Paul and Barnabas were on a missionary journey in Asia Minor. They had run into persecution along the way, and at Lystra Paul was stoned and was believed to be dead. The trouble had been stirred up by Jews from Antioch and Iconium, two previous places where they shared the good news. Here is what the Bible says about the incident: "And there came certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe." (Acts 14:19-20) One would have thought that Paul would have told Barnabas: "Look, this missionary business has gotten rougher than I anticipated. I guess the people just don't appreciate all that I am trying to do for them. Let's just go back to Antioch (in Syria, not Asia Minor) and work out something to keep us from getting into so much trouble." That is not what happened. Paul got up from the ground, and went on to Derbe, the next city, with Barnabas. As we read this, it seems like it was so easy for Paul to do this. It wasn't easy, it was just the way Paul was. He was so dedicated to Jesus that he would not give up what he had been led to do. Paul knew that this work was about Jesus and not about himself.
Haven't you ever felt that you wanted to just throw your hands up and quit? You might have felt this way about your work, about your church, or about the work that you were doing at the church. You felt that you were not appreciated, and that you would be better off to just quit and go your own way. You might be asking: "Preacher how do you know so much about this?" I know it because I have felt like quitting many times over the years, but I have never been able to. Why? Because God would not let me. You see, I had to be reminded that my life for Jesus, whether at the church or in secular society, is not about me and what I want. It is about Jesus and what He wants. If we quit outside of His will, we will eventually become useless to His work for us in this life. If you feel like quitting, just ask yourself if that is God's will for your life. If it is, by all means quit, but if it isn't, just get up like Paul and go on in your service to God. Don't quit! Bro. Joe
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(I brought this one out of the archives from August 28, 2014. Presently the old Couch Potato has a bad case of writer's block. I hope that you will enjoy this article from the past. It encouraged me today and I hope it encourage you.)
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him; but I will maintain my own ways before Him.” I do not want to leave the impression that Job went through all that Satan put him through with no complaining at all. He was a good man, but, like all men, he was not perfect. But one thing is clear in the Book of Job, and that is that Job did not deny God, nor did He waver in his faith. If we put ourselves in Job’s place, we can’t even imagine how we would react. Of course, Job was not happy during his trial. He did not face it, always smiling, always positive, but he did face his trial in faith and trust in God. He teaches us to trust. What do I mean? Job trusted God in spite of personal loss. Think of all Job lost. He lost possessions. He lost all of his children. He had been proud of his children and was concerned that they live good lives. Now they were all dead. He lost the respect of his wife who told him to “curse God and die.” That was hardly a statement that showed that she supported Job in his predicament. What would be worse than losing the respect of the person with whom you had ten children and a seemingly happy home– until tragedy struck? Job lost the respect of his community. He had been a leader among the people, and the people had great respect for him and hung on his words. Now even the youth were making fun of him. Worst of all, Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, lost respect for him because they thought that he had committed some great sin and was being punished by God. They were never told that Satan was doing all of the nasty work. But through it all, Job held on to his trust in God. Job 23:10 is a good example: “But (God) knows the way that I take: when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job trusted God in spite of personal afflictions. Today we would say that Job had lost his health. I guess one of the most painful things that can happen to us is to lose our health. When we are afflicted we will react either positively or negatively. An old cliché reminds us that when we lose our health “we will become bitter or we will become better.” In the final analysis, Job became better. If we will put ourselves in Job’s place, thinking of all that he lost and of the pain and misery that he went through, we will say that we do not know exactly how we would react. Either one of the things that happened to Job would be traumatic, and that’s putting it mildly. We can’t put ourselves in Job’s place, but we can stay close to the Lord, pray and read His word, etc. in order to prepare ourselves to face the contingencies of life. Job trusted God in spite of the fact that God was silent. Throughout most of the book of Job, God did not intervene in Job’s difficulties. In fact, God never explained to Job what had occurred between He and Satan. Through it all, Job had to hear the false accusations of his great sins. God did not come to Job’s defense. He did in the end, and his friends had to pay for their cynical advice, but not until Job had come through the worst and had “come forth as pure gold.” We need to learn from Job that though God is silent, He is not absent. He has promised to go with us through all of the things that we encounter in life. He will not shout, but He will be present and He will do what we need for Him to do. Rejoice! Bro. Joe “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say: Rejoice!"
