Tribulation Can Be Self-inflicted

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (Joh 16:33 AV)

This verse struck me a bit differently this time around.  Usually, when I read this, I read this to mean the world will persecute the saint and cause him problems in his walk with God.  I read this to mean the world inflicts harm on us as we become a victim to its rebellion.  This time, though, I read it as if the saint purposefully abode in the world, and in doing so, he received tribulation.  No longer the victim, but rather, a participant, the saint receives tribulation which he asked for by being in the world.  What I see is a comparison between being in Christ and being in the world.  If we are in Christ, we have peace and good cheer.  If we are in the world, we have tribulation.  This makes more sense than how I was reading it before today.  We are troubled on every side because our minds are fixed on this world instead of on Christ and heavenly things.  Our affections are not on things above.  We are preoccupied with the things of this world and because we are, trouble and tribulations abound in the mind and heart.

I went on a news-fast the last few years.  I used to be an ardent Fox News viewer then when they began to report in every disgruntled immodestly dressed or immoral young person, I stopped reading their site and watching their news broadcast.  I realized news was nothing more than a manipulation of the emotions of the masses.  It wasn’t that way a generation ago.  At least it wasn’t so flagrant.  In the sixties and seventies, the news was pretty much a reporting of the facts without commentary or opinion.  Opinions had their own shows separate and apart from the local and national news.  There has always been a slant.  Major broadcasting networks whether cable, streamed, or the old-fashioned method usually lean to the side of secularism and leftist ideas.  This has always been the case.  However, with the rise of Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, news has leaned more towards commentary and opinion sprinkled with facts rather than the other way around.  This debate is designed to keep the viewer emotionally vested in the program so they keep watching.  This causes all sorts of emotions.  Mostly negative ones.  Anger, anxiety, frustration, envy, etc. all work to manipulate the public into staying tuned to the next broadcast.  The heart is troubled because our minds are in the events of this life.  We are in the world and thus troubled by it.  Our tribulation is self-inflicted.

What is true of the mind and spirit is also true of the flesh.  If our flesh is preoccupied with things of this life, then we will have tribulation.  This sounds kind of odd because taking care of our physical selves is good stewardship.  Eating right, getting exercise, and avoiding unhealthy habits are all good things.  However, if we are so preoccupied with these things we begin to take extreme measures, those extreme measures will cause tribulation.  If we are having issues with the flesh, it is probably because we are preoccupied with the needs, demands, or desires of it.  The world is constantly attempting to keep our fleshly desires stirred to the max.  The more we are stirred, the more time we spend in the world, and the more resources we give it.  If the flesh is giving us trouble, it probably means we are catering way too much to it.

Continuing In His Love

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” (Joh 15:9-12 AV)

The understanding of our Savior’s words here is not complicated.  There is love, joy, and brotherly love promised to those who walk in obedience to the word of God.  Obedience gets a bad name in today’s Christian circles.  Faith seems to have a better footing.  We will risk things to trust the LORD.  Or, we will endure things with a giant attitude of faith.  But ask the average Christian to conform to the written word of God in simple obedience to His word, and you would think we asked him to cut off both arms.  We started by faith and obedience, resting in God’s grace and love for our eternal souls by trusting in His Son as payment for our sin.  We started in the love of Christ.  Now, He asks us to continue in His love.  This love is not a one-way love.  It is not a love by which we show our appreciation to Him alone.  This love is His love toward us as well.  The law of the word is an extension of the love of God in that it is the only way in which we can live a blessed life free from the consequences of sinful choices.  The law of God is a roadmap of God’s blessings.  Not that His law manipulates so that He can bless.  Rather, His laws are the principles by which all He has created operates.  Therefore, His love encourages us to follow His absolute law that we might have joy and blessing in life.  Jesus loved us enough to die for us and all He is asking is we continue in the love He showed on Calvary by trusting Him with our obedience.

