Category: trials

Thorns for the Whore

“Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns,
    and I will build a wall against her,
    so that she cannot find her paths.”

Hosea 2:6

A holy prophet is told to marry a prostitute–sounds crazy I know, but this union was intentionally commanded by God. It served to announce to Israel the present condition of their hearts, (1:2). In God’s eyes, Israel was nothing more than a spiritual whore. They would now be forced to grapple with this truth.

Her name was Gomer, and the prophet was Hosea.

The truth is sometimes a very hard thing. God has a bellyful of Israel’s prostitution, the nation has repeatedly went astray, they’re full of sin and idolatry. What else can God do to break this ‘spell’ and get their attention?

O.K. So why this hedge of thorns?

  • This hedge was initiated by God Himself
  • It was not vindictive; it wasn’t meant to destroy
  • Sin will never satisfy those in a covenant relationship with Him
  • Repentance was the goal God wanted to see
  • It’s function was to resist their sin and idolatry
  • This hedge was to bring Israel back into a right relationship with Himself

Imagine being restrained by the Lord in this way. Spiritual handcuffs and fetters and anything else that would restrict you from sin. He loves you and as a believer you belong to Him exclusively. He will discipline you if you persist in your sin. (But that is a good thing.)

He does this out of an everlasting love that’s forever loyal to you.

The very next verse (v. 7) is the response of Israel to being hedged in. It seems to be doing what He intends it to do. The ‘block’ seems to be working. (This sounds a bit like the “prodigal son.”)


“She shall pursue her lovers
    but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
    but shall not find them.
Then she shall say,
    ‘I will go and return to my first husband,
    for it was better for me then than now.’“

Hosea 2:7

When you receive Jesus as your Savior you now belong exclusively to Him. That covenant is far more than eternal life. It also means that He is fully and irrevocably committed Himself to making you a holy person. He disciplines when you persist in sin. But it’s done out of love.

Some have suggested praying the hedge of thorns over straying children or family. Perhaps that’s what is necessary. Pastors and elders could intercede for wandering believers using the same example found in Hosea 2. I believe God hears us as we pray.

“We often learn more of God under the rod that strikes us than under the staff that comforts us.”

   Stephen Charnock

The Absolute Danger in Exalting Yourself

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 

10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 14:7-11, ESV

Choose your seat carefully. In Jesus’ day, there was a definite seating order to a wedding feast. It wasn’t first come, first served. There was a strict protocol, where one’s importance mattered.

Honored people got honorable seats–close to the front as possible. Average people got average spots; but no one wanted be at the bottom, having to sit at the “kids table.”

Jesus was watching, and he what he saw was a spiritual principle of his Kingdom.

Jesus often teaches us out of the things we encounter.

Truth often hits us from those things we actually see. If you want to know what God is doing in your life, all you need to do is look around at the practical things, and start to see the spiritual lessons inside them. We learn from real-life. That’s how he often teaches us, he combines the Word with what we’re experiencing.

Our natural inclination is to move higher up.

We think that we’re deserving, and so we take our rightful positions. That’s the way humans think. We all want to sit in the best possible place, and so we end up wheedling our way up front. We can fall into the subtle trap of self-promotion. But that’s not how discipleship works.

Jesus corrects, advising us to take the lowest place.

I think verse 11 is the key to figuring out this seating arrangement. We’re starting to see a physical situation become a spiritual lesson. There’s much to learn. Here’s verse 11 in the Amplified version:

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled [before others], and he who habitually humbles himself (keeps a realistic self-view) will be exalted.”

Luke 14:11

This particular translation injects some realism into our lives, especially in how we see ourselves. It’s quite foundational. It lays down a principle that is always true in his Kingdom (1 Peter 5:6). If we don’t accept and implement this, we’ll suffer a definite weakness in our discipleship. It stunts the growth of many believers. And that is tragic.

The whole scene lays out how life in the spirit really works, and it seems paradoxical.

