Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake, for Theirs Is The Kingdom of Heaven

 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. There is a popular “church” teaching that when we become followers of Christ, we have a rosy path before us. That we can expect material goods and wealth because we are now “Christian”. But, do you know that Jesus says just the opposite to those who would follow Him? ¹⁸“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19) This hatred may look like name calling, denial of certain provisions or kindness, verbal assaults and threats, even physical assaults and attack on property. (I have personally experienced a number of these; on one occasion, when I and some high schoolers from church were sharing the Gospel on Good Friday, we came under verbal attack!) It may be direct persecution on our bodies by satan in an attempt to limit our ability to praise and worship God and to distract us from our mission. 

Do we withhold our identity as a follower of Christ because we are embarrassed, or think we will be called names? Look at what Jesus tells us in Mark 8:38: “Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 

Zowie! God implores us to turn to Him in times of trouble – look at what the Bible says about praying to God when we are facing trials: Psalm 56:1-4, Psalm 57:1-3, Psalm119:84-87, Psalm 142:6, John 15:20; there are many more!  God has given us not just His Spirit, but also spiritual armor to protect our souls, because the devil and his agents are seeking to destroy our faith and relationship with Jesus. As a follower of Christ indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit, we are already walking in eternity with God; we are already experiencing in a very tangible way, the kingdom of heaven because the Spirit of God, at work in us to build God’s kingdom, fills us, protects our souls, hearts and minds, we are sharing with Christ in our sufferings, and draws us closer to Jesus. Jesus, knowing in advance that we all face some version of suffering for His name, passionately prayed to His Father to protect us, most importantly to protect our faith and trust in Him, so that we may endure. As those who suffer for His namesake, we then fully identify with God’s kingdom, knowing we are secure in His grace and power. 

Therefore, though we will face difficulties because we follow Christ, we do not shrink back from being a Christ follower because we know we have already been saved for an inexplicable life beyond our humanity. No one can take that reality from us. The persecution can have the purpose of building our faith and trust in God, in rejoicing because we become enjoined in a remarkable and special way to Christ and His sufferings. We will find and know God in a unique way through suffering! And in the midst of our suffering, we can bow before God in grateful thanksgiving because we have the confirmation that we are Christ’s and in Christ.

 

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This beatitude and the last one are tough to deal with because very few, if any, of us want to be taken out of our comfort zone. We want people to like us, and treat us fairly. We don’t want anything ‘negative’ to happen to us just because we are Christian. Consider these things:

·        For right now - and only God knows how long this will continue, the U.S. is one of few countries where you can live and not experience the kind of harsh persecution that our fellow brothers and sisters in over 85% of the countries of the world are experiencing because they name the name of Christ. Our trials are more subtle – just like they were for the Israelites when Balaam enticed them with sexual immorality and idolatry. Many who profess belief in Christ in the ‘western’ world are succumbing to the enticement; many Christians obey culture instead of God, breaking the first commandment. They call good what God has called sinful. Have you found that to be true; if so, in what ways? If you do not think that is true, why?

·        In this paper’s opening it says that “There is a popular “church” teaching that when we become followers of Christ, we have a rosy path before us. That we can expect material goods and wealth because we are now “Christian”. What do you think about that?

 

·        Have you been made aware of the harsh persecutions taking place around the world? How do you feel when you hear about, read, or see reports of such persecutions?  

·        What is it about God’s kingdom that would make you desire to endure pain and trials for Christ’s name? How easy would that be for you? (hint, re-read the Psalms above that David prayed to God)



Bonus: "Guilty"  -- Newsboys  (theme song from movie God's Not Dead 2); "Even If" - Mercy Me; "Don't Wait Til the Battle is Over - Shout Now!" - Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir

Trials - Our Proving Ground

Who hasn't heard from the pulpit that God allows us to go through difficulties to build our faith? (if you haven't perhaps you should ask your minister why hasn't that been preached) In fact, one of the less fully understood scriptures in the Bible, often quoted by churchgoers when difficulties occur: Romans 8:28, is God's oath to us - but do we truly understand its depth? 

The greatest teacher of all time, our Lord Jesus Christ, clearly taught His disciples on the night before His crucifixion, as recorded in John 15:18-16:4, 16:31-33 that because of His name that we bear, that we, too, will be treated as He was treated because the world, which is under the power of satan and his demons, hated Him and sought to kill Him on more than one occasion. He experienced the extreme trial. Thousands of true believers since that time have also experienced the extreme trial - torture and death for their faith in Christ.  

And then there is the subtle trial - finding ourself under the sway of false teaching. All of the lies and misinformation contained in so-called prosperity gospels - which promise a gilded life when becoming a follower of Christ - are a tool of satan to destroy our faith in the true God. When we hear that we should be having a grand and glorious life here on earth and that doesn't happen, we are told it is because of some kind of sin we have committed against God that has not been resolved, or the 'sin' of not releasing all your financials to the organization promoting such false gospel. Or, experiencing a terrible disaster, or that if a loved one or oneself suffers a crippling disease, or sickness leading to death, it is because we have not believed God hard enough. (compare John 9:1-3) The faith of that person and the opportunity to have a true relationship with Christ can become undermined by the lies, shattered in discouragement, defeatism, because of the false picture of God painted for them by false teachers. 

It is, therefore, extremely vital to know who God is, why we are here, and what truly says. All of this can be sought after through an understanding of Bible scripture using teachers gifted by God to earnestly teach the word of God's truth, through application of such, and prayer. (compare Romans 10:1-4, 9-17; 1 Corinthians 2:10-3:9) 

For those of us who are in Christ, then, this message is for us to consider as we endure the trials that have come, are here now, and those that will come on us, both individually and as a worship community. We are not immune to suffering and trials as indicated above, but how should we respond?

