Not peace, but a sword

Today, as always, Oswald Chambers has a powerfully relevant message for preachers, and I cannot thank the Lord (and my friend B.P.) enough for pointing me to these devotionals.

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What Jesus says in Mt 10:34, is

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

This saying is where Chambers draws on his reasoning here:

Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One.

We should never dull the sword of the Lord, but keep it very clean and sharp. If we would let the sword do it's cutting, we cannot pretend to give peace to someone who has no peace with God, as by flattering and agreeable words. The message "repent" was never liked by those who had no mind to repent. So peace is destroyed as long as sin reigns. To really help people as a pastor is to give them the hard words. I love Misn. Sarah Barry, because she always exemplified this "mind of Christ". Whoever went to her to complain about someone else was rebuked first. For whether we have failed to forgive the person or harbor hate, justly or not, we are in the wrong. Hidden sin, likewise, loves to find fellow sinners to share company with. If we don't "hold high the standard of Jesus" to people, we cannot give them HIS peace, but only the superficial peace of this world, whereas

"Jesus Christ came to `bring . . . a sword' through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself."

Wielding this sword is hard and painful to us, as to those who must suffer the blow to their false peace. But this is the spiritual warfare we are truly engaged in, and we shepherds must not shrink back.

As for me, dealing with my children may be the hardest place to apply this. They do not want me, as their father, to make them feel bad when they harbor spiritual enmity in their hearts. If the young generation does not even HEAR Jesus' message of repentance and faith, what chance do they have to follow it? So we must not lower the standard as parents, nor as pastors. To carry both crosses is perhaps not so bad when we consider that they are one in the same, only the pastor cares for ALL children, not merely his own.

Lord, give me the grace and truth that filled your Son Jesus, and enable me to hold up his standard, faithfully, fearlessly. Move those you want to save to hear and obey.

Preach only Christ crucified

For Dec 17, Chambers writes, "The gospel of God creates the sense of need for the gospel." And he goes on to demonstrate why this is a good thing. The things of God are foolish to the natural man [1 Corinthians 2:14, which is the text for this devotion.] Thus we don't know we need the good news until we hear it. While "Creating the need it satisfies" is a rather offensive kind of religious system to a worldly man---even though he uses the same thing in all his advertising and promoting his own business or wares---we surely have the need already. The gospel doesn't create a new need, but removes our ignorance of it AS it offers the one and only solution.

Anyway, the point he makes that is so beautiful is in the second paragraph. He writes,

Jesus said, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:32). When we preach our own experiences, people may be interested, but it awakens no real sense of need. But once Jesus Christ is "lifted up," the Spirit of God creates an awareness of the need for Him.

What this means is that my preaching, if it does nothing else whatsoever, must lift up Jesus Christ. I have done nothing to advance Christ and his kingdom if I have only convinced my listeners of some moral or made a good point or entertained them with poetic and humorous anecdotes. Even if I bring them to tears with emotional stories or work them into a frenzy with sensational polemics, if I have not lifted up Jesus and shown people their need of HIM and his Truth, I have done nothing at all.

Lord, let me lift up Jesus alone. As my name Christopher means "bearer of Christ", let at least live up to that name. And when you are ready to use me, please send me in your Power to do it with all my heart and soul. Yes, you have already sent me. Lord, please forgive me for lifting up other things. Lord, I resolve to know nothing and preach nothing except Christ and him crucified. [1Cor 2:2] Father, help me to this end. IJNA

Personality and Unity

Reflections on the daily reading for Dec 12 from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, entitled

Personality

"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." [John 17:22,32]

Jesus' prayer was for Christians to have unity. The reason we don't have unity is nearly always personality conflict. Chambers writes, "Personality is the characteristic mark of the inner, spiritual man, just as individuality is the characteristic of the outer, natural man." He likens the personality to the top of a huge mountain in the ocean, of which we see only the relatively small island showing above the surface. Since what we know of our own (or anyone's) personality is so small, we cannot measure ourselves. Only God who made us can know us.

As an island cannot "see" what is holding it up, so we cannot really know ourselves. What we CAN know is the God who reveals himself to us, who made his dwelling among us and talks with us and gives us of his own Spirit to be with us and in us. Therefore, I don't need to know myself nearly as desperately as I need to know Him. He is my Mountain. He is my Rock. He is the one with whom I want to be united.

