A Jealous God

Thursday, April 17, 2014, 11:08 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Give God the Glory.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Corinthians 10 (NIV).

Taken from “Participants with Demons”:

Under the Cloud

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

The Israelites were miraculously delivered by God from physical slavery in Egypt, and they were on their way to the Promised Land. They were under a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. These were symbols of God’s divine power, protection and guidance. God appointed Moses to be their leader. He was their mediator between them and God. And, they were to follow his leadership. God provided for them and blessed them in many ways, both physically and spiritually. Christ Jesus, God the Son, existed always. He is our creator. He was with God the Father from the beginning. So, Christ was with them, and he provided for them physical and spiritual nourishment for their bodies and souls.

The same God, who physically delivered the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, has provided spiritual deliverance from slavery to sin for us via Jesus’ shed blood on the cross for our sins. Through faith in Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior, we have the hope and promise of eternal life with God in glory (our Promised Land). We are on our way to heaven. Jesus Christ is now our mediator between us and the Father, and we are to follow his leadership (See Lu. 9:23-25; Jn. 10). We have been given the Holy Spirit within us as a seal of that promise of eternal life with God. The Holy Spirit serves to convict of sin, counsel, lead, guide, teach us all things, intercede for us in prayer, empower and equip us to do God’s will in service to him; protect us spiritually, comfort and encourage us, nurture us, and to live out Christ’s life through us as we cooperate fully with his work.

Examples for Us

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

We read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” And, we read in Hebrews 4:12-13: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

In other words, the whole of scripture is for our benefit. It is not just a collection of historical events, stories, liturgy, poetry, prophecy and Biblical instruction in godly living. There is something that can be learned in principle from even the Old Testament books, because the people then were people just like us, who experienced many of the same things we still experience today. Our culture may be different, and our relationship with God under the New Covenant is somewhat different from that of the Old Covenant relationship God had with his people, yet God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! His word, too, is alive, and God still speaks to our hearts, so he can speak to us even through these stories of the Israelites’ trek to the Promised Land, because there are many parallels between their relationship with God and our relationship with Christ today.

Even though God provided for them all that they needed physically and spiritually, still many of them turned against him and his appointed leadership, they went their own way, and they refused to repent time and time again, so God was not pleased with most of them. And, even though God’s grace has provided us with all we need to live godly and holy lives in this present world, many of us have sinned against him or are presently involved in willful acts of sinful rebellion against God. And, God is not pleased. He is still a jealous God! We were promised to one husband – Jesus Christ. So, we should no longer run after “other lovers,” i.e. after the “gods” of this world. We should not participate in immorality and wickedness in any shape or form – either in physical or mental participation, or in giving approval to such things through allowing ourselves to be entertained by the sins of others.

No Temptation

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Jesus Christ set us free from slavery to sin, so we should not live in sin any longer. His grace is not a license to continue in sin! His grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and wickedness. It slays the sinner; it does not entertain him or placate his sin. When we come to true faith in Jesus Christ, we die to our old lives of living for self and sin; we are crucified with Christ so that “I” no longer live, but Christ now lives in me and through me. We are transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from sin and toward God, like being changed from a caterpillar into a butterfly. We put off that old body of flesh, and we put on our new selves, “created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness” (See Eph. 4:17-24). So, God has provided the way out for us so that we don’t have to give in to the temptations to sin that come into our lives. He settled the issue of sin at Calvary. He is greater than any temptation we might face, and he has given us all we need to resist the devil and to flee temptation, so don’t believe the lie that says you can’t help it.

The Lord’s Jealousy

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

We are to flee (bolt from; run away from) idolatry in its various forms. An idol can be a hero, an obsession; something admired and loved to excess, or something that is worshiped as a god. Worship involves loyalty, commitment, faithfulness, fidelity, a vow (pledge), dedication, steadfastness, devotion, love, reverence, respect, honor and/or adoration. So, what do we worship? What gets our heart, time, energies, devotion, commitment, and faithfulness, etc.? What are we passionate about? What stirs us emotionally? What is uppermost on our minds when we arise in the morning and when we go to bed at night? What do we feel we could not live without? There are many things that could be our idols, such as vehicles, houses, possessions, “toys,” games, entertainment, careers, people, etc. Basically, whatever gets our hearts, passion, desires, thoughts, time, etc. has the potential of becoming an idol, especially if it is “worshiped” over and above God/Jesus Christ.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we participate in his death – in his body and blood – through death to our old lives of sin. And, we participate in his resurrection through being transformed in heart and mind and putting on our new selves in Christ Jesus. We, as believers in Christ, are now the body of Christ. And, we are now in daily fellowship with him. We, thus, partake in Christ day-to-day through our times of prayer, worship, and our times of sitting at his feet, listening to him speak, and then following him in obedience and surrender to his will, as well as just through having his Spirit living within us. So, when we follow after the idols of men instead of following our Lord Jesus, in submission to his will, it is like breaking faith. We can’t be in fellowship with the world of sin and with the Lord Jesus at the same time. We can’t fill our minds with the trash of this world and then expect to enter into times of sweet fellowship with our Lord. The two don’t mix.