Our human logic asserts that deliberately choosing the lesser is foolish, things really don’t work that way. We think, (falsely,) that we’ll only advance by asserting ourselves. But Jesus, quite aptly, clarifies the ways of the Kingdom.

True maturity will only come if we decide to take the lowest place.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

James 4:10

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The Dark and Theological Niceties

“On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 

42“While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God.”

Luke 9:37-43

All of this takes place immediately after Jesus’ transfiguration. He has shown Himself to be God, wrapped tightly into manhood–He’s fully and completely the Word made flesh. He is the Creator, and He is holding the universe together. Who really can fathom this?

Full of power, but also completely covered with incredible compassion. He meets this desperate man, a man who is carrying incredible weight, a burden that had taken over his life. Jesus steps into a theological circus, after all, the Scribes had shown up, and the disciples were disputing with them. The terrible need of the demonized boy had been forgotten.

The disciples had tried to free him, they really had.

But between the gathering crowd and the arguing Scribes, they were overwhelmed. His disciples were completely out of their element. Defeated, they didn’t know what to do. (Isn’t this a description of much of today’s church? Maybe?)

The father of the demonized boy was desperate. He watched the bizarre scene unfold yet he had no other choice. He must wait. What else could he do? There were no other options.

Sometimes we as the Church can only stress theological niceties.

Often we look beyond the awful needs around us. We rather argue with each other rather than love. We prefer to debate rather than meet the incredible pain around us. How sad is this? We constantly meet terrible pain, and we choose to reside in some strange theological bubble of our own making.

When Jesus comes down from glory on the mountain, He immediately faces off with a desperate man and a demonized son. This father is terribly overwhelmed–the disciples had made a try (or two) and yet couldn’t free the boy. The demons had ignored their efforts and laughed at attempts to free him. These demons decided to stay inside this boy. The disciples can do nothing about it.

But when Jesus shows up, all hell breaks loose, quite literally.

There is amazing power here. Jesus, already shown to be God on the mountain top, now declares His authority over the ugliness of the darkness. He’s been unleashed and absolutely demolishes the works of Satan. He dismantles the evil and decisively frees the boy.

“And all were astonished at the majesty of God.”

We can link this power to what we’ve seen on the mountain top–His Words are powerful enough to hold the world in place! He is the Almighty One that has chosen to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with us. He pushes against the darkness and sets us free.

“But have we Holy Spirit power – power that restricts the devil’s power, pulls down strongholds and obtains promises? Daring delinquents will be damned if they are not delivered from the devil’s dominion. What has hell to fear other than a God-anointed, prayer-powered church?”

   Leonard Ravenhill

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Stone Throwing

” “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.””

John 8:7, ESV

“None knows the weight of another’s burden.”

-George Herbert

Definitely, we must discern motives and false doctrine. We’re to be constantly aware of people and issues that swirl around us–of this, there is no doubt, we mustn’t be ignorant. This is a healthy “discernment.”

But we must learn that having discernment isn’t a way that passes out a ‘guilty’ penalty? We are ‘seeing’ things these things–not to pass judgment, but that we might pray clearly and earnestly, and grow into His love for the weak.

But ‘passing a guilty sentence’ is His exclusive jurisdiction.

It’s far beyond our ‘pay grade.’ He is the final judge in everything. He judges justly and lovingly. He alone knows and understands everything very clearly.

It becomes imperative that we understand this; that any real discernment given is only to intensify and escalate the calling of every ‘saint,’ intercessor, or pastor. We discern, not to pass judgment, but to pray more clearly and effectively.

What you see or sense is for the prayer closet, not before a judge’s bench.

Do we really have the ability to ascribe a penalty to someone else? Could it be when we decide to throw rocks at certain people we’re in terrible danger of forfeiting our own salvation?

Do we really have the ability to ascribe a penalty to someone else? Could it be when we decide to throw rocks at certain people we’re in terrible danger of forfeiting our own salvation?

