When people oppose you because of your faith

“For my love they are my adversaries:” Psalm 109:4a

Who is your love?

Is it Jesus?

If it is, then you will have many adversaries because of it.  People who have no reason to be against you will find themselves being just that… against you.

You will not be in want for adversaries… weather physical or spiritual.  But there is a strategy for taking care of this…

The “Event Horizon”… where the Devil can’t get you

The “Event Horizon” is the term for the point near a black hole where the gravity is so intense that there is no way to escape it.

It is a point of no return.  It is a point of position that determines where you are going.

I wonder… is there a point like this where we have gotten so close to Jesus… so drawn in by Him… that the devil and his demons wouldn’t be able to touch us?  Is there a point where our proximity to Jesus draws us so close to Him that the Light He is dispels every attempt of darkness to draw near?

I think so. 

Almost in all evil… (Proverbs 5:14)

“I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.” Proverbs 5: 12

It is a tough place to be in… realizing you almost blew it!  Realizing you were “almost in all evil.”

We have all been in that place.  Hopefully we catch ourselves before we get there.  It is eye-opening, though,  whenever it happens. 

But we aren’t the first to be there and the Word of God gives us instruction on how to avoid it…

King David had guts…

“But when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?”  Matthew 12: 2-4

What made King David so sure he was above the law?

What do you do with your thoughts?

We never have an original thought.  Thoughts are not something that come from us… they come to us.

Thoughts are received. 

We get them from two places.  They either come from God or from the devil. 

But we can think.

So the two questions are…

The purpose of God’s Law

I have heard it said that the purpose of God’s Law was to demonstrate the perfect religion.  That it is meant to show us what pleases God.  It is meant to give us guidelines for righteous living and moral truth.

All true… but it boils down to one thing that trumps all, and fulfills all…

Why don’t Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah?

If Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, why don’t Jews accept Him?

Good question. 

But the word of God answers that one. 

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” Romans 11:25

In part…

“A good [man] obtaineth favour of the LORD:” Proverbs 12:2a

I want to obtain the Lord’s favor.  But how can I be good when the word declares that there is none good but God? (Matt 19:17)

Is this some cruel Catch 22?  Is this some cruel joke or yet another unattainable rule and task?

No. 

It is just that I need to metanoeō (change the way I think).

Jacob have I loved (Romans 9:13)“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Romans 9:13

Hard words to accept about a God who “is Love.”  How can He hate?  How can it be that He loved one brother and hated another?

“[Was] not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau,” Mal 1:2-3a

Is this really the God we want to serve?  Is this really a God Who would give His only Son for us?

Something must be wrong with the way we think about Him?... or maybe, just maybe something is wrong with our perception of love and hate.

The power of a blade (Mark 4:28)

“For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” Mark 4:28

A seed can get through the smallest crack.  Remember that.  I know I have to.

I have cracks in my driveway.  I have seen them in the church parking lot as well.

And when there is a crack, a seed can get through.  Whether it is grass or a weed or a stalk of corn…  it will find its way down to the soil and take root.

But we have to be careful what seeds get through because there is a lot of power in that little seed.

The prayer that never gets hindered

“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with [them] according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7

It seems a little frustrating that, as Christian men, we can have our prayers hindered.  Doesn’t seem right.

We are covered by the blood of Jesus.  We have full access into the throne room.  We have direct access, in Christ, with the Father.  We should be rocking this world with powerful prayer.

And yet, sometimes… not so much.

It must be that many Christian men aren’t loving their wives. 

I fit into that boat yesterday.  And I found myself in a Catch 22 because the only thing I could think to do was pray… hindered prayers?

And then the Lord gave me this comfort…

What’s for dinner?

My wife can cook.  Man, can she cook.  She is actually pretty famous for it.

I had to give a sermon for school and my pastor said I could do it at the church.  So on the Sunday prior they announced it at the beginning of services, “Mike Colucci will be giving a sermon here on Tuesday night.  Everyone is encouraged to come out in support…”

You could hear crickets…

“And Donna will be preparing food for those who come.”

And the church broke out into cheers and clapping.  I’m serious.

Luckily, we didn’t have anything for dinner that was forbidden by God.  You know why?...

Table scraps

Sometimes we find it hard to believe that Jesus would have called people dogs.  Of course, His Jewish contemporaries would have known what He meant when the woman came to Him bringing her daughter who had an unclean spirit.

And what is more intriguing is what transpired next.

Saul vs Paul

We’ve talked about name changes before.  But I wanted to add one to the list.

Saul.  We know him as a Pharisee of Pharisees.  He had a resume that would have gotten him a chance at the spot for “next High Priest.” He was on the fast track to the hall of fame.

And he was named appropriately for it.

Saul…

If the foundations be destroyed

 “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11 v3

We understand the importance of a solid foundation.  We know that, if the foundation is not secure, if it does not sit upon something that is immovable, there will be a problem.