God is calling his church to come out from the world of sin, to no longer partake in its delicacies, and to put on the full armor of God with which to fight off the devil’s schemes against us. He has called us to be a holy people, committed to him. He is a jealous God! He does not want to share us with other lovers. So, if you are eating and drinking at the table of demons through idolatry, sexual immorality, greed, gossip and the like, I pray that you will turn from your sins, and that you will make the Lord your only God today.

Give God the Glory / An Original Work

Based off Psalm 19 / March 10, 2014

All of creation now proclaims:

“Give God the glory; honor His name!”

Each day the stars in heav’n above

Show forth His wisdom; tell of His love.

They do not speak. They have no voice.

Yet, they declare we have a choice:

“Worship the God of heav’n above;

Believe in Jesus; trust in His love.”

God’s word is perfect, just and good,

Refreshing souls who trust in the Lord;

Makes wise the simple; radiant -

Lighting our lives with God’s righteousness.

Joy to the heart His words now speak;

Pure and enduring, now we seek.

They are more precious than our gold;

Sweeter than honey; never grow old.

Keeping the word brings great reward.

By the word Jesus speaks and He warns,

Convicting hearts of all their sin;

Forgiving all who call upon Him.

Praying You keep me, Lord, from sins.

May they not rule my life again.

Then will I walk in all Your ways,

Following Jesus all of my days.

http://originalworks.info/give-god-the-glory/

The Spreading of Evil

Tuesday, April 15, 2014, 10:00 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “To Be Like Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Corinthians 5 (NIV).

And You Are Proud!

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

There was known sexual immorality (incest) going on in the church, but it was allowed to go on unchecked. Even the unchristian world of that time would not tolerate such a thing, so for the church to basically wink an eye at it was disgusting, to say the least. It demonstrated, as well, the carnal mood or character of that particular congregation, or at least it was a severe blemish against its leadership. In fact, the church congregation appeared to not be the least disturbed by this man’s blatant sin, and instead they were proud.

I doubt this means they were proud of his sin, though, but rather than being ashamed of and mournful over this man’s grievous sin, they went on with business as usual, probably boasting of all their great accomplishments in winning souls for Christ, or in ministering to the needy in their community, or of their Sunday morning entertainment offerings called ‘worship services,’ or of their latest marketing schemes for drawing in large crowds of people; or boasting about how many people were coming to their meetings, or of their membership rolls, or of how many baptisms they had each month, and/or of how much they were taking in in offerings each week - you know, the usual kinds of things that today’s churches may tend to boast about.

I have seen this type of thing go on within churches firsthand. Sometimes it is because the guilty party gives a great deal of money to the church, or he or she is in a position of great influence and power, or the congregation and/or leadership has bought into the lie that says we are not to judge other believers and, instead, to show true love, we are to be tolerant and accepting of all people so that they feel welcome, and so they want to come back. After all, we don’t want to offend anyone, do we? After all, we would not want to risk losing them to a more liberal church congregation, would we? [Irony intended here.] And so we say nothing. We do nothing. And, silence gives approval, and approval leads to tolerance and acceptance, and acceptance leads to the spreading of evil within the congregation so that it ends up permeating, infusing, pervading, and transforming the entire congregation from spiritual to worldly. Oh, how wrong we are to just sit back and do nothing!

So, what are we to do in such situations as this? Well, first of all, in situations where a believer sins against another, the person should be confronted privately with his or her sin and given the opportunity to repent and to be reconciled. If that does not work, more people are to enter into the situation, and if that does not work, then the sin is to be announced before the whole congregation. If the person still refuses to listen even to the church, they should be treated as a pagan (See Mtt. 18:15-17). In other words, they were to no longer consider this person a fellow Christian, and he or she must be denied the normal privileges associated with church fellowship. The purpose of such action should always be therapeutic, i.e. for the purpose of transforming, healing and restoring.

Yet, in extreme cases where the sin is out in the open, blatant, known and even tolerated by the church congregation, it appears more severe steps are in order, since the entire congregation appears to be infected. Yet, I don’t know that Paul is advocating mercilessly ousting the man, for it would seem to me that if the congregation were truly grieving over this situation in prayer, that their first step would be to give the man the opportunity to repent and to be reconciled, and that they would only put him out of the fellowship in such cases as is described here in Matthew 18. Mercy should always triumph over judgment, yet it should never be allowed to be an excuse for tolerating blatant and rebellious sin within a church congregation. More is at stake than just the life of that one man or woman and the person with whom he or she is sleeping. An entire congregation is at risk of infection. Yet, again, the ousting of the person is for the good of the person and the entire congregation.