When we consider just what a trial is, using the legal sense of the word, we know it to be a time to prove something, to have evidence and testimony to prove that an unlawful action or wrong done against someone will be rightly judged and that the party who suffered receives justice. This endeavor is a process accomplished through a trial - a platform structured to bring such evidence and testimony before an impartial judge who is entrusted to rule in favor of what is right, what is just. My generation grew up watching Perry Mason on TV - a drama about an attorney who was skilled in counseling his clients and for using evidence and testimony to win their case; to keep the series interesting, every now and then the client was proved by Mr. Mason to be the guilty party. Today's generation watches TV programs such as Law and Order, where both prosecutors and criminal lawyers fight for a form of justice that provides for some satisfaction of the law and intent of the law.

A trial for a believer in Christ is also a process, a time to determine - in this case - our faith status, is it strong and stable, or waivering. In 1 Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul is led by the Holy Spirit to instruct many believers of his day who were of Jewish heritage, and those Gentiles who would also come to believe in the God of Moses and His Son Jesus Christ - the Greater Moses, using the evidence and testimony of those ancestors to illumine how our faith is tried. (the Hebrews "faith honor roll" offers examples of what kind and temperature of faith pleases God.) And there are Bible accounts of how faith sometimes fails the trial - take some time to search through your browser for such examples of failing faith. God makes provisions for all of us to grow our faith to become tensile in strength - a faith that endures the stretching and intensity of the test that it comes under. We may choose to absorb all of those provisions, or we may choose to utilize only some of what God provides. 

Comparing it to a diet: protein from different sources serves to build us up physically. If we choose a diet rich in carbohydrates, but lacking in protein, our stamina may have a bright spark for a minute but suffer or fail because we did not have a strong foundation that the protein provides. In the scripture passage in 1 Corinthians the people relished the blessings of God but did not fully internalize the power of God's Word and the obedience opportunities He provided to strengthen them. That choice led to a faith failure. They could not resist the popular heathen practices of the surrounding nations, their worship of Jehovah through the provisions He made for them to stay whole and blessed was set aside for tantalizing pleasures that eroded their moral cores. Or even attempting to test God - exacting from Him what they demanded He should do to make their lives more pleasant, saying that God would get a bad reputation if He didn't. 

Paul sums up these examples, saying, "So, if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall." Because the tests or trials will come, and if you are not prepared in mind and spirit to endure - if you have not taken on all of God's provision for faith victory, then you could fall. Verse 13 ends the passage: "No testing [trial] has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it." Faithful believers who have striven for obedience before God can hold onto that promise that God will not allow you to be in a situation that He will not be able to bring you through. Faith victory does not mean we will always "win" the situation or oppression by getting fully delivered out of it to keep our body or life, or even our reputation safe from the painful effects of difficult situations. Faith victory means that we will not lose our faith even when faced with harsh treatment or death. It is that persevering faith that keeps before us the open door to eternal life - God will not allow that to be taken away. (see also Romans 8:31-39)

Today as I write this blog article, there are scores of faithful people being persecuted because they have identified themselves with Christ; some of them will be tortured and abused, may even die. However, they are still victors as they refuse to renounce Jesus in the face of such brutality. Those abused and maltreated persons who survive may carry the scars in their bodies and or in their hearts straight through to glory, where we will be made whole. (Also see  Revelation 3:7-13; 7:9-17; John 10:1-30) A faith victory story from scripture revolves around the destruction of ancient Judah in the 6th century BC. The prophet Habakkuk was witness to the great disaster of Judah and Jerusalem - when the Babylonians (or Chaldeans as some Bible versions name them) came up against Habakkuk's land in 539 BC. The destruction was vicious and left little for the survivors. The actions by Babylon were a result of the nation of Judah's apostasy; God removed His protection from the majority of land and peoples. Although Habakkuk knew the reason and purpose, he still had a waiver of faith as he actually witnessed the destruction taking place and the accompanying trauma and danger. It shook him to the core of his being to the extent that he began to question God's mercy! Yet just as quickly as the urge to do so came, just as quickly it vanished. We see at the end of chapter 3 that Habakkuk fully accepted the sovereign right and will of Jehovah, praised Him and even rejoiced at what He was accomplishing through the removal of the apostate nation. He recommitted an even deeper faith; what initially looked like a failure became a determined faith victory!! 

In 1917, during what subsequently be named World War I, nation after nation was devastated by conquerors for nearly four years, who, using weapons of destruction never before experienced, sought to control the world. The U.S. had been very reluctant to enter the war during the years it raged for various reasons. After a German U-boat sunk the British cruise liner Lusitania in 1915 killing over 100 Americans, and then the ensuing attacks and sinking of American ships by the German war machine, the U.S. was forced to respond and entered the war in the spring of 1917. The then U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson, in October 1917, by executive order, established the Aberdeen Proving Ground, which officially opened in December 1917. Through the order, the Army had taken over 69,000 acres of land and water in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay to provide an area for design and testing of ordnance. The order transitioned its operations and testing ground for proof and acceptance of ammunition and cannon from New Jersey to the Chesapeake Bay site. The site would expand to include testing of chemical weapons, research, development and general test facilities. Testing fields and operations by military are essential to determine if the weapons developed would hold up and be effective under war conditions and accomplish what they were designed to do. The testing is designed to eliminate any defective machinery or weaponry that would fail under extreme war, climate, utilization, and other situations. The Aberdeen Proving Ground continues to operate after over 100 years.

