Tag: Suffering

Standing My Ground, I Endure for the Sake of the Gospel

Endurance is a word that denotes inner strength of faith. Faith in itself is abstract, seen only in action. We cannot touch it, but we fight our spiritual battles with its shield. “Take your share of the hardships and suffering as a good soldier of Messiah YAHSHUA” (II Tim. 2:3), was the counsel that Paul gave Timothy, his young missionary partner and spiritual son. When Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, he was imprisoned in Rome (A.D.66-67). However, nothing stopped him from exercising his confidence in the faith that he professed and taught. In those days when men were considered as gods, there was no tolerance for anyone who believed otherwise. Those were evil and dark days, when only the strong in faith overcame them.  In those days, the message of the Gospel given by the apostles of YAHSHUA emanated strength through the letters written to the churches. They were the only source of spiritual knowledge to the New Testament churches. Paul wrote most of the letters that comprise the books of the New Testament. He, when a pharisee, persecuted and took part in the death of Christians, believing that he held the truth. With the same zeal, Paul stood strong for the sake of the Gospel, when he had an encounter with the Savior, YAHSHUA on the road to Damascus with the purpose to bind with chains those of the faith in YAHSHUA. We read in Acts 9:1-2 the following: Meanwhile, Saul, still drawing his breath hard from threatening and murderous desire against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and requested of him letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. In his zeal, nothing stood in the way of his evil purpose against Christians of those days. He used the authority of a pharisee to wipe out the testimony of YAHSHUA, until YAHSHUA appeared to him, convicting him in a bright light that blinded him for several days.

When Paul fell to the ground, he heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am YAHSHUA, Whom you are persecuting. Trembling and astonished, he asked, Lord, what do You desire me to do? The Lord said to him, Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do (Acts 9:4-6).  From the time on, his name was chanced to Paul. He became a warrior for the cause of the Gospel; no longer a prosecutor of it.  He endured many hardships until his death as a martyr. Never giving up, never looking back, when circumstances turned against him. He taught the concept of the armor of God, for he well knew what the spiritual warfare was about. He said, “Therefore, put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day, and having done all, to stand [firmly in your place]” (Eph. 6:13). The Apostle Paul was no ordinary man, but whatever former position, he had, he considered as rubbish for the sake to serve God through persecution and hardships. He said, “To this hour, we have gone both hungry and thirsty; we wear but one undergarment [and shiver in the cold]; we are roughly knocked about and wander around homeless; we still toil unto weariness [for our living], working hard with our own hands. When men revile us, we bless them, when we are persecuted, we take it patiently and endure it… we have been made and are now the rubbish and filth of the world.” ( I Cor. 4:11-13); “we are hedged in on every side, but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; we are pursued, but not deserted; we are struck down to the ground,  but never struck out and destroyed; always carrying about in the body the liability and exposure to the same putting to death that the Lord YAHSHUA suffered, so that the life of YAHSHUA, also may be shown forth by and in our bodies, for we who live are constantly being handed over to death for YAHSHUA’S sake…” (II Cor. 3:8-12). Today, Christians in many parts of the world are still suffering persecution to their death, without giving up their faith. However, the western hemisphere knows very little what it is to be persecuted. Because we have immature and frail faith, depending very much on tangible things, when we should be walking by faith, not by sight (II Cor. 5:7); therefore, we are unprepared for the coming storm of persecution.

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To Him Who Is About To Faint

The world parties while the sufferings increase; indifference that causes blindness toward compassion, expresses itself in obvious manners seen in the victims of circumstances. This is seen in one of the parables of YAHSHUA to answer a lawyer’s question,” Who is my neighbor.” A neighbor is anyone we encounter in the path of life.  There is such a warm feeling in the word neighbor in its meaning. It connects all of us to forget ourselves in order to help, to serve, and to love those who are in difficulties, including foreigners. The behavior of a neighbor should be one that does not measure sacrifice to help one in need, no matter who the person is, even our enemy. Be it psychologically, financially or in any other way we are faced with, compelling us to help. Leaving our comfortable zone, interrupting our schedule to extend a hand is to be a “Good neighbor.” For the believer in YAHSHUA, it is imperative to perform actions of a good neighbor to fulfill the command of our Lord, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The church of Christ is to be the lighthouse, beaming its light to save one from perishing in the storm of suffering. The beams of light are expressions of the love of YAHSHUA sent out through us into the world lost in sin, and perishing, chained to its power. Proverbs 24:11-12 commands us “to deliver those who are drawn away to death, and those who totter to the slaughter, to hold them back. If you [profess ignorance and] say, Behold, we did not know this, does not He Who weighs and ponders the heart perceive and consider it? And He Who guards your life, does not He know it? And shall not He render to every man according to his works?” This is a solemn warning not to be ignored.

