Be of good cheer

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; for I have overcome the world." John 16:33

I read that verse a few weeks ago and knew I would at some point use it on this blog so I scribbled it down on a post it note and tucked it away in my Bible. I had intentions for that verse and had almost an entire post thought out and studied out.

But then it happened.

An eerie buzz began to spread through town last week.

Last Sunday a group of friends and I went to a spot that over looks our beloved Missouri River and we all remarked at how high the water was, unknown to us at the time at what the next week would hold. But as each day passed, the water crept closer and closer. Then you started hearing the news casters using the word of the year "flood".

Some mocked it at first, thinking it wouldn't happen because quite frankly, it hasn't happened here for decades. But as each day passed and the river banks disappeared, our community finally began to grasp the idea that the Missouri River was going to flood...and that is wasn't going to be pretty. We were told a different story each day, 16 feet, 18 feet, 20 feet. More water would come June 9th and then it was June 6th and now it's June 2nd. Overnight our community changed. Where you would once drive down Expressway Avenue somewhat carefree on your way to Dairy Queen, you are now met by ROAD CLOSED signs. Trucks hauling trailers full of sandbags are the new ride in Bismarck and the week's hottest accessories are a pair of work gloves and a shovel.

It's sad. It's heart-breaking to drive in south Bismarck and see people packing up their lives in a matter of a day or two. Every citizen has this agonizing desire to get out there...do something...help someone.

Last Friday I got off work and drove down to see who I could help. I found a mother and her 2 young kids with a heaping pile of sand in their driveway. As I helped them and chatted with them, listened to the mother's concerns as she racked her brain about where they would go if they had to evacuate, John 16:33 came to mind. I shared it with her and it was incredible to see the sense of comfort that washed over her. Shortly afterward, her husband showed up with more sand and a truck full of men to help, I decided it was time for me to leave but before she would let me go, the woman thanked me, not only for helping fill some sandbags but she said most of all she was thankful for the words of comfort.

So, fellow citizens of Bismarck, Mandan and any others who are experiencing this flood in ways beyond even my comprehension, please know, remember and don't forget, we are promised tribulations in this world. Whether they be floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, heartache, disease or loss...we can be of good cheer and trust in Him, find console in Him, for He has overcome them all!

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; for I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Photo by Ellen Knudsen

Forgiveness

It's not the easiest thing to do but God does command us to do it.

In Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus how many times we are expected to forgive one another. I think he was a bit surprised by the answer.

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but until seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21-22

Yep. I am quite sure that Peter wasn't expecting that kind of number to roll out!

As much as we may try to flee from it and justify the fact that we haven't yet done it, at the end of the day, Christ still instructs us to forgive. He is telling Peter to be less concerned with how many times a brother or fellow man must be forgiven but yet to always forgive them.

We, especially as Christians, ought to be an example of people who are able to forgive. Have we not been forgiven the most?

Here's a thought I had a few weeks ago: If I were the only person, the only person ever on earth that needed Jesus Christ to go to the cross and bleed and die for my sins, not the sins of the world but just MY sins, He still would have done it. He still would have been mocked, beaten, spit upon and crucified...if just for me.

That is a lofty thought and yet today as I was considering the subject of forgiveness, I contemplated, "well, what if, on the way up Calvary's mountain, my cross became too much to bear? What if at that very moment, Christ thought of me, thought of my sin and decided, "No. I'm sorry but I cannot forgive you, Amy. I can forgive all the other sins but not this one. That sin just simply hurts too much."

Could you imagine? Could you imagine Christ determining that He would forgive some but not all your sins?

No. We can't imagine it because He does forgive sins...ALL sins. Why do we then pick and choose which sins we can forgive of others? We ought not to, Christian.

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31-32

That's right. By us forgiving one another, it is an example, a picture if you will, of the forgiveness we have been given by God.

One of the biggest reasons I think Christians (myself included) have such a hard time forgiving one another is the wretched old five letter word: Pride.