The Old Leaven

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

This person’s sin, unchecked, was like leaven within a whole batch of dough, i.e. it opened the door wide for the spreading of evil to go on unchecked within the whole church. The old leaven represented their old sinful natures and/or sinful lifestyles, i.e. it represented what their lives were like before they came to know Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. The new batch (unleavened) is symbolic of their relationship with Jesus Christ, their sins paid for, put to death on the cross, forgiven, transformed and them having been made into new creations in Christ Jesus, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (See Eph. 4:17-24; cf. Ro. 6; Gal. 2:20; Tit. 2:11-14; and 1 Jn. 1-5), which is what they really were. Yet, they were not living like who they were in Christ Jesus, but they had reverted back to some of their old sinful ways. So, Paul was instructing them to remove from their congregation such blatant and rebellious sin as this so that they could be as they truly were in Christ – cleansed, made holy, righteous, purified, sanctified and free from sin’s hold.

Today marks the beginning of the celebration of Passover for Jewish people. The Passover took place many, many years ago when the Jewish nation was being enslaved in Egypt. God sent Moses to proclaim freedom for the captives and to announce to their captor that he was to let the people go. Moses was a prefiguring of Jesus Christ as our deliverer. The nation of Egypt fell underneath God’s judgment until they released the people of Israel and let them go. Yet, they did not let go of them easily. They endured much of God’s judgments against them without release of the captives until God sent the plague of death of the firstborn male. The Jews were to kill a lamb and to put its blood on their doors as a symbol that they were to be passed over and that they would not be subject to God’s judgment. After that, they were set free. Even though Pharaoh had second thoughts and he pursued them, still God delivered his people and cast judgment against their enemies.

Yet, this is not the Passover that God’s people, the church, are to celebrate today. We have another Passover to celebrate. Jesus Christ, God the Son, became our sacrificial (Passover) lamb for our sins by dying on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world. When he died, our sins died with him, and when he was resurrected from death, he rose victorious over sin and death. Hallelujah! So, the “Festival” that we are to keep is not an actual festival as we might think, but it is a joyous celebration of what Christ did for us in dying for our sins so that we could be liberated (passed over; set free) from both the ultimate punishment of sin (eternal damnation) and from our slavery to sin. So, the “keeping” of the “festival” is not just a big party, but it is the observance of our freedom from the control of sin over our lives through daily practice, in the Spirit of God, of not giving in to the flesh but instead walking in the Spirit in faithfulness and honesty.

Wrong Associations

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

This is where the “rubber meets the road,” i.e. it is the moment of truth where what we have been taught and have learned gets put to the test and we realize whether or not what we learned was just head knowledge or if the lessons actually got through to our hearts. It is one thing to have removed from our lives the sins that once enslaved us and to now be committed to our Savior in cooperating with his work of grace in our lives in transforming us in heart and mind away from sin and to living and walking in his righteousness. It is another thing to have to remove ourselves from the fellowship of other professing Christians who are knowingly and openly involved in grievous sins against God. We naturally do not want to offend. We don’t want to hurt others, and yet, sometimes, the most loving thing we can do is to exercise “tough love” with them. Often when we fail to exercise tough love appropriately it is because we are loving ourselves more than we love others. True love is willing to risk rejection, misunderstandings, criticism and the judgments of others in order to do what is right, loving and is best for those we love.

Right Judgment

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

As I mentioned earlier, many are buying into the false notion that, as followers of Christ, we are never to judge other people. That is not what scripture teaches. We are not to judge with human thinking and reasoning or by the standards of this world. We are not to judge hypocritically while we ourselves are involved in the same kinds of sins. First we must remove the log from our own eyes before we can see clearly to take the speck out of our brothers’ eyes. We are not to judge harshly and unkindly or with pride thinking we are somehow superior, and/or with the intent of making others pay for their “crimes.” And, we are not to judge based upon gossip and rumor and join in with those who would be malicious in their attacks against others for the sole purpose of destroying another’s life and reputation.

Instead, we need to first of all make sure we are not involved in some type of known sin in our own lives, but we should put off the sins which easily entangle us and we should put to death the misdeeds of our own bodies. Then, humbly, prayerfully, kindly and lovingly we should confront our brother or sister with his sin, but always with the goal of forgiveness, repentance and restoration. And, we should never make judgments based upon culture, society, human regulations and traditions, or human thinking or reasoning, for these are faulty. We should always judge according to the word of God and according to truth, and always with the right motives and in gentleness of spirit. For this is the loving thing to do.

To Be Like Him / An Original Work

March 16, 2014 / Based off Scripture

Crucified you are with Jesus.

To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,

Because He died at Calv’ry,

So from sin you’d be free.

Oh, what joy He brings into your life,

Giving life with Him endlessly.

Oh, what plans He has for your life.

Share the gospel faithfully.

Show the people He loves them.

Now His witness you’ll be.

Tell the world of sin about Jesus,

How He died for them on a tree.

