“And there came there certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing that he had been dead. 20. Howbeit, as the disciples stood around about him, he rose up and came into the city; and the next day he departed with Barnabas for Derbe. 21. And they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch…”
Acts 14:19-21 takes us into the middle of Paul’s first missionary journey. He and Barnabas had just come through a rough time in Lystra, where their adversaries had stoned Paul and left him for dead. Well, that took care of that – right? Well, no it did not. When Paul got up, he and Barnabas continued to do what they had been sent out to do – preach the gospel and start churches. This is where today’s title comes from: “What to Do When the Going Gets Tough.” Those who stoned Paul Probably thought that they taught him a lesson that he would never forget, and that he would stop this preaching about this Jesus. It didn’t happen that way. Paul got up and kept going. Which leads me to some questions for us? What does it take to make us quit in our service to the Lord? I have seen people quit under all kinds of circumstances. I have known people who quit serving the Lord because their feelings were hurt. We are living in a time when our “feelings” are obviously the most important things in the world. It has gotten to the point that we can hardly mention the name of Jesus without offending somebody. Don’t put your feelings ahead of Jesus and your service for Him. I have known people who have quit serving the Lord because they thought the church did not appreciate all of the hard work they had done. These people need to ask themselves what that “hard work” was all about. If it was about making us look good, and having people brag on how hard we have worked, then we can quit. But if it was about serving Jesus, then we cannot quit. The saying today is: “It’s not about us, it’s about Jesus.” If it really is about Jesus, then we will get up and keep going when our feelings get hurt, or when our work seems unappreciated. If we quit, who will do what God wanted us to do? Think about this for a moment. God has saved us, given us gifts of the Holy Spirit, and sent us forward to use those gifts for the purposes for which he called us. This means that God is counting on us to do His work on earth, to be His hands, feet and tongues. If we do not do what God has willed us to do, will it get done? It could because God is not crippled by our quitting, and there are others who can take up the slack. But is that really what we want? Do we want someone else to have to do what God has called us to do? Would it make us happy if God's work went on in spite of us. I joke about how I used to go to my office at the church on Monday, because I knew that if I was preparing a sermon for the next Sunday, then I planned to keep on doing it. Of course, this was not true of every Monday, but there were those Mondays when I felt like quitting. When we feel this way, it is important for us to ask ourselves if anyone stoned us and left us for dead, for even that is not an excuse to quit. There is not a person on this earth who is irreplaceable, but we should not want to be replaced because we quit when the going got tough. Ask yourself why you do what you do in your church and community? Do you do it to hear people brag on you, or to “make a name” for yourself? If those are your reasons for service, then you will quit when the going gets tough, but if you are doing what you do for Jesus and to advance His kingdom, then you will not quit under any circumstances. If you are considering giving up your Sunday School class, your place in the choir, whatever you do, ask yourself if you are quitting, or like Paul, moving on to further service? It’s worth considering. Bro. Joe
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“Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to see the sun. 8. But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.”
I think that these two verses are references to good days and bad days. “Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to see the sun” is a reference to good days. “Yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many” is a reference to bad days.” Of course I am not referring to twenty-four hour periods here, but periods of life when things are going great and periods of life when things are not so sweet and not going our way. I think that all of us can identify with this fact of life. We will have good days and bad days. Let’s begin with the good days. We go through periods of life when things seem to be in our control and life is good. I think of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Before they ate the forbidden fruit, everything was going their way. Indeed, their lives were trouble free. As you know, those days did not last. We can look at the life of David. After he killed Goliath, things went well for David and he was in great favor of the king. But the day came when King Saul’s jealousy of David put his life in daily danger. We can also look at the followers of Jesus Christ in the New Testament when they were accompanying Jesus on his journeys across Palestine and observing His miracles and coming to the realization that He was the Messiah. Those were heady days for them. They even began to argue over which of them would be the greatest when the Messiah overcame the Roman Empire. But then Jesus began to tell them about his coming crucifixion, and things got a little darker. We can identify with these people, because we know that life is so sweet then the “sun is shining” and the days are full of sweetness and light. Solomon wrote that we should enjoy those days, and enjoy all of the benefits of those days. Rejoice when things are going well for you. In his stark, realistic way, Solomon reminded his readers that the days of light will not last forever. This doesn’t mean that when things are going good, we should worry over the fact that this will