The Violent Gospel

 

Among the Trees

    Tribulation is difficult.  No Christian who has ever experienced a tremendous season of tribulation would ever make light of the trial, nor would the Christian brush off a brother or sister's time of testing, yet no trial is designed to consume a believer.  We are promised hopeful results if we will steadfastly and humbly follow God's Words and directives. 

    When hope and faith are being tried by fire, we would do well to remember the Lord's specific instructions to His people . . .  

Jeremiah 17:

5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man (Hebrew word geber = means a valiant man or warrior) that trusteth in man (Hebrew word adam = means a human being), and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

7 Blessed is the man (Hebrew word geber = means a valiant man or warrior) that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (Hebrew word da'ag = anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:  who can know it?

10 I the LORD search (haqar = to penetrate; to examine intimately) the heart, I try (bahan = to test -especially metals-; to investigate) the reins (kilya = kidney; figuratively the mind), and even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 

    We are more apt to look to the left or to the right (the arm of flesh) when the trial seems unending and the confusion is mounting.  When a resolution looks bleak and God doesn't seem to be "moving," we may start looking to man (adam) for a faster solution:  Perhaps adam will be kind, maybe adam can maneuver in this way or that way, or adam could possibly bring the remedy needed to this difficult season.  And if we don't think adam can bring change, we can at least rely on adam to feed the worry and doubt surrounding the trial.  Yet - God's Words in the Book of Jeremiah indicate that this kind of "solution" will stunt us.  Our growth is impeded just as the heath's growth is stunted and gnarled when a believer lowers his eyes from seeking God's help to seeking man's (adam's) seeming solutions.  What a pitiful site for a believer (geber = valiant man or warrior) to begin looking to the arm of flesh to fix anything.  If we do that, God reveals the outcome: a curse.  I don't type that or quote the word "curse" as a subtle threat or an intimidating word.  Instead, it is simply, by default, all that a believer could expect as the result.  How could a believer (born-again Christian) ever expect mere man (adam) to solve or deliver him from this life's trials?  Stunted. Gnarled. Gloomy. Naked. Destitute.  

    When a believer chooses to place his hope and trust in the LORD, being blessed is the promise we will reap.  Notice in verse 7 that anxiety is truly alleviated, and fruit is certain.  Verse 7 does not promise the absence of heat or drought, but it does assure us that we will not be scorched by the heat, but will instead be planted near a plentiful supply of water.  Leaves and fruit will abundantly result - all because trust and hope were placed in the Lord, rather than in the gadgets, tricks, and carnal "power or might" that adam (the arm of flesh) can offer.

   Brother or sister in the Lord, perhaps you started running a good race.  Perhaps the Lord has been well pleased with your ministry of the past.  Maybe the Lord has appreciated that you have tried false prophets.  These things are important to the Lord.  Yet - there is something of greater importance that the Lord desires.  It is that we never forget our first love.  Him. Our Lord and Savior.  He implores His people who have dearly loved Him in times past to return to Him.  Return to the first works of childlike devotion, trust, and hope in Jesus.  A simple walk of prayer, Bible study, and unfeigned trust that the Lord can do and will do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think.  

He promises life beside a river that never runs dry. 

His Banner Over Me Was Love

  A Word In Season . . . 

Wilderness

Joy In The Suffering

The word "CHAMPION" is used three times in the Bible.  Each time, the word is used to describe Goliath.  (Here are two of them:  1 Samuel 17: 4; 1 Samuel 17:23)

Didn't he look like one?  A real champion.  Physically intimidating.  Vocally aggressive.  Don't most people do that even today?  You know - they look at a person's "stats" and "presentation" to determine if he is a champion.  It's all about what humans can observe with their eyes and
hear with their ears    ➠     Goliath: The Champion.

                   〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜

"On the road marked with suffering, blessed be Your Name.  

On the road marked with suffering, blessed be Your Name."

We have been taught by the world that strength is in the apparent victor - the muscle-laden champion. Yet, for just a moment . . . if you would, please consider the strength found in those who suffer for the cause of Christ.


➻A bloodied and beaten body hanging from a cross didn't appear victorious at all to the onlookers.
(Yet in His suffering, Christ brought salvation)  STRENGTH
➻An imprisoned Paul with lacerations from his last beating looked a lot like a defeated man.
(Yet in his suffering, he wrote to all Christians throughout time)  STRENGTH

Christians are called to be led of the Lord's Spirit no matter the suffering that seems to engulf us.  Sometimes the suffering will feel much like a swarm of killer bees that you can't swat away fast enough, but even with that tremendous anguish, the name of the Lord is to be praised.

 "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised" (Psalm 113:3). 

 I don't say that lightly.  The trials and tribulations of those who suffer for Christ are the most intense battles ever fought.  The pressure is excruciating and debilitating.

How is it possible to minister to others while we are suffering?  It was about a year ago that the Lord answered a prayer by directing me to Psalm 113:3.  The prayer directly related to my concerns that I had in being able to successfully serve Him in the way He has called me to serve Him.  I understood, in part, what He was saying to me, but it took literally until today to understand it on a much deeper level.

