Be Strengthened in the Lord Your God

Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. – 1 Samuel 30:6

David and his men came back to their city and it was burned, all their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken.  David and his men were very burdened by this.  In verse 4, there is very strong language that probably isn’t stated strong enough.  The NRSV says that “David and the people with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep.”  The Message says that the men were “exhausted with weeping”.  Obviously, they all considered their families to have been hurt, abused, or dead.

Once they stopped grieving, they got angry.  Their anger turned on David.

We read that David was “greatly distressed” for two reasons.  One, he had lost the confidence of the people.  Two, the soul of all the people were terribly grieved for their families.  David cares deeply for the people.  I also believe that as their leader he was hurt that he had led them to such pain.  He knew he was God’s appointed and as such, it would have been greatly discerning that the people might turn away from God.

Yet, in the midst of this pain, exhaustion, grief, and personal attack, David does what we must learn to do, strengthen ourselves in the Lord our God.  He drew closer to God.  Notice that we are told clearly here that the Lord is David’s personal God, “the Lord his God”.  Is the Lord your God?  Do you have a close personal relationship with Him?  Can you turn to Him at any time and know the presence of the Lord is with you?

David is recorded in Psalms 18:

I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

The pangs of death surrounded me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears. (vs 1-6)

He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. (vs 16-19)

David’s testimony and witness is that the Lord rescued him.  The Lord was there when David was drowning.  The Lord in His high place (“even to His ears”) heard a humble David’s plee.  The perfect Father “delivered me because He delighted in me”.  The Lord delights in His children and has His Hand in all things in our life so we may grow if we are willing in our knowledge and faith of Him.

Draw close to God today in whatever trials beset you.  Trust in the Lord and the Lord alone and know He does not leave you to yourself.

Will America Persecute Christians?

In the book The Insanity of Obedience by Nik Ripken, he list three types of persecution against Christians that he witnessed in his many travels to visit oppressed and persecuted Christians around the world.  These types of persecution are not just in the history books, but are alive and well today.  There is too much evidence in America that persecution of Christians, apart from other religions, is growing very fast.

Here is a good article dated July 5, 2017, named Christian Persecution is Coming to America, provided by truthandfire.com.  The article can be found at: http://www.truthandfire.com/news-bedford/2017/7/1/christian-persecution-is-coming-to-america

CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION IS COMING TO AMERICA

Yesterday, we celebrated the 241st "birthday" of our nation's Declaration of Independence.  But for the past few weeks, I've actually been contemplating matters relating to our Constitution. I'm aware that the U.S. Constitution wouldn't become the law of the land for another decade, two months and 13 days after we declared our independence from British rule.  And I can respect the amount of painstaking time, energy and thought our Forefathers put into creating our "more perfect Union" and the "supreme law" that would rule it. Yet, with all that is going on in our nation and the world, I've been considering lately how desperately fragile this document, and the rights granted therein, actually are. 

Truth is, I'm of the mind that Christian persecution will become a widespread norm in the United States - probably in my lifetime.  I don’t mean persecution of the "Starbucks-removed-the-Christmas-tree-from-their- red- cups” variety (which, by the way, isn’t persecution at all given that Christmas is a man-made holiday rooted in pagan practices AND one that Jesus never told us to celebrate in the first place. But that’s another post). I’m talking about the type of persecution the early Church endured. 

I’m speaking of actual laws being passed that limit or prohibit the speech and religious expression of those who share God’s Word and support the teachings of Jesus Christ. I’m speaking of Christians being fined, arrested, jailed, losing jobs, and even our very lives for the sake of the Gospel.

Yes. Right here. In America. 

I know it sounds far-fetched given that the Constitution (currently) protects our freedom of speech and religion. But I’m telling you guys – it’s coming. Not only does the Lord make it clear that widespread Christian persecution will take place in the last days before His return (Mark 13:9-13), but current events are shaping up to prove that such is on the rise at a dizzying rate.

FOUNDING (THE LOSS OF) FREEDOMS

When most of us think of Christian persecution, we often think of isolated cases in the Middle East and countries in Africa and Asia.  Yet, Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world.  And Canada has been proof that persecution is not only possible in North America, but it is most certainly growing ever more hostile here. Ontario recently passed Bill 89, which, under its Human Rights Code, “protects” a child’s professed homosexual orientation or transgender expression and, thus, allows the government to remove children from the homes of parents who oppose gender ideology (aka: the LGBT agenda). Bill C-16 makes it illegal to use the “wrong” pronouns when referring to a transgender individual. In other words, if a man wishes to live as a woman and be called “she” but you say “he”, you can be fined or jailed.  Moreover, an Ontario Christian school has been banned from teaching parts of the Bible that may be offensive to certain individuals, namely those whose sexual and/or gender expression contradict the Bible. Note that this is just a sampling of Canada's developments in the past TWO WEEKS [article originally written on July 5, 2017]! They've certainly has much more going on in the past two years.  The devil has been ridiculously busy!

