HE HAS OUR BACKS

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)

I am sure that many people can look back on their courting days when they were on their best behavior trying to impress a boyfriend or girlfriend.  For some that might have been completely authentic and there was no guile at all, but for others it might have been a pretense rather than a preview of coming events. Authenticity is hard to come by.  When I spoke at my Dad’s memorial, that was one of the words I used to describe him.  When it came to my father, what a person saw was what what a person got.  He had no ulterior motives to his actions.  He was one of the most real men I ever knew.  As Christians, that is what we need to be- real.

I talked about that in last Sunday’s sermon on Father’s Day.  The world is desperate for realness because we are surrounded by falseness.   Many people are doing the anatomically impossible by speaking out of both side of their mouths and many others seldom walk they way they talk.  It seems being genuine is just a pastime that people do only when it is convenient.  

There is a story about the time a fire broke out in a great theater. Hoping to avoid a panic, the manager sent out the lead actor to make the evacuation announcement. He explained what was happening and what the people needed to do to be safe and the crowd thought it was part of the show and gave him applause. The actor continued and repeated the plea in with more passion  and the people repeated their applause.  As the actor pleaded with them to run, they shouted bravos and suddenly the walls of the theater started to crash in around them. What they needed that day was a word they regarded as authentic.  Christianity is more than a performance. We need to give the “audience” lifesaving words they regard as real.

The writer of Hebrews states, “Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await him.”  (Hebrews 9:28)  If we have accepted the sin-bearing sacrifice of Christ, then we should also be one of those who is eagerly awaiting His return.  That may be one of those signs of authenticity. Do we anticipate the rapturing of the church with eagerness and try to bring as many others to take that incredible transformation with us, or would we just as soon have the rapture delayed because we prefer this world’s pleasures to heavenly ones.  If we think this world offers anything close to what heaven brings, we may not be a “real” as we would like to think.

When Jesus called for those to follow Him, some had other things to do first.  Dr. Luke records the following in 18:22-23  “When Jesus heard this, He said to him, ‘One thing you

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still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’  But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”  If we knew that tomorrow was the Day of the Rapture, would we be disappointed?  We might be disappointed for those who we know would be left behind, but would we also be disappointed because we think God can’t make eternity as cool as the world around us?  If we don’t believe in God’s wonderful provision, it is hard to be authentic about our faith.  It will be more of a have-to faith than a want-to one.

There is a story about a young girl who really wanted to go to college, but one of the questions on the application was “Are you a leader?”  She knew she wasn’t, but to be honest, she wrote “no” anticipating the worst.  Surprisingly, she received a letter of acceptance with an attached note that said, “according to our applications, we will have 1,472 leaders enrolling this semester. We thought it would be good to have at least one follower.”  If we were to fill out a heavenly application that asked, “are you an authentic Christian,” there would probably be only few that would write no.  The question is, how many should write “no”?  The next question is, if we should write “no,” why don’t we change, so we can write yes.  Remember, authentic will never mean we are just like Christ- authentic means we intentionally strive through the power of the Holy Spirit to be as Christlike as we can.  It means that “realness” is a priority in our lives.

We don’t want to be a sad replica of the real thing.  The original is Jesus Christ.  We are supposed to replicate him, not to be a cheap knock-off of sorts.  There is a saying that realness is being the same person when no one is around.  When we attend church it is easy to think that everyone is authentic, but what are they like during the week?  Sunday is sometimes like the courting stage of a relationship.  “All dressed up in the Sunday best wearing smiles to impress.” But realness also necessitates consistency of behavior.  If we are going to live out our faith, it cannot be selective.  It needs to be an all-the-time thing.  If we enjoy the world so much that we think going to be with the Lord would be step down, authenticity is probably pretty hard.

We are to be imitators of Christ, but not superficial ones.  We are called to follow in His steps.  On the battlefield when someone is carrying a mine detector those behind him follow in his steps- exactly.  They do not take their own path.  The place their feet right in the footprints of the one who can take them to safety.  We need to do that.  We cannot be the one who knows exactly where to step, but we can certainly be the one who doesn’t drift  to another path.  The people around us may not be able to see Jesus ahead of them and they may just step where we do.  If they have more than one set of footprints to choose from, that starts to be confusing.  We need to stay in step with Christ, for our own benefit and for the benefit of those who may follow us.