The world is a testing ground for our faith wherever the Church is found whether it be a dangerous country or a tolerant one. Jesus foretold that in the John 16 reference above - that in the world we would have persecution and suffering; this is the venue where our faith is tried.

On a personal note, over the course of a couple of years, I experienced trial after trial after trial - some very major and painful to the bone, and some not as major in comparison. I knew in my spirit that God was growing me because of something that was to occur at some point. He kept permitting tests to visit me and they had the best effect in bringing me to my knees to receive God's love and consolation, but especially His strength and direction. I had no clue what was coming, but felt in my spirit it was going to be something big - something with the capacity to rock my faith; by His gracious urgings I kept praising and praying, kept growing. Stayed in His Word, giving Him thanks for nurturing me and asking for His abundant strength and grace as I could sense the time getting closer. And when it hit, it knocked me down - it was so awful, forceful and overwhelming that I could not process it all at once; to say it was traumatic is barely scraping the surface. But for God's nurturing me and growing me through those many tests, I am not sure how I would have kept standing - even if I am soaked in tears while I stand. Pain - especially emotional pain - can be relentless and/or can arise out of no where and overwhelm you when you least expect it for a while. I cannot say - because I can barely see past a nano-second - that I will ever recover fully in this life time. It may continue to be a raw wound until heaven when I will be fully healed - Hallelujah. Trust me - I had no part in the strength and grace that is still bringing me through. Even my "yes, Lord" is authored by what He has done in my spirit. The valley is deep and dark, but God's light is on the edge and is leading me through like a beacon. By His love and mercy, by His unlimited grace, He is holding me in His victorious right hand and guiding me over the treacherous faith traps. He is teaching me things about His love, patience, lovingkindness I could never know if I had not experienced this trauma. To God be the glory in all things. Thank you, Father. 

Back to Romans 8:28 - this is a mini-Bible study all by itself. One of the first things that this scripture promises is that trials and sufferings will happen - it is not a matter of if, but when. Some of those trials will be heart-rendering. The second thing we are confronted with - even though it is not specifically stated but certainly implied, are more questions to be answered about God's character, His sovereignty, His being a Creator, His omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience. All of these factor into the statement, "called according to His purpose." What is God's purpose? Better asked, what is God's purpose for me and individuals? It may also be asked, what is God's purpose for humanity, for the earth, for all of creation? How does my life fold into God's greater purposes with creation? What does it mean to "love God"? What does God's love look like in return? How do "we know" these things? How does God turn these terrible events into good? What is "good"? I would encourage everyone to consider these questions as part of disciplining ourselves towards strengthened faith.

In Jesus' high priestly prayer on the night before His crucifixion as recorded in John 17, He prays for those apostles and all who would come to believe in Him through their teaching and witness, that God would protect them - not just physically according to His will, but primarily that they will remain faithful in the world. He prayed for God's love to be in all of them and that such love would be as strong a bond as that between the Father and Son. Jesus asks the Father not to take them out of the world, as it is to the world that they  have been sent to teach the Gospel of freedom and love, and where their enduring faith would serve as a testimony through the tests they would encounter. They would glorify God's name in obedience to His will. (see 2 Peter 3:8-18)

Later on in Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth, the Holy Spirit would instruct Paul to record at 2 Corinthians 13 that 'testing' is not just an external experience. Like at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the testing is done long before weaponry is commissioned for use by military personnel. The staff at the proving ground must test the materials and equipment ahead of its employment during a military conflict or war to see if indeed they can withstand the fierceness of battle. Verse 5 (using the Amplified Version Classic) tells us that we are to "Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?" In other words, don't wait until the fire is on you to know the strength of your faith - find out now if you are living in the will of God and growing your faith. Are we bearing fruit worthy of one who is committed to the work of the Lord in both our lives and in our ministries? (ALL Christians have a ministry, not just ordained people.)

We will suffer in trials brought on by the conniving evil one. That truth is inescapable as long as we live in this world. If we suffer because we are doing wrong things, disobeying Christ, then it is not the kind of Biblical suffering due to the Name we bear that Jesus was referring to in John 16 above. When we sin against God, sin will have its consequences - even if we are Christian. The apostle John's letters to the Ephesian Christians and to all who would come after them confirms this in 1 John 1, starting at verse 5 (AMP): "And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way]. [So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents]. But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]. If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts]. If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. If we say (claim) we have not sinned, we contradict His Word and make Him out to be false and a liar, and His Word is not in us [the divine message of the Gospel is not in our hearts]." Are we confessing our sins or are we deceived into believing we do not sin, because friends, as long as we are in these imperfect bodies we will sin. But we have God's promise of forgiveness when we confess and repent.