“Oh! But that’s Canada,” you say, eh?

Well, consider that in the U.S., there is a growing movement to suggest that Christians are unfit for public office. LGBT groups recently made that declaration and Bernie Sanders went so far as to suggest that a Christian’s belief in the Gospel makes us hateful and incapable of fairly serving all people -  including those who don’t share our faith - specifically, Muslims. According to Sanders, the Gospel is “indefensible, it is hateful, it is Islamophobic, and it is an insult to over a billion Muslims throughout the world.” And just the other day, Tim Gill was quoted by the Rolling Stone as saying it is his plan to use state and local governments to "punish the wicked", referring to Christians who are opposed to the LGBT agenda. Gill, a major donor to LGBT causes, was instrumental in helping advance the argument for marriage equality in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that made same-sex marriage legal in the U.S.

Not only are Christians and the Gospel being increasingly criticized and threatened, the full counsel of God (aka the Bible) was recently said to have "no place in modern American society". According to Keith Burton, Director of the Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations at Oakwood University, the Word of God is an “obstacle to American freedom”.  Burton's sentiments were the craziest and most foolish thing I’d ever read so, of course, I had to respond.

RELIGIOUS CIVIL WAR

It seems other Christians are also responding to these sly attacks, and most are doing so through our civil government. The state of Kentucky, for instance, was pretty bold in passing the “Bible Literacy Bill” (H.B. 128), which went into effect last week. The Bill supports an elective Bible literacy course which will teach American history through a Biblical context. Kentucky Governor, Matt Bevin, argues that Biblical principles and themes shaped much of America’s laws and culture, thus he doesn’t understand why more states wouldn’t have such a course in place. Of course, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is all over this legislation. And, if I am honest, there was a time I might have squinted at what the state is doing. But knowing what I now know and after seeing what I’ve seen, I can’t say that I blame Kentucky. In fact, I fully support them!

I can recall when our nation first became extremely adamant about religious neutrality. In my ignorance, I supported the concept, thinking that by keeping everything neutral we’d maintain peace and avoid offense. BUT what I was too naive to understand was that the push for "neutrality" was truthfully a strategy to NEUTER Christians. While they were removing our Bibles and scripture verses from our desks, e-mail signatures and cubicles, EVERYONE ELSE was pushing their false religion, lies and deceptions into the mainstream under the guise of "equality" "inclusion" and "freedoms of speech and religion". Rather than keep or include Christianity in the mix in the name of "diversity" and “inclusion”, we were systematically muzzled. When I began to see how atheists, Muslims and the LGBT community were celebrated and encouraged to bring their ideologies to the forefront for diversity's sake, BUT the Biblical Christian voice was chastised, I finally put the pieces together: America wants us to shut up by any means necessary!

I perceive that, in truth, this generation doesn't REALLY care about free speech or freedom of religion for all. It doesn't really even care about "diversity". At its core, it cares about shutting down the truth of Jesus Christ and all who believe it and share it. Anything a Christian does in the name of our faith in the public (AND private) square is offensive and must be snuffed out.

There were complaints about police cars with decals which read "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 9:5), but there were celebrations for rainbow decals on "pride patrol" police cars. 

After complaints from an atheist group, a U.S. town recently removed an historic park bench because “God” appearing in a quote inscribed on the bench was deemed “offensive”. But atheist groups make it an annual tradition to erect across the country billboards that mock Christians.

A Christian baker (whose bakery was privately owned, by the way) was told that he is REQUIRED to render services that contradict his sincerely-held, faith-based convictions. Churches are being pushed to provide transgender restroom accommodations. Pastors’ sermons are being demanded by the government to ensure they're not offensive to the LGBT community.

A Christian student is told wearing a cross on her necklace is “disrespectful”, while a Muslim student’s hijab must be respected as a source of pride. A high school football coach, who is Christian, is fired for praying with his team of willing students before and after games.  Yet, the ACLU was mum when a public high school created a prayer room for Muslim students. And no one was fired after a Massachusetts school took Christian students on a field trip to a mosque, where students were taught about Muhammad and some participated in midday prayer (though the school was kind enough to send an apology letter home to their parents).

Again, a Canadian Christian School was banned from teaching certain parts of the Bible to avoid offense, meanwhile in Australia, students are demanding tax-payer funded "safe spaces" for Muslims to freely vent radical and offensive rhetoric from their faith.