end. Let’s let Solomon speak for himself: “yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many.” I think what Solomon means is that we need to accept the “days of darkness” and learn from them. This was written by a man who had about everything that he wanted, but he knew the meaning of “days of darkness.” He also knew that they were many. We just have to accept that we will have good times in our lives and bad times in our lives. It’s just the nature of life on earth, beginning with Adam and Eve and coming down to us. That brings me to the point of these good and bad times. I think that you will join me in admitting that we have learned more from the bad times than from the good times. That’s why Solomon wrote “remember the days of darkness.” When things are going good, we just go with the flow and enjoy them without learning a whole lot from them, or even feeling that we have anything to learn from them. But when things are going bad we have a tendency to wonder what in the world is going on, and what we are to learn from this darkness, or what is God trying to tell us in it? I might just be speaking for myself here, but I don’t think that I am. If you are going through hard times now, don’t blame it on God, just thank Him that He is going through it with you. Also remember that “this too shall pass,” and life will go on. Just remember the great gospel song that tells us “The God on the mountain is still God in the valley.” He’s right there with you. Rejoice Bro. Joe “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our Lord stands forever…”
There are some verses in the Bible that speak volumes about the human situation. Isaiah 40:8 is one of those verses. The longer we live, the more we realize that nothing around us is permanent. It has always been true, and will remain so, that “the grass withers, the flowers fade.” You can substitute any number of things for “grass”and “flowers,” and the verse will remain true. But the verse gives a promise that is just as sure and true: “but the word of our Lord stands forever.” This can be widely interpreted. We can say that it is true of the Bible, for it certainly is, but beyond that it also means that we can take God’s word for it that all of His promises will stand. In other words, we can take God’s word for it that all of His promises are true. Let’s take a look at few of these promises. We have God’s promise that we can receive the salvation that He has provided through His Son. This promise is succinctly stated in John 6:37: “All that the Father gives me shall come to me: and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” We have God’s promise that those who come to Him for salvation will not be turned away if they come in repentance and faith. This was true of Simon Peter; it was true of Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector; it was true of the thief on the cross, and it will remain true for everyone who comes to Him through Christ throughout the ages. We have God’s promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. This promise is found in Hebrews 13:5-6: “Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Before Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He promised His disciples that He would be with them through the “comforter,” the Holy Spirit who He would send to them after He ascended to the Father. One of Jesus’ final promises to His disciples, and to us, just before He ascended was:“Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages….” (Matthew 28:20) We can be content and secure in this life knowing that we will never be alone, that God will never forsake us. There are times when it might seem that He has forsaken us, but we can take His word for it that He has not forsaken us. Throughout the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, we see the reality of this great promise. We see it with Moses as he leads the Israelites through the desert. We see it in David as he tended his sheep and as he ran for his life from king Saul. We see it in Paul when he put his life on the line time after time to take the word of God to the world. We can experience this promise in our lives if we will just be aware of it. We have His promise that: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) The promise is not that “all things will work for good” for God’s people. The promise is that all things will “work together for good…” “Together” is a big word here and defines what the promise entails. It means that God is at work in our lives and as we face everything in this life, good or bad, God will work them all together for our good. I have found this to be true in my life, and I imagine that many of you reading this have found it to be true in your lives. You might be going through a difficult time at this time in your life. You have the promise that God is working in your life and that it will turn out to your good. You can take God’s word for it. I have not even scratched the surface of this great promise that “the word of our Lord stands forever,” but what I have shared should be sufficient to show that it is true. Don’t just take my word for it; take God’s word for it. Bro. Joe “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
