enemy

If the world hates you

/ EllieJ

The world. Unredeemed society, estranged from God, held in the grip of sin and the evil one, blind to spiritual truth and hostile to those who have the life of God in them… Hostility is rooted in spiritual dissimilarity.

Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary

More and more, it would seem, the world hates the Church. I don’t believe that it is so much because we carry a message of hate—our message is quite the opposite—but that they do not understand our message. It’s different than what they’ve been told to think. Talk to anyone who is militantly against faith in Christ. More often than not, they don’t even know why they carry so much anger or hatred nor do they know enough of the Bible to make any relevant argument against the faith.

As frustrating as this can be to Christians around the world, Jesus gave us fair warning.

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, That is why the world hates you.

John 15:18-19 (NIV)

People fear what they do not know and that fear can easily be turned into hatred. A child may claim that he hates all vegetables. As it is unlikely that he has tried every vegetable in existence, it can be assumed that their conclusion of dislike for all produce stems from either a bad experience with vegetables or a fear of the unknown. That which hasn’t been sampled can seem strange and different and uncomfortable.

The world’s ignorance is the true cause of its hatred to the disciples of Jesus. The clearer and fuller the discoveries of the grace and truth of Christ, the greater is our sin if we do not love him and believe in him.

Matthew Henry

The mention of Jesus, however, elicits a far stronger reaction than broccoli. Most people who claim to hate Jesus along with those who follow him really know nothing about him and what he really taught. Their opinions are often based on hearsay or that one bad experience. Because we don’t share common values or beliefs, we all become like vegetables—hated for no other reason than being a vegetable, or in our case, Christians.

There are those who believe that, if Christians would just act more like the rest of the world, it would be better. Wrong. It wouldn’t be better. Jesus called us out of the world. We shouldn’t look like the world. That’s like a mother mashing cauliflower and carrots into the potatoes to make her kid eat vegetables. Sure, the cauliflower is still cauliflower and the carrots are still carrots, but they’ve been blended in with the potatoes so much, you can no longer tell what’s what. The original substance, texture, shape, and flavour has all been lost.

How did Jesus respond to the haters? He loved them. It is our love for one another and our love for the world that sets us apart.

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Luke 6:27-31 (NIV)

Read: 2 Chronicles 17-19, John 15

Just a few

/ EllieJ

While Saul sat in hiding, his son Jonathan, was out trying to find a way to defeat Israel’s enemy. Without questioning his own motives, the young man place his trust entirely in God. Without care for his own being, Jonathan pushed ahead and trusted that God would lead him to save Israel.

Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by a few.

1 Samuel 14:6b (NIV)

If it is God’s will to accomplish something, all He needs is one willing and obedient person to turn the enemy’s camp into confusion. While Saul sat indecisive, Jonathan followed God’s guidance—which lead Israel to victory.

God will direct the steps of those that acknowledge him in all their ways, and seek him for direction, with full purpose of heart to follow his guidance.

Matthew Henry

The will of God in the hands of just a few is far greater than swords in the hands of many. When our confidence is in God, nothing should be able to stop us from pursuing His will and achieving victory in His name.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31 (NIV)

Like Jonathan, we can put our confidence in our God who knows the ending from the beginning and everything in between. He has ordered our steps, all we need do is take them as prescribed.

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV)

Read: 1 Samuel 13-14, Luke 14:1-24

My place of safety

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

If you should ever find yourself in danger, what is your first response? Do you stand still calling out hoping for help? Do you wait and complain if help doesn’t come right away? Do you sit down and resign yourself to the situation? I hope not!

If you should ever find yourself in danger, your instinct would be to run. Find a safe place. Look for a refuge. Go there! Now!

Yet how often do we hear Christians say things like, I’ve been waiting on God, but nothing has happened. I guess He doesn’t want to help me. I have yet to discover scripture to back up any sort of statement that says God doesn’t want to help us. In Psalms, David writes over and over again of God’s unfailing love and the fact that He is a shelter, a refuge, a safe place.

You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me,
for you, O God, are my place of safety.

Psalm 59:9 (NLT)

O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
for you, O God, are my refuge,
the God who shows me unfailing love.

Psalm 59:17 (NLT)

Though David waits on God, that doesn’t mean he’s inactive. Look back at the times when he was in trouble, surrounded by his enemies. Never once did David just stand there in the middle of a battle field claiming to wait on God. There were times when he went into hiding for his own protection and there were times when he suited up and marched into battle. God was with him in hiding and fighting for him in the battle.

When you feel as though you’re surrounded by an enemy, that is not the time to sit down and give up on God. That is the time to look for your safe place. Your refuge.

REFUGE: Shelter or protection from danger or distress; a stronghold which protects by its strength or a sanctuary which secures safety by its sacredness; any place inaccessible to an enemy.

A refuge is not a moment in time. It’s a place. A place doesn’t come to you. You need to go to a place. Our safety and refuge is found in God. He has promised never to leave us, so when the enemy comes, we must go to Him. Don’t stand and wait. Run. Go to the place that is inaccessible to your enemy—God, your place of safety.