U.S. schools are pushing for mandated curriculum in LGBT history and the tenets of Islam without parental consent. Satanists are implementing after school programs in the name of freedom of religion while at the SAME TIME pressuring schools to drop their (Christian-based) Good News clubs in the name of "freedom from religion".

Yet, the ACLU is crying foul now that Kentucky schools will be hosting an ELECTIVE Biblical literacy course? It doesn't make any sense. 

I SAID ALL OF THIS TO SAY...

It’s getting crazy out here. But it may be easy to miss or dismiss these incremental attacks, changes and charges if we aren’t paying attention and using discernment. And while I agree with exercising our existing Constitutional rights to challenge attacks on our First Amendment rights, I would caution all to keep in mind that the weapons of our warfare are NOT carnal but mighty through God (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). We must remember that we do not war against flesh and blood, but that we are in a spiritual battle and must thusly equip ourselves in the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20).

Christian persecution IS coming to the United States. Again, I understand that we have the Constitution. But, at some point, we WILL lose our Constitutional rights. (Yes. I just said that). If you have carefully read this piece or have been otherwise alerted, you would easily see the trajectory we are on. We are in a nation that often boasts it was founded on Christian principles, yet the Constitution once condoned slavery, and in less than a generation’s time, the Supreme Court has found a way to use the Constitution to legalize abortion AND same-sex marriage. Our citizenry is growing increasingly tolerant by the day of even the most vile of sins, and hostile toward the things of God - though 80%+ profess to be 'Christians'. We are brazenly breaking and re-interpreting God’s laws and definitions as if the Bible isn’t God’s holy word. The Holy Bible has existed for thousands of years; the Constitution hasn't even existed a quarter of a century. If America is bold enough to reinterpret God's laws, what's a man-made Constitution?  We cannot continue to assume the Constitution truly protects us. They will find a creative way around the First Amendment. They will find a way to reinterpret our freedoms of religion and speech.

Therefore, we must turn to our God and one another in these last days. Paul and Silas weren’t freed from unjust imprisonment because they took their jailers to court. They were freed because they had Jesus Christ and His Body on their side (Acts 16:16-40). The early Church prayed. They fasted. They visited one another. They fed one another. They provided refuge for one another. They clothed one another. They loved one another as Christ commanded, and they trusted in the Lord with their whole hearts. Please keep that in mind.  

Please (continue to) watch and pray. Please know that we are to obey God rather than man when man’s laws might cause us to break God’s commands. Please know that God is with us in all these things and will be in the things to come. Please keep your eyes on things above and meditate on all that is good and noble in Christ Jesus. And, finally, PLEASE pray for boldness! We are all going to need it.

What Fills Your Heart?

¹ Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? ² You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. ⁴ Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. – James 4:1-4

Everyone seems to want to know why they have conflict in their life, but very few really want to really know why.  What they want to know is that they are right and the people that they disagree with, or are in conflict with, are wrong. 

The error is in the heart of all people.  We lust for something for our self, but we can’t get it, so we murder.  Some people actually murder.  Some people just murder others in their heart.  In Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus is recorded as saying, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  If we at any time lust or covet for something we don’t have or worse, wish someone wasn’t with us anymore seeing them as an obstacle, then we are in great error and create wars and fights with others and inside our own hearts.

Desiring to make our own way because it’s what we want, because it’s what we believe will make us happy, purposely taking actions that oppose the clear written Word of God is sin with a whole lot of “I” in it.  Selfish sin always comes at the expense of others.  It will create wars and fights with others. 

James quotes Jesus here saying, “You do not have because you do not ask.”  He then quickly says that when you do ask you ask for your own benefit, not the glory of God.  You are asking because you are an idol to yourself, your self-image most important to you, you have statues of yourself in a hundred selfies on Instagram or Snapchat or Twitter or Facebook. 

Child of God!  Do you not know that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?  Think about that seriously!  Your desire to do what you want to do in order to make yourself better, according to your logic and understanding alone, along with the people of the world and as a part of the world make you an enemy of God. 

You cannot be a follower of Christ and demand to do it your way.  You cannot be a follower of Christ and put your idea and conception of what makes you happy, even at the expense of others, as the goals for your life.

Either you are the god of your life or Jesus is.  If you want peace, tear down your own self-idol, become broken and sit at the foot of the cross, so you can find the purpose of God in you again.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:3)  Let God make your heart pure so your request become pure and centered on His purposes and His Word.