When you have not forgiven a person, the fellowship and relationship you've had and experienced with that person is altered. It is changed. Being around each other is often filled with tension. There is a big ol' elephant in the room and no one wants to be the one to address it.

But that big ol' elephant, well, most likely his name is pride.

"Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom." Proverb 13:10.

Oh that pride. If we can get a handle on it. Luckily for us, we can ask God to give us the humility we need in order to forgive. Like the many other things we fall short of being capable of, the ability to forgive someone can be given to us from Him (the ultimate forgiver).

I can attest to that as well. For a long time I had an unforgiving spirit and heart towards another Christian. It doesn't matter if I was right or wrong in the matter. I carried around unforgiveness and pride in my heart for months. Whenever I saw that person, thought about them or heard their name, those prideful thoughts came floating to the forefront of my mind. "Oh yeah, them. Hmmm. I still can't believe they did me that injustice. Why can't they see it? When are they going to realize their wrong-doing and finally apologize to me?!"

Oh how wrong and wicked and prideful those thoughts are!! Notice all the "I"s and "me"s. Pride is written all over those thoughts. If those are filling our minds and hearts, how could we even consider forgiving someone, we have too much hate built up in our hearts.

The truth is that if we honestly desire to forgive someone, to begin to regain the fellowship that was lost, we have to humble ourselves. We have to humble ourselves enough to make room for God to come in and give us His perfect peace over the matter and His perfect forgiveness. A humble heart is a forgiving heart and forgiveness is Christianity in action.

My mother always taught us to forgive quickly. Whenever us kids would fight, she would remind us that we ought not to let time pass and hold a grudge against each other as we never know what tomorrow may hold. She has experienced great loss in her life, losing her father and all her brothers before she was 23. She would always teach us and remind us to forgive each other as we may never know when our last chance to be together may be. I'm thankful for that lesson. Time spent gripping and holding onto that grudge, holding onto that pride and resisting the opportunity to forgive, is all time wasted.

Carpe Diem Domino - Seize the day for the Lord, Christian. Don't let another day go by of holding out on that forgiveness. God will give it to you, if you need it. Don't you love and enjoy His forgiveness towards you?

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but until seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21-22

The Battleground

I have been stuck in a battle.

Some days I am victorious and I stand atop the mountain and proclaim my victory! While other days, I quickly stumble down into the deep despairing valley. But this battles wages on. Attacks are to be expected at any moment. Even as I type this, I struggle with this battle.

The battle I am referring to is a mental battle. Literally. It feels as though my mind is a messy, disarrayed battlefield. One minute I can be singing a hymn and thinking of Him and before I know it, a worthless self-pitying thought creeps it's way in and pushes through to the forefront of my mind. It settles itself there, screaming for me to give thought and attention to it.

It mocks me.

It tells my service is unfruitful.

It nags me to answer "what's the point?"

It discourages me. Beats me down. Not in quick swift blows but slowly, steadily, methodically.

See, it's up there with all my other thoughts. It sees what I see as my weaknesses, my doubts, my flaws. It sees them labeled and targets them. Highlights them.

It's a tiring battle.

A battle that can cause one to contemplate quitting...contemplate walking away from it all...contemplate giving up on Him.

But I have been given tools and weapons to defeat this battle. I can, will and do have victory over this battle.

In Ephesians chapter 6, the Bible describes how we wrestle not against flesh and blood and equips us with our weapons of warfare. For me, I have clung to the helmet of salvation. When I feel I am losing ground in this mental battle, I cling to my salvation and the promises found in His word.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

That's right, I don't have anything to fear because God has already given me power, love and a sound mind. I do not have to let my mind be a battlefield. I can kick those nasty thoughts right out. And Isaiah 26:3-4 tells me how: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength."

So when I feel that battle beginning to set up in my mind, I just have to keep my mind set on Him. He will give me perfect peace. Not only does He give me perfect peace but in Him is everlasting strength. I never have to worry about growing too weary for Him.

