Cheerful Anxiety

“Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:” (Ac 24:10 AV)

One has to wonder if given the same set of circumstances, if we would also be cheerful.  We can ask the question, why was Paul so cheerful?  What wasn’t Paul anxious our distraught?  Why wasn’t Paul angry at the false accusations leveled against him?  Why wasn’t he a bit defensive knowing those who choose to judge him were lost and had no moral authority to pass judgment on the gospel?  Why is it that Paul was more cheerfully?  In fact, one could surmise that he was cheerful at the circumstances of beatings and imprisonment, but not, being hauled before a magistrate that wanted him dead, was more cheerful!  Whatever Paul had, we should desire the same.

First, Paul knew that he was on his way to Rome.  The Holy Spirit told him so.  His answer to Felix and Agrippa would merely be a means to that end.  It wasn’t the best of circumstances.  We are confident that Paul would have wished to go there a free man rather than a prisoner.  Yet, it was a means to the will of God even if his choice to go to Jerusalem was not the correct choice to begin with.  Paul was confident the LORD was going to use him.  But if I may suggest a more noble motivation for his cheerfulness.  Paul remarks several times in his letters how he was prepared to die for the cause of Christ.  He had already surrendered his life.  The answer was cheerfully given because if it meant his death, there was no greater end that could be welcomed.  There is also a third reason.  Simply put, Paul loved the LORD Jesus Christ and to give an answer for the hope within is the least he could do for a Savior who gave his life for him!

There may be even more causes for the cheerfulness of Paul in the midst of severe adversity.  Whatever the cause, this same cheerfulness is available to us.  If we lack cheerfulness, it isn’t because God failed to do His part.  If we lack cheerfulness, it isn’t because of the circumstances at hand.  If we lack cheerfulness in the midst of adversity, it is the result of a heart that needs a new motivation.  Our hearts need a new desire.  Our hearts cannot forget our hope!

Tolerance is a Misnomer

“And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.” (Ac 19:35-36 AV)

This remarkable argument is made from the position of total secularism.  The reason I call it remarkable is the content of honesty and indisputable truth conceded within the speaker’s remarks.  He argument is thus:  These preachers of Jesus Christ are not going to influence the city of Ephesus to completely and totally eradicate the goddess Diana, so leave them be.  Enjoy your paganism because it is here to stay.  This city has been and always will be the city of Diana and no other god (God) will change that.  So, relax.  Be content in your paganism.

The reason I make an observation of honesty in this statement is the obvious numerical truth to it.  No matter how well and much the Apostles preach; no matter how much missions goes forward; no matter how much and passionate our preachers of today preach; we will not win the world for Christ.  The vast majority of the lost will reject Christ.  The hope of their gains will not be lost.  The majority will still worship Diana.  The majority will still go to bars, movies, golf, boating, drugs, pornography, etc.  The vast majority will not give up their vice for the sake of trusting in Christ and escaping a devil’s hell.  Until Christ comes back, your desires are safe.  So, why all the tumult at Paul?

The reason the world hates the saints so much is the inescapable experience of conviction.  Without saying a word, our separation from worldliness and sin casts a shadow of conviction on the activities of the lost.  It isn’t enough that we present the gospel and then leave them be.  It isn’t enough they have the liberty to reject Christ.  What they want is freedom from a guilty conscience.  What they want is their falsehood and the enjoyment we feel in truth.  They want to be free to do, but also free from the consequences of doing.  This will never be the case.  As long as we are in the world, even if we do nothing, those that hate Christ will wish us gone.  Let us pray for them!

Caution On Impulsiveness

“And there came thither 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.” (Ac 14:19 AV)

The wonder of this is how quickly and dramatically this crowd turned on Paul and Barnabas.  Just a few verses earlier, the Bible tells us these citizens were ready and persistent to offer animal sacrifice unto our beloved Apostles as Greek gods.  They were so impressed by the miracles which the LORD wrought by them, these humble folks attributed to these men of God the persons of Greek gods.  Now, just a few verses later, they are casting stones and driving Paul to near complete death.  What happened?

The first issue was their impulsiveness.  Their initial actions and the desire to kill them just a few verses later were the result of rash and impulsive reaction to their own observations.  These actions, whether offering sacrifice or stoning, were not actions well-reasoned out.  They did not examine the scriptures to see if these things were so.  When the Jewish unbelievers arrived to frustrate the ministry of Paul, these Jews convinced the good citizens of Lystra Paul and Barnabas were just the opposite of who the people thought they were, the people reacted with equal impulsiveness.  If Paul and Barnabas are not gods, then because of the miracles, they must be devils.  Off with their heads.

