No Matter What

2Timothy 4:7 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Paul, who had been known as Saul of Tarsus, a converted persecutor of Christians, was nearing the end of his ministry. At the time of this letter’s writing to Timothy he was in prison and the verse above and the verse at the end were believed to be his surmising of his soon death...being martyred.
He had been encouraging Timothy, to whom this letter was written, in his own ministry.

You see, whether as an individual or church or ministry, we are called to run the race, to persevere, stay strong in Christ. We will have times when we can grow weary and when we may need or are given, by God, a time to rest. Then it’s time to get back to our work, whatever He has called us to do. And we were so reminded again in church yesterday that: 1) we are all necessary within a church. 2)
not all of our ministries will be the same, like pastors or elders or deacons (how strange would a physical body be if it were all thumbs! 3) we are not all equipped the same; like above, we will be at different levels in our walk and talents and not equal, but vital just the same.

In a race like any marathon or the Olympics, generally there will only be one winner. Some may quit because they are not strong enough and just get tired. Again, not all are at the same level. But there can be many who will finish the race. Finishing is still an achievement. Putting this in perspective with regard to God: I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

Some won’t even start this race. It may be considered too hard. I think about what scripture says about the things of the world and how meaningless life is without God. Solomon suggested this in Ecclesiastes when he said all was meaningless, a grasping for the wind; all vanity...and in the end...Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) 

Hard but true words. This earth should be considered temporary and heaven the home to look forward to. But that home comes with a price...devotion to God, following Him no matter what the cost, no matter what friends think, no matter the scorns and sneers and disagreements received. No matter what...running the race and enduring to the end.

I think about all those who were persecuted for their faith in the Bible. Then I think about the martyrs in today’s world. And then I think about Jesus who died for us, the persecution and suffering He endured. If He could endure, we certainly can, through His strength and His words of truth and peace. Then there's the fact that there will be a greater reward for all who have followed and endured. The greatest reward one can receive. One that this world cannot promise but Jesus can.

I will add, the shooting in a small town, in a small Texas church can be an example of enduring. We don’t know why God allowed this. We can know that if these people continue to have faith and trust in God they will be able to endure. God never told us that our life in Christ would be easy. We live in an evil world. We won’t see the results unless we trust in Him now but Jesus says this: These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Thank You, Lord. What a blessing to know You today. My great hope for my future. Praise You!

2Timothy 4:8 - Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

To Save Lives

Genesis 50:20 - But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

There are many biblical stories that describe what seems to be hardship situations. Situations which seem unfair. But God...always has a plan. There are reasons for everything all of us experience. We don't always understand them but if we are open to believing we can't know everything and believing still that God is in control of all things, we will be better off.

Remember these things: 

• Egypt is symbolic of the world, of the things not of God, of evil, as it were, decadence, over the top power, fame, fortune, excess. 
• God always has a plan. He can use evil or discomfort to bring it about.
• If we trust in Him, no matter what, His plan will be for our good.
• Only God truly knows what we have need of. 

Yesterday I finished reading about Jacob and his deteriorating relationship with his father-in-law. Jacob needed to flee from his family in one country because his brother wanted revenge against him. And after being situated in that country for many years his father in law became upset with him so God told him to go back to his family and the previous land. Imagine being between a rock and a hard place. But it was God's suggestion. If he trusted God it would be okay, though he didn't know what the outcome would be. It would be fine. Reconciliation would take place! And because Jacob's life was spared, so was the lineage to Christ. And what was His role? To save lives. 

There's Moses. He was born a Jew. To save his life his mother put him in that little basket on the river. Pharaoh's daughter found it. Without her knowing it, Moses' mother became the nursemaid. The first 40 years Moses learned both his Jewish roots and the ways of Egypt. Again to save his own life, he fled to the mountains and became a sheep herder. Forty more years pass. During that time Israel is captured by Egypt and they are made slaves to pharaoh. God then calls on Moses to save them and lead these people out of Egypt back to their land. Moses needed those 80 years of training in Egypt's ways, his own Jewish roots and how to lead in the hills with sheep, for this important task. To save lives. I am reminded that we are all like sheep in need of guidance...(Isaiah 53:6)

Joseph's brothers were jealous of him because he was their father's (Jacob) favorite. Some wanted to kill him but rather than have his blood on their hands they decided to sell him into slavery. And guess where he ended up? Egypt, again. As a servant in his house, pharaoh's wife took a liking to him and attempted to seduce him. Joseph would not have it, but in trying to escape from her lost his coat. Out of anger because of the rejection, she used this to get him sent to prison. He was there for many years, an innocent man. Yet God used him in an extraordinary way and he was then released to become second in charge of Egypt, maintaining the storehouses. When there was a famine in Israel, Joseph's brothers were sent to Egypt to purchase food. Long story short, they met up with their brother, reconciliation took place, and Joseph saved his family.

God led all these people in one way or another into circumstances that, like I said, seemed unfair. Yet God knew the outcome already. He knew the preparation necessary in just these three lives. (Believe me there are more stories...Esther, Ruth, Noah, Jonah, Jeremiah, Job, and more...Jesus.) They were all used to save in some way. Sometimes salvation didn't occur, just like today. 

