Tag Archives: the Gospel of Jesus

The Choice to Suffer

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2 Corinthians 1:1-11

First let me make myself clear. I am not going to encourage anyone to adopt a victim mentality. In fact, what Paul says in these verses will blow that attitude out of the water. Paul is talking about sharing in Christ’s suffering, and Jesus was anything but a victim!

So how am I sharing in Christ’s suffering? I believe He suffered and died. I wear a cross around my neck and participate in Communion once a month. I identify with Him by calling myself a CHRISTian.

But I’m a wimp. I avoid suffering. I live a safe, predictable life in a nice home on a beautiful island. How am I supposed to share in Christ’s suffering?

I know there are people who will die today because of their faith in Jesus. There are people all over the world who live in fear every day, yet they stand boldly for the NAME.

Me? I’m afraid someone won’t like me if I actually share the Gospel will them. They might not want to be my friend, or they might even cut me out of their life completely. That would hurt my feelings.

I’m sitting here thinking about this whole idea of sharing in Christ’s suffering, and it dawned on me (or God did). To share in Christ’s suffering means to let go of my “self,” and do the will of the Father no matter the cost. Wasn’t that what Jesus did? He didn’t shy away from doing the hard thing, because the hard thing is what God wanted Him to do. He didn’t think “Me first.” In fact, He didn’t think “ME” at all:

Not my will, but Thine be done.

Paul wasn’t intimidated by the gossip about him in Corinth. He considered that insignificant compared to knowing Jesus and obeying His command to go and make disciples. Paul chose to put his life in God’s hand and, come what may, Paul trusted God even if it caused suffering.

So the question is, am I willing to share in Christ’s suffering? No one is going to nail me to a cross or beat me with leather straps. But standing up for the Truth might make someone mad. It might cause an argument. They might walk away and make fun of me to their friends.

If that’s the extent of my suffering for the sake of the Gospel, shame on me if I cower in fear. Don’t I realize that anything I may “suffer” can bring glory to God? Jesus’ suffering certainly did. And I have the privilege of sharing in that.

Do I choose to suffer for Jesus’ sake? We’ll see. I pray that I do.

Grace and Peace

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Galatians 1:1-5

I finished my study of Genesis with Warren Wiersbe, and decided to go to the New Testament for my next personal time in God’s Word. Howard F. Vox wrote a commentary on Galatians entitled, A Call to Christian Liberty as part of the “Everyman’s Bible Commentary” published by Moody Bible Institute in 1971. I’m going to consider his opinions as I look at this letter of Paul for the next few days.

Vox says that “grace” was a common Greek greeting among Gentiles, while “peace” or Shalom was a Hebrew greeting. He thinks Paul purposely combined the two greetings as a demonstration of the joining together of Jews and Greeks as equals in God’s kingdom, the veil being destroyed by Jesus’ death, so that now there is no difference between the two.

And, Vox points out, Paul always used “grace” before “peace” in his greeting. That is the experience of all believers. First, God pours out His grace upon repentant sinners, applies Jesus’ blood to our account and saves us from the punishment we deserve. What follows is the peace that passes all understanding. No one can have the peace of God without first receiving His grace. So it is fitting that Paul would use these two words in this particular order whenever writing to the churches.

Jesus sacrificed Himself to rescue us, to pluck us out of the grip of evil in this world. And because we can contribute nothing to our salvation (Jesus’ death was enough) God gets all the glory, both now and forever! Amen!

I have read the book of Galatians many times, heard I don’t know how many sermons and lessons on it, and most of the time I’ve skimmed over the greeting to get to the meat. But today I am so blessed by having stopped and considered these five verses as penned by Paul.

I am saved by grace alone. It’s not a “I hope I’m saved,” or “I hope I’m good enough” kind of a thing. I am saved because I have put my faith in the only One who can save me. That’s why today, with all the trouble in this world, I can go with peace in my heart, fully trusting that the One who saved me can also keep me.

“Grace and peace from God our Father,” is my greeting to you all. Have you accepted His grace or are you still trying do earn you salvation? I pray that you will stop, listen, humble yourself and accept what Jesus died to give you… complete forgiveness. I promise you, when you experience His grace you will have His peace.

Then, let’s continue together through this book of Galatians and discover more about what that all means to each of us. May God teach us, grow us, and prepare us to be used by Him to reach those who don’t yet know the wonder of a relationship with Almighty God.

What Do You Do?

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Daniel 8

Looking into the future made Daniel sick. He was overcome by the level of evil that would gain strength, the blasphemous power destroying the saints. When the vision ended, David took to his bed. He laid there for days.

If he were like me, he probably didn’t sleep much with all the troubling thoughts going through his head. He probably had no appetite, no energy, maybe no will to live. How could he function knowing what was in front of him? He didn’t have to imagine the worse. God showed him the worse in his vision. No wonder he was sick.

Do you relate? When you watch the news you don’t have to imagine the level of evil gaining strength. You can read the writing on the wall, can’t you? When you watch your children exchanging truth for lies, when you feel the hatred and growing intolerance for God’s Laws, for morality and good sense, are you tempted to go back to bed and pray, “Come back, Lord. It’s too much?”

We can learn from Daniel’s example in 8:27.

And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.

The lesson? Get up and get busy doing what the King has commanded us to do. We can be appalled by what is going on, we don’t have to understand the why’s and how’s. But that’s no excuse for burying our heads in the sand or pretending everything is hunky-dory. If we aren’t about the King’s business, the battle is lost.

Let’s get off our comfortable couches, quit hiding behind church, stop shaking our heads and shrugging our shoulders. Instead, let’s pick up our cross, the Gospel of Jesus. Let’s arm ourselves with that which God offers us: the belt of Truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fit with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, wielding the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), protected by the helmet of salvation. (from Ephesians 6:10-18).

Let’s, like Daniel, be about the King’s business. You might not be able to change the world. But you can change eternity for that person God has laid on your heart. You can defeat Satan one redeemed soul at a time. And if all of us are about the King’s business, it WILL change the world.

The world is in trouble. Your family is in trouble. What do you do?