How foolish we become.

“But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:15.)

(If you have a ‘rock’ in your hand, you are in considerable danger. Please consider this–it’s never easy, is it?)

“Don’t judge others, or you will be judged. 2 You will be judged in the same way that you judge others, and the amount you give to others will be given to you.

“Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye?

Matthew 7:1-3

We are broken people. We struggle with many different things. Some of us are mentally or physically ill. We are not whole yet. Some of us must take meds to help us be ‘normal.’ We deal with issues that would devastate someone else. And we don’t have it anywhere near together.

And yet out of our ‘hot mess,’ do we think we can penalize someone else? Really?

We really don’t have a problem with worldly people. We understand that they are lost in their sins, terribly wrapped up in their own personal darkness, and that should definitely disturb us. We must point to the Blood of Christ that forgives us. We share the good news of true repentance and faith. His Spirit teaches us to be witnesses of His love to everyone we meet.

“The life of faith is a struggle enough in a broken world without us complicating it for other believers.”

–Jake Colsen

It just may come as a shock to some, but it’s extremely difficult to throw stones at someone when we are busy “washing” their feet.

Granted, “we are to be wise as serpents,” But that same verse instructs us “to be as harmless as doves.” (Matt. 10:16.) A loving meekness and gentleness, need to be combined with intense spiritual power. We must embody “the fruits of the Spirit.” These things are the characteristics of the Spirit-saturated believer.

“The nature and end of judgment or sentence must be corrective, never vindictive; it is always for healing, and never for destruction.”

–John Owen

Perhaps when we judge others, we reveal that we don’t understand what ‘real’ discipleship with Jesus is? Somehow it seems, we really aren’t quite grasping the immensity of His grace on guilty people? Do we really understand His profound love for the fallen? “God so loved the World…” Have we had any idea how patient He is with us? Do we doubt His ability to correct others? (Again, these are awfully hard questions.)

“Judge not lest you be judged.” (Jesus’ words really do scare me sometimes. )

Certainly, I intend to confront the darkness. “You are the light, a city set on a hill!” I am His salt and light and I do shine into this black night. But that is His doing, not mine. I do not generate light on my own. The Bible declares me as ‘self-righteous’ when I try. I am a broken person, who is just starting to understand the scope of my own brokenness and weaknesses. I’m starting to realize I’m not in the position to Judge someone else. I’m not quite healed myself yet and I must not think I can point to someone else as being worse than me.

Quite simply, I can’t throw ‘rocks’ at other believers anymore.

I can no longer pass out any condemnation from my own limited understanding. My chief concern right now is to be a humble, earnest Christian who is always ready to forgive those who, in their awful sin and confusion, are hurting others.

I’m beginning to see that my calling is to be; a simple servant to my brothers and sisters, nothing more, and nothing less.

Daniel, the Lion Tamer

“My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den.”

Daniel 6:22-23, ESV

I am rather frustrated with myself. I confess I haven’t read Daniel in years, and I’ve chosen to rectify this. Lately I’ve busted through this book and discovered some wonderful stuff. I guess chapter 6 has become my favorite.

A couple of things stick out.

Daniel was an incredibly faithful man, praying three times a day. He was true-hearted who served each king with the gifts God had given him. I like him a lot.

Daniel became the king’s favorite, the Hebrew word used means “prominent or esteemed.” He was the greatest and best there was to be found. You could say that he was the finest man in the kingdom.

“Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.”

Daniel knew how to lead and direct others. We read that he oversaw 120 chief overseers. I suspect he knew a thing or two about good leadership. Daniel understood his work, and it seems that he instinctively knew what good government required.

But Daniel was a victim of jealousy. A concerted effort, carefully planned and directed was meant to destroy him. Although the leaders of this rebellion could find nothing to accuse him of, they resorted to trap him because he prayed to God. Faithfully and consistently.