Daily Bible reading: Psalm 59-61, Acts 28:16-31

The Lord gives.

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How often have you heard someone say, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” If it hasn’t been those exact words, it’s probably been something similar. Now think of the context in which you’ve heard those words. I’ve heard them after someone’s house burned down. I’ve hear them after a child dies or a mother miscarries. I’ve heard them when disaster strikes.

I’ve heard enough of them.

Let’s take a look about what we know about God. God is a good. God is love. God is life. If you believe these things about God, then how can you believe that He would take good things away from you?

So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?

Matthew 7:11 (NLT)

The more I think about it, the more I believe that people use that verse in Job as an excuse. If we can fool ourselves into believing that God did something bad to us then we have an excuse to distance ourselves from Him. Not only do we paint God in a bad light, but we also deny the fact that we have an enemy that would see us come to harm

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.

John 10:10 (NLT)

Do you think perhaps it could be just what the enemy wants when Christians blame God for the good things that have been taken away from them? The more people who are mad at God, the easier time the devil will have. The truth of the matter is that we do have an enemy and he really is out to get us. But it doesn’t have to end there!

Jesus came to give life in all its fullness. Do bad things happen? Yes. Did God do it to you? No! Let’s stop blaming God and start fighting back against an enemy who would see the church brought low believing in a God who would do the very things that satan himself has set out to do.

Keep this in mind: the devil takes, the Lord gives. Let’s be sure the right person gets the blame. If Job never blamed God, why do we?

In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Job 1:22 (NLT)

Daily Bible reading: Job 1-3, Acts 7:1-19

Purge

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When God brought Israel into the land He had promised to them, He gave them a directive—clear the land. Not for agricultural reasons, but for spiritual ones. Israel was to either drive out or destroy the peoples in the land and then get rid of their religious garbage. All of it. If they couldn’t get the people out, they were not to make any sort of treaty with them. When it’s broken down like that, it seems pretty simple. And even more so because, as long as they kept fighting and pushing out the previous residents, God was fighting for and with Israel. They had victory in the bag!

But, Israel maybe got tired of fighting. They maybe got complacent. Perhaps they captured enough land to satisfy their current needs. (Should we be surprised that Ephraim and Manasseh—the tribes who complained about not receiving enough land—left a rather large population of Canaanites to live in their inheritance?) Or maybe after the death of Joshua, Israel was suddenly floundering and didn’t know what to do.

It may seem like no big deal. Israel made it to the Promised Land! They had defeated enough of their enemies so that they could occupy the land comfortably and, of those enemies who had not been driven out, they were able to enslave many of them. Good deal, right?

Wrong. By failing to do the one thing God had commanded, Israel pretty much ensured their own failure for generations to come. God knew full well how fickle His people were. He knew that without a strong hand of leadership, they were apt to stray from the Law. Temptation was a deep pit made easy to fall into.

Had Israel managed to purge foreign gods from the land, temptation to stray from God would have been purged right along with them. Nothing God commands is just for the sake of doing it. The command to Israel to clear and clean out the land was for their own good. It would have been to their betterment. They could have lived prosperous and victorious. Instead, because they had turned from God, God turned from them and the battles they fought could no longer be won.

I think we can often be like Israel. We settle for good enough and fail to see the evil seep in from places we didn’t properly take control of. When we settle, our guard goes down and temptation sneaks up on us. Before we know it, we’re like Israel, trying to fight a battle we no longer have the ability to win. When God tells us to put aside our evil ways, it’s not because He wants to be mean, it’s because He wants to protect us.

The more we are able to drive worldly temptations from our lives, the better we are to withstand those temptations. But we don’t have to do all the work on our own. If we choose to fight, God will fight with us and for us and, if God is fighting for us, who or what can stand against us?

Daily Bible reading: Judges 1-2, Luke 7:1-30

The Voice

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard a lot of bad news this week. Not in the media. Personally.  I’ve heard enough.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

John 10:10 (ESV)

Don’t make the mistake of believing that God sends these trials to His people. Every bad report I’ve heard this week is the work of an enemy working to destroy the people of God. If the church is full of hurting, broken people, it’s ineffective.

When that same church of hurting, broken people stand up and say NO MORE! the world will have to take notice.

My question for you today is simple: whose voice are you listening to? The voice that tells you that your marriage isn’t worth fighting for? The voice that tells you the cancer is back and there’s nothing you can do about it?

Or do you listen to the voice that says love is a choice. That God is love and where ever He is, love is. Do you listen to the same voice that made the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to live again?

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do no know the voice of strangers.

John 10:2-5 (ESV)

When I was a kid leaving the house for school, my mother would give me a song to sing all day. If you’re old enough to remember this one, keep it in mind today:

Whose report shall you believe?
We shall believe the report of the Lord
Whose report shall you believe?
We shall believe the report of the Lord

His report says I am healed
His report say I am filled
His report says I am free
His report say victory

Daily Bible reading: 1 Chronicles 17-19; John 10:1-21