When Paul wrote 2 Timothy he knew that his days were coming to an end, and he was ready to die and go to heaven. 2 Timothy 4:7 reveals that Paul was satisfied now that his life had been worthwhile. It also gives us some insight into Paul’s character, i.e., what made Paul the outstanding person that he was.What we have in this text is what I call "A Snapshot of Paul's Character. "This "snapshot" can also help us to build character in our own lives. Paul wrote that he had “fought a good fight.” What did he mean by that? His life, like ours, was a daily battle to do the right thing. Like us, he had to fight with Satan every day, because Satan wanted to pull the great apostle down and ruin his witness. It is no different in our lives. Every Christian has a target on his back, and Satan takes aim at that target everyday. We are never free of his temptations. Also, Paul’s fight was with false witnesses who wanted to call people’s attention away from the centrality of Christ. It was a constant fight. It is still a fight today. There are always people who want to get us sidetracked on religion and ritual instead of focusing on Christ. Christian character is obviously built on devotion to Christ. We cannot be Christlike in our character if we don’t give our complete devotion to Him. There were other things that Paul had to fight, but what I have shared should suffice to help us build our character. Like Paul we need to fight a “good” fight. That means that we hang in there and keep on fighting, even when things are difficult. Paul wrote that he had “finished the course.” Another translation of this is, “I have finished the race.” Paul saw his ministry through to its conclusion, i.e., he did not quit. You know the old saying: “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins.” What was this race that Paul was running? He was primarily called to be the missionary to the Gentiles.(Isn't it interesting that when God wanted to call a missionary to the Gentiles, He chose the meanest, and most feared Jew of that day to do it?) This would have been difficult for Paul in the beginning, because until his Damascus Road experience, he had been a devout Jew. This meant that he could have nothing to do with Gentiles. After that experience his ministry was mostly about and among Gentiles. Think of all that Paul had to do to overcome his lifelong prejudice. The fact is, though, that he did it. He went all over Palestine, Asia Minor, Greece, and eventually to Rome, carrying the gospel to the Gentiles. Now that he was about to die, Paul could look back on his life and see that he had finished what God had given him to do. If you want to build Christian character in your life, you need to find out what it is that God wants you to do. If you don’t already know what it is, find out, and do it to the best of your ability, following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. When we get away from God’s will, God’s purpose for us, we are wasting His time and ours. What is the “race” that God has given you to run? Will you see it through to the end? Paul wrote that he had “kept the faith.” I interpret this to mean that through it all Paul stayed true to his faith in Christ, and to the doctrines to which His faith led him. Paul did not stray from preaching Christ, and from living for Christ. If we would build Christian character, we would stay true to Christ and to His plain teachings in scripture. We cannot let ourselves get sidetracked with minor arguments over faith and practice. Are you “keeping the faith”? Do you quit when the going get's rough? Are you keeping the faith in spite of what others might say about you? Bro. Joe “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (CSB)
If you were anywhere near a church when you were a child, you sang the beloved old song: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, for the Bible tells me so.” When you sang that hymn as a youngster, you had no idea of the profundity and the eternality of that love. Romans 8:38-39 gives us the full scope of the love that God, through Christ, has for us. I want to point out some things about this profound love for you to ponder today. First, the tone of Romans 8:38-39 tells us that Christ’s love for us is inescapable. You might disdain the whole idea about Jesus, being saved, going to church and all of that, but you can’t escape the fact that Jesus loves you. You can make fun of it, make light of it, preach against it, etc. but you can’t escape the fact that Jesus loves you. He loves you because the Bible tells us so, but beyond that He loves you because you are in this world, and He loves the people of the world. If you are running from that love– stop it. Running won’t do you any good. As we learned yesterday, Jesus doesn't always agree with us, but He loves us anyway. Second, the love of Christ for us is personal: “Jesus loves me." His love for you won’t mean anything to you until you take it personally. You won’t know the meaning of His love for you until you take it personally. I have discovered in my own life that no matter what I am going through, Christ's love is present, and helping me to keep going. We might think that because Jesus loves us, He would never let us go through difficult times, but that’s just not the way life works. It is comforting to know when things are hard, that Jesus loves me. He is not indifferent about anything in my life. When I feel close to Him, He loves me. When I feel that there is some distance between us, He still loves me. Reach out and take that personal love that Jesus has for you. Third, Christ’s love for us is sacrificial. We need to let this truth burn into our souls: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We need to stop and meditate deeply about what this means. Among other things, it means that our salvation was dearer to Jesus than His own life. He said, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” This is exactly the kind of love that He has for us. Let’s just pause here and praise Him for His sacrificial love. Without it we would be hopelessly lost in sin. Fourth, Christ’s love for us is challenging. Look what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15: “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached the conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. 15. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.”( CSB) His love for us compels us to live a life beyond our petty needs and wants. His love gives us new purpose for living. His love causes us to love the unlovable. There is no end to the challenges of Christ’s great love. Jesus loves you. Rejoice!! Bro. Joe "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep, for thou, O Lord make me dwell in safety.