The problem of unity really isn't a problem if we make Him our personality, if we are united with Jesus, dying to our own self, both personality and individuality, and being united in him. How do I effect this very abstract and metaphysical feat? I must "deny myself and take up the cross and follow him." Denying myself means acknowledging Jesus as my Shepherd and serving others as a shepherd for his flock, submitting, willing to serve, not greedy, but humble, all the things Peter says in 1Peter 5:2-9, all the things Jesus is. This is hard. Shepherding is a hard life. But being united with Him is the key to building one flock that is united under Him.

Personality conflicts will always be there in the flock of God, as elsewhere. But we can deal with them as shepherds when we know what we're up against. The wolf, the lion, the bear, these are not animals that flock. They are individualistic hunters, who may fight one another even more than they attack sheep. Sowing discord is like killing and eating, and scattering a flock of sheep is easy to do for a wolf or lion. But defending the flock and gathering them to be one is Job One of the shepherd--that kind of shepherd who risks his life and leaves the ninety-nine to search for the one who is missing.

Where else does personality rear its head? In our times, I would say music and clothes are a biggest sources of personal identity. In the church, those who want "our" music and resent "their" music, and who wage personal battles to get rid of one or the other, these wolves bear the blame for much church disunity. We should rather have NO music if it is going to be a source of division.

The same holds for clothes, art, culture, even language, architecture and decor, ceremonies and all other stuff--they are all part and parcel of our personality, and most of them are idols for destruction. But to yield as a shepherd to our Good shepherd means to fix our eyes on Him, not on any idol, not on ourselves nor one another. THIS is the key to overcoming the trap of personality.

May God make our fellowship one of deep love and unity, not personality cults and cliques and trendy people showing off. May God make us leaders who can protect and serve the flock, rather than sacrificing them to appease wolves.

Struggling

Today's reading from Oswald Chambers is truly inspiring. I've always thought there must be a reason why struggling was so important to God that he named his nation Israel "struggles with God".

The Law of Antagonism

"To him that overcometh. . . ." [Rev 2:7]

Life without war is impossible either in nature or in grace. The basis of physical, mental, moral, and spiritual life is antagonism. This is the open fact of life.

Health is the balance between physical life and external nature, and it is maintained only by sufficient vitality on the inside against things on the outside. Everything outside my physical life is designed to put me to death. Things which keep me going when I am alive, disintegrate me when I am dead. If I have enough fighting power, I produce the balance of health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a vigorous mental life, I have to fight, and in that way the mental balance called thought is produced.

Morally it is the same. Everything that does not partake of the nature of virtue is the enemy of virtue in me, and it depends on what moral calibre I have whether I overcome and produce virtue. Immediately I fight, I am moral in that particular. No man is virtuous because he cannot help it; virtue is acquired.

And spiritually it is the same. Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation," i.e., every thing that is not spiritual makes for my undoing, but - "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." I have to learn to score off the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness; then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.

Holiness is the balance between my disposition and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.

I too struggle, and have often felt that delight to meet opposition. It certainly wasn't a delight the first time it happened so long ago. But it is now, and I smile when accused or opposed in some way by someone. But I have discovered that the best and most rewarding struggle is to struggle with God, that is, to struggle to please him and to receive his favor, as Jacob did, as Simon Peter did, as Paul did.

Praise God who is working in me. "Greater is He that is in me than he that is the world!" O Sovereign Lord, bless me! Let me struggle with Thee, rather than men, and bring my crowns to cast at your feet.

Thanksgiving for God's Election

"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." [Rom 9:15]

As this will be the text of my Thanksgiving Day message, I wanted to post a thought or two, and a few questions.

First, God is sovereign. This means he is just. So whether he has mercy on some, but not others, it is still death and hell that we all deserve. His mercy is not injustice. How so? Well, he says, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy." [KJV] So He, as God, has a right to show favor to one but not others. This was Cain's Big Issue.