Their plot worked. These officials, through their twisting and manipulation of the legal code, were able to sentence Daniel to death. It seems being fed to hungry lions was the penalty for “breaking the law.”

Sometimes we must choose to serve God, even if it means breaking men’s laws.

“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Acts 5:29

Daniel was over 90 years old when he was thrown to the lions. Even in his advanced years he kept up serving God. The passage declares that he had “an excellent spirit.”

The lions, (several I assume), were not at all interested in devouring Daniel. King Darius however was incredibly distraught over Daniel’s execution, but it seems he was forced into it. The passage tells us that the king was so distressed that he couldn’t sleep that night.

Undoubtedly, Daniel slept far better then Darius.

To be faithful to the Lord God may require us to sleep with lions, but we can be assured of the Holy Spirit’s presence with us even then. A verse in Hebrews suggests “faith” protects us from the strong jaws of the enemy. Daniel understood.

“Who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,”

Hebrews 11:33

But yet, sometimes even the faithful will be eaten.

Sometimes the lions will devour believers. But we must trust and believe no matter what happens. Hebrews goes on to show us the extremity of the faithful. Read Hebrews 11:35-38 and you’ll understand what I mean. Being faithful can be very difficult. Bad things often happen.

*****

Some side thoughts. Prayer is intensely powerful. Daniel’s strength became the enemy’s focus and attack. That should give us understanding into the power we wield. But, do we use it?

Also, 1 Peter 5:8 explains much for the believer–

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

It’s been said that the “blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” We really must understand this, especially now.

“The apostles went away rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ, that they were graced so far as to be disgraced for the name of Christ!”

     Thomas Watson

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A Rose in the Snow

Merry Christmas, dear ones! 

I’m looking at Christmas 1000 years from today, when He will bring us all together.  I think that we’ll all kick back, and we will try to remember Christmas, 2023.  We will most likely say, “But that was so long ago, it feels like a dream, I’m not so sure now…”

Like me, I trust your deepest hopes are pinned on an incredible grace. 

Under the tree there are gifts.  But we have been given a gift– of gifts.  It is something that ‘rocks our world’.  It’s called ‘eternal life’.  It has been given to us freely, and without any stipulations.  We’ve been ‘cut-loose’ from the tangled mass of sin.  We are now very much free.

I know I need to learn to live like a free man.

My physical and mental illnesses often trips me up. I’m saddened by my weaknesses.  But I reach out and touch this grace, I pull it in and take and make it my own.  Jesus has freed me, and I want to walk in truth, with Him—and with you.

I’m grateful for my doctors, they’re definitely a blessing. I must keep looking to my rose–my Jesus who is my Savior. I covet your prayers especially now.

Our Lord Jesus is truly a “rose in the snow.” He has come to this mean and hostile world, but He is precious and beautiful in the eyes of the faithful. I pray that you find Him flourishing in your heart.

Love to you from alaskabibleteacher!

Finding the Light

“Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”

2 Corinthians 1:9

To be chronically ill often means living with awful frustration. We can’t do what we want, we are ‘trapped’ by a disease we never asked for, and we’re held hostage by our minds and bodies. We once had a job– a career… and our time was occupied by that. Suddenly our lives are turned upside down.

We wanted something else, anything more than being very sick.

I once was a pastor of a small church here in Alaska. I also taught Gospels, several years in a local Bible Institute. I loved ministry very much. They defined my identity and gave me purpose. I enjoyed helping people and teaching the Word. I endeavored to be faithful in the ministry. And I hope I did.

With the sudden onset of a brain tumor, followed up by a diagnosis of severe depression, my life more or less exploded. I had extensive memory loss. I knew I had to step out of the ministry. I simply could not function. It was a hard thing to leave it behind. (And I still miss it.)

My depression grew even more profound with the stillborn death of our third child just 3 days before her delivery. Things suddenly ground to a standstill as my wife and I tried to process all of this. I guess I just couldn’t understand and more or less just shut down. I was angry at God. I spent months in bed, unable to function.