There are times of tremendous trials in a Christian's life, and if we are not careful, we might believe Satan when he whispers that the suffering hinders us or causes a delay in the Christian being able to "do the work" God has called the Christian to do.  Satan would have us to think that we need to break free of the trials so that we can run full speed in serving the Lord.  However, the Word teaches us that we are not to seek to avoid our trials.  We can't go over them or around them.  No, the Christian is called to go through them.  (James 1: 2-4)

Did Paul postpone sharing the Gospel when he was suffering?  Or did he work the work of Christ DESPITE the anguish he faced?  Did Paul walk around angry at God because he was suffering so much when all he really wanted to do was spread the Gospel?  Or did Paul rejoice in his sufferings and continue to spread the Gospel?

2 Thessalonians 1: 4-5

 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

We strive to make it to the mountaintop because we just can't stand the suffering of the valley, but it is in the valley of suffering where the Christian will share his strength with those who need it - just as Christ did, just as Paul did, just as David did, just as John did, just as all of the nameless Christians have done throughout history through today and into tomorrow.  We mistakenly think the victory is up at the top, but for a saint of God, the victory is IN the valley.  That's where the fruit of the Holy Spirit is grown and birthed.  That is where the strength of the Lord forges us into vessels fit for the Master to use.

From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised.

David gathered five smooth stones from a brook (1 Samuel 17:40)

By definition, a brook is a stream found in valleys.  In valleys.  By definition, stones are made smooth by the amount of time they spend in the water that washes over them.  Those stones must have spent a lot of time in that valley's brook.

Here's my favorite verse describing the Champion Goliath:

1 Samuel 17:52
Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

To the Saints

Fight the good fight of FAITH!

The other day I stood at a crossroads, not really sure what decision I needed to make on a matter that had cropped up out of the blue.  Something about the situation did not sit well with me spiritually, but I didn't want to make a decision on the matter without knowing for sure what the Lord would have me do. 

So within a few hours, I declared a fast.  I didn't declare it by announcing it to the world, but instead, I declared it quietly to myself.  No food. No drink.  I didn't want to hear from my flesh - JUST GOD. I longed to do God's Will.

These days are truly tribulating for born-again believers.  Jesus said they would be (John 16:33).  Everywhere you look, the world is deeming this and that as being perfectly acceptable, but what does God say?  Saints, you can't look to the right or to the left during such times of tribulation.  Seek the Lord.  And when the Shepherd speaks, the peace is profoundly beyond anything this old world could ever cook up.  His Voice will always point us to holiness and righteousness.  It won't likely be popular, but it will be Right.  What the world calls "no big deal" may very well be a BIG DEAL to Him.  Oh, beloved, let us always follow His leading.

After I began the fast, the spiritual war ramped up to a level I had not experienced in some time.  There is a spiritual world, and there is a war in the spiritual realm.  We do not battle against flesh and blood, but as we are told in Ephesians 6:12, we do battle against "spiritual wickedness in high places."  Another translation states we fight against "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." 

Satan showed up throughout that evening and the entire night.  I went to bed at my usual time, but the night was spent in intense prayer.  I literally slept about 1 hour and a half (and that 1 1/2 hours was interrupted repeatedly).  I am sharing this for one reason and one reason alone.  I want YOU to fight the good fight of Faith no matter how intense YOUR battle gets in these last days.  If you think you are hanging by a thread as you face Satan in the spiritual realm, then let that thread be the hem of Jesus' garment.  FAITH in Jesus.  FAITH in what Jesus will do.  FAITH in Jesus to deliver you.  FAITH in the Lord to give you the answer.  FAITH. FAITH. FAITH.  Jesus said in Luke 18:1, "Men ought always to pray, and never to faint."  Are we really absorbing what He is saying here?  Always Pray.  Some battles are overwhelming, but IN Christ, we can overcome every single one.  We have got to get that deep down in our very beings.  IN CHRIST, we are overcomers.  He made the way!

I cannot possibly fully explain all of the techniques Satan used throughout the night to get me to throw in the towel.  To give up.  To give in.  To say, "What's the use..."  He is diabolical, demonic, maniacal, satanic, a fear-monger, a bully, and an accuser.  The most intense encounters I have had with Satan and his minions have always involved him removing his mask for an all-out spiritual assault, but the Lord has taught me that when Satan gets to that point, it is because Satan knows he's losing. 

I prayed much of the night. I very literally held God's Word in my hands.  I repeated, "The gates of hell shall not prevail." 

I said over and over, "God, put Your Strength in me."  Over and over.  "Put Your Strength in me, Lord."

I said, "Lord, you promised me that no matter how dark the times get, I will have a song."
I asked humbly, "Lord, where is my song..." I asked this throughout the night.  "Lord, you promised.  Where is my song..."  It was a humble repeated prayer.

