My Refuge in Difficult Times

“O Lord, the hope of Israel,

    all who forsake you shall be put to shame;

those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,

    for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.” (Jeremiah 17:13 ESV)

Not everyone who says to Jesus Christ, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones DOING (obeying) the will of God the Father who is in heaven. For it is not enough just to profess faith in Jesus Christ with our lips, but we must be crucified with him in death to sin, and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, but if we obey obedience to God, its end is eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 6:1-23; 1 John 2:3-6; Romans 8:1-14]

“Behold, they say to me,

    ‘Where is the word of the Lord?

    Let it come!’” (Jeremiah 17:15 ESV)

And if we are those who are teaching that message above, who are teaching the full gospel message, and not these half-truth diluted and altered gospel renditions being passed off as the real gospel today, we are going to be rejected, cast aside, unwanted, ignored, ridiculed, and mocked because we stand on the truth of God’s word and for holiness, godliness, moral purity, righteousness, uprightness, honesty, and faithfulness. For Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).

“I have not run away from being your shepherd,

    nor have I desired the day of sickness.

You know what came out of my lips;

    it was before your face.

Be not a terror to me;

    you are my refuge in the day of disaster.

Let those be put to shame who persecute me,

    but let me not be put to shame;

let them be dismayed,

    but let me not be dismayed;

bring upon them the day of disaster;

    destroy them with double destruction!” (Jeremiah 17:16-18 ESV)

But even though many who profess the name of Jesus have forsaken the Lord and his word and his commands, and they have turned away from walks of holiness and righteousness, and they have continued living in their sins in sinful rebellion against the Lord, we are not to let that discourage us. But we should pray for them that they would return to following Jesus Christ with their lives, or that they will now follow him in truth for the first time ever. And we should share with them the truth of the gospel (Luke 9:23-26).

And even though we will get rejected and cast aside as unwanted, and we will be mocked and laughed at and/or ridiculed and rebuked because we are still holding to and teaching the truth of the gospel that Jesus taught, we should not let that dishearten us or make us afraid. But we must be strong in the strength of the Lord and put on that armor of God daily to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us, for indeed he is the one behind all opposition to the truth of the gospel, who is promoting the lies (Ephesians 6:10-20).

So, we should not run away just because we get rejected, or just because people mistreat us or want nothing to do with us, or just because they mock us and make fun of us. And it can be difficult, at times, and we may even have feelings of wanting to run away, to escape the pain, but we will not run away, even if we once did, because we know the importance of getting out the truth of the gospel in a day and time when so many have altered the gospel message to make it more attractive to human flesh.

We know and we understand the grave importance of God’s calling upon our lives to spread the message of the gospel, in truth, to the people of the world, and to encourage and to exhort our fellow believers in Christ in their walks of faith, and to receive from them equal treatment. And we take that very seriously. And so, no matter what comes our way, we will not run away out of fear of what other humans might do to us or say about us, but we will persevere in giving out the messages from God’s word.

Now, in the New Testament, we are taught that we are to love our enemies, and to pray for them, and to do good to them, and to say and to do for them what is for their good (benefit), according to how God defines good. And we are not to get even, for that is God’s job, not ours. But we are to forgive them and love them with the love of Christ. So, even if they do evil against us, we are to do good to them, in return. And we should pray to the Lord for their salvation from sin to be delivered from damnation.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

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