We have an example of authenticity in Christ.  He was not caught up in the world.  In Philippians 2:13 it says, “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”  He will help us to be like Him. We are not left to be Christlike without Christ’s help.  So let us be like the Corinthians who were “awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7), and like the Philippians whose “citizenship was in heaven, from which also [they] eagerly waited for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 3:20).  The degree of our authenticity may be in direct proportion to our degree of anticipation for His return.  If we are lackadaisical about that, we might be lackadaisical about our “realness.”

“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God . . . “  2 Timothy 1:8

In this verse Paul is speaking to his young co-worker in the faith, Timothy. Timothy was ministering in the very pagan city of Ephesus. He was young and surrounded by hosts of non-believers. Paul is writing Timothy from prison and is asking him not be ashamed of Jesus, Paul himself, or the gospel. It seems harsh to use the word ashamed since Timothy was  Paul’s “son in the faith” and had faced persecution with Paul many times for the sake of Christ.  How could Timothy be ashamed of the faith that he so stubbornly defended?

Many of us are surrounded by unbelievers in our daily lives.  Some of the people are more than unbelievers; they may be anti-believers. Some may be indifferent and others may be hostile.  Some might be complacent and others might be combative.  Regardless, it might be difficult to make our spiritual beliefs known to those around us due to the perceived or real responses we might receive. Being outspoken about our faith can lead to all kinds of reactions, good and bad, and sometimes silence seems to be the most prudent policy.

Timothy might have been tempted to be ashamed of his position in Christ for the sake of comfort. Being ashamed does not necessarily mean that he actively

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rejected his faith, but that he remained incognito in the faith. Sometimes what is left unsaid is as much a statement about the place Christ plays in our life as what is said.  In Timothy’s case (and ours) he was defending a man who was dead, yet was said to be alive. He said (as we do) that this same man wanted to have a relationship with everyone on earth. He described this invisible man (again, like we must) as the forgiver of sins and the giver of life.  Paul may have known that Timothy was wondering if it was best expose himself with this incredible story to the ridicule and incredulity of many. Paul knew that thousands (including us) would face this same dilemma down through the ages.  That is why Paul wrote to Timothy (and us) to stay strong in the faith.

Timothy may have also been tempted to be ashamed of Paul because he was sitting in prison and was on the outs with the higher-ups of Roman Empire.  It is easier to sometimes ignore the plights of our fellow believers than to recognize and support them, thus giving away our position. Paul urges Timothy to understand that

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anyone who stands on the promises of God will face discomfort.  If we believe that we might face discomfort by identifying with the persecuted, we might stay silent about our faith.  Paul instructs against shamed silence when we see others who are being ridiculed or persecuted for their faith in Christ.

Lastly,  Paul warns Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel. The gospel of the Bible is offensive to the world. First of all, it is exclusive and that is a concept that is not accepted today. To say that there is only one way to be saved is contrary to the all-important tolerance of today’s world. Secondly, it flies in the face of the belief that we can earn our salvation. Finally, it exposes our sinful condition and need for forgiveness. The gospel is a touchy subject and many feel it is  better to avoid it completely than to experience derision and ridicule from others.

If we are not willing to stand up for Jesus, our fellow believers,

and the gospel of Christ, it may mean we are ashamed of the gospel. Total silence may indicate, at the least, partial shame. If we believe that the Bible holds the keys to eternal life and vast blessings here on earth, why be reluctant to share it?  Around the world right now many are being lined up and killed for their faith; here we might be fired upon with insults.  That is a big difference.

We need to ask ourselves this.  If someone we knew suddenly wanted to know who Jesus was, would they think of asking us?  If we have remained in the shadows with our faith, probably not. If we have made our love for Him known, probably so.

Fear not, be not silent, be not ashamed, “for if God is with us, who can be against us.”