So, how should we respond to trials and intensified attacks? Do we just say, "well it is God's will and He will remove the problem." Hmmm, that sounds good. Let's look at this: when Jesus was tempted face to face by the devil (Luke's Gospel at 4:1-13 details for us that Jesus was tested 40 days and nights - not just on three occasions). On those three occasions that the Holy Spirit had recorded in scripture, how did Jesus respond? Now, remember, even if in the flesh, Jesus was still God and could have ended the conflict with a word that would send the devil into oblivion, i.e., He could have retaliated in a death-dealing way, but that was not within the will or timing of the Father, nor would we have learned anything useful in such situations as we cannot fight the devil with physical weapons, nor can we call down hellfire on him successfully. Jesus tells us in John 10 that the devil attacks us to accomplish one or all three of these things: to steal, to kill, and to destroy. In all three of those instances it is not just the body he seeks to harm; he goes for the jugular - our faith. It is the faith of the believer that he wants to steal, that he wants to kill, that he wants to destroy. He has thousands of years of experience at the job - just check his resume in scripture and secular records. So when he in all arrogance approaches the Son of God in those three recorded instances in Matthew 4:1-11 and in the Luke Gospel cited above, he attempts to entice Jesus to worship and obey him by actually quoting scripture and appealing to what he surmised was 'weakenness' in Jesus now that Jesus was in the flesh. So what did Jesus say each time: "It is written." He recited the scriptures that addressed the ruse and temptation of the devil. Can we do that? Can we recognize the devil's tricks, what scripture is being violated or twisted to be used to deceive? Can we say and pray in the midst of suffering the scriptures that address the attack and can we do that in all trust and belief in what God's Word is saying? Or, is our first response that of complaining about our circumstance and perhaps correctly identifying the devil as the source of the matter, and asking God to tell us, to justify to us why He is letting this happen? 

Did you read that? Say it out loud - are we asking or even demanding God to tell us why, to justify for us why He is letting these things happen to us? Why me, Lord? Haven't I been good, haven't I obeyed you? Why are you punishing me? In all honesty, that is the usual human response and we all may have been prone to go that route. I confess that I have more than once. I thus refer us to James chapter 1. God is telling us through James to rejoice in the face of trials and suffering. Whaaaaaat????? Did you know that God may use pain and suffering as sacred instruments to help us strengthen our faith because if we know and love God, such trials lead us speedily and directly to Him to rely even more so on His love and peace. It reminds me of God's promise in Malachi 3:2-3, that God will purify us to become the full righteousness of God, and His methods of purification often come through trials! The sacred instruments are sacred in God's use of them, as He further deepens our relationship with Him. Pain and suffering also places us in partnership with Christ in a unique way as we saw in the passages above, so that we share in His sufferings in a way that does not lead to faith death, but instead to faith victory: a deeper faith and trust in the Only True God, the only Sustainer and Perfector of our faith. In our holding steadfast in faith during trials, we acquire through God's grace in a new intimacy with Him - one so close that He reserves special communion, a special treasure in such intimacy. (Isaiah 45:3; Psalm 23:4-5)  

Faith goes beyond the natural - it is a spiritual connection to God. And, also the fact that our endurance is not of ourselves - we cannot within our own power fight the forces of the devil (reference Ephesians 6:10-18 which is an incredible source of wisdom and strength on how to arm ourselves against the devil's schemes). Thus, in these battles, we have strong communion with Christ, we have the power of the heavenly hosts with us, we have the all-seeing God who knows the end from the beginning on our side. The God of all the universe fighting for us! This is why we rejoice. We rejoice also because our testimony goes ahead of us and speaks truth into others' hearts who are undergoing similar trials. 

God determines the battle to be fought; we may not fully understand just what that is, only that we are suffering by what is happening. Because God is over all things, is Almighty and Omnipotent, He can never lose a battle. We may think God has lost because we did not get the outcome we wanted, but God never loses. His thoughts and ways are beyond our comprehension; we cannot see His entire plan in any circumstance. We cannot understand how He will turn our seeming loss into a tangible winning outcome on a spiritual and natural level. But - we can trust the end of His plans to be victorious and righteous, and to glorify Himself. (see Deuteronomy 10:14-15; Psalm 89:11; Isaiah 55:6-11; 1 Samuel 2:2; 1 King 8:23; 

(I can use the example of the terrible pandemic that initially took the lives of thousands; when vaccines and other measures were made accessible to fight this microscopic virus, did this not bring us a kind of joy to know that we now had at our disposal a means to wage war. We also learned that behavior changes were required to fight this war successfully - changes that were not always received well. Sadly, those who refused the power outside of themselves to fight the virus succumbed to its terror.)

God promises to His faithful ones are contained throughout the Bible. When we are on the proving grounds of this world, may we endeavor to allow the provisions and tools God has created and gifted to us in order to establish a rock-solid faith that will withstand the test and make us more than conquerors by faith!

A prayer from St. Augustine (adapted):

Almighty God, you know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in asking: Set your servants free from all anxious thoughts about the future, give us contentment with your good gifts; and confirm our faith and charge our hearts and spirits to continue to grow deeper into you, so that as we seek your kingdom first, as you have promised, you will bless us in our need and not let us lack any good thing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

About Mary (continuation of My Word Does Not Return to Me Empty)

 Part 2 – The Virgin  : About Mary

Luke 1:26-38 - God’s timing of His Word and fulfillment of promises. One of the greatest dramas in the whole of account of human history – The Incarnation. The mystery of ages begins to be revealed. God in flesh, to live among us and be with us – we His human creatures made by Him in His own image. Ensuring the fulfillment of prophecy by being the fulfillment. God’s love embodied in the Savior He appointed to reconcile us to Himself, Christ the Lord, the Messiah of God.

So, let us start with the specific prophecy of Isaiah 7:13-14. The prophecy tells us that “a virgin will conceive and bear a Son and his name will be called Immanuel (God with us).” God has said of Himself that for Him, nothing is impossible.