Purifying hearts, He saves them,

Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.

Turning now from their idols,

New lives they have begun.

Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.

Over sin, the vict’ry He won!

When He comes again to take us

To be with Him evermore,

There will be no more crying.

Gladness will be in store.

Heavens joys will now overtake us:

We’ll be with our Lord evermore.

http://originalworks.info/to-be-like-him/

The World's Garbage

Monday, April 14, 2014, 7:49 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.” I read 1 Corinthians 4 (NIV).

Servants of Christ

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. (5) Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

(6) Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

Context is everything. When we try to interpret scriptures out of context, though certainly sometimes that can be done, we can frequently end up with false beliefs and misdirected notions which can lead us astray. In prayerfully considering the meaning of this passage here, in particular vv. 5-6 (noted above), I checked with the original Greek and various commentators before I heard the Spirit’s voice within me encouraging me to look at the context. So, with that, I went back to chapter one and began reading to get the context.

In chapter one, we read where Paul addressed the problem of divisions in the church. He picked up that subject again in chapter three. Evidently some of the people in the church (the body of Christ) were quarreling (arguing) over what “preacher” they followed, maybe trying to one-up (outdo) each other, for the last one said, “I follow Christ.” Then, Paul went on to give a discourse on the subject of man’s wisdom vs. God’s wisdom. He quoted a scripture where God said he would destroy the wisdom of the wise. Then, he said, “Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world?” He explained that God chose those who were weak, lowly and despised so that no one could boast before him. He does not choose as humans choose. So, our boasting should be in the Lord, not in the flesh of humans. He explained that our faith should not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

Then he stated plainly that he and Apollos were “only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” In other words, not one was better than another. They were both servants of the Lord, and each had a particular task assigned by God, which should not be cause to raise one above the other.

So many times in the church we, the people, exalt one person over another because of personality, giftedness, talent and/or office held, and we devalue, and perhaps even reject those whose personalities, giftedness and/or “tasks” are less desirable in the eyes of humankind. And, that is wrong. Only God is to be exalted, because we come from him, our tasks are assigned by him, and our giftedness, personalities, and talents, etc. are all from him and are to be used for him and by him for his purposes. And, only in the power and working of the Spirit within us are we able to accomplish anything for God’s kingdom work.

As well, although we may be ones assigned to plant or to water, it is God who makes all things grow. We can take no credit for ourselves for anything done in the Spirit of God!

So, we must see all of the Lord’s servants in the same light, i.e. from God’s perspective, whether the person has a great personality, is young and attractive, has (humanly speaking) desirable gifts and is a great public speaker, or if the person is old or not physically attractive, has gifts that do not attract large crowds of people, is lacking in personality and charm, and stumbles over his or her words when speaking publicly, etc. We are all just servants. All that we have comes from God, so not one of us is greater or less than another (See 1 Co. 12).

It is in this context that we are instructed not to make judgments on the Lord’s servants based upon worldly and human ‘wisdom’ which tends to evaluate people based upon the flesh, and which is just as likely to raise up (exalt) a scoundrel and despise and reject a godly person. God does not judge with the same standards that humans use. The word of God should be our only measurement for judgment, when judgment is called for, and not the yardstick determined by humankind. Then we will not take pride in one person over another.

The Garbage of The World

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

Spoken in irony, Paul continued to address the issue of human pride vs. humility of spirit, which was to be characteristic of the Lord’s true servants. Many of the Corinthian believers were guilty of being worldly in their thinking and reasoning, which is why they were quarreling over matters having to do with which preacher to follow. They thought they were wise, but their ‘wisdom’ was based on the standards of the world, not on the word of God. They were followers of humankind more than they were followers of Christ, so they were not treated with the same disregard and disgust as often were the apostles. Therefore, they were honored when the apostles were dishonored, because they were so worldly and thus they were acceptable to the world whereas the apostles were not.

This rings true in much of today’s modern church, as well. So many Christians are following humans instead of God. So many professing followers of Christ are studying books written by humans in place of the word of God. So many church congregations run their churches more like big business than Christ’s body, with humans calling the shots instead of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ, in many instances, is watered down to such a degree that it barely resembles the gospel. And, those who hold true to the word of God are often treated just like Paul described here, only, in some cases, at the hands of those who purport to follow the same Savior as they follow.

The modern church has become, for the most part, a center for good, clean and fun family entertainment which is targeted to attract the people of the world, and is marketed just like any other man-made business. And, they are quite comfortable in their worldliness. Not only that, but many who profess Christ are seemingly unconcerned with the lost souls in need of the Savior and are more concerned about their own status and reputations among human beings so that they have little impact for the gospel and the kingdom of heaven. Thus, they serve no threat to Satan’s kingdom, which is why they are not mistreated.