This is virtually a command to rejoice, but not to just rejoice but to “rejoice in the Lord.” This doesn’t mean to just be happy when everything is going in our favor. We are reminded to “always” rejoice – “in the Lord.” I want to share with you what I think that it means to “rejoice in the Lord.” We should rejoice in the salvation that God offers us through His grace. Being saved, being made right with God through faith in Jesus, is ample reason to rejoice, even in the difficult times.Hebrews 7:24-25 reminds us of a good reason to rejoice: “But this man (Jesus), because He continues ever, has an unchangeable priest hood. 25. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost those that come to God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.” Do you see what this means? It means that, through Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, God is personally involved in our lives. That Jesus intercedes for us, means that He is praying for us, and leading us to a better life. We should rejoice in the hope that we have in Christ. Romans 12:12 reminds us of this hope that we have in Christ: “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12. Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation (trouble); continuing instant in prayer.” The hope that we have in Christ is not the “hope so” kind of hope that we think of today. According to Vine’s Dictionary of New Tesatment Words it means, “favourable and confident expectation.” We are secure in our relationship with Jesus Christ, for He “is our hope.” (1 Timothy 1:1b) According to Colossians 1:27, Jesus is our “hope of glory.” This doesn’t mean that we will have self glory, but that we have the eternal glory that He alone can give, that is, eternal life beginning in this life and continuing through all eternity. Rejoice in the hope that Jesus gives, and is, in our lives. We should rejoice in the peace that we have in Christ. Look at the promise given in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” We are reminded in Philippians 4:27 that through prayer we can have “the peace of God, which passes all understanding.” We should not just seek peace of mind, but we should seek the “peace of God” that we have by faith in Jesus Christ, and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is much, much more that could be written on this subject, but I think that the three that I have given here can give you a good start in “rejoicing in the Lord always.” Bro. Joe “(Jesus) went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except that I drink it, thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:42)
Then said Jesus, "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) “I pray not that you should take them (His disciples) out of the world, but that you should keep them from evil.” (John 17:15) I need to be careful when I use Jesus as an example. There are those who say that Jesus came only as an example of what people can be if they really try. This is about as New Testament as “Alice in Wonderland.” Jesus did not come only as an example. He came to die on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, rise from the grave, ascend to the Father, so that those who put their faith in Him will be saved. It is true, however, that Jesus does set a good example for us in all areas of our lives. In the three texts above, Jesus set the example for us in prayer. In Matthew 26:42 Jesus gave us an example of a prayer of surrender. This is His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was not asking the Father to save His life. Jesus was not afraid to die. In fact, He told His disciples several times that He would die outside of Jerusalem. The “cup” that Jesus prayed about was the cup of the sins of all people. The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus on the cross. He took the wrath that would be for all people. People avoid the wrath of God by giving their lives to Jesus by faith. Jesus was not afraid of the Father’s wrath. Jesus had never experienced sin, because He lived a sinless life, but on the cross He would experience the wrath that sin brings. At that moment in Gethsemane Jesus surrendered Himself to die on the cross for our sins. He set the example for us, for we need to surrender our lives to God’s will as well. We should not always seek what we want in life, but we should seek what God wants. We should surrender to the will of God even if it means that we might suffer. Those are hard words, but the example of Jesus shows us the importance of them. Pray your own prayer of surrender today. In Luke 23:34, Jesus gave us an example of prayers of forgiveness. Before dying on the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus told us to pray that God would forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Forgiveness of others is not just a doctrine of the Christian faith, it should be an integral part of the Christian’s lifestyle. We should have what I call a habit of forgiveness. I know that this is not easy, but it is necessary for a