For a Jewish person learned in the Mosaic Law this concept was an oxymoron – a contradiction or in the very least, a paradox of what was known. The Law identified God’s holiness in the purity of virginity. The Law in and of itself did not support a virgin or an unmarried woman being made pregnant and simultaneously finding favor with God. Those women upon whom God’s mighty hand had removed their shame of a barren womb and caused them to become pregnant were all married – Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Leah; and in the first century, notably Elizabeth. They were not virgins. And yet, God said in Isaiah that His plan would involve a virgin who bore a son, that this would be an essential hallmark of His salvation plan, of God’s imminent action in the world. Even while this prophecy was paradoxical, God had provided every reason for mankind to trust Him and His Word (compare Exodus 14:31; Deuteronomy 1:31-33; Psalm 119; Proverbs 3; 1 Chronicle 5:20) 

Nor did the Law discuss alternative options for a virgin birth – primarily because pregnancy was to be the potential result of honorable marriage in the Jewish civil/moral/ceremonial laws and customs. Any proven indication that a young woman and man had violated that law could subject each of them to the consequences of breaking that solemn law – the extreme consequence being death by stoning (see this sobering message at Deuteronomy 22). Marriage was a divine institution of God, something holy; God took seriously violation of that holy act. The challenge presented by this paradoxical prophecy – as with other prophecies humans have tried to understand with our limited capacities and even more limited faith – could result in persons not believing in it. And did. It would be one of those points of stumbling that would be associated with the identity of the Messiah (Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:33).

Traveling 800 years later to the account at Luke 1. The Bible account does not indicate that time lapsed between the angel Gabriel’s announcement of God’s plan and Mary/Miriam’s saying yes, i.e., she did not say “Hmmm, I must give this some heavy thought; return later and I will let you know what I decide.” Let’s look at Mary’s person and character – she was not born a prophetess. As a female, her presence at the temple would be with the other females in what was called the Ezrat HaNashim – the court of the women, located in the outer forecourt. They did not worship alongside the men. She had no certification of worship leadership, she was no religious savant, she carried no other designation or activity that would have elevated her status within her society and community. She was no princess, nor anyone born to wealth – just the very opposite. She lived in the common, poor circumstances of village folk within a political framework that fostered policies to keep her and others poor. She was simply one of hundreds of ordinary Jewish girls in their teens; thus, to the world, Mary was an obscure ‘nobody’. Mary had been shaped by Jewish law and traditions – as had others of her peers, and recognized her place within the community where she hoped to eventually become a married woman and contribute to the ongoing growth of that community through her own childbearing. Her heart shaped by faith was opened to God because she knew His character as repeatedly told to her in the stories of her people’s history. 

Based on what God has revealed of Himself and of His purpose, one can firmly believe that when God spoke the prophecy in Isaiah 7, He had already ordained or predestined Mary’s role in His salvific plan from before the foundation of the world. What transpired at Luke 1:26-38 was a fulfillment of that part of God’s plan formed from before time.

Now, without a doubt, there are Bible scholars and others who will not agree with that position. Perhaps some of those same scholars also promote the idea that there were two Isaiahs attached to the book of Isaiah. After all, they may say, the prophecy does not identify the virgin by the name ‘Mary’ specifically – which may fuel their ‘logic argument”. If so, that is a weak argument that falls apart quickly. While some may at God’s discretion, not every prophecy names the individual or individuals involved. The prophecy at Isaiah 7 says that the child’s name would be Immanuel – God with us - but at God’s discretion, leaves off the familiar name for the child – Jesus – which is a form of Joshua/Yeshua meaning God is salvation – which was a common enough name (as well as some derivative thereof) for a Jewish male. A closer look at the name “Immanuel” reveals a deeper punctuation of God’s salvation plan by indicating that when this foretold One arrived on the scene, He would be God living among them – that He would be fully God and fully man. The child to be born and live as a human is also referred to as Anointed within the other prophecies that speak of Him, and is called the Son of David or seed of Jesse. Nor does the prophecy at Isaiah 40:3 name John, son of Zechariah, as the one preparing the way for the Lord (we know him as John the Baptizer; in Hebrew his name would be Yohanan, which means “Yahweh has been gracious”). 

Another path of human logic about Mary and the prophecy at Isaiah 7 is the presumption of the possibility that perhaps God may have asked other young women candidates to carry out the plan and only Mary said yes, thus solving the riddle, suggesting that Mary was one of a pool of candidates who were interviewed for that role. They may say, after all - this is a legitimate point of view based on human experience and human reason. It is a procedure that is often used; even when we were kids playing and chose team members, we considered the benefits of so-and-so versus the other, and chose who we thought would help us be winners. At various times of year, humans choose political leaders to represent them and operationalize policies we agree with. Or, as an employer, when we search for a special person to fill an essential position or role in our business, we analyze resumes, interview candidates until we find whom we perceive to be the right fit. 

But, what would such a lottery approach tell us about God’s plan of salvation? Does it not suggest that His plan could possibly hinge on the ‘luck of the draw’, that Mary was God’s best guess for the person who would carry Jesus into the world as very human, yet very God? That God was hoping that the right candidate would step up to the plate? That Mary was but one of a pool of optimal candidates who could potentially fit the bill? 

