“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
Afflictions come in all shapes and sizes, and they come to everyone. Afflictions can be because of health problems, family problems, spiritual problems or any number of things. We should not be surprised when we have to face afflictions. We should not get mad with God when afflictions come, because we live in a fallen world and afflictions are part and parcel with this fallen condition. Who are “the righteous” mentioned here? From the New Testament perspective, they are people who are right with God through faith in Jesus. David wrote, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous…” We would think that the righteous would be delivered from all afflictions. In fact, when we face afflictions, we begin to wonder why God is mad at us. We might think, :“I have been as good as I can be; why is this happening to me?” Read what David wrote again: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” You did not misread that. The Bible is filled with stories about the afflictions of the righteous. One Bible character who comes immediately to mind is Job. Job was declared to be righteous by God Himself, but God allowed him to go through afflictions beyond anything that we will ever know. Who was ever more faithful to Jesus, and to his service to Jesus than the apostle Paul? Yet Paul could write to the Corinthian church, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed: we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken: cast down, but not destroyed.” Paul didn’t waste his time complaining about his many afflictions, he just kept on believing and serving. Why do we go through afflictions? As already mentioned, we go through them because we live in a fallen world. Furthermore, we go through afflictions because God uses these afflictions to give us strength. The great people in the Bible were made stronger by the afflictions that they encountered. Moses was a stronger person because of all of the problems that he had with the Israelites, not to mention the problems that he had with his own humanity. The people in the church in Acts were made stronger through the persecutions that they encountered. It is noteworthy that when a great persecution broke out against the church in Acts, those early Christians did not give up, but they went to other parts of the world and shared the word of God way beyond Jerusalem. There is a promise in this text that we need to consider: “But the Lord delivers him (or her) out of them all.” When we suffer for righteousness sake, we can know that God is in the process of delivering us, even as we go through them. God “delivers him out of them all.” Notice that God delivers the righteous “out of them all.” This doesn’t mean that He delivers us from them all together, as noted above. It means that God will see us through all of the afflictions of life, and we will be victorious over them. Whether in this life, or in death, God delivers his people who are right with Him by faith in Jesus out of all their afflictions. We just need to face life’s afflictions in the faith that God will deliver us. Bro. Joe
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“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4. What is man, that thou art mindful of man and the son of man that thou visitest him?”
Have you ever looked up into the night sky and wondered in your heart why a great God who created all of that and keeps it working would pay attention to you? I surely have. When I consider the greatness of God, it just amazes me that this great God would care about my little mullie-grubbing life. On top of all that, He loved me enough to send His Son to die on the cross for me in order for me to be saved from sin. I just have to admit that all of this is beyond my intellectual ability to grasp and to understand. That’s why we have to accept Him by faith. We are God’s unique creation. After God created everything else, He created Adam and Eve and “breathed into them the breath of life…” Our lives are the result of the breath of God. In Psalm 139:14 David wrote: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth quite well.” “Fearfully” is also translated as “remarkably.” If we take a good look at this organism that God has made, that is called “us,” we will realize how remarkable it is. Just the mechanism of the eye that enables us to see is a remarkable work. Think of human hand with a thumb that can help us grasp objects. It is all remarkable, and should make our minds and hearts soar with gratitude to God Who “fearfully and wonderfully” made us. Rejoice in the fact that you are a unique creation of the almighty God. We were created by God to worship and serve Him. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden to serve Him through dressing and keeping the garden. They had a perfect relationship with God, but when Satan visited the garden, he took their eyes off of service to God and put their eyes on serving themselves for their own pleasure. This remains a human struggle to this day. We were created to serve God, but we get sidetracked in our service to self. When I say that we were created to serve God, I do not mean that we were all created to be preachers or missionaries. We were created to worship Him, consult Him by prayer and live lives that lift Him up. We can do this in any work that we do on this earth. I have not scratched the surface of what this great text says, but perhaps what I have written can help you find your place in the grand scheme of almighty God….for you do have a place!!!! Bro. Joe “For by (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him: 17. And He is before all things, by Him all things consist. 18. And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead: that in all things He might have preeminence.”
