Suffering
Rev. {3:10} Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. {3:11} Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
James {5:10} Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Examples for suffering affliction and patience.
The two must go hand in hand. The hour of temptation will come upon all the world and only if we keep the word of God's patience will we be kept from that hour.
I was going to do an indepth study on the prophets and their suffering and realized as I began to look up each prophet that there would be no way to know all the suffering they experienced and the patience they had to possess to get through the suffering. That's what suffering does isn't it... makes us stronger?
I was telling my daughter the other day that old saying about what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger and it's true I told her but I added a bit. It's only true if we don't let the suffering, the affliction in whatever form it takes, over come us. We don't have to let it make us stronger in fact a lot of people succumb to their suffering because by its very nature suffering is something to be abhored, something to avoid at all costs. No one wants to suffer. We have painkillers for just about everything, maybe ineffective in the most serious cases, but strong painkillers, painkillers that can end all suffering by causing death. We have drugs to muffle emotional suffering and mental anguish. It's nothing to grasp at medication to rid ourselves of whatever kind of pain we are in. I, myself have told others that there is nothing wrong with treating things with medication because we treat physical pain why shouldn't we treat mental and emotional pain. We've come so far in science that we know that chemicals in the brain- things we have NO control over by our will alone- can be messed up and drugs will help out with that. It's become a physical ailment now that we've advanced in our science so amazingly. I have no doubt that there are physical things in play that effect us all, chemical embalances that can make us seem crazy, make us depressed, make some into serial killers those with no remorse for what they do, that things can be so twisted in our chemical make up that we truly have no choice but to be what we are. I believe some people are born what we term homosexual through no fault of their own in fact even calling it a fault now has become wrong because so many can't help that they've been given the chemical make up that has their perception, their lives far from what is deemed normal.
What I don't believe is that this is something totally new. Afflictions are not new to the world, suddenly appearing after a couple, four thousand years. I believe from the moment man sin things were altered in what made man perfect unto God, made in His Image. Sin's result brought death- not instantaneous so the devil could gloat that God lied right up until Abel was murdered by his brother and Adam and Eve saw the death of one of their own. They did see the death of their beloved animals as they were slain in sacrifice to make coverings for their new nakedness, to cover their sinfilled selves. They saw that death right off but not the death of another human- something Satan said God lied about when Adam and Eve weren't immediately snuffed out of existence for their wrong doing. Death was the result of sinning, death was inevitable from that moment on. A life of toil and suffering had begun.
I told my daughter and son the other day as we were talking about how they are going to get their educations and go to work and how it's all part of life to do so. My son's vacation is being cut short with college starting a month sooner than he believed it would and telling him that it was life, that working with a few days off here and there was the life he had to look forward to wasn't something pleasant to hear. Sure he knew it already, he's not stupid, but making it reality as he seeks his higher education and future employment is altogether unpleasant because who wouldn't rather play and not work? The new world after Christ comes to take us home with Him will not be filled with toil and work in the way we know it to be. It wasn't until Adam and Eve sinned that the toiling began, up until that point all the tending in the garden and such was pure enjoyment not troublesome in the least. The huge beautiful garden of the world where all the animals came to be named, where the fruit of the trees were in full readiness to be enjoyed, where no weed threatened to choke any plant to destroy it... that world was the world we were made for. Is it no wonder we want to play and not work? Is it any wonder we go to great lengths to have free time rather than work time? We weren't made for the toiling and suffering of the world we have, the world that has evolved after sin.
Suffering. We think the suffering people undergo today inhumane and horrific and we look back in our history and see times of great horror. We wonder why it all came to be, how people could stand and allow the suffering to take place. How could the thousands of people sit in the colliseum and cheer on the slaughter of other people as sport? How could they watch and be entertained by the suffering of others? And yet they could. If the vast majority didn't accept such a way of life it wouldn't have lasted long. But the majority of people agreed to what was going on and participated in the events by their support. Then we have the inquisitions where thousands were tortured under the guise of it being God's will. In more modern times we have the Holocaust where millions were slaughtered and we have to ask ourselves how it could be allowed to happen. Even today, right now there are horrors taking place around the world and the suffering is great.