fulfilling Christian life. We cannot keep unforgiveness in our hearts and be close to God. Churches have fellowship problems because we do not forgive one another, even for the minutest of slights. When we hold a grudge against someone, we need to remember Jesus’ prayer, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Pray a prayer of forgiveness today. In John 17:15, Jesus gave us an example of prayers for each other. He asked that God not take His disciples out of the world, but that He would keep them from the evil one – the devil. We need to pray for each other, that we all might live victorious lives. The best way to defeat the devil in our own lives, and the best way to help others defeat the devil, is to pray that the Lord will help us overcome the devil’s temptations. Actually, the Lord is the only recourse we have in our battle with the devil. We cannot defeat him on human strength and will power alone. In the New Testament, demons always immediately obeyed Jesus. It is Jesus and our faith in Him that helps us win the victory over the devil. There are other examples that Jesus gives us in prayer, but these are three of the most important that I know about. Follow Jesus’ example in prayer and gain the victory that you need. Bro. Joe 0 Comments “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward 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. 11. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”
What is the worst thing that you have done? Paul’s confession here was that he “persecuted the church of God.” I don’t know the full extent of that persecution, but with the information that we have, we know that it was brutal. For example, Paul literally took people out of their homes to put them on trial because of their faith in Jesus Christ. We are always reminded that the only thing that separates sins in the Bible is a comma, but brutality is an awful thing and leaves scars on the people who are brutalized and on the people who do the brutal act. Paul had a lot to be forgiven, but he was, after all, forgiven for all of it. What was at work in Paul’s forgiveness is at work in our forgiveness. That is why I opened with the question about the worst thing that you have done. If you have trouble accepting your own forgiveness after you have repented and asked for God’s forgiveness, you need this lesson. What was at work was the grace of God. Grace is classically defined as God’s unmerited favor. This means that we do not deserve to be forgiven for any sin, no matter what we consider the seriousness of it. Paul was forgiven, and we can be forgiven, because God is the God of grace, mercy and love. Jesus sought Paul out, and called him into Christian service before he had chance to pray. But at some time, Paul had to seek God’s forgiveness for his many sins against Christ’s church. In fact, Christ told Paul that in persecuting His church, Paul was persecuting him. Good lands! What a wonderful reality. There are people who reject God’s love because of His judgments, when they could discover His grace if they would just turn to him. If God’s grace applied to Paul, it applies to anyone who seeks God’s forgiveness. Grace is not a dormant attribute of God. I will illustrate what I mean by what Paul wrote in verse 10, “But by the grace of God, I am what I am.” Another way to say this is “by the grace of God, I am not what I was.” Before his Damascus Road experience, Paul was filled with animosity, just pure hatred, toward Christ and toward Christ’s people. But because of the grace of God, Paul’s life had been changed. He was no longer filled with hatred. He no longer wanted to bring harm to people with whom he disagreed. God’s grace is so powerful that it literally changes people’s personalities. God’s grace turns people around and gives them a heart of joy instead of a heart of hatred and fear. The good thing is that God’s grace continues its work in our lives and continues to change us day by day, week by week, etc., etc. God’s grace can change you too if you will surrender to it. Another important aspect of grace was that Paul did not have to do anything to get it, but after he had it, he went to work for the Lord. We can see Paul’s heart on this matter in Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9. Not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God’s grace saves us when we put our faith in Christ, but after we have been saved by “grace through faith,” we are given work to do. Paul pointed out that we are not saved by works because if we were we could boast about what we did to get ourselves saved. We are saved by pure grace, but grace is a catalyst to service for God. Paul didn’t do anything to get saved, but after he was saved he did a lot to serve the Lord. You should either marvel in the grace that saved Paul, or confess your sins and invite Jesus into your life by faith, and you can marvel at the grace that saved you. The extent of God’s grace is eternal and applies to you. Bro. Joe ///////// “We love God because He first loved us.”