Yet, many followers of Christ throughout the world today are suffering greatly for their faith in Christ and their testimonies for him and for the gospel of salvation. Many are being killed for their faith and testimonies, as well, because they hold fast to the word of God and have refused to join in with the world. They are being treated just like garbage to be thrown out, including many are being tossed out or even killed by those within the institutional church who also profess Christ, and one of the reasons is because their gifts and tasks are being judged by human standards instead of by the word of God. I believe such persecution of Christ’s followers is on its way to America, too, and has already begun in small numbers. Yet, the worldly church barely notices nor seems concerned.

We live in a rapidly changing world where the true “climate change” is political and is of the nature described in the prophecies of scripture with regard to the last days before Christ’s return. Time is running out. God is calling out to his adulterous church to wake up from her slumber. Deception abounds. Christians are becoming an endangered species. Evil is reigning and has even infiltrated the church and is spreading like a malignant tumor. The old world system is passing away and a new world system is emerging. Many are already being called upon to make the choice between Christ and their lives. We must decide to follow Jesus at all cost, trusting him to see us through to glory.

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken / Henry F. Lyte / Mozart/ Arr. Hubert P. Main

Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave and follow Thee;

Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou, from hence, my all shalt be.

Perish every fond ambition, all I've sought, and hoped, and known;

Yet how rich is my condition, God and Christ are still my own!

Let the world despise and leave me, they have left my Savior, too;

Human hearts and looks deceive me; Thou art not, like man, untrue;

And, while Thou shalt smile upon me, God of wisdom, love, and might,

Foes may hate, and friends disown me; show Thy face, and all is bright.

Man may trouble and distress me – ‘Twill but drive me to Thy breast.

Life with trials hard may press me; Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.

Oh, ‘tis not in grief to harm me, while Thy love is left to me;

Oh, ‘twere not in joy to charm me, were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Go then, earthly fame and treasure! Come, disaster, scorn, and pain!

In Thy service pain is pleasure; with Thy favor loss is gain.

I have called Thee, Abba, Father, I have stayed my heart on Thee;

Storms may howl and clouds may gather; all must work for good to me.

Haste then on from grace to glory, armed by faith and winged by prayer;

God's eternal day's before thee, God's own hand shall guide thee there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission, swift shall pass thy pilgrim days,

Hope shall change to glad fruition, faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

What We Speak

Sunday, April 13, 2014, 7:47 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Give God the Glory.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Corinthians 2 (NIV).

The Message

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Wow! This is powerful! So much of today’s modern church movement here in America appears to represent just the opposite of what Paul stated here. It seems so many preachers in today’s modern church movement participate in or even lead the way in marketing the church just like big business. Many preachers are more like entrepreneurs starting their own businesses, trying to draw in large crowds of people through the use of marketing techniques (schemes), advertising, man-made gimmicks, entertainment, and sermons designed to both entertain and teach, often watering down the gospel to make it more palatable, acceptable and appealing to the crowds. My husband and I were church planters, and we went through the training, so we have some idea how this works. So much of what is taught, though somewhat based in the word of God, is also based in the wisdom, thinking and reasoning of humans whose objective is to draw in large crowds of people.

Yet, this doesn’t seem to be something new, as Paul apparently encountered those who used human wisdom and persuasive words instead of relying upon the power of the Spirit of God. Yet I believe this to be epidemic in evangelical Christianity today in America, and that the church is in a crisis situation. We need revival in America’s churches. We need to get back to the basics of the word of God and forget trying to build businesses of man. We need to stop spending so much time reading books on how to grow our churches and we need to spend more time in the word of God and on our knees in prayer and out among people in sharing with them the love of Jesus and the truth of the gospel. The early church grew through salvation of human lives, not through gimmicks and entertaining people. The apostles relied upon the scriptures and the Spirit of God within them to give them the words to speak and to show them what they must do to disciple Christ’s followers to maturity. That way the people’s faith did not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. Amen!

They Didn’t Understand

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Those who do not have the Spirit of God have a very difficult time comprehending what is of the Spirit, because it is not logical, visible, sensible or practical to them, because it is spiritually discerned. If they had understood God’s wisdom in Jesus’ days on the earth, they would not have crucified him. If they understood today, they would not reject Christ and his gospel and persecute his followers. From yesterday’s writing, Because of Him:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…

“The message of the cross is not only Christ crucified for our sins, and thus he put to death our sins, but it is also us individually accepting God’s invitation to his salvation, thus we are crucified with Christ, dead to sin, but alive to God, no longer enslaved by sin but free to walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness in the working, power and strength of his Spirit within us. This is foolishness to those who are perishing, because they want to hold on to their own lives and be the ones calling the shots, living to do what pleases them, making their own decisions, etc. It seems foolish to them, not only that God would come to earth, take on human flesh and die for us, but that any reasonable and rational human being would submit and surrender to the cross of Christ, willingly allowing the Spirit of God to turn them away from living for sin and self to living for Christ and his righteousness. So, they may ridicule, mock and even misjudge us, because they don’t understand why anyone would willingly give up ownership of his or her own life in order to serve and live for God.”

No Human Mind

However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

    what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”—

    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

Back in September of 2004 I attended a prayer conference for church workers. My husband and I were church planters at the time. The speakers there that day were definitely led of the Spirit of God, for God was speaking through them loud (but gently) and clear. I recall several things I heard the Spirit say to my heart that day, which were based in the teaching of the word of God. He said: “Give your ministry over to God – it is not yours, it is his. God may have something else for you to do that you have not even thought of.” And, “What you are going through is much bigger than you can imagine.”

The words “not even thought of” and “bigger than you can imagine” fit with this passage here in 1 Corinthians 2. It is true that we, in our human flesh, cannot possibly imagine or think of all that God has prepared for us, yet these are the things God reveals to us by his Spirit.

The Lord placed a calling upon my life that day I still did not fully comprehend, but that I realized two years later when God led me to begin writing out what he teaches me each day through his word and to place it on the internet. Truly my human mind would never have thought of that. It was not something I was seeking. We were church planters, but that is not where God had us remain. He had something else in mind, and he did reveal the part he had for me to me by his Spirit. And, it did mean giving up what I thought was God’s will for my life in order to serve and to live for God in a way I did not imagine.

The Spirit

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord

    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

The Spirit of God knows the thoughts of God. Those of us who have believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives have the Holy Spirit of God living within us, teaching, guiding, counseling, directing, nurturing, empowering, sanctifying, and enabling us to live for God, to walk in the Spirit, and to say “No!” to ungodliness and worldly passions and desires. The Spirit within us reveals Christ to us; reveals his word to us; and helps us to understand that which is spiritually discerned.

The Spirit teaches us what to say, guides us into all truth, makes known to us what he receives from Christ, empowers us to be Christ’s witnesses, and enables us to speak the word boldly. He also urges, warns and cautions. The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and intercedes for us in accordance with the will of God. We are to walk and live by the Spirit so that we do not gratify the desires of our flesh. Because the Spirit is within us, we have the mind of Christ within us so that we can know Christ, his will, what is important to him, what grieves him and what pleases him. May we walk in his truth and do what pleases him.

Give God the Glory / An Original Work

Based off Psalm 19 / March 10, 2014

All of creation now proclaims:

“Give God the glory; honor His name!”

Each day the stars in heav’n above

Show forth His wisdom; tell of His love.

They do not speak. They have no voice.

Yet, they declare we have a choice:

“Worship the God of heav’n above;

Believe in Jesus; trust in His love.”

God’s word is perfect, just and good,

Refreshing souls who trust in the Lord;

Makes wise the simple; radiant -

Lighting our lives with God’s righteousness.

Joy to the heart His words now speak;

Pure and enduring, now we seek.

They are more precious than our gold;

Sweeter than honey; never grow old.

Keeping the word brings great reward.

By the word Jesus speaks and He warns,

Convicting hearts of all their sin;

Forgiving all who call upon Him.

Praying You keep me, Lord, from sins.

May they not rule my life again.

Then will I walk in all Your ways,

Following Jesus all of my days.

http://originalworks.info/give-god-the-glory/

Because of Him

Saturday, April 12, 2014, 8:49 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “I Sing of His Mercy.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Corinthians 1 (NIV).

Enriched in Every Way

…I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is the beginning of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church – “to those sanctified” (purified) “in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people.”

Paul thanked God for the Corinthian believers because of God’s grace given to them in Christ Jesus. God’s grace was manifest in this way: Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on a cross for our sins so that we might be forgiven and cleansed of sin, and set free from slavery to and the ultimate penalty of sin – eternal damnation. He died, as well, so that we might have eternal life with God in glory. He also died so that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who died for us (See 2 Co. 5:15). In fact, his grace given to us teaches us to say “No!” to “ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” while we wait for Christ’s return (See Tit. 2:11-14). When we come to faith in Christ, by his grace, we die with Christ to our old lives of sin (See Ro. 6), and we are transformed away from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that we might receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are being sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ (See Ac. 26:16-18; cf. Eph. 4:17-24).

God’s grace to us not only saves us from our sins and gives us eternal life with him, but because of God’s grace to us, his Spirit has been placed within all believers in Christ Jesus, so that in and by his power, wisdom and strength within us we CAN say “NO!” to worldly passions and desires, and so we can live for him. Thus our lives have been enriched with all the spiritual gifts, blessings and provisions God has for us and that we need in order for us to live for him, to minister his grace in its various forms within the body of Christ - of which we are members - and so we can be his witnesses and lights for the gospel of salvation to a lost world. It is the Spirit within us who leads, counsels, guides, directs, corrects, equips, admonishes, strengthens, empowers, and teaches us each day. He is also the one who keeps us firm in our faith to the end, i.e. we cannot serve and live for God in our own power and strength, but only in the power and strength of his Spirit within us.