 We have to be very careful of impulsive prospects.  Those who have a zeal for what the LORD has to offer, yet are not disciplined to reason through truth.  This is what we see in much of what we call today ‘revival’.  These are impulsive decisions or conclusions not based on sound reasoning.  This is why there are great numerical results yet no lasting ones.  Crowds stirred up to impulsive decisions based on simply observation rather than engaging the mind to come to a reasoned faith.  Impulsive decisions are fleeting.  Impulsive decisions are shallow.  Impulsive decisions are quickly regretted and changed.  Be weary of pressing for impulsive decisions.  Look for opportunity to reason one’s faith.

Casualties of a Miracle

“And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.” (Ac 12:19 AV)

At first glance, one might think this unfair of the LORD to allow this to happen.  It was the providence and miracle of God which freed Peter and others from the prison.  The keepers were merely doing their job.  They did not arrest Peter.  They had no judgement of their own.  Their sole responsibility was to keep the prisoners in their cells at all cost.  Under Roman law, if a prisoner escaped, it meant the life of the keeper.  But how could they possibly overcome the power of God in all this.  They couldn’t.  They were an innocent bystander who happened to be there when God chose to perform a miracle.  Or, were they?

Jesus Christ specifically states that if we are not with Him, we are against Him.  There is no neutral ground to be had.  There is no safe place for the indecisive.  The keepers of the prison may very well have formed no opinion of Jesus as yet.  Or, perhaps they didn’t think enough about it to formulate an opinion.  Perhaps they felt that staying neutral was the better part of valor.  Perhaps they felt it was not their place to formulate and opinion because it may influence how they do their jobs.  Either good or bad.  Whatever the case, they became casualties of Herod’s wrath and the law of the Romans because God chose to miraculously intervene.

God in not obligated to consider all the ramifications of His hand upon a situation.  He, as Creator, has every right to do as He pleases.  If He chooses to free the men of God from jail in a miraculous manner and it costs others their lives, so be it.  Everyone will die eventually.  The point is not when, where, or the circumstances of a person’s death.  The important thing is what they do with Christ.  Maybe the keepers did know Christ and their death, although it may have seemed unjust, was a release for them.  No longer do they have to serve a pagan king.  They are free from ungodly demands.  Either way, whether saved or not, God can do what God desires to do.  The important thing is to be on the right side.  The important thing is to make sure we are right with God!

When Truth Is Truth

“And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.” (Ac 6:10 AV)

This is what happens when truth is allowed to be truth and we internalize it for the purpose of sharing ht.  Wisdom is knowing how to apply truth and the spirit is the manner in which we share it.  If we are not convinced of the truth for the truth’s sake, our spirit become antagonistic.  If truth is allowed to be truth, we do not become defensive when there is disagreement.  The spirit in which we share it is compassionate passion.

Sometimes we put too much on ourselves.  We believe it is our responsibility to defend the truth. The thing is, whether we defend it our not, truth exists an cannot be destroyed nor altered.  How we feel or what we think of truth does not change it one bit.  The fact we believe it does not make it so.  We do not own truth simply because we came to understand it.  According to Proverbs chapter eight, wisdom existed before the world began.  Truth and God are one in the same.  Truth is truth because God is truth.  The one cannot exist without the other. Truth is absolute because God’s nature is truth.  Truth did not come into existence because God settled on a system of truth opposed to another system called error.  Truth is truth because God is truth.  If that be the case (and it is), then we cannot become defensive if truth is rejected.  We share truth (or wisdom) in the right spirit because God is truth and we are not.

If we study truth and ask the LORD to keep our hearts right about it, then perhaps we can accomplish somewhat of Stephen’s accomplishments.  Perhaps, if we share the truth in a compassionate yet passionate manner, knowing what the word of God says and able to articulate it, then those whom we are trying to influence will know they have been influenced.  It may not result in all conforming to the truth (in fact, most will not), but what it will result in is those to whom the wisdom come cannot refute it.