After putting his trust in the Lord, David was ready to lie down and rest. It is possible that a lot of people never relax and rest is because they have not put their trust in the Lord. I know that when I lie down to sleep at night, I speak to the Lord before drifting off to sleep. I cannot imagine not having the awareness of God's presence and certainly when I am about to go to sleep. First, David wrote "I will lay me down in peace." Peace in our hearts and minds is the result of having a personal faith relationship with God, and having an awareness of His presence. I can't imagine being at peace without the awareness of God's love and presence. Paul wrote in Romans 5:1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is possible that you are not at peace in your heart and mind, because you do not have faith in Christ, and that you are not aware of His gracious presence. Second, David wrote that he would "lay me down and sleep." David shared a universal law of peace with God, that is that when we are at peace with God, we are able to sleep. I cannot judge everyone who has sleepless nights, but I can almost assume that the reason that most people cannot sleep is because they are not positively experiencing the presence of God, and that they are not a peace with Him. Frankly, it is better to be at peace with God, rather than being out of sorts with Him. In fact, eternity is at stake! Third, David wrote that the sole reason that he could sleep in peace, was because he was right with God. In Psalm 32:7 David wrote: "Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble, thou shalt compass we about with songs of deliverance. Selah" David knew about the assurance of being forgiven by God. He also knew about having the assurance of God's presence. If you want to dwell in peace, get to know God personally, and know that He is with you, and that He has forgiven you. Then you can lie down in peace, knowing that you are in God's arc of safety, I hope and trust that you have been blessed by our excursion through Psalm 4. Bro. Joe "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and wine increased."
The word that is translated "gladness" here is also translated joy. The Psalmist expresses that the gladness, or joy, that God has put in his heart is greater than the gladness of a new crop of corn or of an increase in a crop of grapes the source of "new wine." The question that this text suggested to me was do I have gladness, or joy, in my heart? That is a loaded question that caused me to think about my own "gladness" or joy. The Psalmist, David in this case, made a strong statement that God had put "gladness" into his life. The Bible reveals to us that the source of real gladness, or joy, is the Lord. I think that the Bible reveals that to us. I recall at the time of Pentecost, the disciples were in great jeopardy, but when the Spirit of God came upon them they were filled with the gladness, or joy, that only God can bring. I experience this joy in my life. Do not think that I am telling you that I am always happy. There are things that occur in our world that make me very unhappy. But that does not mean that I do not have the joy of the Lord in my heart. It is this joy that keeps me from worrying about world events. As a student of history, I know that there is always turmoil in the world. I started my life in 1939 on the cusp of WWII. When I was born, Adolf Hitler was causing great turmoil in the world. Then we went into Korea, etc., etc. This is the world that we live in. The point I want to make is that world events do not determine what I have in my heart. There are things that disturb me in the news, and sometimes make me wonder what in the world is our world coming to. I wish that our world was different, but it is not. There is always war, and rumors of war, somewhere in our world. But these things do not determine what I have in my heart. Based on scripture, I know that the Lord is alive and well, and aware of what is going on in our world. NOTHING surprises God. He is eternally aware! The joy, or gladness, that I have in my life was placed in my life by the Holy Spirit. If anyone could kill the Holy Spirit, they could steal my joy. We know that this is not going to happen. The world is always trying to negate God, but He cannot be negated by the world. ("Negated" is a word. I looked it up in my old Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary.) We can make a mess in the world, but we can never make "a mess" of God. Because I am a Christian, He is the center point in my life. Instead of worrying, I go to my Center Point and He keeps me steady. The joy that I have in my heart is more secure than than the turmoil in world. This does not mean that I am never concerned about world events. People do crazy things in the world. There has always been turmoil of some kind in our world. Wait a minute, do you think that I am saying that I am always happy about world events? Indeed not! Somebody, somewhere is always up to no good in the world. That is why I center my life on the Lord. HE is never "up to no good." Whatever He does, or allows, in this world is up to Him, but if He is at the base of it, it will inevitably be for the better, But you may be wondering why bad things happen in the world? These things happen because we live in a fallen world. That is why I place my trust in the One who will not fall, neither will He fail. I can muddle things up, but thank God that He is the "Great Unmuddler." ( I think I invented a word.) This is why I place my joy and my hope in Him! Bro. Joe "There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon us.
