Psalms 37:12-15,39-40 ESV
“The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him,
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.
“The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose way is upright;
their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.”
“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.”
Who are the wicked? They are all who behave wickedly. They are all who deliberately and habitually do what is evil. They are liars, adulterers, slanderers, the unfaithful, the sexually immoral, cheaters, haters, abusers, tricksters, and/or deceivers. And sadly so, many of them are also professers of faith in Jesus Christ who are convinced that their sins no longer matter to God and that they can keep on in their sins and still go to heaven when they die. And some are mockers and persecutors of those of genuine faith.
For many who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but who deliberately and habitually sin against God and against other humans, are those who contend with and who oppose the truth of the gospel of Christ. And they are those who create their own gods out of their own minds to suit their own lifestyles of choice. And so they deny Christ by their actions, and they alter the message of the gospel to make it more appealing and acceptable to the ungodly and to human flesh. For they despise the truth.
So, they are against the righteous, i.e. those who are living righteously in the power of God, by the grace of God. And that is because the righteous are a reminder to them of their own sinfulness, and so they resent them. And some are bitter against them because they walk in the ways of God and not in the ways of the flesh. And so they want to bring them down. They want to trip them up. They are like Jesus’ opponents who were always trying to find a way to accuse Jesus of wrongdoing because they hated him.
And if they can’t trip them up, then they want to get rid of them, and so many of them do plot evil against those who are righteous in the sight of God (because righteousness is their practice, and not evil). And so they will find ways to injure and to hurt them. They want to hurt them because they resent them. And sadly some of these wicked are pastors and elders in church congregations (or in what are called “churches”) but who are wolves in sheep’s clothing out to deceive the sheep.
And that is another reason that they hate the righteous is because the righteous speak the truth, and the righteous confront the lies, and the righteous expose liars and deception. And so they want to silence them because they do not want their deceptions to be exposed and because they want to continue on deceiving and leading people astray. And so they will look for ways to “take them out” and to shut them up so that other people will not listen to them so that the liars can continue in their lies.
It really is not much different from how Jesus was treated by his persecutors who ended up plotting and carrying out his death on a cross after years of trying to trip him up with his words in order to accuse him of wrongdoing. They falsely arrested him, and falsely charged him with wrongdoing. And they beat him and mocked him and spit on him and put a crown of thorns on his head before they led him to a cross to hang there to die. And then I am sure many celebrated his death, believing they had put an end to him.
But God is going to judge us all one day by our deeds (works). And those who have sown to the flesh will reap destruction (death), while those who have sown to the Spirit will reap eternal life. Those who chose their sins over God will be cast away and they will not inherit eternal life with God while those who walked in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to the Lord, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, in the power of God, will be welcomed into God’s eternal kingdom.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, if you are being mistreated for righteousness’ sake, even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, some of whom might even be pastors, be encouraged. If by faith in Jesus Christ you are walking in obedience to the Lord in holy living, and you are not walking in sin, the Lord is your stronghold. He is your support. He will carry you through every difficult situation and he will give you the grace to withstand all opposition if you take refuge in him and if you follow his lead and don’t give way to fear.
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; 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]
I Just Keep Trusting My Lord
By John W. Peterson
I just keep trusting my Lord as I walk a long
I just keep trusting my Lord and He gives a song
Though the storm clouds darken the sky o'er the heav'nly trail
I just keep trusting my Lord, He will never fail
He's a faithful friend, such a faithful friend
I can count on Him to the very end
Though the storm clouds darken the sky o'er the heav'nly trail
I just keep trusting my Lord, He will never fail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8R9Kb8krko
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