Perfect Faith means Perfect Soundness

“And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Ac 3:16 AV)

Faith in the LORD Jesus Christ will radically change a person.  What was done for this lame beggar, countless have experienced.  It may not have been so much physical malady that was reversed, but for certain, a spiritual one! When the lame beggar was healed, he stood upright, went forward, and lived a completely changed life.  The past was in the past and his future was brand new.  Sometimes, we forget just how radical of a change Christ made in our lives.  We have walked so long in perfect soundness, we have forgotten what it was like to be lame.  Or, as we will apply it today, the work of Christ is not complete.  This lame man in present perfect health will grow older and feebler.  He will, once again, become lame.  However, faith in Christ has guaranteed him a glorified body that will be granted in glory!  This perfect soundness only gets more perfect when glory is our final home.

I am learning how feeble the body and mind become has we gain one year of age after another.  What we once did, we can no longer do.  Physically, that is not as much of an impact and mentally.  It is my mind which the LORD has granted as the main tool for His glory.  I am learning that I cannot keep as many mental balls in the air as I used to.  I have to write things down.  I have to plan things.  I have to take responsibilities and break them down into scheduled tasks or else I get overwhelmed.  There comes a time when the mind sees all that had to be done but also realizes it can never be done in ten lifetimes.  So, priorities are rearranged so that what one can do gets done.  The thing is, if we do not realize this is the process of aging and that glory will change it all back to soundness, it can be overwhelming and discouraging.  There will come a day when we will have that perfect soundness.

The encouragement we can take away from this is no matter what stage of life we are in, perfect soundness can be a part of it.  When the body and mind fail, we have the heart.  Our heart of faith becomes stronger.  We realize these things are normal and do not change what God has promised.  There are those who approach aging with fear and anxiety.  There are others who approach it with joy and anticipation.  The later have learned the secret of perfect soundness even in the midst of failing health.  They have learned that perfect soundness does not come by perfect health, but rather, perfect faith in Christ.

Leave Them With Christ

“Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?” (Joh 21:21 AV)

The context of this question is the death of which Christ prophesied for Peter.  Peter was told that he would suffer a crucifixion.  Seeing John lean upon the breast of Jesus and walking with Him, Peter inquires of what future John had to look forward to.  What death would he suffer?  What would be his end?  Jesus then remarks to Peter in a hyperbolic way that John may live or not.  He instructs Peter it should not be his concern.  There are two schools of thought here.  The first I don’t buy.  There is the school of thought Peter was wondering of fairness.  If Peter has to die, what will John have to do.  This is not the popular idea though.  More times than not, our instructors believe the question was one of concern.  Peter was ready to die for Christ.  John was the tender one.  I agree with our mentors the question was one of genuine concern.  One of brotherly love.  Jesus tells Peter to leave that to Him.  He tells Peter to follow Him.

Often times taking on responsibility that is not ours hinders us from service to Christ.  These responsibilities may see, like they are right and honorable.  However, there are other responsibilities of which the LORD has called us to and He is far more capable of taking care of that which concerns our heart than we are.  One of the hardest things to do is to let your children go.  Or, obey the call of God even if that means you cannot be there for family.  We have had to do this several times.  It may appear to others that we do not care.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I have spent the greater part of 18 years asking the LORD to move us back towards family.  We have aging parents that could use our help.  I have three sons who could use our guidance and encouragement.  Yet, the LORD has asked us to do something else.  We cannot begin to describe how much it hurts when we cannot be there for those whom we love.  When Mom was sick with cancer, all I wanted to do was be there.  As my sons figure out life in the young adult times, all I want to do is be there with deep pockets to make it all easier.  But God has other plans.  When I watch the two greatest people I will ever know in the persons of my in-laws getting a little bit older, I know the time is going to come that I wish we could live next door.  But God is far more capable of taking care of them then we are.  This sacrifice is harder than even those whom we love can comprehend.  But follow Christ we must.

I don’t think the LORD was rebuking Peter.  I think the LORD was trying to reassure Peter that John would be ok.  I don’t think Peter was being envious.  He paid too dear a price of guilt when he rejected Christ at the trial.  God humbled him greatly.  First when the cock crow.  Now here, when Christ confronted him about fishing rather than ministry.  Peter was too humble to be envious.  His concern was genuine.  His love for his colleague was true.  Peter, like all of us must love those closest to him.  Like Peter, we must learn to leave them with God because He is far more capable of caring for them than we ever could.  This doesn’t mean we cannot assist.  What it does mean is we cannot abandon our divinely appointed responsibilities for those which we are, for emotional reasons, assuming for ourselves.