I don’t know what my Dad was thinking when he never supervised us with power tools.  Except for the chainsaw, we pretty much had the run of the table saw, circular saw, power drill, and any other dangerous tool in the workshop.  We did a lot of projects with those tools and I cannot remember if any of my siblings suffered a serious injury with them.  We have a few scars here and there.  But nothing worth remembering.  The table saw was particularly dangerous.  We probably violated every safety rule while working with it.  My dad did have a lot of other rules, though.  Some of these rules were meant to keep us safe.  We have different rules for riding our bikes.  We have rules for leaving the neighborhood.  We had rules on how to manage money.  We had rules regarding our school work, scouting advancement, and music lessons.  We had rules regarding friends, the time we spent outside of the house, and where and when and with whom we could go.  We had curfews.  We had certain rules with the family car.  There were rules for rules.  These rules were meant to help us grow up into responsible adults in as safe a manner as eleven kids could mature.  But when it came to his power tools, the only rule was my Dad could not find out we used them and they had to be back in their rightful place when done with it.  He never gave us lessons or taught us safety principles.  He assumed we would leave them alone.  The love he showed with all the other rules was lacking when it came to rules for power tools.

Not so with God.  He has rules and rules and rules.  These are meant for our good.  They are meant to keep us safe and in the most pleasurable of life’s circumstances as possible.  Other places in scripture teach our love for God is proven by walking in obedience to His word.  John covers this in his first epistle.  Here, obedience to His law is a manifestation of His love to us.  Jesus is asking that we continue how we started.  Continue in the love that Jesus granted by His life at Calvary by trusting Him when He says something is for our best.  Let God bless you by staying in the confines of His law.  As a parent, we make rules because we love our children.  We want them to grow up to be all they can be.  We want them to mature into godly adults with lives that God can bless.  We want to keep them safe.  We want the best for them.  That is why we have these rules.  The same is true of God.  He has rules because He wants what is best for us. So, let us continue in His love by walking in obedience that our joy may be full!

Unlimited Grace

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” (Eph 4:7 AV)

Trying to pin down exactly how this grace is manifested is difficult.  Some writers assign this grace to the gifts spoken of in 1Cor12 and Rom12.  Others write this grace is grace for holy living.  Another is the grace given to each individual as it affects the whole body of Christ.  Not able to specifically assign the manifestation of this grace, perhaps we can apply it to all manifestations of God’s grace.  That which was particularly impressive to me was the measure of this grace.  This grace is given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.  To this, most writers agree.  The gift of Christ and all we receive from our salvation cannot be numbered.  Some can be named, but many cannot be identified.  That is, much of what God does for us will not be known on this side of glory.  It is important to remember God’s grace is unlimited.  It may be applied in a limited way, but grace itself is unlimited.  We can never run out of grace.

In the early age of computers and the internet, I downloaded this simple game that had a glitch.  The point of the game, like most, was to amass a high score.  In this game, the score was kept in dollars.  After playing this game for several months, I inadvertently made a choice that resulted in a win and accumulated a large sum of money.  The next time I played and the same scenario repeated, I played my option the same way.  Again, I was awarded a  large amount of money.  To make this work, the player has to realize some calculated losses, but when a certain set of circumstances arose, the player made the same choice and it resulted in the same return.  I played this game the same way for almost a year but soon lost interest because the return was guaranteed and losing the game was not a possibility.  Without risk, the game became boring.  My sons still remember me playing that game almost twenty-five years ago.

This is how God’s grace works.  There is so much we have been given and at no time does God remove His grace from the child of God.  Even His correction is an extension of His grace.  Like the game above, He may give His grace in measure.  He may not dump all His grace on us all at once.  It is given as needed.  But at no time does it run out.  We may think we have done nothing right and God’s wrath is always upon us, but that is simply not true.  As Christ has been given to those who desire Him, grace has also never abated.  God's grace is unlimited and eternal and we are always under His grace.