Apoluo

“… Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:37b

The Greek word interpreted in this text as forgive here is apoluo.  According to Strong’s definitions, apoluo means 1) to set free; 2) to let go, dismiss; 3) to let go free, release, to loose the bonds of someone held captive and bid him to depart, to acquit one accused of a crime and set them at liberty, t release a debtor and to remit the debt; 4) used of divorce, to dismiss from the house, to repudiate; 5) to send one’s self away, to depart.

In this text from Jesus, we are told to set free and we will be set free.  Regarding those who have intentional hurt us, purposefully sinned against us, and sought to do us harm either through intentional purposeful effort or at our expense to lift themselves higher, we are to set them free so we, who have done such spiritually towards God as is our nature, can be set free from our sins. 

In this text from Jesus, we are told to let go and we will be let go.  We are to let go of the actions and words that others have done against us, so we can be let go of the grip of sin in our life.  Set those free, let them go. 

In this text from Jesus, we are told to release and we will be released.  Release those who have hurt you, so you can be released from the jail of hate, bitterness, and sadness.  A handy prayer here is to pray for your memory.  Pray that God will help you to truly let go of the memory of the sins against you or from the sins you’ve done and been forgiven for, so you can be released from them.  Set them free, let them go, release them from you.

In this text from Jesus, we are told to loosen the bonds of those we hold captive and our bonds will be loosened.  Open the jail in your heart where you hold the hurtful actions hostage and you will become free as well.  Acquit them of their crime just as you are acquitted through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Release them of their debt that they owe regarding the pain in your life mindful that you were released from your sin debt.

While we must be conscious always of the forgiveness of our sin in Jesus, we should also be mindful of the consequences of our actions towards others.  If we want to be forgiven by those whom we have hurt either intentionally or unintentionally, we must forgive, so we can be forgiven.  It isn’t just for us to expect to be forgiven, whether we want to be or not, and not be willing to forgive others.  Only a fool believes he has never hurt another.

In this text from Jesus, we are told to dismiss those from our house and we will be dismissed.  Setting free in our hearts those who have hurt us so deeply and caused us to experience pain that we didn’t know existed sets us free.  Forgiving them allows us to no longer be caged by that unforgiveness.  However, it doesn’t mean we are to become best friends or even casual acquaintances with them.  While I may work diligently daily to completely and totally forgive because I want to be free, I can also dismiss them from my house.  May they go and be free from my condemnation but live somewhere else.  Sometimes there are people that you just can’t have in your life.

In this text from Jesus, we are told to send ourselves away.  Let that grudge go; loosen the binds you have on those against who have hurt you; open the jail cell in your heart and release them.  Take a deep breath, take a hard swallow and settle it as best as you can in your heart right now.  Then, leave it there.  Go along your way.  Depart from that pit and live.

The Spoken Word

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  ² He was in the beginning with God.  ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. … ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:1-5,14

John uses the Greek word logos to describe Jesus “in the beginning” or before time began.  This is defined as the spoken word.  John is describing Jesus as being with God before time and that Jesus is God’s spoken Word.

In the creation story in Genesis 1, God’s first spoken words are “Let there be light” (v3).  The first act of God as His Spirit hovered over the dark, formless and void earth (v2) was to bring light.  Without light, darkness could not be identified as all was dark.  John tells us that this spoken Word has life and that life is “the light of men.” 

From the beginning, the cause of God was to bring life and light to a dark, formless and void world.  In the beginning, God spoke light into the world and there was light.  The heart of anyone who isn’t close to God is dark, formless and void.  God tells Jeremiah this about a man’s heart, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer 17:9).  David wrote “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’  They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.” (Ps 14:1).  Jesus said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mk 7:20-23).  In the root of every person’s heart is darkness and God reaches out to bring light in the darkness.  God’s Spirit hovers over everyone calling them to Himself so they can see the light of life.  

God brought the Light to man.  His spoken Word took form in the man Jesus.  He provided a way for people to come to God.  Jesus was the action of God’s spoken Word for there to be light in the darkness.  From the beginning, before time, Jesus was the cause of God.  He came to reveal God to all people. 

But, “the darkness did not comprehend it”.  People rejected God’s spoken Word and ultimately crucified Him.  While it appears that God allowed His cause, His action of spoken Word, to be crucified, the fact is God’s spoken Word to bring light in the darkness was for the Light, Jesus, to be crucified.  Without that death, there would be no light for mankind, there would be no knowledge of the life of God without the Light, and man would only know darkness and be doomed eternally to separation from God.

If there is pain in your life anywhere, you can be certain that there isn’t light.  Invite a loving God to bring the Light to that area of your life so you can see the darkness.  Sacrifice the source of the darkness that lies in your desperately wicked heart and ask Jesus, God’s action of spoken Word, to change it so you can move into God’s Light.