Notice that Jesus is to have preeminence (first place) in all things. This is comprehensive, isn’t it? Jesus is not just to have first place at church but in the home, at work, at school, etc. When Jesus becomes a part of our lives, He wants to take over all of our lives, not just the “religious” portion. Otherwise, we have what is called “Sunday religion.” Why are we to give Jesus first place? Colossians 1:16-18 tells us why. Jesus should have first place in our lives because of who He is. First, He is the One who created all things in heaven and in earth. People do not usually think of Jesus as the creator, but that is what Paul wrote here. He created everything from the greatest thing in the universe to the smallest atomic particle. Second, He created all things for Himself: “All things were created by Him and for Him.” Jesus is not just the Lord of our lives; He is the Lord of the whole universe. For example, Jesus created our solar system for Himself. Every star in the heavens belongs to Him. All of what we call space belongs to Him. Third, He is the One who holds it all together: “by Him all things consist.” This is a word of great comfort. If Jesus can hold the universe together, doesn’t it stand to reason that He can hold our lives together? Seeing all this, giving Jesus first place does make sense, doesn’t it? Jesus should have first place in our lives because of what He is. First, Jesus is the “head of the body, the church.” This is not a reference to the building that we worship in but a reference to us. We (all Christians) are the church. He is the head of our corporate body as “church.” The church that you are member of does not belong to the members; rather, it belongs to Jesus. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Jesus is to have first place in all matters in our churches. Second, Jesus is "the firstborn from the dead.” This simply means that in His resurrection Jesus defeated death for us. Jesus died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Three days later He arose. All of this happened to Jesus in order for us to be “saved by grace through faith” in Him. We did not do this for ourselves. There is no such thing as a “self-made” Christian. Jesus died for our sins, rose again, and is alive at the Father’s right hand now; therefore, He should have first place in our lives. Third, to get back to where we began, all of this was done “that He might have preeminence.” He does not want to have first place for His sake. After all, He already has first place throughout the universe. Jesus wants to have first place for our sake. We need for Jesus to have first place in our lives. We will be better Christians, indeed, better human beings when we give Jesus first place in our lives. Does Jesus have first place in your life? Does Jesus have first place in your family? Does Jesus have first place in your life where you are employed, or where you are in school? Does Jesus have first place in your church? Do yourself a favor and give Jesus first place in everything. Bro. Joe "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
This verse teaches us an important lesson about God’s grace, i.e., that without it we cannot be saved. Ephesians 2:8-10 is the standard definition of what it means to be saved: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” The main catalyst for salvation is not based on who we are or what we do; rather, it is based on God’s grace. Grace has been defined as “unmerited favor.” This means that we can never merit, or earn, salvation: “not of works, lest any man should boast.” We cannot earn salvation, but through our faith in Christ, by God’s grace, we can be saved. Paul gave God’s grace credit, not only for his salvation, but also for everything that was accomplished through his ministry. For example, here is what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10: “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by grace I am what I am: and His grace which was given to me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Paul could not have been saved and could not have served were it not for the grace, the unmerited favor, of God. It makes sense then that we are saved, not by our own righteousness, nor by our own works, but because of the grace of God. Paul admitted that because of his past actions in persecuting the church he should not have been able to be saved, nor should he have been able to serve the Lord. It was the grace of God that made all of it possible. I can say the same thing about my own salvation and my own ministry. There was nothing that I did that enabled me to be a servant of the Lord. By grace He has let me serve Him. It is the same for all of God’s servants, from Peter, to Paul, to Martin Luther, to Billy Graham, to you. The essential element in all of our dealings with God, whether it be our salvation or our service, is God’s grace – His unmerited favor. God’s grace has made it all possible. Praise God! Bro. Joe “If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and come unto him, and we will come unto Him, and make our abode with Him.”
Do we genuinely love the Lord? John 14:23 gives us some keen insight into loving the Lord. Jesus said, “If a man (anyone) loves me…” “If” presupposes that not everyone loves the Lord. Love reaches its supreme good when it is given to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is important that we love our parents, our spouses, our brothers and sisters and people in our church. In fact, we are told to love everyone. I do not think that we will love people as we should until we really love the Lord and are thankful for all of His blessings. Jerome O. Williams wrote that love for the Lord is “love’s highest height.” We need to frequently check our love quotient. Do we love the Lord as we should? Jesus pointed out that love for the lord is obedient: “If a man love me, he will keep my words.” Those who love the Lord supremely will certainly seek to know and to do His will on a daily basis. They will certainly seek to keep the commandments of Jesus, the greatest of which is love. They will seek to worship Him. Those who love the Lord will seek to win others to Him. They will want to minister to their fellow human beings in times of great need in their lives. All of these, and more, are signs of obedient love. We should remind ourselves that Jesus was obedient in His love for us when He died on the cross to save us from sin. The most wonderful fact is that the Lord returns our love: “My Father will love him…” This does not mean that the Father does not love us already. John 3:16 has already told us that He loves the world so much that ”He gave His only begotten Son.” Among other things, I think that this means that we will realize the love the Father has for us when we love the Son. Sadly, there are millions of people who do not know that the Father loves them. If we love Jesus and are obedient in that love, surely we will know that He loves us supremely. The fact is that, “We love (God) because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) How can we not respond to Him in love? You can really express your love for Him if you will turn your life over to Him by putting your faith in Him. Jesus said that the first commandment is to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” That pretty well covers it doesn’t it? Bro. Joe "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever….”