Second, Thank God for his election. This is the one thing in life that you cannot do for yourself. Cain, for example, was not favored--not at first. God gave him the chance to "do what is right" though, which I think was the opportunity to please God. God's favor on Abel cost him his life. God's favor to Cain was different, but equally "full of grace and truth." So even though you cannot earn God's favor, it is given to all, "for God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." [2Pet.3:9]

Praise God who has compassion on whom He has compassion. If nothing else, THIS we can be thankful for. I often complain inwardly about what my life is or isn't, or the role I seem to lack in changing the world for God. But I am thankful to tears for his compassion upon me, for I'm most certain that I deserve none of the grace He has shown me thus far.

Using disaster to call for repentance

A week ago my study of Jeremiah led me to chapter 44, that final-nail-in-the-coffin message to Israel that the destruction of their nation was really the judgment of God against their idolatry. To prepare my sermon, I did what I always do. I studied the passage, read and found out what the general gist of the passage was, wrote study questions and outline, prayed, and wrote.

I think there aren't many today who deal with such passages honestly. But I did. Jeremiah said that the disaster was God's justice against his people. He disciplined them so harshly in order to turn them from sin. And he does this in his own hate for sin and jealousy for the people he loves. Jealousy is a violent emotion, it can lead us to the vilest of sins and the noblest of heroics. But it leads God to righteous wrath.

In my reading through Martyn Lloyd-Jones' wonderful book Preaching and Preachers, I came across the pleasant discovery that I had handled this passage exactly the way he (MLJ) insisted upon—with honesty, not bending it to say something pleasant. He says that "anything that happens in the world, anything striking, any phenomenon, is something we should always take advantage of" in our preaching to point out the fleeting nature of life and the final Judgment that is coming, and to call sinners to repentance.

And so I had asserted in my sermon that if God raised up Nebuchadnezzar to strike down his own Chosen People, we can rest assured that God is raising up leaders here and now. They are sent by God sometimes for our good, or to punish us. To the remnant in Egypt God says in v.27,

"For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed."

There is no twisting this to say what we would rather it say. I don't think God is going bless America just because we sing "God Bless America". We are ignoring God's word as a nation. We are removing God's laws, persecuting his prophets, and destroying the faith of our children. No, I think if God still loves us he is driving us to repent. And repentance is most assuredly what America needs now.

My friend Bill pointed out to me 2Timothy 4:3, groaning as he watched the election returns:

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

But to me this verse isn't so much a comment on how bad people are. It is the reason for the action demanded in the verse just prior:

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction."

Padding all our words with warm fuzzies and avoiding any condemnation of sin or call to repentance isn't correcting, rebuking or encouraging them. It is to encourage sinners to continue down the broad way of destruction. It is malfeasance as preachers.

So if you consider this week's election a disaster, understand that the same God who did not save Israel from Nebuchadnezzar, an idol-worshipping war-monger, but handed them over to the him, is the same God we serve now. If he has handed America over to liberals who are hostile to traditional Christian values, it is entirely because we have not smashed the idols and sufficiently challenged their priests of Baal. Many Christian ministers are sleeping on the job; some have gone over to Baal. (I am using Baal in the non-specific sense that can include any god or human official that is venerated or sacrificed to.) A few have even gone over to Molech (a specific god who was usually given children as burnt sacrifices.)

I am speaking of the religion of State, and the "General Will" that assumes the Majority to be always holy and righteous, and therefore makes speaking against what is acceptable to the majority a crime. Most people reject such false religion in theory, but sacrifice to and appease it all the same, as when preachers succumb to the "political correctness" and refuse to call "sin" things condemned in Scripture. If we fail in this, from what shall we call them to be saved? What need have they of a Savior if nothing is sinful?

I don't think God is eager to punish and "get us". But I know He is jealous as I know He loves us, loves America. So I am confident he will humble us. And since we ignore his gentler judgments (from natural disasters and terrorist attacks), maybe now Christians will stop giving little pinches of incense to Baal and get serious about preaching the gospel, not a politically-correct gospel that avoids offending anyone, but one that offends all idols, breaks and smashes them, and does violence to the sinful nature in all, so that sin may be utterly sinful and we may hate it as God does, and turn to Him in humble contrition, both individually and as a nation.