If we are believers and followers of God our lives may be in training for some end result. It probably, ultimately, even if we don't see it, will be to save someone's spiritual life. It may not be is as great a way as these three stories, but somewhere someone will have benefited. We don't see His plans. We live out our lives in that faith in the unknown and unseen going about His business. But God knows. Maybe not knowing or seeing takes the possibility of our pride out of the picture. God gets the glory. 

We trust in Him, right up to our last day. We stay obedient to our Father. We read His Word so we can know and hear our Shepherd's voice and be reminded of the times people of long ago went through trials just to see God's hand in the end. He speaks to us through His Word. All that is written in the Bible is for us to learn from. Examples of God's goodness to His people and His judgment when we choose not to trust and obey. 

We will never be perfect. We will take wrong turns or be disobedient at times. We might not hear God's voice because we are distracted by our own desires or thoughts. But God is in the business of saving lives. We have to lose things in our lives to gain the life He has to offer. Who is willing to trust Him in all things? Who is willing to look at difficult situations as stepping stones to greater things? He is the Good Shepherd. He will guide us and go before us, like He did with these three people. He will work behind the scenes. Who is willing to trust in Him till death's door is upon us?

Matthew 24:12-14 - And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 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.

Endurance

Matthew 24:7,9-10,12-13 - For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 

How does one endure? It is only through the saving knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. We cannot save ourselves from the ugliness of this world or death. We cannot truly endure without Him. When push comes to shove I want to know that my strength comes from the Lord. Government can't save, my spouse can't save, friends can't save. In trials no one can endure without the Lord Jesus Christ by one's side. Only He has been through the most difficult of trials. Only He can save. 

War, illness, diseases, persecution. All these things can come upon us. But we do not need to fear these if we know the Lord. We can know how to endure because He tells us throughout His Word. We see bits and pieces of these things occurring and even though they may not be that severe in our lives doesn't mean it can't happen. Terrorism is enlarging, persecution of Christians abounding, pride, power and destruction happen daily, and many other issues that God deems as sin run rampant. 

I personally would not want to go through a severe illness without, no matter whether I live or die because of it, His being by my side strengthening me throughout. I know person after person who, in their last days, were able to worship God in the midst of illness because they knew He would either see them through or take them to be with Him. Hands raised in worship! I want that. I like the idea of having the One who created me greet me in the end. 

That's why I write these blogs. I hope that in some way I am able to show Christ to others or to use His Word as encouragement. His Word alone speaks volumes. It's the living Word. It's the truth, the living water. It's the bread that sustains. Taste and see that the Lord is good! His Word also endures forever. And he who grasps this enduring Word, who will learn the truth, will also endure to the end.

1Peter 1:24-25 - ...because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. 

New Beginnings

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

At church yesterday Pastor Terry Fischer preached on In His Presence. A good word. For some reason the last scripture reference caused me to tune out for a bit (sorry, Pastor) and caused me to jot some notes. 

It's always about a beginning. Everything has one. God was our beginning. Our lives are because of His beginning. It all started with God...who created. We were born to meet God. That was the Old Testament. There was a beginning but there also was a temporary end. God stopped speaking through the prophets. 

Then we see a new beginning in the New Testament. 

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

This new beginning would lead to a new birth, new life, even new death in the form of one Man, Jesus Christ. His birth was the promise of a new eternal life. God made flesh. A holy God come down from heaven to live among sinful men. The same God who created all things now would come to redeem fallen man...if they would believe and receive Him. God was not dead, just remaining silent for awhile. Perhaps it was to set the stage for those rebellious people, bent on turning away from Him. In the New Testament His plan was resuming. 

I think about the Old Testament and how God could only reveal Himself through certain people. Through their voices, their writings...because at one point in Old Testament history they opted not to hear God's voice because it was too frightening. (And I think back to Adam and Eve who walked with Him and communed with Him.) How things changed.

Now He came to reveal Himself again, to spread the good news, the Gospel, of what He could do, what He has always wanted. He came in the flesh to personally speak to the people. He came to prove He was God that man's eyes, ears and hearts would be open to receive Him. We are born to this world to meet God. We are reborn in the Spirit when we meet Jesus. 

He was the beginning in creation, the beginning as the Word. He will be the very last also at His return. 

What an amazing history that continues day by day...that the story of this one Man would still continue, will never be forgotten, will never die and will continue to bring new life to any who will submit to calling Him their Lord and Savior. Praise His name. 

This is why I write. His Gospel is good news. Oh He has His words of judgment. That is to humble us, to see how fallen we truly are and to show just what He can do. He is good news to those will allow His words to pierce ears, eyes and heart. He who was in the beginning. The beginning and the eventual end. The same yesterday, today and forever. Fullness of joy in those who receive. 

Oh, the testimonies of those who follow You. Let those words sink deep into hearts, minds, souls of those perishing for lack of knowledge. Amen! Thank You for staying true to Your Word and the years of testimony.