Thanks and praise to God that He created us with minds that think, that analyze, that imagine things and seek answers. That He gives us the ability to think outside the box and let us see new possibilities. That He has created us in His image, and is the Creator God who gives us minds and abilities to reason and create novel things with our minds and hands. Lord, like any other gift you provide to us, we pray that we will use these gifts of open-mindedness, of analytical thinking and probing, of questioning and of seeking answers, of reasoning out, talking through paradoxes – all in ways that honor you, and which feed true worship and thanksgiving to you (see Philippians 4:8-9; Psalm 25:4-5; Psalm 51:6; Psalm 119:5-6; , 66-67; Psalm 143:10).  Help us to reason with the mind of Christ that God the Holy Spirit strives to create within us (see 1 Corinthians 2:6-16; Romans 11:33-12:3). Help us remember that we must take care that our thoughts harmonize with the tenet of scripture so that we are not misled to believe faith-eroding concepts. Remind us that when we come to difficult passages to interpret scripture with scripture, i.e., the Spirit-wrapped and infused Word of God by the Holy Spirit and the understanding He gives, and not rely on our own understanding. (compare Psalm 111:7, 10; Psalms 119:4, 15, 27, 33-34; 2 Peter 3:1-2, 15-18; Genesis 40:8; Proverbs 3:5-8; Daniel 2:30; Luke 24:13-27; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:19-21) 

Some lean into their own interpretations possibly because they see God’s Word as being too rigid and find some pleasure in human reasoning when it comes to doctrine (compare Isaiah 5:21,24; Isaiah 9:8-10; Isaiah 28:13; and Isaiah 29:13-14). 

(Interestingly there is a version of the Bible in publication called the New Life Version, which seems to have tampered with the language at Luke 1:28 to imply Mary was the winning candidate among other women. It is the only version that I’ve found so far that has done this.) 

If we are believing in the sureness of God’s salvation, we are trusting God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – even when we don’t immediately or fully understand His Word. We can trust Him as the Eternal One before whom is all of time, and who existed before time was created. We can be assured by what the ‘God-breathed’ scripture tells us, that God had already settled before the foundation of the world how the salvation plan would be executed, and how God’s long-held plan harmonizes with the rest of scripture in the Old and New Testament, that is, His Gospel and Word. Thus, we can have confidence in believing that the person Mary had already been determined by God as part of His plan from before time (compare Ephesians 1:3-4; Acts 4:27-28; Romans 8:29-30). 

The unadulterated language of Luke 1:28 states plainly that God had chosen her – that she had been pre-determined as part of God’s plan. (compare to God’s predestination or the fore-ordination of God’s King in His over-arching salvation plan, versus human supposition at 1 Samuel 16:1-13) The verses at 28-38 indicate a girl who, by grace, had learned already to develop a strong belief in Yahweh, to believe in His Word and promises. Her mind and heart had been shaped by the word, acts, and promises of God. Through a learned faith in the only true God and the Spirit’s work in her, she was able to say yes. She believed in the Providence of God. She trusted Him. She had a healthy innocence about her – based in the belief that her life was in the hands of the Almighty Elohim, El Shaddai, Yahweh Tzebaot, Adonai. She believed the messenger of God and was humbled by God’s unmerited favor upon her, and she obeyed. She could not possibly understand all of the ramifications of her ‘yes’, no more than we could have foreseen all that God would be doing in our lives when we said yes to His call on us – in that way we can identify with Mary because just as God had determined from before time how Mary would be a part of His salvation plan, from before time God had called us to be a part of that salvific drama (recall the reading at Ephesians 1). 

[In the Bible book of Revelation, chapter 12, we receive a high-level vision of God shepherding and shaping time, circumstance, events and historical markers to bring forth His salvific plan. Again, in this glimpse into God’s eternal workings, nothing is left to chance or supposition, nor can the enemy supplant God’s salvific will. (The ‘woman’ is Israel with whom God’s covenant relation existed; Israel would bring forth/’give birth’ to the promised Savior and Messiah, through whom God’s salvific plan would be operationalized and executed).]

To take the view that the identity of the young woman who would carry within her body the Son of God would be left to chance is not only out of harmony with all else to be known about God, it also casts a shadow on God’s promises – painting them with a dependence on human response to make them come true. 

As with any part of scripture that is hard to understand, we must always petition the Father to have the Holy Spirit enlighten us – since He is the true author of scripture. (see John 16:13-14; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Spirit at Work in Believers, Part 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You

John 14:18a,26 says “I will not leave you orphaned…The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all I have said.” … 
Our first story comes from The Hiding Place, the biography of Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian whose family saved a number of Jews from the Nazis, and were themselves arrested and put in concentration camps. In telling about their lives under Nazi persecution, Corrie shows how God the Holy Spirit was with them and comforting them, and performing miracles that were seen and experienced not only by them but also by their fellow prisoners. God protected the precious little Bible that they with God’s help were able to keep with them for some time in their captivity, and He made it possible for them to hold Bible study and worship – turning the circumstances of evil into a sacred place. 

God dwelt with Corrie and her sister, and though sometimes Corrie became overwhelmed by the difficult trials, her sister would always speak the Word into her and pray. 

At the women’s concentration camp at Ravensbruck, one of the miracles the Spirit used to confirm Christ’s presence with them relates to a small bottle. Betsie, Corrie’s older sister, was sickly during much of her life, and required daily infusions of vitamins to help strengthen her physical frame. Under the Spirit’s watch, Betsie’s vitamins had been smuggled in and preserved. Corrie would put a drop or two of the liquid vitamin onto Betsie’s daily black bread ration. 

It would be daily that The Spirit moved more of their fellow prisoners to thirst for Bible study and worship. Hearing their prison mates from different nationalities translate the Bible words being read so that others could understand was like divine music. 

And it would also be daily that Betsie was moved to share her small bottle of vitamins with other ill women, starting with one or two women, then the number kept growing. Corrie was worried that all of the vitamins in the small vial would be used up, leaving her sister without. Yet, the more generous Betsie was with the drops, the more the bottle filled. Corrie was amazed! The small bottle should have given up its last drop after only a few days, but the more the medicine was needed, the more it would come from the bottle. 