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

It's natural to praise my wife or children, or myself. So everyone knows what it is. Praise means joy, pleasure and recognition to the one who has done something well. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." [Gen 1:31] This is praise for the creation. Psalm 150 is praise, not for specific works, but for who God is.

I have gotten completely out of the habit of praising the Lord. I sing the hymns on Sunday, of course. But to just cut loose and praise God is something I think I've gotten too intellectual to do. I mean, I think too much to praise the Lord simply and joyously as the psalmist does. I mean, where can I do this? His sanctuary is too staid and solemn any more. Even when people are having "praise time", they just listen to the performers mostly.

Maybe I need to go to a Christian concert. But Christian entertainment isn't exactly the same as being in the sanctuary with God's people, praising the Lord. Perhaps I should find a Pentacostal church to visit. The Commonwealth Chapel in Richmond was so refreshing, the one time I visited. Of course that's too far. Perhaps at the Harvest Festival this weekend in Washington I can really praise the Lord. I should take along my tambourine and instruments. I hope they don't think I've lost my marbles if I whip out a kazoo or something and join in. I think young people expect conformity in these things, even though they talk otherwise.

Here I am writing about praise, as if that will remedy my lack of praising God. No. I am writing devotionally a journal entry on the Word in Psalm 150, because the Word will remedy my lack of praise. The Word of God is the revelation of God, and when we have seen Him, praise arises very naturally.

I have a feeling the Native Americans knew all about praise. It was a great pleasure meeting Don at the Cub Scout Pow-Wow last weekend. He spoke to me at length about the spontaneous nature of the music he plays on the flute each day. He said it was for himself, and no matter how spontaneous, it was perfect. Perhaps he is just easy to please. When I play piano, I'm usually not that satisfied with my playing. I want it to be my best effort, not a poor offering. Anyway, whether it is perfect or not, I must offer it as praise to God, with singing and joy and sincerity.

Lord, restore the spirit of praise to me, to worship you daily as you reveal your glory and love to me in the Word.

American Idolatry

"Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you, as you now see." [Jeremiah 44:23]

The notion that God responds to and punishes nations for their sins is hardly unbiblical. Yet when presented in the wake of a national disaster, it meets with such vehement condemnation that preachers consider it too controversial to call people to repentance. The prophet Jeremiah was not afraid to place the blame in such a way as to call his people to repentance. He told the Jewish remnant in Egypt that their sin of idolatry and the same sin of their fathers was the sole cause for the overthrow of Judah by the Babylonians ... solely.

Why is idolatry so upsetting to God that He would he hand his Chosen People over to their enemies? Simply put, God cannot abide idolatry in HIS people because of his love for them.

"Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." [Exodus 34:14]

Jealousy is the most violent of all emotions. In sinful man, it usually leads to serious sin, such as Cain's slaying of Abel. In the holy God it leads to swift justice and wrath. God did not send plagues upon Israel when he was jealous of them. He simply handed them over to their enemies, who also worshiped idols, so they might experience the impotence of their idols to save them.

This is the same God who rules America and all nations today. He is just as jealous of our devotion as he ever was of Israel. And He will most certainly hand America over to her enemies if we do not tear down the idols from our hearts and from our land. The foremost of these enemies are the pagan worshipers of gods other than Jesus Christ. It is not the agnostic who makes war, but the fanatical followers of Mohamed, Marx or Mao. Most especially, the principal war-mongers are those who serve not God but Mammon. It is not surprising that the materialist-atheists are most likely to invade neighbors. That, I submit, is the false god America has enshrined: the god of Money, Mammon, the relatively superior god of Self to which money and mammon are but offerings.

And if Self is the god of America, Jesus has given the only cure:

"If anyone would come after me he must deny himself..." [Mark 8:34]

To tear down this idol, Self, is most painful. How to do it? "Deny himself." It is the starting point of faith, the prerequisite of the Christian life to deny myself.

But how many Christians truly deny themselves? I know only a handful, and I am not among them. The rest are proud, ambitious, shrewd and indomitable in getting whatever we want for ourselves, and unable to be kind and gentle to their kids, faithful to their spouse, pure before the computer monitor, or devoted to the mission of the Cross. Ambition, self-improvement and desire for recognition tend to be foremost in our minds. And it makes us wretched idolaters, not great or devoted Christians.