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on the one who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.”  Romans 14:1-3

In Romans 14 Paul addresses a variety of issues that deal with gray area issues made black and white in the first century church.  Ironically, the same kinds of problems plague the church and Christians today.  First century Christians would hang their hats on such issues as eating meat or sabbath days and it would cause dissension in the ranks. They would take things of little consequence and make them cornerstones of their beliefs.  They would even take things that were not specifically addressed in the Bible and make them doctrine.  We do the same kinds of things today.

Our main concern should be for others.  That is hard for us to grasp.  We are in a day that promotes looking out for Number One.  We are encouraged to look out for ourselves first and if along the way we can help someone else, so be it, but we should never sacrifice our own wants to meet the needs of another.  It is this kind of thinking that causes division in what should be unity in the Body of Christ.

It is said that when the British and French were fighting in Canada in the 1750s, Admiral Phipps, commander of the British fleet, was told to anchor outside Quebec. He was supposed to wait until the British army arrived and then support them from the sea.  Phipps arrived early and became irritated by the statues of saints that dotted the harbor’s shoreline.  He told his men to target practice on statues.  No one knows how many rounds were fired or how many statues were knocked out, but when the land forces arrived and the signal was given to attack, the admiral was of no help. He had used up all his ammunition shooting at the “saints.”   That is what we are in danger of doing in the church.  We fire so much upon each other, that we have nothing left to face the enemy with.  We get caught up in fighting one another on small battles and ignore the true war that is waging around us.

My uncle was one of the most well-known Apostolic Faith ministers in the country, maybe in the world.  Apostolics had some very specific ideas that kept my uncle and me from having the kind of relationship that Christians should have with each other.  Little things like the wearing of jewelry and modes of dress were essentials in their doctrine. They were very outspoken on all issues regardless of whether they were gray areas or not. What we would consider personal preference they would consider doctrinal truth.  Thus if someone wore rings (even though they could wear incredibly expensive watches), they were in disobedience to God.  If one was in disobedience to God, their salvation was in great jeopardy.  It was very legalistic.  The very unfortunate part was that my uncle’s church had little to do with any other churches.  After all, the others were all wrong.

We all have our list of “preferences” that we make bigger than they should be.  In Paul’s time the people argued over eating meat that was sacrificed to idols.  Some said it was sacrilegious and others said that since idols were non-gods, the meat was just meat.  Both had their points and neither was wrong.  But neither should have built their church on that rock and some tried!  Here was what they should have kept in mind according to Paul.  It might be fine to eat the meat, but examine whether eating would cause another to stumble.  So, in other words, it might be legal for us to eat the meat, but is it profitable?  Will it affect my walk or another’s walk negatively.  Before we do something, we should examine the possible consequences of our actions to us and to others.  So, let’s take it a step further.  We should watch our own actions for the sake of others, and should also avoid being too critical of the actions of others.  Our actions and how they affect others should be a priority rather than how others actions fit into our priorities.  We often get these two mixed up.

Moms are much better at pointing out possible consequences to their children than men are (oops, that might be sexist).  They might be heard saying something to their kids like, “Don’t run with that stick or you will poke both your eyes out.”  (I have often wondered how they could poke out both eyes unless they got up after they poked out one and fell again or were carrying a forked stick, but that is not for me to question.)  We need to scrutinize the situation as closely as moms do when they add up stick plus child plus ground plus running.  What will our actions possibly add up to?  What are the consequences of our behavior.  We too often scrutinize the behavior of others, while ignoring the consequences of our own.

I am not big on guys wearing ear rings.  Not sure exactly why that is, but I have never liked it for some reason.  Maybe my mom was insulted by a man wearing ear rings when I was in the womb, I don’t know, but it has never invoked a positive feeling in me.  I think I see it as juvenile.  But can I use ear rings to judge others by.  Is there scripture I can use for questioning someone’s spiritual maturity?  Can I doubt someone’s salvation because “no ear rings go to heaven.”  Of course not.  In some cultures that is the norm.  But unfortunately Christians too often use other peoples taste in dress, music, activity, food, etc. as a basis for judgement.  According to the Word, we are not to do that.

C.S. Lewis wrote about this in Mere Christianity.  He said, “One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting everyone else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons—marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning.”