Like with the widow of Zarapheth who gave the prophet Elijah a room in her home, whose oil and meal were almost gone but by God’s miracle through Elijah, she never ran out of meal and oil, and survived the famine in the land. 

The miracle of the never-ending vitamin drops were a source of awe to the women being helped by them and a turning point for their faith. That divine delivery continued for a while until one day a fellow prisoner obtained a large supply of vitamins and yeast compound, sharing it with Corrie. Corrie was grateful to God for this windfall. She happily took enough for Betsie, thinking maybe they should finish the small bottle of vitamins first. 

But, when she got back to their bunk and Corrie took out the small bottle and tipped it, nothing came out. No matter which way she turned it or how hard she shook it, not another drop appeared! 

In many such ways the Spirit continued to move in their lives even in those persecutions, working in & through them to save others for Christ, even enemies. They were just regular people, old women who had given themselves to Christ, learning how when younger to submit and depend on the work of Christ’s Spirit. They and their family are now with the Lord, but the accounts of their living by the Spirit still lead others to Christ.

"For the LORD (EloHim, Yahweh) is a Jealous God" part 2

The Israelites had now experienced a great time of growth and prosperity and had gained considerable victories in the land to which God had brought them. They were living large. Their 'modern times' were in full swing! Modern housing - they no longer had to live in tents. A marketplace close to their settlements, social activity and times of celebration.  The 'latest' in fashionable clothing, meaningful work - this was living! There were still Canaanites living nearby who for some reason did not get removed from the land - some were kind of nice and kept their properties up and sometimes you would come across a marketplace that the Canaanites owned or visited. They looked different from the Israelites in some respects, and dressed and lived differently. They definitely worshiped differently ... 

A people of promise. God in His grace and providence had anointed/ordained a man named Abraham, who could trace his origins to the family of Shem, son of Noah. Because of his demonstrated faith and the grace of God, God promised Abraham that his descendants would become as numerous as the stars and the grains of sand. The people who would first be identified with this promise was the nation of Israel, descending from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As the Genesis record continues to show, the people of Jacob moved from Canaan during the famine to Egypt when one of Jacob's (aka Israel's) youngest sons had been elevated to the governor and second in command of the region and who administered the plenty that God had provided for that purpose in His providence. After 400 years in Egypt, according to God's divine timing, He redeemed the people from the bondage of slavery for the purpose of bringing them to a place where they could worship Him according to His determination outlined in the 10 commandments and laws that He would give the people to guide them to true blessings as He restored them to the land of their forefather Israel. 

The people of Israel did eventually occupy the land - God assigned areas for each tribe according to His will for them. (It is interesting who was given the northern region and who was given the southern region.) God did give them victory over those interlopers who had claimed the land for themselves and warred against God's purpose. However - and this is important to know - not all of the Canaanites were driven out, due in part to the unfaithfulness and disobedience of the Israelites to carry out God's command to drive the wicked from their midst.

Additionally, the Israelites, after re-inhabiting the land - were straightforwardly instructed not to intermingle with the people of the land - primarily because they were pagans who did not worship the true God, the Savior of Israel. The peoples of Canaan were not ignorant of who this God was, which is why God allowed for the proselyte (a converted Canaanite; also called stranger in some Bible translations) to become part of the blessing and not be annihilated with those rejecting God. (compare Romans 1:18-23; Exodus 12:9; 1 Chronicles 22:1-3; 2 Chronicles 2:16-18; 2 Chronicles 30:24-26; Ezekiel 14:6-8) 

Years would pass, and the initial generations of Israelites returning to the land would pass away. Judges 2 indicates that eventually generations were born who did not know the God of Israel, i.e., folks had turned to the pagan gods of their neighbors. Why would they do that - after all these were the people, or at least their grandparents and great grandparents were the people whom God had brought from captivity in Egypt after miraculous signs were performed to demonstrate God's glory and sovereignty. They and their parents and grandparents had witnessed God's saving hand against their enemies. They had witnessed and enjoyed the blessings of abundance in a land God had given to them. (compare Psalm 77-80) Why, then, would they turn their backs on God?

For the same reasons essentially that Adam and Eve, and us today, do so. To satisfy our own desires for dominance, self-rule and worship. To feel good and enjoy the fleeting pleasures disobedience gives. 

But our God is a Jealous God who will not tolerate forever the wandering away of His chosen people. (compare Exodus 20:4-6; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:23-25; 5:9; 6:15; Joshua 24:18-20) His perfect Jealousy, born of a sovereign right to command obedience and worship, is not to be toyed with. As in the example of the wayward child in Part 1 of this blog, God knows what is best for His created beings, despite what the lust of our hearts tell us. He has the right to chastise His people and set up the necessary guardrails to protect them and command their exclusive worship. He has provided the means and instrument to restore His people - which He provides at great cost. He has redeemed or purchased His people at great cost, in His grace and providence. HE HAS THE SOVEREIGN RIGHT and is worthy above all things to be praised and worshiped. 