The prophets of God, those close to God, chosen by God to preach of Him, write of Him, witness of Him suffered and they didn't end their lives even when the suffering was beyond what anyone should have to endure. They suffered over and over, their afflictions were great, they weren't given super human powers that included super human protection from suffering. They suffered and even today any prophets of God suffer and it's better that they suffer and endure so it works patience and proves an example to us to cultivate patience, than to give in and end their suffering.
In a world where we are so caught up in ending our pain no matter its source, accepting that some are called to suffer and endure the pain seems absurd.
Even with all the medication and such, even with all the therapy we can afford, it's not always enough and we have to find a place within us that accepts that we are how we are, that chemical embalance or whatever it may be and I mean that- not in a mocking manner- it must be embraced as our lot in life and pray to God that we can somehow let it work in us the patience we need so that we may endure unto the end.
One more note- I was watching a popular tv show the other day and a woman who believes in ghosts (promoting spiritualism and the great lie Satan told Eve in the garden before she ate the fruit) said out right that there is no such thing as demons. Another great lie. In one breath she'll talk of God giving her this special ability, and the next deny the existence of demons when we know for a fact that Jesus cast out demons.
We wrestle against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places- not flesh and blood- and so I say that a lot of our so called afflications do come from outside sources in our lives and we are made to ignore them in favor of keeping the inside sources and something we can control.
Eph. {6:12} For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high [places. ]
We are told the prophets are example in patience, the suffering they endured working that patience. May God help us all to realize that no matter our affliction we can endure by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Does it seem like we can endure? No, not always, but we holdfast to the profession of our faith in Jesus to save us and not us saving ourselves. Our suffering in whatever form it takes can make us stronger in Christ but we have to look to the author and finisher of our faith always and not look to ourselves or other humans around us.
May God bless us all and keep us in Him now and forever by the grace of His Son's sacrifice, His Son's righteousness.
Amen.
7/1/10
Psa 17:4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
Psa 17:5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
We desperately need God to hold up our goings in His paths… that our feet don't slip off that path. It's sooooo easy to be caught up in the works of men. They surround us, the worldly ways, the works of men. There is a HUGE difference between the works of men and the works of God, the ways of men and the ways of God. Jesus was in the world but not OF the world. We are called to be IN the world but not OF the world. We really need to differentiate between the two ways of life and if you think it's easy, it isn't.
Most of us are brought up in the ways of the world, the ways of men. We are blessed and born again unto God and His ways through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as adults or teenagers.
Though some are brought up in Christian families - this is my experience, my family were Sunday and Holiday- Church Christians with Vacation Bible School thrown in but there was no day to day worship other than memorized prayers at meal times and bedtime. I was luckier than a lot of children who grow up without any knowledge of God at all. However, I still believe I grew up in the ways of Men, in the paths of the world. God as being the most important thing in life was not something I grew up believing and I'm NOT going to blame my parents, they were very loving and kind parents (not perfect but no one is) they raised me to the best of their ability.
The point being is our connection to the world. Most of us grow up in the ways of the world not the ways of God. Because we are brought up in the ways of the world later on it is often hard to separate all the ways of the world from the ways of God. You'd think it'd be fairly easy but it really isn't.
You look at certain religions- Quakers and the Amish come to mind and they have their own communities geared towards their religion and their children are brought up in those ways. I'm not saying those are great religions or even going to pretend I know much about them, I don't. What I do know is their children at a certain age are allowed to go out into the world to experience it and decide which way they want to follow and...
"Most (some 85-90%) successfully negotiate this "causal time" of their lives and return to the fold."
Pasted from <http://www.holycrosslivonia.org/amish/q_and_a_no1.htm>
We read this…
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Jesus doesn't pray that we are taken OUT of the world-- but boy wouldn't it be great to be taken out of the worldly ways? To live in a community of Christian believers sharing the same beliefs and honoring God? I know, I know, immediately the idea of CULTS come to mind, and I don't support cult living. In fact from those verses above we know we aren't to be taken out of the world but to be kept from evil.