This verse reminds me of the hymn "Let Others See Jesus in You." If people are looking for good examples, they need to be able to look at us, and at our lifestyles, and see "the light of (God's) "countenance (face) upon us." When we profess Christ, we declare to the world that we represent Him, and the world watches whether or not we act as His genuine representatives. Are we humble and honest in our dealings with people? People are looking at us to see if we really belong to Christ. We often hear people say about us, "They do not act like Christians." Many years ago I was in a restaurant with some of my fellow Christians, and I remember that I was embarrassed by how some of my party treated those who served us. I have heard that the most difficult people to serve are church groups. If we consider ourselves as missionaries to the world, we need to be careful about our witness. We need to be careful what we say to people and how we act toward them. I know that I have been tempted at times to vent my anger towards a difficult store clerk. However, I did not want to hear them say as I walked away, "I thought he was a preacher." I remember parking in the Walmart parking area where I noticed a man in a car next to ours. When we returned from the store, he was still sitting there. He said to me that he thought I must be a Christian. He said that he could just tell by the way I was acting. i was mystified and honored at the same time. I have been careful about how I act at Walmart, and actually anywhere else, since then. People do observe us and they can tell by the way we act whether or not the light of Christ's face is shining upon us. (I hesitate to tell you that there were other times that he might have thought the opposite of me. I just imagine that you know what I mean.) I'm not suggesting that we should always needlessly worry about what people say about us. After all, they often only see us in a snapshot of time, but those "snapshots" can reveal a lot about us. I am suggesting that we need to pay attention to our reactions, and whether or not they reveal "the light of (Christ's) face upon us." A familiar old hymn reminds us: "While passing through this world of sin, be faithful be brave and true, be clean and pure without, within, let others see Jesus in you." Selah Bro. Joe "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in God."
This verse points out two ways of relating to God. It contains a powerful lesson for us. First, David mentioned "sacrifices of righteousness." The important aspect of worship in David's day was offering sacrifices at the altar of the tabernacle. It was essential that they offer their best animals to God. This is what a "sacrifice of righteousness" would be. I compare this to religious services today. There are people who think that their religious service, their time, talents and tithes, are what God demands of them. These acts of worship and duty to God are important, and we should be careful to observe them. But these are things that we do. David knew that God wanted more than his duty. Second, David mentioned that what we should offer to God, and His work, is ourselves, our hearts, minds and hands. They would not be "right" sacrifices if they were offered by one who did not trust in God. I think David wrote here that he knew that all of the religious things that he did were not sufficient to please God. David was not putting his trust in "right sacrifices" to ultimately please God. The bottom line here is that if we are not trusting God with all of our hearts, there is no religious service, or "sacrifice" that will suffice. Third, we should apply this to our lives and to our Christian service. There is no religious service that will please God if our hearts are not in the right place. We should attend our churches services. We should seek to not only be "in church" but we should seek to "be church" in our homes, in our communities, in the places where we shop, etc. But we need to ask ourselves if we are doing these things to please our sense of religious duty, or are we ultimately doing them because we have trusted our lives to the Lord. Trust in the Lord comes before everything else that we do. "Where is my heart?" That is the first question that we need to ask ourselves. The Lord wants our hearts, minds, and hands because we trust in Him. We would do well to emulate David's sensibilities in this verse and "offer sacrifices of righteousness." We should ultimately take his advice and "put (our) trust in God." Bro. Joe "Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still."
This is a good example of good advice in one verse. First it tells us "Stand in awe." When one approaches the Lord, he, or she, needs to realize that HE IS THE LORD. We certainly believe that God loves us, and that He gave His Son to save us. We can believe that God is aware of our humanity. We can believe that God wants us to receive His Son as our Savior, but first we need to stand in awe of Who and What God is. It has been stated, "HE IS DE LAWD!" Stand in awe of Almighty God! Second it tells us to "sin not." We know, that being human, we will sin, but we need to be aware of temptation and take it seriously. We will never be perfect. I was once told that we will not sin if we are saved. The person who told me this was an alcoholic. But we need to be aware of temptation and eschew sin. We should rejoice that God is the God of love, grace and forgiveness. The Bible also tells us that God chastens His people: "My son despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of Him. For whom the Lord Loveth he chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." My dear Mama taught me the meaning of ,being loved and chastened. My dear Dad was not one to spank, but when he withdrew a privilege, he forbad that privilege, and he stuck with it. Both of my parents taught me about God's love and God's chastening. (It has been a family joke that Daddy used to refer to me as "that durned Joe.") Third, it tells us to "Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah" I take this admonition seriously. After I close the book that I am presently reading, I turn the light off, and flee to Jesus, and "be still" in His Holy presence. I go to sleep "being still." What a joy that time is for me. I know that I am far from perfect, but I also know that I am saved by faith in Jesus, Who gave His life on the cross, that I could be saved by His shed blood. That's about enough advice for one article. Read the text and attend to your application of it. Bro. Joe ' |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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