There are three things in this text that refer to Christ's unchanging nature. The text tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday…” This is another way of saying that Christ has always been. John 1:1-3 informs of the eternality of Jesus Christ: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, the Word was God. 2. The same was in the beginning with God, and the Word was God. 3. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 8:58 gives us another glimpse at Jesus’ eternality: “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was I am…” This amazed the people to whom Jesus was talking at that time. It amazed them to the point that they took up stones to stone Him, but He just passed right by them and went on. They could pick up all of the stones that they wanted, but their hatred could not diminish the fact that what Jesus said was true. The text tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same…today…” That is a comforting word isn’t it? The Christ that we serve today, is the same Christ Who walked on the earth two-thousand years ago. While He is not still in the flesh, He has not changed in His eternal nature and in His eternal love for us. The same love that brought Jesus to earth in the first place, is the love that He has for us today. The same Jesus who blessed children, healed the sick and stilled storms, is the Jesus to Whom we owe our love and devotion. To be sure, things have changed historically over the years, but our Savior has remained the same through it all. History is a record of humankind’s foolishness, but biblical history is the record of God’s steadfastness, illustrated for us by our unchanging Savior! The text tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same…forever…” Jesus will never change; He will always be the same. While all around us there is destruction and decay, we have a Savior Who rides above it all. This is a wonderful promise and it gives new meaning to our lives here on this ever-changing earth. While puzzling and hard things happen to us here and now, we have a Savior who is not puzzled and who is the Lord of the situation, and has promised to be with us through it all. When time is over and all has been said and done, there will be Jesus waiting in eternity for us – unchanging forever. These are three great truths about our unchanging, eternal Savior. Bro. Joe “And whosever of you will be the chiefest, shall be the servant of all. 45. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and give his life a ransom for many.”
There is much that could be written about this text, but I want us to notice that as Jesus came to serve, He has also called us to be servants. If you are a Christian, you are a servant of Christ. What are some of the qualities of Christian service? The first quality of Christian servant hood is obedience. All of the apostles, minus Judas, were obedient servants, and because of their obedience they were put in prison and were even killed for their faith. We should be aware of what Jesus wants us to do in our Christian service and when we understand it…do it! Our obedience is not likely to lead to death, yet, but it can lead to unpopularity. (We might even be considered to be "phobics" of some kind.) Do you think that you are presently being an obedient servant of Jesus Christ? No one knows that answer better than you! The second quality of Christian servant hood is loyalty. When Jesus told His disciples that He would be arrested, tried and crucified, Peter said, basically, that He would put a stop to Jesus’ arrest. You know what happened. He was not as loyal as he thought he would be when he found himself outnumbered and accused of being a follower of Jesus Christ. He claimed not to even know Jesus. Are you a loyal servant of Jesus when you find yourself outnumbered and being called a bigoted phobic? Well? But Peter ended up being a good example of Christian servant hood when He repented and proved his loyalty all the way to his death. We need to ask ourselves if we would really be loyal to Jesus when loyalty could lead to persecution…… The third quality of Christian servant hood is that he, or she, is well-informed. When we stand up for Jesus, we need to know what we are talking about. This is actually why we have Sunday School (or small groups if you prefer). This is why we need to systematically read the Bible on a daily basis. We need to spend some time prayerfully meditating on the four gospels. You will be amazed what a difference it will make in your life and in the quality of your Christian servant hood, when you spend time in the Bible. There are also a lot of good Christian books that we can read that can inform us. Think about your own Christian servant hood! Are you an obedient, loyal and well-informed servant of Christ. Bro. Joe "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (NIV)
Christians are often reminded of the need to be humble, but we are also reminded that we have a special calling from God to be His people to the world. We are all that the text says, not to boast about our position in Christ, but to be His witnesses in the world. The text declares that we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God." That is heady stuff, isn't it? But the very last lines in this verses tells us why we are all of this. It is certainly not to give us bragging rights, but "to declare the praises of Him Who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light." First, we are told what to share with people. We are to share "the praises of Him..." We have a lot to praise God for. We have been called out of a life of sin and degradation to a life of joy and satisfaction in Christ. We need to share this verbally, but we also need to declare it with the way we live our lives and in the way that we treat people. We