Most of us don't have the opportunity to live OUT of the world. The worldly ways are all around us, even for those who do livei n the mountains and such. Worldly ways some how seem to creep into our lives in ways we don't suspect or even want to suspect.
Psa 17:4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
Psa 17:5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
Concerning the works of men
By the word of God's lips
I have kept me
From the paths of the destroyer
We need to keep ourselves from the paths of the destroyer found in the works of men.
We need to keep ourselves from being destroyed.
We need God to hold up our goings in HIS paths so we don't slip off HIS path.
This should be our prayer. We aren't to be taken out of the world but we will be kept from evil but ONLY through God, through the righteousness of our Lord and Savior.
Let us examine our paths. Let us pay attention to our lives and ask ourselves if our ways are God's ways and if they are not- rather than get bogged down in discouragement over how worldly we really are- pray. Pray to be kept from evil. Pray to have our goings in God's path, and that our feet don't slip. Pray and as convictions enter our hearts pray harder to be able to surrender the evils we cherish to God. Above all do NOT let Satan convince you that you'll never be right with God, that you can't follow His path. Pray and surrender to Christ, repent, ask for forgiveness over and over and over again if you have to. Trust in Christ for the victory found ONLY in Him, through HIM and His love and mercy.
By the grace and all consuming love, through the righteousness of our Lord and Savior now and forever, all glory and honor, all praise to Him!
Amen
7/1/11
Dan 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of
Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the
Chaldeans;
Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel
understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came
to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the
desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel understood
that Jeremiah prophesized that the Lord had to accomplish the 70 years in
Jerusalem's desolation.
But now Daniel wanted understanding that he didn't get earlier when the
Angel interpreted things to him.
Sure he understood a lot of it clearly just as you and I can through
history, however Daniel was dealing with a future not a past. Daniel isn't alive
now and looking back, Daniel was alive then and looking forward.
Clearly he lacked understanding in something… remember this--
Dan 8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick
certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was
astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
What part didn't
he understand? Seriously. We know he had to understand that Medes and Persia had
conquered Babylon- We know that
he understood that Grecia would be next to conquer.
It's a surety that Daniel would never forget that unique statue dream of
Nebuchadnezzar's. He knew another
power would come and then another and so on.
Yet, Daniel also
understood that he'd been told stuff that he couldn't quite fathom and as such
perhaps it bothered him. He did
FAINT. He was sick for a number
of days. He was astonished at the
vision. Just as you and I would be
astonished at what we didn't comprehend. So when we pick up just a short while
later Daniel is wanting understanding yet again and as we know by the words of
Jesus- sometimes fasting and
prayer is necessary when we are seeking God's will, God's help. Let's continue
reading...
Dan 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to
seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Dan 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and
made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the
covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his
commandments;
Dan 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed
iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy
precepts and from thy judgments:
Dan 9:6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy
servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and
our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
Daniel already
mentioned Jeremiah the prophet- a
prophet that his fathers failed to heed, a prophet that went unheeded in
Daniel's youth leading to his captivity.
Daniel was a part of those who sinned, a part of those who had done
wickedly, who rebelled against that precepts and judgment of God. Daniel was
assuming the guilt because He understood that there was corporate guilt, not
just individual. As part of that corporate guilt He was praying and seeking
forgiveness corporately.
Dan 9:7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto
thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that
are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of
their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
Dan 9:8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of
face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned
against thee.
Dan 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and
forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
Dan 9:10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the
LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the
prophets.
Dan 9:11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy
law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse
is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant
of God, because we have sinned against him.
Dan 9:12 And he hath confirmed his words, which
he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us
a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done
upon Jerusalem.
Dan 9:13 As it is written in the law of Moses,
all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our
God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
Dan 9:14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon
the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his
works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
Dan 9:15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast
brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast
gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
Dan 9:16 O Lord, according to all thy
righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from
thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the
iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all
that are about us.
Dan 9:17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the
prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon
thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
Remember
this--
Dan 8:11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the
prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place
of his sanctuary was cast down.
Dan 8:12 And an host was given him against the
daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the
ground; and it practised, and prospered.