The Patriarch Job was found in a miserable situation, when his friends became accusers instead of comforters. They separated themselves from him, when treating him as worthy of the circumstances brought to his life, even when not his fault. It is easier for us to act this way than to invest our time with those in need. However, we forget that tomorrow we could be found in their situations and in need of help from them, for no one is exempt from sufferings life brings. The Bible tells us to strive to save others, snatching [them] out of [the] fire; on others, take pity with fear, loathing even the garment spotted by the flesh and polluted by their sensuality (Jude 23). The world is filled with such people today. Taken by addictions, which controls the mind causing the loss of self- identity, losing the core of whom they are, becoming more like animals than humans, yes, probably guilty of wrong choices made in their life time. The odor they project for not having had baths and their outlook appearances, separates them from society. They are treated as leprous, when in fact, their mental estate requires a little compassion to position them back to human standards. After all, that’s what they are. YAHSHUA died for them, too. If He, being God incarnate, lowered Himself as to become human in order to reach out to sinners, why is it that we can’t have the heart of God to touch another human with His love? God’s love is to be passed on, like a river that overflows to its tributaries. “To him who is about to faint and despair, kindness is due from his friends, lest he forsake the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14). Ignoring to help one in need, touches the heart of God. Solomon wrote, “He who oppresses the poor, reproaches, mocks and insults his Maker, but he who is kind and merciful to the needy honors God” (Prov. 14:31). Our response to the needy – positive or negative, connects us to the very presence of God. Our Lord was often criticized by the religious men of His days for being with those forsaken by society. In Mark 2:15-17, as we read the report of YAHSHUA eating with sinners, that is, the tax collectors: “And as YAHSHUA, together with His disciples, sat at table  in his house, (Levi’s)  many tax collectors and persons with sin were dinning with Him, for there were many who walked the same road; and the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, Why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? When YAHSHUA heard it, He said to them, Those who are strong and well have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick; I came not to call the righteous ones to repentance, but sinners.” Israel’s religious authorities often separated themselves from the rest of the people, for they considered themselves holier than the rest, when as a matter of fact, YAHSHUA defined them as whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matt.23).

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A Macedonia Call

(Acts 16: 9-12; 16-34)

A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man from Macedonia stood pleading with him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us (vs. 9)!  On the way to answer the “Macedonia call” Paul and Silas had to go through the “fire” being struck with many blows to the point of bleeding; they were thrown into prison (dungeon) with their feet fastened in the stocks (vs. 10). They faced many stumbling blocks, but none of them kept them from losing the focus of the call to Macedonia.  Yes, they were bleeding and hurting physically, and their feet were fastened in the stocks, but they were strong spiritually to face the enemy’s weapons with praises to God, proclaiming His love to all who were listening to them in jail; and their spirits were free in Christ to proclaim the goodness of God.

That was the beginning of the fulfillment of the call.  That stumbling block in front of them didn’t indicate a stop sign or a change of calling, but a yield sign in the calendar of God; an introduction to what God had in store for them.  Their submission to God followed by praises to Him caused heaven’s door to be opened for God’s Power to be expressed through a powerful earthquake, where human powers could do nothing to stop it.

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Faith in the Testing of Time

(Genesis 22; Job 1:8-9; I Peter 1: 7)

Blessed is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).

“For when he has stood the test and been approved” there will be a crown waiting for him, the crown of life which has been promised by God Himself to those who love Him,  shown in action of obedience and endurance. The crown of life is the crown that will be given to those who endure trials and martyrdom for their faith. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).

In his testing of faith, the Patriarch Abraham answered the Lord’s calling by saying, Here I am!  This is such a gesture of submission it cannot be ignored. Abraham had a friend’s relationship with God. His walk of faith confirmed it, and the fact that God Himself so expressed in Genesis 18:19: For I have known him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and the sons of his house after him to keep the way of the Lord and to do what is just and righteous, so that the Lord may bring Abraham what He has promised him. Abraham did not know about the test of faith he was about to go through at God’s calling his name. “Here I am”   he answered. The Lord then commanded  him saying, Take your son, your only son, whom you loveand go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you ( Gen. 22:2).

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But As For Me

(Micah 7: 7; Joshua 24:14-15)

After the death of Moses, God established Joshua as the leader to take Israel to the Promise Land. He was Moses’ assistant, who faithfully followed him all the way. Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim. His determination to serve God was visible in all his ways of service to Moses. Joshua was born a slave in the land of Egypt, in the generation after Moses’. His father Nun was hopeful for the deliverance of Israel when he named his son “salvation.” That was of prophetical significance for the future of the nation of Israel’s freedom. Even more significant was the fact that his son would fulfill the prophecy to the letter. He stood as God’s warrior against the pagan nations before they entered the land and after. He remained faithful to the promises of God when he took charge of Israel: Only you be strong and courageous, that you may do according to the all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success (Joshua 1: 7-8).

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How To Be An Overcomer

(I Peter 5: 10; James 4:7; Psalm 92)

The suffering of the believer is not something that happens by accident, neither it is to be regarded as in vain. But it requires a personal search of the heart to be allied in the right position with God, so to understand the perfect will of God in that situation. The sufferings of the believer in YAHSHUA caused by persecution are without a question, the most honorable way of suffering. He so confirmed by saying, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account. Be glad and supremely joyful for your reward is great, for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5: 10-12).

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Why Men Suffer

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).

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The Matter of Taking Offenses

After John had been in prison a while, he sent a message in the form of a question: Are You the One Who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another (Luke 7: 20b) One to come-the Messiah. John seemed to have lost focus and seemed to have forgotten the experience he had at the time when he baptized YAHSHUA and God had revealed and confirmed to him by showing him the Spirit in the form of a dove out of heaven descending and resting on Him, as  he  had said, I did not know Him nor recognize Him, but He Who sent me to baptize in water said to me, Upon Him Whom you shall see the Spirit descend and remain, that One is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. I have seen and my testimony is that this is the Son of God! John looked at YAHSHUA and declared, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1: 29-36) But while in prison, things became obscure to John without outside reports from his disciples of what was happening. YAHSHUA, meanwhile, was healing many of sicknesses and destressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave sight (Luke 7:21). Seemly, John became offended in YAHSHUA when doubt entered his mind concerning YAHSHUA’S role as the Messiah. As a precursor of Christ, He needed to have evidences that demanded his beliefs that YAHSHUA was the One Who was to come.  That was important to him as a prophet, who had introduced YAHSHUA as the One. YAHSHUA promptly sent John an answer that confirmed once again, Whom He was –the Son of God! He sent the message to John saying, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the dead hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news; blessed is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble (Luke 7: 21-23).

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