Wickedness Is Not Winning

“The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.” (Pr 10:30 AV)

 

This verse is kind of hard to believe taking into account the situation of our world today.  As we see the wicked increasingly elevated to authority and power, we might be inclined to disbelieve the promise above.  However, God does not lie!  Solomon, who has written the book of Proverbs, is a type of Christ.  That is, until he marries strange wives and goes after their idols.  His kingdom is a type of millennial kingdom.  The promise above is based on Solomon’s experience as a king of a righteous nation.  He foreshadows what will happen when Jesus Christ returns.  Again, this is a hard one to see given our world as it is.  Wars and rumors of wars are all about us.  When our world had a semblance of freedom and liberty, we believed God was in control.  Now, with the events of the last few years, we begin to wonder.  Much has changed.  Especially in the last hundred years or so.  When the age of enlightenment came to maturity, mankind collectively rejected the reality of God.  When we did, wickedness increased exponentially.  Even in our own country, we are seeing evil we thought we would never see.  Perversion, violence, and corruption are rising and it seems as there is no limit to what we will see.  We read the second part of the verse and doubts arise.  But fret not!  Jesus is coming back.

When studying the kingdoms of this world, he will notice the evil kingdoms do not last nearly as long as one would guess.  Except for Rome, most kingdoms never lasted more than a few hundred years.  In the whole scope of human history, one evil kingdom is pretty insignificant.  The last of them will only last seven years.  We see the invasion of a sovereign nation by a much mightier one, and we think evil is winning.  We see corrupt and totalitarian governments and politicians closing down society, removing basic rights and we think evil is winning.  We see riots continuing unchecked, political opponents being denied due process, or the righteous canceled at every turn and we think evil is winning.  We wonder what our future will hold.  We wonder what will become of the saints of God.  We begin to ask if God sees all that is going on and if He will do anything about it.  We begin to doubt we will ever see righteousness on the earth again.

Our problem is, our hope is misplaced.  We think that if we elect a righteous government, everything will be all right again.  The reason America is under the righteous judgment of God is not because of abortion, same-gender relationships, drug use, or any other vice.  God is not judging America because we have elected corrupt and godless politicians.  He is not judging our world because of greed, lust, or abuse.  These are all manifestations of a greater problem.  If we were to elect a righteous government tomorrow, it would not change the spiritual condition of our nation.  As we knock on doors with proud American themes flying on their flag poles or emblazoned out the exterior of their homes, the answer to the question regarding their eternal soul will still be the same.  “If you were to die today, are you sure God has forgiven your sins and you will be in heaven?”  The response would be the same.  “Not interested.”  If every closed church of every denomination were to reopen, it would not change God’s judgment.  If all the bars were closed.  It would not cease God’s judgment.  If there were no more abortions, God’s wrath would still come.  If every drug dealer was thrown in prison and the stream of drugs ceased at our borders, God’s justice would still come.  Why?  Because we have rejected salvation in Jesus and the Lordship of the Messiah.  All this to conclude, wickedness seems to be winning.  But Jesus is coming back and the righteous will inhabit the earth.  Wickedness is not winning.  It just appears that way.  Holiness is soon to be the condition of this world.  Keep your eyes on the eastern sky for our redemption draweth nigh.

Trust While You Can

“While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.” (Joh 12:36 AV)

The context here is salvation.  The challenge from Jesus to the multitude is the light by which they may come to Him will not last forever.  They have a limited opportunity in which to accept by faith that He is their Messiah and has come to save them from their sins.  If they continue to back up on light, a heart of hardness and unbelief will become unreachable.  To further emphasize His point, the light of which He speaks is His earthly ministry.  While they have the presence of the Messiah, they must take advantage of Him and trust Him.  Otherwise, when He ascends, there may not remain another opportunity.  This principle of moving up on light is a common one.  One of the most vivid to me is when the children of Israel were asked to trust the LORD and they rejected Him by believing the ten bad spies instead of the two good ones.  This cost them a generation and forty years of wandering in the wilderness.  God gives opportunity to trust Him.  But this opportunity is not necessarily open-ended.  There may very well be time limitations on His offer of faith.