So the first task of the Christian is to tear down the idol of self and serve it no more, (I don't mean neglecting my basic needs, but neglecting my glory and name and status) and rather to live for the glorious Name of above all names, Jesus Christ, to see that his name is hallowed in our world through our lives, to echo the life-goal of John the Baptist,

"He must become greater; I must become less." [Jn 3:30]

How happy I am to know that as I deny myself to magnify him, sharing in his sufferings, I will one day share in his glory. Until then, O Lord, help me to deny myself and instead enjoy obscurity and rejection, in the company of Jesus, Jeremiah and John, that your name may be hallowed through my quiet life and labor here in my little vineyard Virginia.

Stress Relief Tip #1

My friend Brian sent me a list of 36 tips for combating stress. They are pretty good. I thought I might just print them out and paste them to the wall. As I started adding pictures to the document, it seemed maybe one of those cheesy PowerPoints would be nice. But I loathe PowerPoint in general. So I decided to blog my way through all of them.

#1 is "Pray."

If the list stopped here, it would be complete. For many people, once they've prayed, stress melts away and no further struggle is needed. Prayer is talking with God, and also listening to God. When you pray, you automatically do 7 other of the tips: #22, #23, #26, #32, #34, #35 and #36.

Alfred Lord Tennyson said,

“If thou shouldst never see my face again, pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

To pray is not easy, though. And for some people, praying causes stress. It may be that if you don't really believe or trust God, prayer has the opposite effect as it does for believers. Prayer isn't a magic bullet or panacea. For example, someone who has a difficult decision to make still has to make the decision after praying---a decision which may mean disappointing someone.

Usually when we're extremely busy, prayer is also hard to fit in, meaning essentially that we're too stressed to de-stress. So while one prays, he is "dropping the ball" at that moment, which is, of course, stressful. There have been so many times when a short prayer was all I needed to get my inspiration going, or to jog my memory, or come up with a solution for some problem.

Once I was in a cold music room trying to practice piano. I adjusted the thermostat, but the room stayed cold. When my hands hurt from the cold and I couldn't play any more, I knelt as close to the radiator as I could get to pray, with my back to the radiator fins. I was praying for some warmth, or strength to endure the cold, so I might continue my practicing. As I dropped my hands, they lit upon a round thing that I recognized as the radiator control knob. Smiling, I turned the knob and my prayer was answered!

The serious times, of course, aren't so quaint. When a friend's mother was dying, I had to pray. It was perhaps the most stressful thing I've ever done, to pray for this dying woman. And she didn't sit up and say, "I feel better already." She died. In this case, my prayer wasn't for the cancer victim, but for the survivor. In any case, it is better than stressing and grieving and just asking "Why? Why?" God's answer is so simple: "Because it's just her time to die, my son. Now say good bye. She can't stay, but I'll will."

So prayer isn't a magic bullet for stress. Yet it is a place to stand, a solid Rock, which is our Faith. I haven't prayed very much, being the unspiritual boy I am. But I know the little prayer I do offer is not in vain. So I keep on praying, especially for all the things I can't solve without a Higher Power.

Lord, thank you that I can come before your throne and ask whatever I wish in the Name of Jesus. Thank you! Thank you! Praised be the Name of Jesus!

Jeremiah goes to Egypt

Reading Jeremiah 40-43 for last Sunday's message was genuinely moving, and unusually relevant. The writer must warn you, dear reader, that from time to time he is obliged to comment on the times, as God's servants did throughout the Bible. So does he in this article. If you are allergic or averse to political commentary, you may want to stop reading now.

In Jeremiah 42 the prophet solemnly warned the arrogant leaders of the Jewish remnant NOT to go down to Egypt. The leaders ignored him and even called him a liar---even after asking him to pray for them and swearing to obey God's will "whether favorable or unfavorable". It can't help but see the similarity to Congress. Instead of listening to The People whom they claim to represent, our Congress-critters seem to be representing the will of The Investors, that is, the rich, voting to lay upon The People a tax burden of hundreds of billions. It's unthinkable.