have the promise of eternity with God in heaven. That is something that a lot of people do not think about, because they are so busy with life, making a living, etc. But we need to call their attention to the fact that there is a life beyond this one and that it is all-important for them to receive Christ as their Savior. These are just two examples of all that we have to praise God for. Second, we are told why we should declare His praises. It is because we have been called out of darkness into light. I consider myself a positive person, but as I look around me, I see a lot of darkness. I see the possibility of darkness in my own life. Satan always calls us back to the earthly pleasures of sin, and we have to be on guard about that. I see the darkness of the world all around me in the newspaper, on television, on the radio, etc. I do not wish to join that darkness. I remember living in a dark world and it was not satisfying. But we are not called to shun this dark world but to encounter it with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember we are declaring that we have been called out of darkness into light. We do not need to be self-righteous about it, because that would be counter-productive.But it is true, nevertheless, and we are to declare it humbly, being thankful that we are in Christ, and wanting others to join us in Him. Bro. Joe "In your anger do not sin, when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. 5. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord." (NIV)
The emotion of anger is not a sin. When the doctor whacked our backsides to get us breathing, or whatever, we did not laugh, we cried, or rather we howled in fury. The first emotion that we express after we are born is anger. Anger becomes a sin when it becomes a part of who we are, when we never get over things that happen to us. I have known people who have been angry over things for years. I've had people express anger for another person as if what occured to cause the anger had happened yesterday. In reality it happened years ago. That's different from getting angry, expressing it and getting over it. The problem with hoarded anger is that it turns into malice. Malice is anger that has "gone to seed." When anger is held onto until it becomes malice, it becomes a lifestyle. That is when anger becomes a sin. Paul gave us another explanation of anger in Ephesians 4:26-27: "In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry; and do not give the devil a foothold." (NIV) When we hold onto our anger, Satan loves to help us keep it going. For example, when we see the person with whom we are angry, Satan will remind us of the reason we are angry, and we will relive the situation that caused the anger. The name "Satan" is synonymous with the word "sin." Whatever Satan has a hand in is sin - period. I think that "when you are on your bed, search your hearts and be silent" means to think about the anger, get rid of it and keep your mouth shut. This might be a shallow interpretation, but it works for me. Verse 5 completes the thought: "offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord." By New Testament standards, this means to turn your anger over to Jesus and trust Him to help you overcome it. Do not hold onto your anger. Bro. Joe “Wherefore God has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name. 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth. 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Jesus Christ has been declared as Lord, meaning that we must recognize Him as master of our lives. By means of the following acrostic, I want to share with you what I think this means to us, and why His lordship will make a difference in our lives. L – Love…. According to John 3:16, Jesus came to earth because of God’s great love for us. Jesus illustrated that love by the way He lived His life. The four gospels reveal to us His love as He went about teaching, preaching and healing. He always had time for the sick who came to Him. Being the Lord of life, one would think that He would live the life of a rich man, but He spent a lot of His time among the sick and lowly, showing them the love of God. Finally, He revealed His great love by dying as a sacrifice for our sins, so that we could be saved. The Lord Jesus does not just love generally; rather, He loves you! O – Omnipotent – (We could also add omnipresent and omniscient.) “Omni” means “all.” This means that Jesus is all powerful, all seeing and all knowing. Jesus demonstrated His omnipotence by walking on water, turning water into wine, feeding multitudes with a few loaves of bread and fish, stilling a storm on the Sea of Galilee with just a word. He is omnipotent, all present and all knowing in our lives as well. Jesus either is, or wants to be the Lord of your life. R – Regal – Jesus lived a humble life on earth, but ultimately He is called “the King of kings and the Lord of lords.” Here is what Paul wrote Timothy concerning the regal Lord: “Which in His times (Jesus) will show, who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Who only has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen” (1 Timothy 6:15-16) D – Disciplinarian – Hebrews 12:7: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.” This seems harsh, but it is not, because it is out of love that Jesus chastens, or disciplines us. It might not seem so as we endure His discipline, but when we look back on it, we know that it was for our good. I have not just read about this, I have experienced His discipline, and each time I learned more about His love for me. Jesus wants to be your Lord and all that this entails for your life. If Jesus is your Lord, praise Him for His Lordship in your life. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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