Some people were true jewels.

Others were more or less mean and uncaring. (I quickly learned how to take the good with the bad.) I suppose I should have understood, but things were so tangled up inside me that I couldn’t verbalize a thing. But God knew all about me. He loved and never judged.

The post-op recovery following the tumor was an ordeal, as I had to learn many things all over again. A few years later I ended up on disability; I was unable to work, and my symptoms were so unpredictable. I dealt with profound depression and a solid dose of paranoia and fear.

I learned that meds can help, but they can’t fix the problem.

Sometimes the isolation seemed worse than the pain. We wonder why this is happening to us, and we hear lies about our worthiness or God’s goodness. Our value to others seems to be scuttled by our illness. We can feel cursed, forgotten, crippled by God, or even worse. (Maybe even irrevocably lost?)

Satan craves our spiritual destruction, and he snares unsteady souls.

I admit I have been slow to learn this– but God brings good things out of the dark. I’m embarrassed by my personal lack of acquiring all of this. Now I’m starting to learn finally, and I want His words to reflect these truths.

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”

2 Corinthians 4:7

This light will shine, and the treasure is found in clay vessels. Brokenness only means the treasure is now seen clearly. It’s important to note–jewels lose none of their value by being surrounded by broken clay. Our weaknesses are being turned into goodness, understanding, and love for our brothers and sisters.

Troubles of many varieties will pay us a visit. Count on it.

No matter what their nature, God holds his people in place while everything else is falling apart. But for the broken believer, there is another dimension; we will finally triumph. The tragedies we’ve had to endure only supplement our faith. We will stand– because He makes us stand.

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

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A Weeping Mother

21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Matthew 15:21-28, ESV

My daughter had a demon living inside her. Please understand me, I love her more than life itself. It was a terrible torment to see her fall under the control of the evil one like this. Every day seemed worse than the previous, and I knew that the day would come that I would lose her completely to the dark pit.

She would be lost forever.

God knows I tried everything. There was the pagan temple to Eshmon. He was our god of healing and protection for our nation, and it was a short walk away. We made trips there to present ourselves for healing. But things got worse, not better.

When Jesus came we knew we had to meet Him.

I was desperate, at the very end of my rope. I was scared. Meeting Jesus’ disciples was the first step and it really didn’t go well at all. They protected Him, and I couldn’t get close enough to speak with Him.

So much was blocking me. I saw so many obstacles, but when your child is suffering like mine, these things mean nothing. I came to the point where I began to shout, over and over for Jesus to intervene. I was asked to stop, I ignored His followers and kept yelling.

This passage asks us to consider many heavy issues. We have questions that need answers. Why did Jesus seem so cold and harsh? What about the “dog” reference, and His seemingly reluctance to heal? What about her ethnicity as a pagan?

Did Jesus know something about the situation we don’t?

I really want to keep this post short, so I won’t try to answer these questions. But the situation is intriguing. It must be noted that Jesus, at this particular point in His ministry, is focusing on reaching the Jewish population. (But that will change in the future.)

And yet there are positive characteristics of this woman that must be considered. These need to be understood to open up this passage. Please ponder them, they put the entire situation in a different light. We see the following:

  1. Her humility
  2. Her patience
  3. Her prayer and worship
  4. Her persistence
  5. Her faith

Each of these are crucial, and Jesus saw them. Yes, we see the obstacles, but we understand her love for her demon possessed daughter that drives her into Jesus’ presence. We see her faith that won’t give up no matter the resistance she encountered.

“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.“

    Corrie Ten Boom

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Against Rulers and Forces

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Eph. 6:10-12, NASB 

Paul tells us that discerning the cosmic forces of wickedness is now critical. If we choose to ignore his words and make them optional, we will become spiritual toast. We need to hear reality. We want to be told the truth. And the truth is that we’re neck deep in spiritual alligators.

