imprisoned or killed for speaking their beliefs. In other countries Christians are now imprisoned, murdered. Whose to say it won't be long before it will be commonplace in our country? We are not immune, nor are we a safe haven. Evil has spread everywhere. Freedoms are being removed little by little. Doesn't government want more control of everyone and everything? Isn't what's good being considered bad and bad good? (Well, I realize it's a matter of perspective.)

When will people take notice? Ah, but there's the point...like in the days of Noah the people mocked and scoffed... What right did Noah have to tell them of God's plan? What right do we have today to say Jesus is the only way to life...the Door, the Gate, the Living Water, Bread of Life, the Savior, Redeemer...God in the flesh? What right do we have to share our beliefs to anyone? God says we must do this if we are Christ followers. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Mark 16:15, Matthew 24:14) That creature might be you!

We could all be faced with this decision I described above...if we are Christ followers. If we are not following Christ, we're off the hook, but our eternal life is greatly at stake. This could be a very hard decision. If we want to receive eternal life we cannot deny Christ. No matter what, we must not back down in our beliefs even if parents, spouse, children or friends are dangled before you as the recipients of something you don't want to even consider because of your decision.

This will be a time when we have to put all our faith and trust in God for the outcome. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abdnego above, they escaped the fiery furnace (the future hell). And if they would not have escaped, their claim was the same: they would not bow down to any other god. They knew and trusted their God.

Are we willing to do this? Perhaps it is time to consider this. Like I said, it may seem far fetched to think this could happen, but...  In order to have the wherewithal and strength just in case, we need to understand the importance of Christ in our lives now. He cannot be just some thought once in awhile, like on Sunday, or a name spoken out of disgust or anger. He must be worshipped daily. His words must be our daily bread, our heavenly manna. Can you say you do this, even a few times a week? Can you say you rely on Him right this moment? Can you say you have a close connection to Him if you don't?

Praise God if you don't! Wait, let me explain! He is willing to forgive you today if you want. Anyone can change, climb over the fence, break down the stubborn walls of defense or open their hearts for Christ. We need Him. If you think you can live apart from Him you believe the lie. 2Thessalonians 2:11 says God will send a powerful delusion so that many will believe the lie because they rejected the truth. Jesus is the truth. The lie comes from the devil. I'm thankful my church tells the truth.

It is never too late to listen to this truth and receive Christ. Your life is at stake whether you believe it or not. And I pray that if the day comes I have to deny any relationship here on earth over Christ, I will be strengthened by Him alone. Will you stand with me? There's strength in numbers.

And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  ... whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. (Luke 18:7-8, Matthew 10:33)

Denying Christ

Mark 14:30 - Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

Sort of an odd scripture to start this blog. But...how many times does one deny Christ? If Peter could do it, can't we? How is it done?

I blog because I write better than I speak. I started years ago to put my thoughts of what God was teaching me in writing. As a friend recently said, it's a way to help me learn. Didn't I learn a long time ago that if a person writes something down it sticks better in your memory. So....

My thoughts just run swiftly to my fingertips. My husband gets pretty upset because of how fast I can type. "It's not fair," he says! Sometimes my thoughts on paper are much clearer than my words, too. I get too easily backed into corners without ways out. I know I have the answers in my mind but it's like my mind shuts off when it's time to say them aloud. I can lose arguments easily. So I write. I get my thoughts down without interruption!

While I might be wrong at times in my understanding, I am standing on the Word of God. When we are followers of Christ we are called to be witnesses...in word and deed. I sometimes think I fail in the deed part of that command. And I suppose if I fail to speak the words, I may have failed there too. I don't want to say my writing is an excuse not to speak. I have on occasion been able to speak. It's few and far between, however. I can only say I believe this is a result of my being an only child in a dysfunctional home and finding it easier to hide in my room and not confront anyone or anything. I know should be over this, but there is something so very strongly linked to that I don't even want to go there.

I know we are filled with the Holy Spirit when we are saved. While I didn't know what was happening at the time because I was unfamiliar with God, I felt a sensation through my body, originating at my upraised hand the moment I received Christ. Who can dispute something like that if one hasn't heard about the Holy Spirit indwelling us at the moment we are saved? Later it was revealed what I experienced. I know that my writing would not be if it were not for the Holy Spirit's teaching, opening of my mind, heart and spirit, to God's words. But I sure would like this to be transported from my fingertips to the tip of my tongue!

 

What I'm getting at here is, for now, these written words need to be understood as my form of witness of Christ. Christ desires that none should perish. Without words in cyberspace through blogs or Facebook...or preaching, teaching, evangelism on the streets...people would not truly know Christ. It's just how one responds to what is written or heard. It's acceptance or denial.

I recently watched a YouTube video of a young man street preaching at a comic book convention where one knows there will be an onslaught of people coming and going. I was saddened for two reasons. One, it reminded me of my days before Christ when an old brown, beat up station wagon with scriptures painted in white from one end to the other and a speaker on top would drive up and down Wisconsin Avenue of downtown Milwaukee preaching "Repent, for the time has come to believe the Gospel." (Amazingly, I just recently saw this same old car...25+ years later parked at a fast food restaurant!) At the time, to me...and I'm sure many others...it was just plain obnoxious. My heart was so hardened to it all. How many times in those days did I deny Christ?

 

Two, I noticed the hundreds of people in the video who walked past this man and less than five shook his hand or gave some sort of sign that they agreed with him (or we assume they agreed). They denied Christ. It reminded me of the narrow road to life with few on it.
 

Many will be offended by street preachers. I was one of them. Many will be offended by any form of discussion about Christ, even in what I write...if anyone happens to read my stuff! But I tell you, the words of Christ and God are true. If we do not come to Christ and decide we don't need to or believe that we are good enough (and I certainly don't believe I'm good enough, because we can never be good enough, because we are all sinners), we are what He calls us: lost...because of our sin.

...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. ...Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  ...The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. ...unless you repent you will all likewise perish. (Luke 19:10, Romans 6:23, John 10:11, Matthew 12:30, John 3:3, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3)

 

You cannot dispute what the Word of God says. It is the truth. 
 

All I want is to point people to Christ. It involves exposing our sins, which never feels good. But if a nerve is struck whether it be the first time or 100th time, repentance can take place and our hearts softened to receive Him as He desires us to...into a relationship with Him. Knowing Him in our hearts and spirits not just our minds. Some words may seem hard. They may be rejected as I described with the car and the street preacher. When things like these irritate, there is a denial of Christ.

 

The Apostle Paul was a man who basically denied Christ as Saul. He persecuted Him, was confronted by Jesus, converted and then preached the Gospel. The point is, he changed. Here's a list of sorts of those who might deny Christ. The time is today:

2Timothy 3:3-7 - But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

 

So while I don't often speak these words audibly, and I should, they are in my heart. We are warned. In fact, I would say I am in the category of denying the power God has given me. There is a narrow road and a small gate (Matthew 7:14) that leads to life. And like all those in the video who passed by this preacher, many will not heed the warnings, believing it is too much to ask or that their lives are too precious as they are to give them up to Christ. He gave His precious life up for us. How can we be so selfish? I speak to myself here, also. Do not deny Christ.

Mark 13:31-32,35 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning...