Be Careful What You Believe

“Jesus said to them, ‘Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’” 

“’How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6,11-12 ESV)

So, who are the “Pharisees and Sadducees” of our time? They don’t have to be exact matches philosophically, but who are they spiritually, in relationship to God and to us other humans? What are their main characteristic traits?

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were skilled at hypocrisy. Jesus described them in this way (based off Matthew 23:1-39):

• They do not practice what they preach

• They do their deeds to be seen by others

• They love places of honor; they love attention

• They lead people to hell on the promise of heaven

• They profess one thing but live the opposite

• They adhere to religious rituals but not to God’s righteousness

• They appear clean (righteous) outwardly but inwardly are evil

• They are full of wicked deeds, greed, hypocrisy and self-indulgence

• They persecute those who are truly righteous in God’s sight

Often Jesus coupled the Pharisees with the Sadducees or with the Scribes. They had their definite differences, but what they appeared to have in common is that their teaching was not right. It was not according to the Scriptures but it was twisted and self-serving, and it was deceptive and harmful to those who listened to it and who followed in its ways. And what is described above appears to fit with many of those professing to be pastors, elders, prophets, apostles and/or preachers of the gospel in America today.

For so many of them are building their earthly kingdoms and not the kingdoms of God. For they have incorporated their congregations as not-for-profit businesses under the state which they are then marketing to the world with worldly marketing schemes and tricks and goals. They want to grow in numbers, and they want to attract the world to their gatherings in order to “draw in large crowds of people from the world,” and so they alter the character of God/Christ and of his church and of his gospel.

So they do indeed lead people to hell on the promise of heaven, for they change the character of the gospel message to make it more acceptable to the ungodly and to human flesh in order to attract more people to their gatherings, and so as not to offend them with the truth, because they want them to want to come back to their meetings. And so they promise them heaven on the basis of a profession of faith in Jesus Christ but which is lacking in genuine repentance and in walks of obedience to the Lord.

And not only do they appear spiritually clean on the outside, but inwardly they are full of evil, but by diluting and altering the gospel message the way that they do, they are leading their followers to do the same. So those who adhere to their teachings end up remaining in their sins, still full of wicked deeds, greed, hypocrisy and self-indulgence, and the like, but while claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior and heaven as their eternal destiny. And if they start to feel guilty for their sins, they are told to claim who they are in Christ, even though they may not even be “in Christ” by genuine faith.

And they do indeed persecute those who are truly righteous in God’s sight, because those who are truly righteous in the sight of the Lord are those who are adhering to the gospel that Jesus taught which is what they are then telling others. And that serves as a threat to the lies which these “Pharisees” are spreading, and so many of them are being trained to get rid of those with “strong convictions” who are holding to the gospel that Jesus and that his NT apostles taught (in context) so that they don’t offend their people.

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” (Matthew 16:24-27 ESV)

So, what was the gospel that Jesus taught? You can read it here in this passage in Matthew 16:24-27 and in Luke 9:23-26 and in Mark 8:34-38. In the Luke passage it is recorded as Jesus saying “and take up his cross daily…” And what Jesus said here really is the essence of the message of the gospel, for it spells out for us the purpose for why Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross and what it means now for us to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow him with our lives. For this is not about lip service only.

For if we are believing in Jesus Christ with genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we must daily deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God, providing that we continue in that until the end, by the grace of God, and in the power of God.

To be ashamed of Jesus’ words is in this context of what else Jesus said, so this isn’t speaking merely about being afraid to verbalize his words before other people. This is about us being ashamed of his words to the point to where we will not obey his words. We will not deny self and die daily to sin and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands and according to his will and purpose for our lives. And that is because we want to live our lives our way according to our will and with regard to being accepted by other people.

But we need to know that if we don’t deny self, and if we don’t die to sin daily (in practice), and if we don’t follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (in practice) and according to his will and purpose for our lives, Jesus is going to be ashamed of us when he returns, and he will deny us, and he will say, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” For then he will repay each person according to what he has done. So, please know what the Scriptures teach on this subject.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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Call on Him

 Our God, the One and Only True God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is absolutely amazing! His grace is amazing! He loves us so much that he, Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on a cross for our sins. He died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died, not just to free us from the punishment of sin, but to free us from our addictions to sin, and the suffering caused by sin, so that we will now obey him. By his stripes (his wounds) we are healed! (1 Peter 2:24; Titus 2:11-14)

The Lord Jesus led me to read Psalms 118 (Select vv. ESV).

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

    for his steadfast love endures forever!” (v. 1)

I am so thankful for God’s love. His love is perfect. It has no angle to it. There is no manipulation in his love. He doesn’t say one thing and then do another, like humans might do. His motivations are always perfect. Yet he is not always pleased with us, and sometimes he has to correct or discipline us, like a loving father. His love for us is also not gone tomorrow should we fail once to be all that we should be (1 John 2:1-2). But if we want to abide in his love we must remain in him and obey his commands (John 15:1-11). 

“Out of my distress I called on the Lord;

    the Lord answered me and set me free.

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.

    What can man do to me?

The Lord is on my side as my helper;

    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.” (vv. 5-7)

We were all born into sin. We were separate from God because of that sin. And we all came up short of attaining his divine approval on our lives, too. So, God the Father sent his Son Jesus Christ to the earth to take on human flesh and to die on a cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. So, through faith in him, our sins are put to death that we might live to him and to his righteousness and that we might now follow him in obedience to his commands (Romans 6:1-23).

But this is just the beginning of our faith journey. Now that we are in Christ Jesus, by faith in him, it doesn’t mean it will be smooth sailing from that point forward. And it definitely does not mean we are done with suffering because of sin’s deceitfulness, either. But it does mean that sin should no longer have mastery over our lives, because Jesus set us free. We should now be walking according to the Spirit, and no longer according to our sinful flesh – all in the power and working of the Spirit within us (Romans 8:1-14).

Yet, in our walks of faith, empowered by the Spirit, we are still going to face opposition from enemies, particularly Satan, who is our arch enemy. We will be tempted to sin again. Satan will lie to us. He will try to deceive us. He will try to make us afraid and he will attempt to get us to doubt God. And, other humans will betray, hate, reject, mistreat and persecute us, too. But we should not be afraid, and we should not give into fear nor into the flesh, but we must pray and trust the Lord to help us through all our trials.

We don’t have to walk in the fear of getting hurt again, either. This is not to say we won’t get hurt, but that we can give our pain to God and let him heal us, and let him fill us with his peace and joy, and we can not only survive, but we can thrive! We can live in victory over sin and over the pain caused by sin. We can let go and let God. It may be a battle some days, but Jesus won this battle for us! We just have to trust him with our lives, daily take up our spiritual armor, resist Satan, flee temptation, and walk in the Spirit so that we don’t yield to our flesh.

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in princes.” (vv. 8-9)

The Lord Jesus gave us the body of Christ in order that we might encourage (exhort, urge, comfort) one another, build one another up in our walks of faith, pray for one another, and speak truth to one another in love so that we will not fall prey to the enemy and to false teachings and to sin’s deceitfulness. For the Lord’s will is that we function in our walks of faith, not alone, but that we walk alongside each other, and that we help one another to be strong in the Lord and to not give way to the wiles of the devil.

But all of us are still human. And, as humans, we can fail each other. We can sin against one another, and we can be hurt by others, too. So, our trust should not be in humans, but in God. Our refuge should not be largely in humans, but in the Lord. For only God will never fail us. Only God will not lead us the wrong way, nor will he let us down, nor will he sin against us. And only he knows us inside and out. Only he can bring true healing to our lives, and give us the counsel we truly need. So trust him.

“The Lord is my strength and my song;

    he has become my salvation.

Glad songs of salvation

    are in the tents of the righteous.” (vv. 14-15)

No matter what comes our way, our God is our all sufficiency to help us in time of need. He is our deliverer! He is our strength, and he is our song. In fact, one of the greatest antidotes to caving in to the attacks of Satan, which come against our minds, our hearts, and our bodies, is to sing songs of praise to our Lord, and to do so out loud, too. It is amazing how much healing can come through singing songs of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for all that he has done for us, and yet will do.

We absolutely have to go to our Lord with every heartache, every pain, every temptation, every trouble, and every difficulty in our lives so that we do not cave to the pressure to give in or to give up, and so we continue to walk in victory. We have to lean on him. He is the only one who can rescue us from Satan’s evil attacks against our minds and hearts and bodies, too. And he will give strength, and he will empower us to walk by faith and not by sight; in freedom, and not in fear; in victory, and not in defeat. 

So, we trust him, we rest in him, and we believe him, and then we obey him and we walk in his truth, and that is where we will find true peace and joy.

Near the Cross  

Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869

Music by William H. Doane, 1869 

Jesus, keep me near the cross; 

There a precious fountain, 

Free to all, a healing stream, 

Flows from Calvary's mountain. 

Near the cross, a trembling soul, 

Love and mercy found me; 

There the bright and morning star 

Sheds its beams around me. 

 

Near the cross! O Lamb of God, 

Bring its scenes before me; 

Help me walk from day to day 

With its shadow o'er me. 

Near the cross I'll watch and wait, 

Hoping, trusting ever, 

Till I reach the golden strand 

Just beyond the river. 

In the cross, in the cross, 

Be my glory ever, 

Till my raptured soul shall find 

Rest beyond the river.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5gong-PNmY

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I Will Not Cave

What’s weighing on my heart tonight?

So many things that just aren’t right.

A list of them, I have not made.

But into them, I will not cave.

I give them all to Christ alone

Who for my sins He did atone.

How beautiful the love of Him

Who cares for me – not on my own.

I worry not, oh, come what may.

I’ve no control of what they say.

It’s all, it’s all in God’s own hands.

On Him, I’ve taken up my stand.

My future’s all by God’s design.

My good, I know He has in mind.

Without Him, I would fall apart.

He is my Lord. He has my heart.

So, one step, two step, three step, four,

I’m daily trusting, trusting more.

Yes! Letting Jesus have his way.

I’m bowing to Him, as I pray.

An Original Work / April 7, 2021

The Past is Supposed to be Past

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV)

Before any of us became believers in and followers of Jesus Christ we were dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked when we were still under the control of Satan and of the flesh. We were separate from God and unable in our own flesh to be acceptable to God and to share in his holiness and righteousness. We were doomed to destruction, without hope, and with no way out of our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin.

But, by God-provided, and God-gifted, and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing (not of the will nor of the flesh of man), we were crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So sin is to no longer have mastery over our lives. For if we obey sin, it leads to death, not to life everlasting.

Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:24; Acts 26:18; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10

For what does it say here? “You WERE dead in the trespasses and sins in which you ONCE WALKED” (past tense, not in the present). So as those who have been saved from our sins, delivered out of our bondage (slavery) to sin, and who have been given new lives in Christ Jesus to be lived for his glory and purposes in holy living, and in walks of obedience to his commands, we should no longer live as those who are addicted to sin.

We once followed the course of this world, but that is now history. We once lived in the passions of our flesh, but no more. We once walked in sin, but Jesus delivered us from our bondage to sin. We once carried out the desires of our flesh and minds, and so we were once children of wrath, like everyone else. But if we have died with Christ to sin, and we are now walking in obedience to his commands in holy living, all of that should be in our past.

Now this is not saying that we are now perfect in every way or that we will never fail again (see 1 John 2:1-2), but that we who believe in Jesus Christ, if our faith is genuine, should no longer be those who are living according to our flesh to obey its sinful desires. We should now be living for the Lord Jesus to please him in all that we are and say and do, and for his glory and purposes. For we should now be his possession to do his will, not ours.

For Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for us on that cross that we might die to sin and now live to righteousness, by his grace, in his power. He died that we might now live for him and no longer for self. And he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will now serve him with our lives, and honor him with our bodies, and walk in his righteousness and holiness.

2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23

For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. And the faith to believe in Jesus, which comes from God, is persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to turn from our sins and to now walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

Titus 2:11-14; Romans 1:18-32; Acts 26:18; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30

And, although not one of us can be saved by of our own fleshly works, we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, which are the works that God ordained and requires of us that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Galatians 5:6; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; 2 Timothy 2:21; John 15:1-11; Titus 3:8; James 2:17

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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Thank You, Lord

 "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." ~ I Corinthians 15:56-58

May 19, 2011: I was thanking the Lord in prayer today for his goodness, for all that He has done for me, for loving me, saving me, and for forgiving me, et al, when I sensed he had a song for me to write on that subject, "Thank You, Lord." And I am truly thankful for him rescuing me out of my life of sin, for giving me purpose and direction, for valuing me enough to call me into his service, for never giving up on me, and for all the many ways in which he encourages, comforts and directs me in his love moment by moment and day by day. 

Thank You, Lord  

An Original Work / May 19, 2011

Thank You, Lord, for saving me;

From my sins set free.

Crucified and risen Lord,

They hung on a tree.

They thought they had finished You.

You came back to life;

Triumphed over hell and sin; 

You gave eternal life.

Thank You, Lord, for victory

Over all my sin,

So that I might live with You;

You cleansed me within;

Filled me with your love and pow’r; 

Give me strength each day,

So that I might live for You,

To love You and obey.

Thank You, Lord, for your return.

Soon You will arrive

To receive Your bride to You;

Meet You in the sky.

You’ll wipe away all our tears;

Free us from our fears;

Crown our heads in victory.

We’ll praise You with our cheers!

https://vimeo.com/125966333 

Being of the Same Mind

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:1-11 ESV)

This is how we, as the body of Christ, are to operate with one another. As Jesus Christ is to us, so we are to be with one another. In the same ways in which the Lord encourages (exhorts, warns, urges, comforts, helps) us, we are to do the same with one another. As he shares his heart with us and we share our hearts with him, we are to do with one another, perhaps not in all the same exact ways, in every respect, but this is what we are to be doing. We are to be caring for and ministering to and helping one another in Christ.

And we are to be loving one another, not just with human love, but with this agape love mentioned here which means to prefer what Christ prefers, and to prefer to live through Christ, and to choose his choices, and to obey them in his power. And what our Lord prefers is all that is holy, righteous, godly, upright, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to him and to his word. So we will love each other with this kind of love in mind, and so we will not willfully do what we know is evil against one another. Love conquers all!

And if we are, indeed, participating in the Spirit, this means that we are cooperating with God and we are doing the things that his word commands us that we must do. We are no longer walking in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord and against other humans, but now we are walking (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and in righteousness and in walks of obedience to our Lord. And when he speaks to our hearts, we listen, and we obey what he says for us to do when he says to do it.

And just as Jesus Christ is compassionate and sympathetic with us in our weaknesses, in our heartaches and persecutions, and in our trials and tribulations, we are to have the same kind of compassion and sympathy for one another as we face the difficulties of life. But we are not to go soft on sin. We are not to tolerate and approve of “believers in Christ” continuing in deliberate and habitual sin. But we are to exhort one another daily so that none of us will be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13).

When this says that we are to be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind, this is speaking of the mind and love of Jesus Christ. He is our model for how we are to treat one another. And thank the Lord, he cares enough about us to listen to us and to hear what is on our hearts and minds, and to hold us close to him, and to let us cry out our suffering to him. But I am not suggesting that we should entertain gossip nor grumbling and complaining, but we should care for one another, and not shut each other out, but make room for us to bear each other’s burdens.

For we are to do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit. We are not to be thinking just about us, and what is best for us, expecting everyone to cater to us and to meet our needs, especially if it is with disregard for them and for their needs. For we are to have equal concern for one another. And we are not to be thinking, “What’s in it for us?” when we should be thinking about how we can minister to and serve one another. For we are to be those who are humble in spirit and who are not prideful.

And we are to serve one another as Jesus Christ humbled himself and became a servant. And we are to humble ourselves as Jesus did. And we are to become obedient to the Lord to the point of death, too, first of all in us dying with him to sin daily, by the Spirit, and us dying daily to self so that we can minister to one another in the ways in which Jesus ministered to the people when he walked this earth. And ultimately to serve our Lord and one another as he did in risk of being put to death for our faith in Jesus Christ.

For Jesus Christ did not create us and place us on the earth for our own enjoyment and pleasure and self-satisfaction. He created us and he put us on this earth so that our lives will be surrendered fully to him, to his service, to doing his will, and to ministering to the people of the earth in the same ways in which he did when he lived on the earth. And a big part of what Jesus did is he told them the truth of the gospel, and that is what got him hated the most, and for that he was put to death on a cross.

But he who knew no sin became sin for us on that cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might follow his example, and that we might obey him and his commands and now walk in his ways, and for his purpose, and under his direction. And this also for the encouragement of other Christians, and for the salvation of human lives from eternity in hell, so that they can now love and obey the Lord and follow him where he leads them. For that is why we exist, to love God and to love our fellow humans.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

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!

https://vimeo.com/379484387

Dropping the Masks

We all experience trials in this life, at least to some extent. Some people seem to have more than their fair share of them, though, while others appear to be relatively trouble free. But appearances can be deceiving. We don’t really know what goes on in other people’s lives unless we know them well, and we can see for ourselves what they are going through, or unless they tell us. So, we should never be too quick to judge others.