Eventually, the 5 o'clock hour arrived, and I went downstairs, but something different was happening within me. The tide was turning.  The Lord showed me that first and foremost, He was calling me to SUBMIT to Him in this matter.  When He showed me this, I can remember quietly embracing the word "submit" in my dark living room.  In literally seconds, my Shepherd's Voice then clearly instructed me as to what I was to do regarding the issue that I had been fasting over.  The answer did not come until after a night filled with spiritual war, not until after I embraced "submitting" to Jesus.  Then, Jesus clearly told me His stand on the matter.  It was the opposite of what the world called "harmless."  Satan fled.  I walked from my living room into my kitchen REJOICING because I now knew what God would have me to do in this matter.

I pulled a piece of paper from a tablet in the kitchen. With complete resolve and peace, I planned to write on it the details of what God had instructed me to do. The tablet had originally 365 different verses in it.  One per page, equalling one for every day of the year.  When I pulled the paper out so that I could write down what God had instructed me to do, I noticed the verse at the bottom of the page:

The Actual Page from the Tablet 

I had prayed for hours throughout the night, "Lord, put Your Strength in me."  "Lord, where is my song..."  Those were my exact prayers and exact words.  I tell you, who but God can beautifully orchestrate such events?  Evidently, this verse is found one time on one piece of paper in this tablet that once spanned 365 pages on my kitchen counter.  I don't know if this page was the 160th page or the 250th page, but God knew it would be the page on this day that He would let me know He HAD put His Strength in me.  The day that He HAD been my song-- just as He promised me many months ago. 

No matter how dark the days get, look to Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith!  Do not give up - do not surrender to Satan.

Beloved readers, Fight the good fight of FAITH.  Trust, that the Lord will answer.  He will direct our steps.  Let us pray through.  Let us seek His Face.  Let us submit to His will no matter what. 

No matter who you are reading this, I am praying for YOU.  If I have never met you, I am praying for you.  If you are my friend, I am praying for you.  If you dislike me, I am praying for you.  If you are struggling right now, I am praying for you.  I am praying for you because I have been awake in the midnight hour more times than I can count crying out to the Lord for His Guidance on various matters over the years.  I know what it is like to have Satan breathing in your ear - roaring his pathetic lies.  I am praying for YOU.  I am praying that you will continue in the faith.  I am praying that you will submit to God's will above all others' wills.  I am praying that you will pray through no matter how long it takes.  I am praying that you will fast when needed.  I am praying that even when it seems that you are hanging by a thread that you will remember joy truly does come in the morning - no matter how long the night - no matter how long the season.

There is a brief memory from my childhood that has always profoundly affected me. It's the memory of a piece of paper. Even when I saw it at just 7 or 8 years old, I can remember looking at it and knowing it was so true.  The paper was clipped to my fridge.  Lo and behold, I found the picture by Googling it.

 
Now, it may seem silly to post it, but there is great truth in this picture.  Satan battles hard against us, but no matter how bleak the situation appears, no matter how victorious that serpent appears to be, JESUS overcame every, single ounce of him.  

Rely on Christ to put His Strength in you.  Rely on Christ to be your song no matter the darkness that surrounds.

We are promised in God's Word the following regarding True Grace.  God has shown me time and again that we can absolutely count on these verses every time:

1 Peter 5:
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

Do It Again

No matter what tribulation this life brings, seek the Lord. 

He will speak.  He will move.  He will calm.  He will guide.  He Will. 

Pray. 

And then pray more.

And then pray yet again. 

Pour yourself out before His throne of Grace.  Never accept the notion that He won't show you.  Go back to prayer.  Read His Word.  Understand that it is His Strength and His Strength alone that we need.  True victory can only come from and through Jesus Christ.  Be careful that you don't allow the previous sentence to simply be a nice idea always floating far off in front of you.  It's not just an idea.  It is a REALITY.  It is God's will that it be YOUR reality. 

Apart from Him, we have no strength, no wisdom, no power.  Make your petitions known to Him.  Expect Him, as a Father, to minister to you.  He will.  The passing of time, the silence, and the wait are ALL meant to draw us TO Him  - not to turn us away from Him. 

Matthew 15:21, 15:22, 15:23, 15:24, 15:25, 15:26, 15:27, 15:28

One of my favorite stories of the Bible is the one of the Canaanite woman's persistence in the presence of Jesus.  It is a beautiful, beautiful scene.  I don't think I will ever tire of reading it.  Oh, how the Lord loves this kind of faith.  Even when it appeared that God was not going to move on behalf of this  Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman, she pressed in and let Him know that although she may be in the eyes of most a dog, she wanted the crumbs that only He could provide. 



Oh!  What a testimony!  Focus on what He can do - not what you can or cannot do.  She went to Him because she knew deliverance had to come FROM HIM!  Jesus called her faith a  GREAT FAITH.  I was reading this story to my 11-year-old over the summer, and while he was listening, I could tell he was trying to figure out for a moment why God would be turning this woman away, but then he said with such confidence and resolve, "Jesus is not a bully.  He was testing her!"  Hallelujah!! Let us who are 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 years old ALSO understand that Jesus is NOT a BULLY!  He's the SAVIOUR of the world!!!  Humble yourself in His presence - just as she did.

Go to Him seeking those powerful crumbs, and watch Him seat you at His Feast Table~

Press in, Beloved. 

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