We, too, are the people of the promise through the seed of Abraham - in the person of Jesus Christ. We thus need to recall that the reason that God had faithful men record the accounts of His chosen people, of His salvation plan and process, is for us, for those who would follow those generations. (compare 1 Corinthians 10:1-11) We, too, are chosen people in a 'promised land' - a place of relationship with God where we are to worship Him exclusively. God's holy Word, His record of the actions and consequences of His people in past days, are for our benefit so that we can discern and make choices in line with God's will for our lives through a careful review and consultation of those accounts. (compare 1 Corinthians 10:12-15; Psalm 119:66; Proverbs 1:1-2; 2:3-9; Philippians 1:9; Hebrews 5:13-14) Will we be enticed by or lured to the practices and culture of the world? Yes. Will we be tempted to think like the world? Yes. Jesus tells us that in His Gospels and we are warned about it in the letter of Revelation. We are still flesh, therefore, our divine 'war' is with those fleshly desires to subdue them by following the Holy Spirit's direction in our lives. Is it easy? No, nor was it easy to live in the culture and sensual environments in which God's people in the past lived. They, too, were tempted with sexual immorality, greed, and idolatry and many succumbed, just as many of God's people fall to those desires today, and become subjected to God's correction. We must take care to seek God's will in all things, or suffer the same consequences suffered by those in the past who chose to go their own way. 

For our God is still a Jealous God, who is jealous for the people whom He chooses! Let us 'work out our salvation', i.e., follow the course God has set for us with all determination, with fear and with trembling, as before a Great and Loving God, who has our best in mind at all times. (Philippians 2:12-13)

The Still Small Voice

Listening to the winds of Hurricane Sandy brought this to mind just now. When Elijah was on the mountain in the cave hiding out of fear of Jezebel and her forces, a very tired possibly discouraged or despairing Elijah needed the reassurance that his God was more than a word on a scroll, greater than a hero in a story.

Elijah didn't seek out this reassurance, but his all knowing God in heaven knew Elijah's true need at that moment. It wasn't a hiding place from evil people - what he needed was a confirmation that his life spent as a prophet of God wasn't for nothin'. Wasn't just another life to be snuffed out by an enemy of Jehovah. Not a dot on the immensity of time, nor a mindless tool of a puppeteer god. No, an A grade was not what Elijah needed. God wanted Elijah to know that he was of more worth to God than all the rubies, gems, precious metals, any and all treasures ever to be seen by man. God gave him a gift of Himself. And this gift was given in an extraordinary way.

God brought him out onto the face of the mountain - an experience which was incredible in its own way - man against a mountain. Then God passed by Elijah! The New American Standard Version actually includes an exclamation point after that sentence - underscoring the significance of that moment. There was a great wind that ripped by Elijah - who was no doubt being protected in a supernatural way by God from this windstorm - it was so fierce it must have sounded like 10 x 10 times squared the roar I'm hearing outside my window now. The wind shattered and imploded parts of the rock face all around Elijah. He already knew God to be of infinite power and yet it was being demonstrated again. Then an earthquake occurred that shook the very foundation of the huge mountain, and still Elijah is protected and sees and experiences God's omnipotence first hand without a single bone being damaged! After the earthquake, a fire - a consuming force that could 'eat' its victims in a moment. God must have pushed Elijah back away from the fire into the mouth of the cave, for we next read that Elijah emerges from the cave again. Yet God did not make Himself known to Elijah in any of these all powerful occurrences. These were God's calling card, so to speak, to get Elijah's attention for the real encounter God would have with him. It was in an intimate whisper - a still small voice - that God made himself known to Elijah. God brought Elijah into a personal relationship with Himself, a moment in time like no other Elijah had known where he - a mere man - was allowed to commune with God. God saw through Elijah's fear, frustration, and despair, transporting him to a place of complete contentment that he would experience with God. From that point forward Elijah would grow in relationship with God in a special way until the time he would be taken up into heaven to never experience death like every other human has.

We often want God to make Himself known to us in big ways - a huge material blessing or a huge healing. And He may do that if that is His will and method for getting our attention. A whisper, though, requires one to get close enough to utter it and the hearer close enough to hear it. God chose to make Himself known to Elijah at this time in his life in such a way. It is always in a personal way that we come to best know God and experience who He truly is. We can experience the omnipotence of God in glorious and wondrous ways, yet the encounter God knows we need is a personal one with Him. So God still speaks in a 'still small voice, in a whisper', to his servants. He still sets as His ultimate goal for us a close, personal relationship with Him. His Spirit in us testifies to us of this intimacy. He whispers to us through His Word, in silent moments of meditation and prayer in which we are reassured of His presence in our life and circumstances. Obviously, His omnipotence is certainly representative in the thrashing of the winds and the copious downpours. Yet, it is the intimacy with Him that He seeks with us where we really 'see' God and know His love for us. A close and trusting relationship that we can count on for the rest of our lives. A true peace and joy that knows I am His and that I can enjoy His best for me forever.

God, I will praise you in this storm, for I know You and You know who I am. (borrowed from the hymn by Casting Crowns "Praise You in This Storm")

"Lawd Jesus, a fire!"

There is a video on youtube that went viral a few months ago. It was an interview with a woman awakened by a fire in her apartment building complex. When she fully awakened to what was going on around her, she remarked, "Lawd Jesus, a fire!"

That expression has stuck with me in a special way. Going through various trials, I know from whence my help comes. I cannot linger in discouragement. "I lift my eyes to the hills -- from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121 is one of those scriptural passages we need in our face daily to help us recall that when the fires of trials come to us that God has allowed, and we cry out "lawd Jesus, a fire!" and pray in the will of the Father, He will hear us. Our God who never sleeps, who keeps us from destructive evil that would try us beyond what He allows, our God who can keep our life for eternity, who keeps us in view marking our going out and coming in now and forevermore is able to do these things and come to the help of those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:18). I encourage you today to keep the psalm close and the Lord closer. Peace and joy from the Spirit of Christ.