I am really making four points here and am trying to pull them together.  1) We make too big a thing about the insignificant things that those around us do.  2) We often ignore much more evil things that go on around us.  Things that we should probably get upset about.  3)  We don’t worry about how our own actions affect those around us and don’t keep that in mind as we should. 4) The only true way to judge ourselves and the world around us is by looking through the lenses of God’s Word.  Trying to cover this much in one devotion is way above my ability, so this is the…

…end of part one!

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18.

We make decisions every day and we would like to make decisions that are compatible with God’s will. But how do we know God’s will? I believe that about 99.99%of God’s will can be found in the Bible. If we think we have found God’s will but our decision is contrary to the Word, we can be assured that it is not God’s will. But it is not that easy! What about things that are not spelled out for us. What if we are trying to decide what job to take, which house to buy, or even where to put our money? Can  we really find places in the Bible that can help us?

When making decisions like this, the first thing we should do is to see which of our decisions will be more compatible with God’s Word.  If the decision will result in compromising a Biblical truth, then it would probably not be a good decision.  Let’s say we were considering taking a new job, but that job would greatly interfere with our ability to spend any time at all with our kids.  Because there are many verses in the Bible that point to importance to family, we might see this as an indication that that job might not be God’s will and thus not to our advantage.

So where do we find these very helpful verses?  All through the Bible!  Let’s just take a look at five verses from 1 Thessalonians and look at how many valuable aids Paul has left us if we are trying to do God’s will.  If we are making a choice and that choice will violate one of the following instructions, we should think twice before making it.

Take a moment to think about these clear and powerful exhortations concerning the will of God for believers in our verses from Thessalonians. These exhortations express the specific will of God in relationships with others, with ourselves, and with the Lord. Packed into these short verses are patterns of life and behavior which will receive His blessing in these relationships.

“Warn them that are unruly…” When we know people who are idle, undisciplined, pleasure seeking, they need to know the danger they are in. Watching silently as people destroy their lives is not in the will of God. Other parts of God’s Word show us how to approach them; these words just tell us we should.

“Comfort the feebleminded…” We should comfort people who are disheartened, disoriented or confused.  We should come alongside them with brotherly affection, encouraging words, and prayer.

“Support the weak…” Our natural tendency is to despise and neglect weaker people, to stay away from them since they have nothing to offer us, can damage our reputation and often require a long-term time commitment. Jesus says find them and lift them up whenever we can.

“Be patient toward all men…” We must realize how patient God is with us, and that “patience” is the first thing that love is. See 1 Corinthians 13:4 for confirmtion!  Patience means waiting in love and hope, with prayer, for people to see what they need to see, do what they need to do, change how they need to change.

“See that none render evil for evil…”  We should not allow evil men in this world to corrupt our own behavior and character. This is a constant temptation throughout life because evil people are everywhere, including the church.  It is easy for us to compromise our own faith because others do it. We need to stay strong in light of worldly influences.

“Follow that which is good…”  Doing good of every kind is our lifelong mandate as believers; there are millions of ways to obey it. (unfortunately also as many ways to disobey it)  God’s will for us to do good toward all men – even those who don’t deserve it!

“Rejoice evermore…”  This is sometimes a tough one to get a handle on, but we know that Jesus has rescued us from an eternity unspeakable misery and pain to everlasting joy and pleasure. This constant reality in our lives can give a reason to rejoice even when the woes of this world attack us.

“Pray without ceasing…” Some of us might find the idea of praying constantly just a pipe dream. The Lord, however, is wide open to communication with Him 24/7, why not continually include Him in your words and thoughts?  He should never be far from our minds and we should continuously look for reasons to speak to Him.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you…”;  Before we pray, before we work, before we travel, we should be do so in the spirit of thankfulness.  Gratitude can change our whole approach to everything.  Thankfulness to our Redeemer in all things lets Him know that we know who is in charge and what He has done for us.

Just think what the result would be if all Christians followed just these instructions from Thessalonians on a daily basis.  It is often said that if all believers looked like believers, it would cause the biggest evangelistic explosion the world has ever seen.  God’s Word shows us how to be the kind of people we should be.  If we will search for God’s will in the scripture and will act on the His will, we will be different.

