WHERE ARE YOUR AFFLICTIONS TURNING YOU?

Oh the lessons that can be learned from the Bible. Every book and every chapter is full of knowledge and wisdom to be gained, if we will simply read it, study on it and give thought as well as obey what God reveals to us through its pages. In the book of Job we learn that man can trust God even when explanations are missing. Like Job, we can learn that God's silence does not mean His absence. His control over nature and creation assures us, of His all sufficient ability to care for us. 2 Cor. 12:9 reminds us that His grace is sufficient for us in any area of our life. That means we need not worry about anything, but simply and quietly accept God's designs, knowing that all things work together for those that love the Lord. While we can go to God and ask Him why, so that we may better understand His ways for our benefits, we should never question His wisdom or reasons as to why He does what He does or allows things through His own Sovereignty. For God does not report to man and man must learn to remain content in the things that he cannot understand; and because we are but mere men and women, we are finite and that keeps us from having eternity's perspective in all its fullness, which only God possesses.

God has reasons for everything He does or allows and they are all, to better His children because of them and through them. The scripture tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, that God knows the plans that He has for us, and they are to prosper us, not to harm us. Whereas, satan intended to use Job's afflictions to move Job away from God, God's intentions were that those afflictions open the way for Job to experience God in a deeper way comprehending His person and character in a more surreal way than before his afflictions. The story began with satan's charge that Job was serving God for the profit motive and that his affections was payment for blessings only. If God removed or withheld His blessing form Job satan accused, then Job would curse God and therefor both God and man would be belittled and mocked. The reputations of both God and man were at stake. God bribes no man to worship Him, like the angles in heaven they freely want and desire true worship of their own free wills. God does not dangle rewards in front of us to entice us to serve Him, but blesses the humble and shows mercy and grace to all out of His great love.

Like Job, we have the honor every time we are slandered by satan to be used by God to refute satan's accusations that we too serve God for only the good that He allots us and that we will curse Him when He withholds a blessing or two. As Job questioned his wife, we too must ask ourselves the same thing: will we receive good from God but not bad? Jesus told Peter that the devil had ask permission to sift him and that is what he ask of us as well. God allows the sifting to show us our true commitment lever for Him. Jesus told Peter, "but I have prayed for you", and he does the same for us as well. His Spirit intercedes on our behalf to help us stand. After Job had been sifted by satan, he was found to have had what it took to honor God with his life, even when he had nothing but his life left to give God. Job chose to keep on honoring and serving no matter what he lost.

Let us search our own hearts to see what is in us. Don't wait to be sifted by the devil. Start today searching and cleaning house! 2 Chronicles 16:9 reminds us that God is searching for those whose hearts are really turned toward Him, so remember, never let your afflictions turn you away from God, but always turn you to God!

Hold Fast,

-Bren

THE PENITENT THIEF

Before I gave my life to Christ, I recall a time of personal searching and conviction over my sin. John 6:44 tells us that, "No one can come to me (Jesus) unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day." I understand this verse very well, because I felt God drawing me to Himself through my own personal searching and conviction. Before that took place in my life, I understood the difference between right and wrong, but I had never engaged myself to feel or see my sin as God was seeing it. But that evening when I gave my life to Christ, I saw and felt the burden of my sin and I knew without His help and forgiveness, I would be eternally lost and separated from him. I believe that this was the very thing that the thief on the cross felt in his heart as he was rebuking the unremorseful thief on the other side at one point. His words to Jesus though few, were very clear in what he was asking of the Savior.

The record of the Gospels offers little information on this well-known Biblical character. We do not even know his name. Scripture simply tells us that when Christ was led to Golgotha, two “thieves” or “criminals” were crucified with Him. One on the right and one on the left according to Matt. 27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:32-33. When the chief priests, scribes, elders, passersby and soldiers mocked the Lord Jesus in Matt. 27:39-43 and Luke 23:36 these two men insulted Him as well. A closer look at the penitent thief in Luke 23:40, allows us to see God's preparatory grace at work before the conversion of a lost sinner. According to Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32, both men were mocking Jesus. Both were reproaching and reviling him. Both used their remaining, dying energy to hurl repeated verbal insults upon the only One who could save them. However, as the ordeal proceeded, a change occurred in one of the thieves and Luke 23:39-42 records it.