Perfectly United

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought...

Coming to faith in Jesus Christ obviously does not mean we suddenly reach a level of absolute perfection. We still live in flesh bodies. Although we have died with Christ to sin, and we have been regenerated and transformed by the Spirit of God, and our sins are no longer charged against us, but Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account, this does not mean we become sinless. Otherwise we would not need these epistles to instruct us.

The plan is for us to no longer sin, yet the writers of the New Testament acknowledged that it is possible and probable that we might still sin on occasion, yet Christ is our advocate with the Father when we do sin. We can go boldly to the throne of grace (of God) to help us in our time of need. God is faithful. He will see us through each and every situation in our lives. He has already provided the way out from underneath the weight of temptation so that we can stand up under it. He has freed us from the control of sin, and he will continue to give us all we need each day to not give in to temptation to sin. We just have to appropriate to our daily lives what he has already done for us in conquering sin in sinful man. The NT writers also taught that, because we died to sin, we should live in it no longer.

As humans, even as Christians, there must still be something inside us which pulls us towards being followers of humankind, because scripture speaks much to this issue. Humans must tend to idolize other humans and have a tendency to follow them, and so this is something we must guard against. There are many popular preachers and teachers in our world today who have large followings. Some of them or many of them are not teaching the true gospel of salvation but are saying what people’s itching ears want to hear, which is probably why they have such large followings. We need to make sure we are following Christ and his word and not humans. We are all different people, uniquely designed by God, so we are not going to all think exactly the same way on all things, but we should not let our differences over disputable matters divide us, and we should agree together on the essentials. We are united in Christ Jesus because of God’s grace, and through faith in Christ, so let us not let ourselves or other humans and/or their humanistic teachings divide us.

Message of the Cross

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…

The message of the cross is not only Christ crucified for our sins, and thus he put to death our sins, but it is also us individually accepting God’s invitation to his salvation, thus we are crucified with Christ, dead to sin, but alive to God, no longer enslaved by sin but free to walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness in the working, power and strength of his Spirit within us. This is foolishness to those who are perishing, because they want to hold on to their own lives and be the ones calling the shots, living to do what pleases them, making their own decisions, etc. It seems foolish to them, not only that God would come to earth, take on human flesh and die for us, but that any reasonable and rational human being would submit and surrender to the cross of Christ, willingly allowing the Spirit of God to turn them away from living for sin and self to living for Christ and his righteousness. So, they may ridicule, mock and even misjudge us, because they don’t understand why anyone would willingly give up ownership of his or her own life in order to serve and live for God.

Because of Him

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

There is nothing within us which deserves or which is capable of earning our own salvation. God did not choose us because of our greatness or our goodness. He died for us while we were yet sinners. He chose us when we were weak, unworthy, and miserable sinners to receive his free gift of salvation. Only because of him and through him can we be saved and have eternal life with God. Thus, we cannot boast in our own human efforts, but only in the Lord Jesus and what he has done for us in saving us from our sins and giving us new lives.

I Sing of His Mercy / An Original Work

Based off Psalm 32 / April 10, 2014

Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven

By the blood of Jesus Christ.

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does

Not count against them; freedom found.

When, in silence, I did not confess

My sin to You; had no strength.

Then I owned up to my sin and

You forgave and cleansed me within.

Therefore let the godly pray to You;

Draw near to You; grace they’ll find.

They will not be o’ertaken by afflictions,

But in Christ peace abounds.

Lord, You are my hiding place.

I find my refuge in You secure.

You protect me from all evil.

You give songs of vict’ry in You.

Lord, You teach me to walk in Your ways;

Counsel me in love, I know.

Help me to not be stubborn and

Unwilling to follow in Your truth.

Thank You for Your love and mercy.

I put my trust in You always.

I rejoice in my Lord and

I sing of Him throughout all my days.

http://originalworks.info/i-sing-of-his-mercy/

I Sing of His Mercy

“In him we have redemption” (salvation; deliverance from sin) “through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us” (Eph. 1:7-8a). “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Heb. 8:12). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9). “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Ac. 3:19).

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15-16). “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thess. 3:3).

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). “…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:18b-20).

I Sing of His Mercy / An Original Work

Based off Psalm 32 / April 10, 2014

Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven

By the blood of Jesus Christ.

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does

Not count against them; freedom found.

When, in silence, I did not confess

My sin to You; had no strength.

Then I owned up to my sin and

You forgave and cleansed me within.

Therefore let the godly pray to You;

Draw near to You; grace they’ll find.

They will not be o’ertaken by afflictions,

But in Christ peace abounds.

Lord, You are my hiding place.

I find my refuge in You secure.

You protect me from all evil.

You give songs of vict’ry in You.

Lord, You teach me to walk in Your ways;

Counsel me in love, I know.

Help me to not be stubborn and

Unwilling to follow in Your truth.