One of my sons was not all that adventurous when it came to amusement park rides.  In particular, the roller coaster.  His two brothers, however, loved the thrill.  Our little family would go from one park to another and it would always be the same.  When it came to the roller coasters, two would board while the other would get a cotton candy with his mother.  We would go to Sea Breeze while living in the Rochester, NY area.  Only a couple of roller coasters there.  Not a chance.  Then there was Fantasy Island near Niagara Falls.  Nope.  Ain’t gonna happen.  Then we moved to the Chicago area and there is a Six Flags there.  His birthday was coming up so we bribed him.  We told him that if he would ride the ride with his brothers, we would get him a Game Cube for his birthday.  His two brothers, knowing how much that game system would benefit them, were relentless.  We must have walked by that roller coaster several times.  The other two rode it a couple of times just to prove their brother would not die.  Ride after ride, just as many people who got on, got off.  It was time to place a little faith in parents and siblings and take the plunge.  As we were nearing the roller coaster one last time, we made it clear there were no more chances.  If he didn’t ride it this time, no Game Cube.  His brother dragged him to the line.  It was rather entertaining to watch his two brothers convince him everything was going to be alright while they stood in line for about twenty minutes.  That had to be the longest twenty minutes of his entire life.  I couldn’t believe his brothers could come up with twenty minutes of conversation and argument to get him on that coaster.  But they did.  On he went and he survived.  When there was an opportunity to trust, he decided to do just that.  I think that was the turning point in his life.  He learned to trust God with his fears and apprehensions.  Today, he is a foreign missionary in a place that is not easy to be in.

God gives us countless opportunities to trust Him.  Each time is something a little bit more.  The level of trust He offered at our spiritual birth is nothing compared to what we might face much later in life.  These opportunities, however difficult, might just be time-sensitive.  The Jewish nation only had three years to place their faith in the Messiah they saw.  After three years, there was faith by word only.  There was an opportunity that would not come again for thousands of years.  If we do not learn to trust the LORD when it is easy, it will be much harder to do so down the road.  They saw Him by faith.  When He ascended, now they could not trust Him by sight.  Faith became harder and not easier.  The first time Israel was given the opportunity to enter Canaan, it was from the south.  A direct route into the promised land with adversaries in a measured confrontation.  The second time, they had to enter by way of a parted Jordan River and circumcision.  The second time was a much bigger step of faith.  It would behoove us to take the easiest steps while we have them and trust the LORD each step of the way.  Maybe then our leap won’t be so great.

The Hurdle of Acceptance

“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph 1:6 AV)

This is one of those verses that is probably preached often or written much about.  The simple truth is not hard to comprehend.  At least that which the writer is saying.  What we struggle with is how something so simple can be so true.  To say that the grace of God has made us accepted in the beloved is not an easy thing to accept.  Not when one comes to the end of him or herself.  When the sinner or saint realized just how despicable he or she is, it is a hard thing to feel accepted.  We know we have failed.  We know we have failed completely.  We know there is nothing redeemable in our existence.  We have offended a holy God in ways that are too embarrassing to mention.  We are lowly, pathetic, carnal, and downright wicked.  Why would God accept any of us?  Worst of all is me.  Why would God accept me?  The list is too long and too horrible to think anyone, let alone God, would accept me.  I am filth incarnate.  As I wrote above, the facts of the verse are not hard to understand.  It is God’s grace that makes us accepted.  It is the only way.  We have nothing to give, nor can do, that will make us accepted.  The offense is too great.  It is only by God’s grace we are accepted in the offering of Christ.

Our human relationships are often based on quid pro quo.  We give what we get and get what we give.  The idea of total acceptance regardless of the nature of the relationship is often foreign to us.  A child earns his parent's appreciation and love by being obedient.  He is affirmed when he reaches his potential.  A student is graded and the teacher’s intercourse with him or her changes based on those grades, behavior, and participation in class.  Even spouses can be this way.  There can be situations where affirmation might be lacking.  Failure to appreciate the presence of one’s spouse can lead to a cold shoulder in return.  Trials of life can also enter that strain the marriage relationship.  Affirmation is often based on performance.  A nod of acknowledgment is returned.  Rarely is it offered without some encouragement from the receiver.  When someone passes in a car or walks by the house, eye contact is what initiates a greeting.  Why is that?  Do we not offer a greeting regardless of initial affirmation?  This is how we are.  This is how people are wired.  We are not wired to exercise grace.  We are not wired to show compassion, understanding, and forgiveness.  We are not wired to take the initiative to affirm another person’s worth.  We wait until some type of evidence, no matter how small, is offered before we return affirmation.  In short, we do not feel completely affirmed because there is something we feel we must do to earn it.