The will of God is not so hard to figure out when we realize that these kinds of verses we see above are throughout the entire Bible. Just obeying these exhortations in these verses can give us direction in many, many decisions. Wherever the Lord calls us, He calls us to live out these things. God’s Holy Spirit inspired these words, and He alone gives us the power to carry them out. Our part is to believe and act, and He then will direct our paths.

“For I am the Lord, I change not.” Malachi 3:6

Changes in our lives are difficult.  There has been no time in recent memory that has had so many changes as we saw back  in 2020.  Covid, wildfires, riots, and unrest were all  crammed in a single year.  Now we are involved in a war and civil unrest that carries violence with it on a daily basis. We recently had a third assassination attempt on our president . How we handle these changes will say a lot about us. If the changing world around us controls what goes on inside us we need to look toward the Changeless One for strength. Some people don’t want to accept their need for change. The story is told about a doctor who told a man to give up red meat, so he stopped putting ketchup on his hamburgers.  That is not the way to handle change.

We get used to a certain routine and to suddenly have that altered is not without its accompanying stress.  The world is an ever-changing place that we have little control over.  It is a road full of potholes and obstacles between times of smooth driving.  People say that “The only thing you can predict about the weather in Oregon is that you can’t predict the weather in Oregon.”  Well, that is true about life.  Just when we think we have it figured out, along comes something new- it might not be particularly good or bad, painful or wonderful, or it might be one or all of these things.  What we do know is that it is different.  What we do know is that it is change- and that is something that can be difficult.

In our verse above God tells us that He does not change.  Isn’t that great to know.  In this ever fluctuating play called life, the playwright is unchanging.  The nature of God and His great love for us do not change. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.”   God loves us.  That does not change.  He willingly made history’s greatest sacrifice so that our lives would not have to be as up and down as the roller-coaster world we live in.  As unknowable as the world is, God’s love is knowable. The canvas on which our lives are painted is evil, but God owns the paints.  He can cover that evil with a life that is beautiful.

The word tells us, “So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence”   (Hebrews 6:18) .  That word confidence is a nice one to hear in this uncertain world.  God cannot lie.  He loves us and wants to do what is best for us. We can read books on philosophy or self help, but these can’t be read as “gospel” because there is only one gospel.  The scripture is the only perfectly reliable book that has been written.  If we want to feel confidence in change, we need to read the book authored by the only consistent author the world has ever known.

If we read something like, “For the Lord will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance” (Psalm 94:14), we can get excited because amidst change God gives us a never-changing inheritance.  But what good does it do to hear this truth if we don’t know what the inheritance is?  How do we know what the inheritance is?  By searching the Word.  There was a story of a man that who had two little boys.  One little boy who was so pessimistic that he was miserable all the time and the other who was so optimistic that his father felt he was dangerously unrealistic.

The father felt he needed to bring them to some sort of middle ground by teaching them that things are not always good or always bad. He told them he had a surprise for them. For the pessimistic boy, he had filled a room full of toys that he knew would have to make him happy and with the other son he filled the room with manure so that the boy would at least be able to accept the reality that not all things are positive.

After a while the father checked the toy room and the boy was sitting in the middle of the toys crying.  “There are too many toys here.  I can’t figure out where to start.  Please let me out.”  The father was blown away, but knew that at least his other son will have learned a lesson.

He went into the manure room and was astounded to see his son digging through all the manure. “What are you doing!” he shouted.

His son looked up with a big grin and said, “With all this manure, I know there has to be a pony here somewhere, and I going to find him.”

Optimism is good, but optimism in God is better.  There is value to being realistic and that realism can be based on the unchanging promises of God.   In this time when loyalties are as fragile as crystal and today cannot be used to predict tomorrow, it is wonderful to realize that God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.  …“for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” Hebrews 13:5   So let the changes come because He is with us and we do not need to walk in fear because we can walk in faith! We can trust God with all the changes, and know that He is more than able to help us and that He even has plans to bless us.

With God as our anchor, the winds of change need not toss us to and fro.  So often what seems an awful change is remolded by God’s hand to be a change that changes our lives for the better.  Remember, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.”  It is God who can take changes and make them into something special.  The way for us to handle change is by leaning on Him Who does not change.  The more we let God control the changes in our lives, the less the changes in our lives will control us.