It's pretty clear that at some point this penitent man stopped ridiculing, and instead of reviling the Lord, he began to glorify him and petitioned Jesus as the Savior. And, in spite of His own agony, Jesus graciously responded to the man's change of attitude and behavior. It is here in scripture that we have a perfect example of soul winning by Jesus Himself. It is entirely feasible that this penitent criminal may have absorbed some earlier teaching concerning Jesus as the coming Christ and King. Exactly when he learned these facts is not specified in scripture. But there are two possibilities. Either he considered what he heard about Christ during that six-hour episode on the cross and became convinced of who Jesus was, or else he already knew about the Savior from earlier circumstances and was ready to surrender his heart. Maybe he had been in one of those feeding of the thousands meals, or around the temple or under a tree when Jesus was speaking to Zacchaeus or ministering to the sick. It is very possible that he had been exposed significantly to information about Jesus earlier in his life and later regressed into a life of crime as some do. His statement in Mark 14 is basically an acknowledgement of the truth of Jesus’ claim to who He was and he was confident that Jesus would be able to receive him in his future eternal state.

I tell you, there is a lot to be learned from the testimony of this penitent thief. People can argue up, down and all around the cross on how they believed this man received salvation with or without being dunked in the river or following a set of Bible verses, but friend I say this, in an instant, grace broke through for him and thank God there was no one around to scream, "you are doing it all wrong!". Jesus did not complicate this man's salvation for him. He simply allowed the man to see and know who He was and realize that he alone was responsible for why he was where he was, lost without Christ. He knew he was a sinner, God had already moved on his heart about that. But he also knew that he needed Jesus to get to the other side. What more does a person need to know I ask, than what the scripture proclaims; that man is sinful and needs a Savior. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

God knows the heart of every true seeker and He will not fail to reveal truth to that person if he/she is really seeking Him for salvation. Romans 10:10 says, "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This is exactly what the thief that received eternal life on the cross did. He believed in his heart and confessed with his mouth. For God looks upon the heart and maybe it would do us all good to remember that as we are sharing the good news with others.

Hold Fast,
-Bren

BEING RIGHT, IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT!

How is it that one moment a perfectly good relationship with someone can spontaneously spiraled into an ugly verbal tennis match, with one petty exchange after another over responsibilities and actions. How had such a great relationship gone from laughing and fellowshipping one moment, into what is now a relationship of hurt, anger and lashing out on social media about it. After a period of being schooled on this subject, shouldn’t we have figured it out by now, how we are to act and react to others in those moments? Yet we still fall into our sinful, reflexive responses. And each time the pain is fresh, raw, and dividing. We begin to ruminate and turn comments over in our minds, re-thinking the verbal exchanges, over-analyze situations and allow all types of weapons that are formed against us to hit us with an crushing blow of emotional stress and blame.

 We lay blame and nurse our wounds, stubbornly crafting a convincing mental list of why we are right and why they are wrong. The prophet Jeremiah, the traditional author of the book of Lamentations, understood pain, separation, and relational discord. Yet Jeremiah knew he had a choice and for him the only choice that he had was to obey God. When he chose to remember his “affliction and his wandering, the bitterness and the gall,” his soul became “downcast within him.” Focusing on his troubles didn’t bring him peace. Ruminating injustice became a weight, dragging his soul into depression. He said, "I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion: therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:19-24

            Jeremiah shows us that there is a way to break the ugly cycle of negative thinking, that cycle that pulls us down and away from love, restoration and the hope that God has for us all. The first thing we should do any time there’s trouble in a relationship is to call to mind God and remember his goodness: “The LORD is my portion: therefore I will wait for him." Begin to list the ways God loves you and has blessed you, from the unfathomable gift of His forgiveness in Jesus, right down to the things that you do not deserve to have, but do. Then, take the time to turn your thoughts to God’s goodness in that relationship. Call to mind those things that you loved and once enjoyed in that relationship, instead of what you believe is currently wrong about it or them. Better yet, consider your own faults. While you may be so strong and surrendered in one area of your life, more than likely you still show signs of flesh in other areas that others can see. The Holy Spirit will always nudge you to think better of them and not badly and if you do not think upon them in that way, then your thinking is wrong and is stinking thinking.

The Lord most definitely will turn the heart of His children from any selfish need their flesh may be seeking to be right; to be loving instead. More than likely, it won’t be the last time you mess up and have to repeat this process on behalf of yourself and someone else. But God is working in your heart and theirs, helping us all to remember his blessings, calling us to mind his compassion, and move us to sacrificially offer that compassion to each other. Don't say, you love someone even if they may be wrong, when you are bashing them for others to see or withholding friendship, whether you name names or not, in hopes that someone will jump on your band wagon. That is not the way to win them over to truth. No matter how hard or loud you vent, remember this, the only ones that you hurt are yourself and the Lord's reputation. It does not matter how many friends agree with you, if the Lord is against what you are doing. What matters is how God feels about your approach in the process.             Being right is not always right! How you handle being right, is always right! God's mercies are new for us, every morning! Should not our mercies be new for others every morning as well? "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 God is watching us all sweet friend! 2 Chronicles 16:9a tells us this, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him."

 

Hold Fast,

-Bren