1John 1:1-4 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we 

declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our 

fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. 

Am I at Odds?

Matthew 10:21-22 - Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 

The Bible teaches that if we follow Christ we will be at odds with those who do not understand the meaning of receiving Christ. Matthew 10 above explains what could happen.

One might wonder, if that is the case why would we choose Christ over others? How could that be a decision one would want to make? I keep coming back to where in the Word it says the road is narrow when we follow Christ. Believers are often considered narrow minded. We stick to the same story...Jesus saves. Do we believe Him and what He says or do we believe the world? There are few, in the grand scheme of things, who actually understand receiving Christ for our salvation and taking a firm stand to do so.

How much do we love someone? Do we love them if we don't want them to know the truth? They can still reject it; at least we have done our part. They can reject the scripture that says Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1John 2:15) That's up to them.

First we need to recall that God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever (that includes all people: all tribes, tongues, religious beliefs and nations) believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) God so loved...Jesus so loved...By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1John 3:16) 

These scriptures are the truth of God's Word. They should be our foundation if we call ourselves Christ followers. Many can say they are Christians because they are of non-Jesus believing faiths...their faiths are in a rock or statue or oppression and power.

Second, remember, Jesus was not liked by all people He came into contact. The death that He went through is like (but nowheres near) the rejection we might, or do, go through. It happens. We must accept it. It's the end result that matters. We must endure to the end. We must not change our tune.

Look what sorta sums it up right there...we also ought to lay down our lives...not necessarily giving up our lives unto physical death but giving up our SELF and doing as God desires we do...preach the Gospel, in season and out...not being concerned what others will think...because it is the will of the Father. God gave, Jesus gave, we should give.

All this love and giving, while some will not receive it, brings eternal life...in Christ. The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me. (Matthew 11:5-6)

Oh, that my lips would speak my thoughts!! As the scripture below states, so is our message to the world...or anyone who will listen. I can tell you stories.....wanna listen?

John 3:17 - For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

My Peace Can't Be Stolen

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

My peace can't be stolen...unless I allow it to be!

If there's anything at all I'm learning these days is that I am developing, and more often, maintaining my peace in the midst of stuff going on in my life. It sometimes takes an act of thinking on things to realize that although there might be some anxiety, underneath it all, there is peace. Doesn't matter what that stuff is. The enemy of our souls is working overtime to bring division...in families, in relationships, in the Church and in the world. Anything he can do to tear something apart is his main motive. Don't we see it happening? 

It's a good thing this peace thing is developing now because don't some of us know it will only get worse?

Lies about Christianity. Removing God from everything in the name of embracing diversity and removing "offense." This can even happen in the Church with the advent of seeker friendly churches, desiring to lure people in for the numbers and watering down the truth or hard word of God. Oh, I never want to see that.

A friend and I were talking and she mentioned that although she might go through difficult times, she stays in her own place of peace. It's how she survives. What a novel idea. Each taking on the responsibility of holding on to our own peace, through the power of God.

I added that's where staying focused on the Lord, being in His Word, being in His presence and seeking Him daily, if not hourly or minute by minute (which admittedly is difficult to do unless you're a monk), is where our peace resides. A lot of stuff that goes on around me could cause anxiety, even tribulation, but if I lay claim to the fact that I have the Prince of Peace by my side, it just don't matter what that stuff is! "Sounds like a blog!" I exclaimed. She said, "Yes, write it. You should."

Oh, and in the midst of turmoil....Praise God. Praise Him for all He says He is. Praise Him for all He says He will do. Praise Him that I am who He says I am. Sing to Him a new song! Worship Him in Spirit and truth! All helps to maintain peace in a difficult world. At a time of unrest over circumstances in our lives, we should throw ourselves into the Word. What blessings and peace come from that.

When we need instruction or clarification, we are to go to the Lord. Go to His Word. If our peace is eroding, we need to find the promises of who we are in Christ. If we have that relationship with Him and understand that's where our peace lies, He is there for us. He is our Comforter. He is the peace that passes all understanding.

What we see in this world and right in our own backyard of life might upset us. It might hurt or be confusing. We may question what is going on. We may question if we are being stripped of our discernment. We might think we are being led down wrong paths. But the Word of God is the truth that resides in us. It is our foundation. It will not crumble. We are to keep our minds on the things of God and ask for His discernment for all things. Line things up with scripture. Question. Pray for His guidance in understanding. 

In the last days even the elect of God is said to have occasion to be deceived. Occasion? Maybe even more. Who am I to think that I can't be deceived? That's why it is important to be close to the truth found only in the Word of God. But we must be sure that we are at peace, not complacency, thinking we are at peace when we might be lost instead.

He will direct our steps. He will give us rest. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of sound mind. Let's keep that sound mind focused on Him. We can cast our cares on Him. We must press on in the Lord, and as Colossians 1:11 tells us, to be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy... It's maintaining that peace that brings joy for it is of the Lord. Praise Him!

Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.