Point blank: We were each born for battle. Every believer must wear armor.

This passage in Ephesians 6 stresses that there is something sinister, an organized force, something evil, a darkness that’s focused directly on us. Verse 12 unveils to us a veritable government of wickedness. Satan leads his demons out with the intention of confusing believers and destroying holiness.

We also need to understand that human beings have a terrible knack of walking in their sin, and also by being manipulated by evil forces. Human history bears this out. We have a lousy track record. Without the Spirit we will be lost and destroyed by our own darkness.

Christians are to see life very differently than others do.

Ephesians 6 teaches us to find strength in being connected with God, which is critical to walk through in this confusing darkness. By prioritizing our relationship with Him, we can draw upon His strength and a sincere faith to navigate through all of this.

Without intimacy there is no obedience and there can be no real victory.

You must come to him humbly and holy, and sit before Him and listen, learn and love. And that is the major step in true holiness. Being controlled by Him means when you need to, you can stand and deliver damage to Satan’s kingdom.

You’ll be leading angels in this terrible battle! They have their swords drawn and are quite capable. Remember that this is a spiritual war–not physical. Your attack must be fought on your knees. And angels, they’re watching and listening to you as you pray. They are God’s messengers to protect you.

Satan presses us hard through redirection and forgetfulness of who we are.

Without the humble intimacy that can only grow on prayer and Bible reading, we will be spiritually destroyed. We need the protection of the Presence. Please don’t forget this; you need Jesus more today than yesterday. You must come closer. He will help you.

You see, your only hope is in Jesus’ strength and intimate love for you.

We must reach for our power and grab upon this intense love. We can only become strong through our intimacy with Jesus. He shields us from the spiritual corruption that swirls all around us. As we draw to Him we become mighty, as we listen closely to the Holy Spirit, we will walk in true discipleship with Jesus.

You will hear Him speak clearly to you, perhaps when you actively push to do His will than your own.

“We are a long time in learning that all our strength and salvation is in God.”

     David Brainerd

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Instant Breakfast

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:18, NLT

Our salvation often comes like a sudden bolt of lightning. It happens very fast, a flash of true faith, and we move from darkness to glorious light in an instant. I am absolutely confident about this.

When someone genuinely believes in Jesus and in repentance seeks forgiveness, they receive everlasting life. It never ends. Our salvation occurs in the blink of an eye. It’s like a switch that gets flipped on.

But Peter and Paul clearly write that we are “being saved.” I believe that our salvation has three tenses:

I believe that our faith and transformation are also continuous processes, a lifetime of dedication and progress. It is important to see that following Christ is an ongoing journey. Additionally, it is essential to understand that accepting Christ as our Savior does not automatically result in an immediate ascent to heaven. We must “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.”

We prefer convenience. Microwaves, K-Mart shops, fast food, ATM machines, credit cards, and so on. We quickly grab our protein shake (or coffee?) and rush out the door to keep up with our day. Things become faster and more convenient. We practically demand it.

We want patience and we want it now!

Most people don’t like the idea of a daily (and slow) commitment. We want quick and easy solutions, but having faith doesn’t work like that. Even though we want to make progress quickly, becoming a follower of Jesus takes time. It’s called “discipleship.”

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if you’re a true believer, you have a challenging journey ahead of you.

Here are Philippians 2:12 in four different translations.

  • Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (KJV, ESV)
  • Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. (NLT)
  • Keep on working to complete your salvation with fear and trembling. (NCV)
  • Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation. (GNT)

Some believers will find a deeper understanding of a “discipleship effort” that’s necessary. Others may not be ready to accept it. But the writers of the New Testament epistles effectively communicate this idea of being on a journey.

“Instant Christianity tends to make the faith act deadly and so smothers the desire for spiritual advance. It fails to understand the true nature of the Christian life, which is not static but dynamic and expanding.“

A.W. Tozer

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