In the Gospel of Christ Jesus, I bring you life.
It is painful by reason of necessity.
For you have not moved your limbs since a little while after you had been born.
Now the Gospel tells you to move your limbs.
It tells you to believe and do.
But in the wickedness of desire you have let your soul become lazy.
Spiritual atrophy belongs to you.
Now the message I bring you is of difficult work.
You must let yourself believe.
Endure the pain or die.
By His Grace
Are you suffering under a burden that threatens to drive you to the dust? Has your heart become calloused, so that you will not call out to God for the sake of the things that oppress you? Have you allowed yourself to blame the One who made you? Have you come to believe that you are righteous in blaming God for your trouble?
Jesus did no such thing! Faultless, blameless, and full of love for his Father, the Lord was beaten beyond recognition. Yet he did not blaspheme the will of God.
He endured his Holy Father’s will, because he knew his God can do no wrong. And he considered even the greatest of torment as if it should not be compared to the Glory that awaited him. How is it that we cannot even sustain the sufferings of the common cold without complaint?
The Holy Bible uses a very curious word to describe the testing of the Holy Lord Jesus, “crushed”. Have you been so treated? And that for no apparent cause? Are you without sin? Don’t we deserve to be crushed?
10 “But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53)
For our sake, and his love for God, he was sustained through it all. For the sake of his Father’s love for man, he endured the most vicious possible death. For your sake Christ was purified of all possible pride. Stripped of his Glory and Majesty, humbled to the likeness of an animal, Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins.
He did not complain. He did not beg for mercy. He did not resist the ungodly hands. He did not strive to evade the whip. He offered the tender portion of his hands to the nails. He forgave sins as he hung toward death! And all of this with the most resolute heart!
And then horror came to visit him; his Loving Father turned his face, as his son became a curse for hanging on a tree. As it is written in the law of the Most High God, “for he that is hanged is accursed of God”.
Still he did not all allow sin to encompass him. He endured the will of his Holy Father. Shall we do any less?
Consider the tiny burden we bear. Even if we suffered as Christ Jesus, we deserve the beating.
As we consider these things, so we become more like him. As we consider these things, we reach to the victorious one for the strength which sustains.
Do you want strength to overcome your intolerable need to complain? You will find that strength in Jesus the Christ of God.
Amen!
By His Grace
I drive a semi-truck for a living (that is to use my time productively and to make money so I can be of value to those who need me). What do you do for a living? I have never seen the Lord drive a big rig. I have not seen it with my eyes, read it in the writings of others, or imagined it in my mind. But I will confess that the Lord knows how to drive a big rig better than any driver I’ve ever seen.
I have found something useful to relate about what we do for a living. I do not drive the semi alone. The Lord is before me, behind me, above and on the sides of me. He is
A FAW truck in China (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
ever-present to guide, correct, remind, and prepare. I have seen Him cut the traffic open like He did the Red Sea for His people. I have seen my reaction to situations change because He was there to instruct me. Patience has become the headlights. Endurance has replaced tired. And His love restrains my anxiety over the foolishness of people.
It is not I who drives this truck. It is the Lord leading me as I do the job He has allowed me to enter into. If I let Him drive the truck by listening to what “is”, remembering what is written about what is true, and paying attention to the “living conversation” between He and I, I do well.
What I find interesting is how I balked against this for a long time. How I thought that the Lord wasn’t all that interested in what I did for a living. But I have come to see this as a testimony. In every aspect, (if I let Him lead, and remain true to His commands) success becomes the banner over the top of every day.
Someone might ask, “Well that’s fine. But what if you get in an accident?” My friend, I already have. And I endured that chastening just as I endure the rush traffic of Detroit. Patience and truth are the leaders of everything good. They are the strength to endure what cannot be endured by man alone successfully. In every job, every rightful pleasure, and every moment sleeping, this is true. And it remains a possibility for every man who has ever lived, regardless what he did for a living.
“Thou shalt not steal.” Do not speed. Do not take up more room than you need. Count others as more important than yourself. Assume the worst is about to happen, and be ready to lovingly respond. And make it a living testimony to the efficacy of the Gospel within you. What more can we do? If, at some point, these things fail you and you stand with no concept of what to do, be patient. You are never alone. It is as if it is the Lord Himself who is enduring the situation in your place. Give Him Glory and do not worry. If He allowed it to happen to you He will carry you through it.
Learn to live like this and you will see the end of anxiety in everything. In Him, even death has no sting. What shall we say then about any other form of suffering or toil? Do not fear. For fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not yet made complete in love. And the One who loves us is true. Therefore we could certainly say that the one who fears is living in doubt. Doubt of the Lord’s promises is to call Him a liar. What more needs to be said?
Image via Wikipedia
What have I learned from the past month? I’ve learned that if I wish to obey the Lord in certain issues it will take everything I am.
I believed I was told to accomplish a personal refinement. Through a week and a half I allowed myself to endure for His name sake. For the next three weeks I suffered under horrible desires. I watched curiously as my mind and body screamed to partake, lest this refinement became more powerful than they. Anger, confusion, the seeds of hatred germinating, and complete frustration (almost to the point where I couldn’t control the sound of my voice betraying my inner turmoil.)
Then finally came the wall. Continue to endure under this pressure and become an angry man, or relent for a while and regroup later. I have chosen the latter for a while. So what have I learned? Did I give up only to never try again? Am I under a curse because I wasn’t prepared to endure? I am compelled by the Love of God in Christ Jesus to say “no.”
I have learned that, while salvation by the blood of Jesus is offered to all who believe, there is an “extra” offered to every believer. The cost of this “extra” is enormous! And it will cost us the following: Dedication toward accomplishment regardless the experience. Continual honor given to the One who calls us toward what is Holy. A willingness to suffer beyond our perceived ability to endure. And, quite possibly, a willingness to abandon our present life’s duties for a season.
I said to myself, “You have what it takes. Why are you faltering like this?” But what was I to do with the building anxiety, anger, frustration, and lack of will? I consider that I might have succeeded if I had just pushed one more day. But what I have done is what I did.
The glory due those who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb is well earned. Those who over come will be blessed with honor, as the One who bestows this honor is blessed with eternal joy. Yet, there will be few who find that honor bestowed upon them. Why? precisely for the experience I related above. The battle is harsh and demanding. And I now know how horrible the battle can become. And after typing that last sentence, I laugh at myself. What do I know of suffering for the sake of His Holy Name?
Father in Heaven; Holy Father of Life and life, I give you praise for the intense place of testing You have created for man. And I give You Glory for the Perfection of Your Holy Son! What wonders and marvelous power He embodies! That He should suffer without fault in this place where I now walk (or crawl on my belly). You are Glorious! And Your way is above us as the farthest star in the universe is removed from the chair I now sit in. May Your Holy Will be done forever! You Are God!
By His Grace.
We: Live, Die, Face Judgment. Jesus or die twice.
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