Jeremiah must have felt as frustrated when the leaders not only ignored and accused him of conspiracy for his denunciation of the plan to go to Egypt, but then took him with them! But he did not write any frustrations. It seems this insult didn't even surprise him. They considered that he was one of their subjects and compelled him, along with all the people, to go to Egypt, the very place the king of Babylon had not yet conquered, the very next place on his list.

And there, in Egypt, Jeremiah continued to warn them. So I must continue to warn the senators and congressmen under MY watch. I will not weep for them; they are arrogant. I do weep for the people who will suddenly be inundated with the kind of national collapse that has beset nations in recent years, Iceland, Japan, Argentina and Zimbabwe come to mind. The people who lead this country, and most of those who are following, have ignored all voices of reason, and long ago stopped reading history. I'm not sure many of them ever tried to discern God's will, not since Abe Lincoln's day.

But I will not bail on my country. I will pray and preach to the end. I am in the same boat. May God help me to preach the gospel in a time of political upheaval. For that is the only saving grace. May God give us wisdom to "store up treasure in heaven", instead of banks or 401-ks, where taxmen do not break in and steal, etc.

How's life?

Sometimes it sucks, even if I don't have any good complaints. You just don't feel like thanking God or anyone. The reality is: what you're looking for (happiness) is not so hard to find, if you look in the right place---spiritually, that would be in God's word.

For example, 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

We can all find reasons to complain: The economy isn't good, the kids are disrespectful, the spouse is being difficult, my ankle is getting worse, ants are taking over my house, I have too much to do, my friends don't write--you get the idea. In these times, to be joyful always is an outright chore. To pray at all is hard enough.

But at the moment, giving thanks is easy. I still have a job, my kids are pretty decent, the ants aren't the biting kind and I have a faithful wife. So by reflecting on what I do have, I can find something to be thankful for. Giving thanks gives rise to prayer, and prayer to praise. Buy one, get three!

Why didn't someone teach me this when I was a teenager?! Maybe they tried. It helps to just stop here and write down a little each day, especially when I forget the things I'm supposed to already know.

Now is the Son of Man glorified

John 13:31-38

"When he was gone, Jesus said, `Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.'"

Jesus did not consider his betrayal by Judas a personal tragedy. He saw it as the point at which he had turned the corner toward the cross, and would be glorified at once. By not stopping Judas, or somehow foiling Judas' plan to betray him, Jesus had accepted the rejection of the world and was now firmly on his way to Golgotha. He was resigned, he had surrendered to God's will, however unpleasant it was to be. NOW God was glorified in Jesus, and NOW God would glorify Jesus at once.

I can't say I understand this very well. But it is good to proclaim it, with or without understanding it. One thing I do understand, the glory that Jesus was seeking is very different from the worldly glory that I seek. I do not want people to reject and betray me. I don't know how to think of rejection as glory. But I must change my mind and accept hardship and suffering and sorrow as God's glory. So throughout the New Testament, there is a clearly defined doctrine of "sharing in Jesus' sufferings" given to us. Isaiah 52, Romans 8 are especially important. But 1Peter 4:13 sums it up well:

"But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

Peter wrote this much later. At the time, he wanted to die with Jesus. But Jesus didn't need Peter to die for him, at least not now. He needed Peter to live for Him. It meant, in fact, that Peter would have to die to his own self-esteem and personal glory-seeking mentality. This would happen when he denied Jesus. It was a trial that Jesus especially ordained for Peter to pass through. It would be painful, but later he would have a true appreciation for the glory of Jesus.

Suffering here in America is something you have to kind of go looking for. But going to the campus and bearing rejection and being stood up and such things are a kind of mild suffering. I suspect in the very near future many other kinds of sufferings will come to those of us who do this kind of direct ministry. May God grant us all the fervor and vision of Jesus: that our suffering is for the glory of God, and that it glorifies Him, and that it is His glory for us.

Introducing my weblog

This is my weblog. It really is personal, not intended for the public. If you stumble upon it, read on. But don't expect much.

I'm a Christian and a preacher and need a place for daily thoughts on the Bible and lots of other things. The Bible is written for the purpose of making God known to man. Such knowledge leads us to either love and praise Him, or the opposite. It requires a choice. That choice usually results in praise (laud).

I hope if you read my little cogitations here you might seek to know Him who loves you and gave Himself up for you.