A lot of us have been trained to keep those things to ourselves, and to not share them, which may be wise, in some cases, but then how can people pray for us? How will we be ministered to and encouraged in our suffering by others? How will they know that they are not alone in their suffering? How will they be encouraged in their own walks of faith when they go through hard times if they think no one else has walked where they are walking?

Yet, when we do share, we should do so prayerfully and as led by the Spirit of God. It should not be to gossip, to have a pity party, to put others down, to puff ourselves up, or just to vent. Our goal should always have eternal values and God’s kingdom work in mind, as well as love for God and for others.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:3-6)

When Paul penned these words, he was in prison, but not for committing a crime, but for preaching the gospel of our salvation and Jesus Christ, our Savior. And, he had been in there a long while, too. But, instead of griping and complaining, blasting his persecutors, or venting of his unfair treatment, he wrote this letter to encourage his fellow believers in Christ in Philippi, who had encouraged him in his sufferings and had supported him in his ministry.

But, what if Paul had kept his suffering a secret, and he didn’t let anyone know? The church would have missed this opportunity to share with him in his suffering and to encourage and support him. And, he would have missed out on their encouragement and support, too. Through this sharing of mutual love and support, they bonded, they united in heart and mind, and they were all strengthened in their faith, and in their purpose, and in their commitments (resolve) to obey the Lord and to keep on in his service.

So, we need to have a healthy way and a biblical and godly way to share with other believers our sufferings so that they can help strengthen and encourage us, but also so that we can encourage them in their suffering with the encouragement we have received from God (2 Corinthians 1:1-11). Yet, we need to do this under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, in love, in kindness, in gentleness, and with the ultimate goal of ministering God’s grace and mercy into the lives of others, and not just to please ourselves.

“It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:7-8)

When we do share our sufferings with others, this is when we learn who our true friends are, i.e. those who will stand beside us, even if they don’t know what to do, and who will pray for us, and not reject us because what we just shared with them was uncomfortable for them to hear. Friends like that, though, seem few and far between. Most people will just walk away. And so many people just want to put on masks and pretend “I’m ok, you’re ok,” even if they are not ok. And that isn’t healthy, either. 

The point of this, though, is that if we are to have genuine fellowship with one another, in the Spirit, and if we, the body of Christ, are to grow together in love, one for the other, we have to “drop our guards,” and not wear masks, though we must exercise wisdom and discernment with this, too. We can go from shoving it all inside us to the opposite extreme where all we do is complain and want people to commiserate with us, and that is not healthy, either. We have to find the right balance in this.

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)

Always, before we open our mouths and blurt out our hurts, we should pray, asking the Lord for wisdom and direction, and we should examine our own hearts to see if our purpose in sharing is godly, with the goal in mind of our own spiritual maturity, and/or with the goal in mind of leading others to spiritual maturity in Christ, that they may walk in his holiness and righteousness. Our purpose in sharing should be to increase one another’s love for God and our love for one another, otherwise it can be destructive to the body of Christ.

“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Philippians 1:12-14)

I love this! Our purpose in sharing our sufferings with others, should, as well, be for the advancement of the gospel of Christ. This should be the intended outcome. And what is the gospel? It is that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. And this should always be what we teach, that our Lord gave his life up for us so that we might be free of our chains. So many people are in chains, by their own choice, because of wrong choices, but also because they keep their sins a secret.

So, if we want hope and healing for ourselves or for others, we need to have the courage to tell someone, or to share with the body of Christ what we are going through. But, we also need to be prepared for rejection, because too many want to keep things on a surface level, i.e. happy, happy, and they will not want to share in the fellowship of our sufferings, as we share in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. 

But that should not keep us from giving testimony to God’s saving grace and mercy in our lives, because we never know how God is going to use what we share in the lives of others, if not now, maybe some time down the road when they are ready for it. So, be courageous, be bold, be humble, be sensitive, be discerning and wise, and be submissive to your Lord in doing what he wants you to do for your own healing, and for the healing of others.

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!

https://vimeo.com/379484387