In the school of life, suffering is very much a part of it. Because we were born in sin and born of sinful parents, suffering will follow us until death, in one way or another. When sin entered the Garden of Eden, then the curse entered with it. Therefore, suffering, generally speaking, is a result of sin. David confessed it this way when he was found guilty of adultery and homicide: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me (Psalm 51:5-6). The Apostle Paul confirms: therefore, as sin came into the world through one man and death as a result of sin, so death spread to all men, because all men sinned (Rom. 5:12). And we were then by nature children of [God’s] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation (Eph. 2:3b). The Prophet Jeremiah puts all in perspective: Why does a living man sigh [ and why does] a man complain for the punishment of his sin? Let us test and examine our ways and let us return to the Lord; let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven (Lam. 3: 39-41).
Category: Think About It
He Performs What He Planned for My Life
(Job 23:14)
The words of Job spoken thousands of years ago still resonate strongly in our ears today when we read them. He desired that his words were written; that they were inscribed in a book; that with an iron pen and lead they were graven in the rock forever (Job 19: 23-24). Yes, God heard the prayer of His righteous servant, Job and years later, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Job’s words were inscribed in a book that has lasted thousands of years. They have encouraged many in their valleys and strengthened their faith because they came from a man in his suffering and not in his days of prosperity. He said, He performs [that He has] planned for me, and of many such matters He is mindful (Job 23:14). Job could see beyond all God’s faithfulness in completing in him His purpose for what He created him. He knew that God was aware and mindful of all his sufferings. We are blessed to have these words written in order to know without a doubt that God is aware and mindful of everything that happens to us, too. When God created a life, He created with a purpose. The destiny of every one is written in His book. David said, Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them (Psalm 139:16). Every human life is precious to Him; He was involved in every detail of creating us. He formed our inward parts; He knit us together in our mother’s womb… (Psalm 139:14a). After all, He gave us life. Not one single life created – born or unborn is a waste.
Faith Regulates the Believer’s Walk
For we walk by faith not by sight (II Cor. 5:7). These words from the apostle Paul denote a strong demand on the way we live. Since faith is the assurance of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality (Heb. 11:1), we must stand firmly holding faith’s banner for all to see. It is easy to walk by faith when all seems to be going fine, when faith is not challenged. But that is not faith at all, since faith requires hope for the reality of some things we expect to happen. When faith regulates the believers’ life, circumstances cannot alter the way we feel in times of trials, for it elevates the believer upward where our Lord YAHSHUA is sitting at the right hand of God. Faith is much needed while we are in our temporary tent for our existence on earth. As Paul said, In this tent we groan and sigh. Our spirit groans to be clothed with the non-corrupted body, for it does not belong in this temporary tent, since it was made a true life in Christ and regulated by faith. It is a gift we all should desire to live a life pleasing to the Lord. Faith conquers our fears and anxiety; it stands stronger than the enemy’s strength. Confident courage is the result of active faith and in it there is victory; the enemy is subdued under the power of faith. Only by faith we can believe in God, in His promises and be established in Him. The Lord told Israel, If you will not believe, you surely will not last (Isaiah 7: 9b), because it is faith that will sustain and uphold us with victory.
Psalm 91- A Covenant Promise
A covenant is an agreement between two people; it will only work if both parties will honor their obligation to it. Therefore it is conditional. God had a covenant with Abraham, from which the nation of Israel was born. The Lord also promised Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. When Abraham was tested on the mountain “The Lord will provide,” God blessed him by saying, I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that since you have done this and have not withheld or begrudged your son, your only son, in blessing I will bless and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand of the seashore. And you Seed will possess the gate of His enemies. And in your Seed [Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice (Gen. 22:17-18). Although Abraham kept the covenant between God and him, his descendants did not; reason why they lost their beautiful Promised Land covenanted with them, conditionally upon their keep of the contract.