The building will come crumbling down.  In this we have a caution and a hope.

Way-cleanser… guaranteed.

When I was younger I did some things I am not proud of.  Some of my ways were not His ways.  Well… most of my ways were not His ways.

OK… I don’t think any of my ways were His ways.

I was tainted by the muck and mire of life.  I was knee deep in pride and self-exaltation.  I was heading for destruction.  And then He saved me.

But what to do of those old “ways” that try to creep in every so often?…

Dibs on Jesus!

Did you ever have to go somewhere on the buddy system?  You remember as a kid maybe going on a field trip for school and making sure you had a “buddy?”

They kept you safe.  They kept you entertained.  You might have even become good friends.

And when the teacher would say, “OK pick your buddy”… it would hurt it you were one of the last, or the last… or unwanted.

I know.

But I have a new buddy now.

The one gift God gave me that He would never give anyone else

The Lord asked me this question the other night when I was walking the dog.

“What is the one gift I have given you that I would never give anyone else?”

The answer was obvious, convicting, and challenging.

To be a diligentleman

I like coining phrases.  I don’t know if “diligentleman” will ever catch on, but what it implies we be should.

“The thoughts of the diligent [tend] only to plenteousness; but of every one [that is] hasty only to want.” Proverbs 21:5

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15

It is one thing to read… it is altogether another thing to study.  The word used for study is spoudazō and it implies exerting yourself, expending energy, preparing, equipping.  We are called to put effort into our relationship with Christ. 

And the main method of doing that is given to us…

Until He brings you word.

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you KNOW that the Lord has told you to do something?  I have, and I know many others who have as well.

And then time passes… and things seem harder… and you wonder if you heard Him right.

And then you remember the last thing He said…

Nation against Nation

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” Matthew 24:7a

When Jesus was teaching His disciples of the end of days He made the above statement.  I had always taken this to be a general statement related to preceding verse where it mentions “wars and rumours of wars.”  However, in later verses, the word “nations” is used with a qualifier that would make it plural. 

And then it dawned on me, or should I say that the Spirit of the Lord convicted me, to look at it differently.

Pounding salt

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”  Matthew 5:13

It is funny… many of the same people who essentially told Jesus to “go pound salt” when He was doing miracles (His brother James being one of them – see John 7:3-5) would someday become the salt of the earth.

As Christians we are meant to spice up the world.

Stones for the altar

“And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.” Exodus 20:25

While faith without works is certainly dead… we have to be careful what those works are.  We all have an altar.  We offer sacrifice on it daily.  We may not realize it, but it is true.  And we must build (bring together) the stones for that altar.  And they need to be a certain type of stone.

Where is this altar?  What are these stones?

Why didn’t the beating kill Jesus?

I recently had the privilege of hearing a pastor from India speak.  He shared many things that deeply moved me.  But it was the way he answered this question that will stay with me forever.

First he said, “I asked the Lord, ‘Lord, if I were beaten that way I would die.  Why didn’t you die?’”

And then he looked at the congregation and asked,

Ephesians 5:8

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord” Eph 5:8

Darkness hides things.  It makes things not visible.

For some reason I had thought that it had said that we are in darkness.  I can understand that.  Not yet in the light, walking around in the dark.

But is doesn’t say that. It says we were darkness.  We were it.  We were the thing that made things not visible.

Need a name change?

So many people in the scripture got a name change.  Saul to Paul.  Cephas to Peter.  Abram to Abraham.  The list goes on.  But there is one name change that was not so much given by God, but by one of God’s men.

And it was for good reason.

Oshea

And angel appeared… for strength

“And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” Luke 22:43

If you are not familiar with the scene, this happened in the garden the night Jesus was betrayed.  The time was drawing near for Him.  His hour had come.  He was going to glorify the Father.  He was going to the cross.

He was going to pay the price for our sins. 

And angels came to strengthen Him.   And do you know what they gave Him the strength necessary to do?…

A possible purpose for our pain…

“The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” John 20:25

Thomas, which means seeker of truth more than it means doubter, was the one who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16)concerning Jesus heading to Jerusalem, the one who demonstrated courage the others spoke of but lacked… this Thomas… wanted to see the scars.

And Jesus obliged.  He showed up again, not needing a door to enter and gave Thomas his fleece.

What is it to be wise?

“Wherefore be ye not unwise,” Eph 5:17a

If we are charged to not be unwise… we have to know what wise is.  I have held that wisdom is knowledge put to use.  Wisdom is an action.  To be wise is a state.  How does the Bible define “wise” and how would that redefine what Biblical wisdom is?

Who is it that demonstrates the faith to move mountains?

“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,” Matt 17:20

I can attest that, if it is as I suspect it is… and mountains are hard to move… that we can describe them as stubborn and reluctant to listen to just anyone say, “Into the sea!”

That being said, I believe that the answer to the question of who demonstrates the faith to move these mountains…