Dan 8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and
another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the
vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to
give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
And remember
this--
Dan 8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not
by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and
practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
Dan 8:25 And through his policy also he shall
cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart,
and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of
princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
Dan 8:26 And the vision of the evening and the
morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall
be for many days.
Is it NO wonder
at all that Daniel had been left without understanding?
Now here in Daniel 9:17 he says- 'Cause thy face to shine upon thy
sanctuary that is desolate'
Daniel understood
the importance of the sanctuary, and from the vision he'd been given he knew
horrific things were to occur and he wanted to understand more fully for all
concerned.
Dan 9:18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear;
open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy
name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our
righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
Dan 9:19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord,
hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy
people are called by thy name.
Dan 9:20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying,
and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my
supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
What made the
holy mountain of God holy? God's
presence made it holy. The
sanctuary built there in and of itself was only holy because God's presence was
there. When the holy city, Jerusalem was chosen as the place of the holy temple
it was all holy because of God's presence there. And God's presence was there
why? For His people. When His
people turned on Him, sinning against Him, rebelling against Him, He allowed the
holy temple to be destroyed signifying what? That He was not pleased with those
who called Him their people because they'd turned from His ways, from Him. Yet here we have Daniel praying -
fasting in sackcloth and ashes- wanting desperately to have his prayer heard by
God and he was praying for this- 'for the holy mountain of my God' - Jerusalem.
He wanted God's presence to reside once more with His repentant people. After having the visions he'd had
perhaps there was a fear that ultimately God's presence would not fully return
to His people, in Jerusalem.
Dan 9:21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer,
even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being
caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
Dan 9:22 And he informed me, and talked with me,
and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
Gabriel has
returned.
Now Gabriel has
come forth to give skill and understanding.
There was more
information that Daniel needed.
More information we would need if we were to understand.
Daniel knew this book would be shut, the vision would be sealed, and that
didn't stop him from realizing that more explaining was necessary for him and us
who would be alive when the vision had been unsealed, the book open.
Yet, Daniel didn't just get the information as you KNOW he wanted it.
Daniel did not easily get the understanding. The revelation didn't come to him
simply. Understanding was given to
him before he prayed his desperate prayer. What does this tell us? Seriously? We
can over look this and just jump to the rest of what was said, what was revealed
but there is a HUGE lesson here for us and if we don't understand that then we
might as well face up to the fact that we are not among those who will be God's
very elect. God's elect will be
FASTING in SACKCLOTH and ASHES- if
not LITERALLY, then FIGURATIVELY at the VERY LEAST!
Those who desire
this understanding and need it to be a HEART understanding, a SPIRIT
understanding , very REAL understanding need to pray a prayer of desperation
and they need to do so with all they are, not just a few words whispered, a few
words of gesture for enlightenment, but a DESPERATE prayer! You know what I'm
talking about! I know you know!
And this is the truth! We
need to do this! We need to seek our God with all our heart, all our mind, all
our soul, with all we are! We need
to admit to our unworthiness and rely solely upon our Savior's mercy and grace,
His forgiveness, His WORTH!
I just can't
stress this enough, I just can't. We need our understanding opened! We need that
eyesalve so we can see! We need that white raiment so we are clothed in our
Savior's righteousness! We need that gold tried in fire, the faith, the belief
beyond doubt! Yes, I'm
shouting and have been for a bit here but we need to understand, we need know,
we need the truth, the pure unadulterated truth so desperately.
The key to
understanding prophecy isn't how well your internet browsing skills are to
search out history. The key isn't
in being the best puzzle solver ever. The key isn't in being able to decipher
difficult words. The key isn't in any reference material you may possess, or
find. The key to understanding
prophecy is the HOLY SPIRIT! The key to understanding prophecy is GOD's GRACE,
GOD's MERCY! The key to
understanding prophecy is JESUS!
No, we might not
have an angel come to open up our understanding as Daniel had, but that doesn't
matter! We have to have a love of God and God will provide the means for us to
have comprehension in Him. All necessary understanding will come from HIM and
we need to pray for this like we've never prayed before!!!!!!!
By His love!
Amen.