Thank You for Your love and mercy.

I put my trust in You always.

I rejoice in my Lord and

I sing of Him throughout all my days.

http://originalworks.info/i-sing-of-his-mercy/

http://youtu.be/woeg9Wao67k

A Living Sacrifice

Wednesday, April 09, 2014, 10:00 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind “All Through the Night.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Romans 12 (NIV).

Pleasing to God

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Because of what Jesus Christ did for us in dying for our sins so that we could go free from the power of sin over our lives, we are strongly encouraged here to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. To sacrifice something means to forgo, forfeit, surrender, give up and/or let go of something which we might naturally want to hold on to. In this case, the offering is “prescribed by God; hence an offering the Lord accepts because it is offered on His terms” (Source: http://biblehub.com/greek/2378.htm). In other words, the correct and appropriate response to God’s love, grace and mercy toward us is for us to surrender and submit our lives (mind, heart, soul and body) to him, and for his purposes.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, by God’s grace and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are crucified with Christ so that we (the “I” in us) no longer live, but Christ now lives within us, and the lives we live, we live by faith in the Son of God who gave himself up for us (See Gal. 2:20). We died to sin, so that we should no longer live in it (See Ro. 6). He died so we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who died for us (See 2 Co. 5:15). This is our true and proper worship of him to give ourselves to God in order to live holy lives pleasing to him, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but transformed by the Spirit of God within us in the renewing of our minds away from sin and toward walking in God’s righteousness and holiness (See Eph. 4:17-24; Ac. 26:16-18; Tit. 2:11-14).

With this attitude in mind, we are then able to do the following by God’s grace and mercy and love within us, and in his power and strength and life working in and out through us.

Humble in Heart

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

If we have truly died to sin, in the power and working of the Spirit of God within us, and we have been transformed in heart and mind away from sin and toward walking in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, and the life of Christ is now being lived out through us, and we have given our lives over to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, although our flesh may still fight against us at times, we can, by the grace of God, live lives of humility and service to others. We can have the appropriate self-image which sees ourselves through God’s eyes, both in seeing where we have come from, and what we have become by God’s grace, so that we do not exalt ourselves beyond measure, nor do we degrade ourselves.

Sincere in Love

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

In Christ Jesus we can thus have sincere love for one another. Not all of what we call “love” is truly sincere or truly love, though. Sometimes we get this “Hollywood” or “Cultural” or “Societal” idea of what love is instead of the Biblical teaching on what love is, and thus we end up doing and saying things in the name of “love” which are actually contradictory to what true love is really all about. True love cares more about the true needs of others than it does about itself, often risking its own reputation and acceptance in order to demonstrate divine love and grace to others. Divine love hates what is evil and it clings to what is good. It does not placate evil (sin), it is not entertained by it, and it does not ignore it in favor of making others “feel good” about themselves. True love shows compassion, mercy, kindness, generosity, and affection, et al, yet it is not false to those whom it claims to love all in the name of “love and kindness.” True love is sincere, honest, open, genuine and straight. It never compromises truth, faith and commitment to God for acceptance of others.

Live in Harmony

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

When we have truly died to sin by God’s grace, and we have given ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him as our true and proper worship of him, we will most likely face persecution and even hatred from those who oppose or who are disposed to being indifferent to such a relationship with God/Christ. Yet, we are not to trade “tit for tat,” but we are instead to treat our enemies well and/or to speak well of them, not in insincerity or in false flattery, but we should treat them with kindness and not in retaliation. We should not rejoice over sin and wrongdoing, but we should share in other’s joys as is appropriate, as well as we should sympathize with them in their sorrows, again as is appropriate for God’s holy people.

As far as it depends on us, we should live at peace with everyone. Yet, we should never compromise our faith and convictions or the word of God, nor should we deny Christ in order to please humans. We are to live to please God, not humankind. Yet, as far as we are able to please others and to be at peace with them without compromising our faith and convictions, we should do so. We should treat our enemies with kindness and respect, giving to them as they have need, and as we are able, yet we should not become one with them thinking that is the way to “win” them to Christ. We should continue to stand for Christ and for the gospel of Jesus Christ and to give ourselves to God as living sacrifices even in the face of severe persecution and hatred directed toward us.

All Through the Night / An Original Work / December 7, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

Blessed are you when you’re persecuted

Because of your faith in Jesus Christ.

Blessed are you when people insult you,

And falsely say what leads folks to doubt.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is

Great in the heavens. You’re not alone.

When you are persecuted in one place,

Flee to another. God will be there.

You will be hated by all the nations

Because you testify of God’s grace.

Many will seize you and persecute you,

And put to death the foll’wers of Christ.

Yet, do not fear what humans may do to you,

For I’m with you all through the night.

I tell you, love your enemies with my love,

And forgive as I forgave you.

Pray for those who do evil against you.

Rest in my love and grace from above.

http://originalworks.info/all-through-the-night/