No one will argue with the suggestion in our title that God's love is great. The love that we are referring to is agape (ah-gah-pay) love, which is the Greek word translated as love in our text and in other texts like John 3:16. It is the Greek word always used in New Testament references to God's love. Love really is great, especially as it is revealed in the New Testament. This article will explain what I mean. God loves us We need to be careful not to say this too glibly or take it too lightly. It is amazing that the God of the whole universe loves us. Think of the misery if God had chosen to hate us instead of loving us. If you are like me, you do not want to think of the alternative. We would not have John 3:16 in the Bible about God loving the world so much that He gave “His only begotten Son” so that we could be saved. We would not have 1 John 4:8b in the Bible: “For God is love.” The Bible reveals that God is a jealous God and that He is a God of wrath, but it never tells us that “God is jealousy” or that “God is wrath.” The very essence of God is love, and we should be grateful for that. When we put love, grace and mercy together, we realize that we can be saved for eternity because of the great love of God. Rejoice today, not only that God loves the world, but that He loves you. We love God! Our text makes it clear that if God did not love us, we would not love Him. Through Jesus, God has shown us what love really is. He set the example. We need to ask ourselves, however, whether or not we really love God. It is easy to say, “I love God.” It is quite another to actually love Him. Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments – we will obey Him. If we love God, we will want to serve Him in our churches and in our communities. We will share His love with the world through witness and ministry in the name of Jesus. Paul gave us a good example of what genuine love for God will do. He traveled extensively in obedience to his call to minister to Gentiles. Because he loved God, Paul was able to overcome his prejudices against Gentiles and preach the gospel to them. We should not simply say that we love God. We should prove it by our obedience to Him. What is the last thing that you did for someone because of your great love for God? We love each other!
Love’s greatness is revealed in the New Testament as threefold: God loves us, we love God and because of this, we love each other. Let’s practice New Testament love in our lives. Bro. Joe "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast the profession of our faith. 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
We have a Savior who understands what we are going through in this life. He came and lived the human experience for thirty-three years. He was "tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." Think of it, there is no temptation that you have to go through that Jesus has not dealt with. The difference in Jesus and us is that He was "yet without sin." We cannot say that we have never sinned, and we can never say that we do not sin. Sin comes in several forms, e.g., sins of attitude, sins of omission and sins of commission. That is why we are promised in 1 John 1:9 that, "If we will confess our sins, He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Jesus does not condone our sins; but, thank God, He does forgive our sins. We call it mercy and grace. Because Jesus understands our plight in this life, He gives us an invitation to come "boldly to the throne of grace." For what reason? "That we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." To come "boldly" does not mean to come "brashly." He means that we have a free invitation to come to Him at any time, night or day, and He will bestow His great mercy and grace upon us. Because Jesus knows what you are going through, He invites you to come to Him in prayer on your own. You do not need anyone to take you to His throne. Because Jesus is your understanding high priest, you also are your own priest. (We call it "the priesthood of the believer.") Aren't you glad that our Savior is not remote from us, that He knows what we are going through and wants to minister to us through the presence of His Spirit and through the privilege of prayer? Bow your head now and thank Jesus for who and what He is in your life. If He is not your Savior, bow your head and ask Him, by faith, to come into your life. You will "obtain mercy and grace" then and there. Bro. Joe "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast the profession of our faith. 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
We have a Savior who understands what we are going through in this life. He came and lived the human experience for thirty-three years. He was "tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." Think of it, there is no temptation that you have to go through that Jesus has not dealt with. The difference in Jesus and us is that He was "yet without sin." We cannot say that we have never sinned, and we can never say that we do not sin. Sin comes in several forms, e.g., sins of attitude, sins of omission and sins of commission. That is why we are promised in 1 John 1:9 that, "If we will confess our sins, He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Jesus does not condone our sins; but, thank God, He does forgive our sins. We call it mercy and grace. Because Jesus understands our plight in this life, He gives us an invitation to come "boldly to the throne of grace." For what reason? "That we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." To come "boldly" does not mean to come "brashly." He means that we have a free invitation to come to Him at any time, night or day, and He will bestow His great mercy and grace upon us. Because Jesus knows what you are going through, He invites you to come to Him in prayer on your own. You do not need anyone to take you to His throne. Because Jesus is your understanding high priest, you also are your own priest. (We call it "the priesthood of the believer.") Aren't you glad that our Savior is not remote from us, that He knows what we are going through and wants to minister to us through the presence of His Spirit and through the privilege of prayer? Bow your head now and thank Jesus for who and what He is in your life. If He is not your Savior, bow your head and ask Him, by faith, to come into your life. You will "obtain mercy and grace" then and there. Bro. Joe “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