In our passage, affirmation or acceptance is totally and completely based on the grace of God.  We are accepted because God accepts us.  And for no other reason.  In Christ, our sin debt has been paid and there is nothing to stand between us and our God.  When He sees us, He sees us with rose-tinted glasses.  Tinted by the blood of His dear Son.  This truth is not to understand.  It is hard to accept.  Our pride will not allow us to accept it.  We feel as though we are so horrible, that God cannot possibly show that much grace.  Surely we deserve some amount of His wrath.  If He would just allow us to suffer a few brief moments in the pit of hell, it might make us feel better towards His grace.  But if He did that, grace would not be grace.  Grace is a hard thing to accept.  Believing we are accepted is equally difficult.  To meditate on the truth of being accepted by God through the offering of Jesus Christ brings many emotions.  It stirs a feeling of embarrassment because there is nothing desirable within us.  Being accepted stirs humility because there is no way we could ever repay such grace.  Being accepted stirs a heart of gratitude where words fail to express such feelings.  And, acceptance brings joy, contentment, security, and a sense of self-worth.  For our own spiritual and emotional welfare, we must accept God’s acceptance.  We must accept the depth of God’s grace.

Restoration

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Ga 6:1-2 AV)

 

Restoration is a lost ministry in today’s churches.  The ministry of restoration is not limited to the pastoral staff alone.  The fault here might very well be those who were taken with the false doctrine of the Jews who wished to add circumcision to faith for salvation.  But restoration is not limited to false doctrine.  Note here that Paul includes all in his instruction.  In other words, we might be the spiritual ones doing the restoration.  Or, we might be the one overtaken in a fault.  Either way, restoration is a ministry of the local church that is sorely lacking in today’s churches.

There is a parable concerning a fig tree.  Three years were given by the husband of the vineyard, but the tree produced no fruit.  He commanded it be cut down.  This would be the normal practice.  By the third year, a fig tree that does not produce fruit more than likely would never do so.  So, it wasn’t cruel or a matter of rash judgment which called for the loss of this tree.  However, the servants asked the master if they might dig around it and dung it one more year.  If, after that year it produced fruit, then well.  But if not, then they agreed it never would.  This parable is directly aimed at Israel’s rejection of the Messiah.  They had three years of His ministry and refused to respond to it.  The servants of God asked for more grace that the nation might be restored to fruitfulness.  The point of this parable is never to give up on someone, or a nation, that may not be showing fruit in their spiritual growth.  Rather, dig around it and add more fertilizer, that it might respond.  The restoration of that tree is far more profitable than abandoning it.  What is interesting about that parable is the outcome is never known.  Which is a great principle for restoration.

The effort we put into others may never result in what we had hoped for.  The opposite is also true.  The effort we put into restoring someone may just result in fruit that was never expected.  People make bad choices.  We all do.  What we do not need is a church family who will condemn us for things we have done without first making an effort to help us overcome our faults.  We need people who will support us in our deepest hour of need.  Restoration, like digging and dunging the fig tree takes a plan.  Restoration does not mean we ignore the fault or refuse to address it.  Restoration here is more than restoration to fellowship.  This restoration is a restoration to godly living.  This requires a confrontation over the fault and a plan on how to get out from under the fault.  This restoration requires prayer and follow-up.  Restoration also requires the one who needs it to come to the end of himself and admit his need for restoration.  When done correctly and humbly, restoration strengthens the erring saint as well as the church that restores him.  It is a beautiful thing to behold when a brother or sister in Christ is pulled out from the mire in which he or she had sunk, cleaned up, and placed into full fellowship with the body of Christ who was abandoned.  We need more of this and not less of this.