In Remembrance of Him
(Matthews 26:23; I Corinthians 11)
Christmas season is the time when everyone is running to and fro, here and there, after gifts for one here and the other there, but not realizing the meaninglessness of it all when they say it is YAHSHUA’S birthday. The Word of God tells us that YAHSHUA had no beginning and no end. We read this in the book of John chapter one verses 1-4: In the beginning there was the Word (YAHSHUA), the Word was with God and the Word was God Himself! He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him(YAHSHUA), and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. He existed before time; He was never held in the boundary of time, neither to its limits, for time exists only by Him. To fulfill the Father’s will, a body was prepared for Him, but that did not measure the time frame of His existence, neither His beginning. It just implies the human’s time frame for men to mark the date of His coming to earth.
Interruptions Are Life’s Stoplights
(Mark 5:22-34, 41-42)
One certain day one of the rulers of the Synagogue named Jairus, came to YAHSHUA prostrating himself at His feet begging Him to come and heal his daughter who was at the point of death. This leader was one of the board members of elders who governed the activities and oversaw the building and whatever else that pertained to do with the synagogue. They were lay leaders who did not get paid for services rendered. Jairus, in spite of his position, had to make a decision not acceptable by the Pharisees or the Scribes- the spiritual leaders of the country. Based on the testimony of many concerning YAHSHUA’S power to heal the sick, and possibly having witnessed it himself, he believed YAHSHUA could heal his daughter who was at the point of death. No doctors could turn her around and give her life. Jairus could be thrown out of the synagogue’s leadership position due to his decision, but his daughter’s health situation was of more value at that moment. He courageously went to see YAHSHUA humbly begging Him for his daughter’s healing. His heart was filled with hope when YAHSHUA decided to follow him to his house.
Forty Stripes – No More
Forty stripes may be given him but not more, lest, if he should be beaten with many stripes, your brother should seem low and worthless to you (Deut. 25:3).
At Pilate’s decision to let YAHSHUA go, the Jewish vehemently cried, Crucify Him! Not wanting to do that, Pilate said he would scourge Him and let Him go. YAHSHUA would then be under the mercilessness of the Roman hand of judgment. The Roman government laws were independent of the Jewish laws. In this case, we read, forty stripes may be given him (the guilty man) but not more… Let’s compare the two and once and for all delete from your mind that YAHSHUA was beaten forty stripes. That is an erroneous teaching.
Wilderness, a Place For Temptation
(Luke 4)
Then YAHSHUA, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit for during forty days in the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, He was hungry (Like 4:1,2). The devil came to YAHSHUA at the point of His need – hunger. Forty days and nights without eating can starve the body and lead it to death, that is, for some people, depending on their health factors. Forty days is long enough time for the body to have used all the resources it had to be sustained. YAHSHUA, as a man, was subject to the weakness of a human body, but not to man’s sinful nature. He was led to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted in preparation for the ministry He was going to fulfill. Like us, He was also subjected to temptations, and to the extent of sufferings that we experience. So after fasting forty days and forty nights, His obvious need of that moment was hunger. Hunger and thirst in the desert are something hard to overcome without having knowledge of how to survive in such environment which lacks everything that benefits the body. The Bible does not say if He went without water however, I assume so. Whatever the situation, He went hungry after forty days.
A Fish and a Shekel
(Matthew 17:24-27)
When YAHSHUA arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the half shekel [the temple tax] went up to Peter and said, Does not your Teacher pay the half shekel? He answered, Yes. And when he came home, YAHSHUA spoke to him first, saying, What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly rulers collect duties or tribute from their own sons or from others, not of their own family? And Peter said, From other people not of their own family. YAHSHUA said to him, Then the sons are exempt. However, in order not to give offense and cause them to stumble, go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Take it to them to pay the temple tax for Me and for yourself.
Lazarus, Mary and Martha
(John 11-12; Luke 10)
Lazarus, Mary and Martha were close friends of YAHSHUA. They lived in a village called Bethany on the slope of the Mount of Olives, two miles east of Jerusalem. Bethany is identified with the West Bank today, the city of Al-Eizariya- place of Lazarus in Arabic. Bethany is often mentioned in connection with important events in the life of our Lord, YAHSHUA. Lazarus, Mary and Marth, each had a memorable and personal experience with Him. Lazarus seemed to be the youngest of the three, for he was uninvolved, and passive. His name in Arabic was Eliezer, meaning, God will help. Eliezer was the name of Abraham’s eldest servant; he was from Damascus. He was a trusted servant, who found Isaac a wife at the request of Abraham.
Light from the Word 