Paul and Silas were wrongfully imprisoned in the jail at Philippi. They were under what we would call maximum security. They could hardly move because they were in stocks. Why, then, were they praying and singing at midnight? The first reason for their singing at midnight was they knew that God loved them. The people who had them jailed did not love them or care one way or the other. But these two great Christians knew that God loved them. It is amazing what this realization can do to our reactions to the negative things of life. If we know that God loves us, we can pray and sing at midnight. The second reason was they knew that their sins were forgiven. They had not been forgiven by the authorities, but they had been forgiven by Jesus. It is amazing what knowing that we are forgiven can do for our attitudes towards life. There are many Christians who do not pray and sing because they are still carrying guilt for sins that have been forgiven. If we know for sure that we are forgiven by an almighty and loving God, we too, can “pray and sing at midnight.” The third reason was they knew that Jesus was with them. They knew the promise that Jesus made: “Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the ages.” Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, was in the cell and the stocks with them. He knew of their predicament, but He was there loving and watching over them. We need to realize that no matter what is going on in our lives at any given time, Jesus is with us. The fourth reason was they knew that the other prisoners were listening. We should not miss the statement that “the prisoners heard them.” Paul was always aware that wherever he was and whatever was happening in his life, he was a witness for Jesus Christ. If Paul and Silas could pray and sing at midnight under those circumstances, the prisoners would know that they had something, or someone, special in their lives. People do not notice our witness as much when we are in church, or when we are going through good times, as they do when we are going through difficult times. We need to remember that when we “pray and sing at midnight,” other people hear us and it serves as a witness to them. We need to ask ourselves if we are “midnight singers” or chronic complainers? If we know that God loves us, that our sins are forgiven, that Jesus is with us and that we are always witnesses for Jesus, we will remember to “pray and sing at midnight.” Bro. Joe (I got way ahead of myself. I guess I am anxious for Thanksgiving to get here. Hey, I'm old and confused. lol I think. Just think you will get two Thanksgiving articles for the price of one.)
"And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. 14. The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (“Hold your peace” is one biblical way of saying “keep your mouth shut.”) On their way from their escape from Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. They were penned in by the Red Sea in the front and Pharaoh’s army from behind. What could they do? We have “Red Sea” moments in our lives, from which we see no escape. What can we do? We cannot go around them. There was no way that approximately three million people could go around the Red Sea. We don’t think about there being that many of them, but if you will do the math, there were a whole lot of them. We try to find ways to go around our “Red Seas” but the nature of these moments is that there is no way around them. We can wear ourselves out trying to find a way to get around them by “doing it ourselves.” The Israelis had given up and just knew that there was no way around this dilemma. For the people of God there is always a way through their problems. We cannot swim through them. I doubt that any of these people could swim, including Moses and Aaron. Even if they had been Olympic swimmers, there was no way they could swim across the Red Sea with all of their belongings and all of their animals. We also cannot swim through our “Red Seas.” Getting around some of life’s problems, calls for more strength than we can muster. Some of them call for more time than we have to work through them. Some of them demand more knowledge than we have. This was what the Israelis were up against. What could they do? The only thing that they could in this situation was to trust God to do a work that only He could do. Moses told them to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” Moses told them to not be afraid. Fear will keep us from trusting the Lord. Fear causes panic, and that was about to happen in the case of the Israelis. Moses reminded them that the Lord would fight for them. Indeed, He did! The Red Sea was divided and let them through. Only the Lord could do that. We need to remember that the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, is fighting for us, and that He is ready to “divide our ‘Red Seas’” Let’s stand still, “hold our peace” and trust in the salvation and deliverance of the Lord. That is what we do when we come to our “Red Seas.” Bro. Joe |
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