I will not be overtaken with this battle. He will help me overcome.

Hope

It's a popular word these days.

Hope.

Isn't everyone out there looking for hope in some capacity?

The family with a soldier overseas right now hope the soldier comes home safe....and soon. The expecting mother hopes that her baby will be born healthy...ten fingers and ten toes. The employee walks into the boss' office, hoping to leave without a pink slip. The father hopes the budget will stretch another month for his family to keep their house...their home.

Everyone needs hope. The Bible tells us that some have and that others don't.
"That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12

According to the verse above, those without Christ are those without hope and according to Colossians 1:4-5 tells us those with Christ, they are the ones with hope. "Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel."

Christ is the source of all hope. "For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth." Psalm 71:5 and "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea and all that therein is: which keepeth truth forever." Psalm 146:5-6

I cannot think of a greater source to have hope in than the one who created all!

If you do not have hope, I urge you to turn to the source of pure existence - it is there, in Christ alone, that you will find enough hope to fill and overflow you...enough hope to sustain you no matter the depth of the valley of your trial, His hope is there.

I can with confidence say you can find it there because of 1 Peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

When you find Jesus Christ and instill your trust and dependence upon Him and Him alone, he fills you with hope. This verse tells us that we have this hope IN us.

Do you have this hope?

If so, 1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to not hide this hope but to be ready always to give an answer to it.

As each day passes, I see our current world and country lose something along with the daylight and that is hope. The promise of hope won an election but that hope that was promised, was not hope rooted in Christ and therefore has left the void unfulfilled. But Christ can fill that void, permanently. Christian, do you not see the need to share the hope we have with this lost and hopeless world?

We have hope of seeing Him. Face to face. Redeemed. Our hope lies in the promise of Heaven, streets of gold and perfect peace, no more sin, tears or dying. Let us tell the hopeless the reason of the hope that is in us.

Iron Sharpeneth Iron

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of giving a friend a ride home from our church's monthly women's prayer meeting. Before she got out of the car, we were able to spend a few moments talking and she was sharing with me all the little ways God worked in answering a very big request/decision of theirs.

I remember pulling away from that street thinking how great it is to be able to share those stories and testimonies with one another. Our God is great and mighty and faithful - not just to some but to all. I had been praying for this family and their decisions even though during the prayer time, I wasn't sure of all the answers they were looking for, I was prayerfully trusting that God would answer them and when He did, it was that much sweeter to celebrate with this family as they praised God.

That night, as I drove the few remaining blocks home, Proverbs 27:17 came to my mind, "Iron sharpeneth iron: so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

Such true words.

I was sharpened that night. I was sharpened by her testimony of trusting God and relying on Him to work out the situation and having the patience to allow Him to do it in His time. It's exciting to hear when He comes through.

I was also sharpened just the other day by a friend. I was talking to her on the phone and before we hung up she asked if there was anything she could pray for me about. Honestly, I was caught off guard but in a good way. I spend hours on the phone each day and even when they are personal calls, I do not get asked that question very often but I appreciated her interest and her initiative to ask. I responded and posed her the same question and this opened up a conversation about her desire to be a witness for the Lord to her co-workers. Now, not only had I been encouraged by her asking about my prayer requests but now (unknown to her) she was encouraging me to evaluate my desire to be a witness to my own co-workers. As she described the different people she was burdened for, I couldn't help but feel a bit convicted as I myself had numbed out the desire and the burden I once had for those I am around.

I hung up that day, sharpened.

The Christian life is exciting. It is not dull, dreary and boring but rather exciting, thrilling, challenging and fulfilling. Sharing our requests with one another can draw us closer and it also affords us the opportunity to share our triumphs with each other as well.

A good example of that is yet another friend of mine who had been trying to qualify for the state track tournament. Track meet after track meet, she would pray and had a strong desire and her mind made up to do it for His glory. She had her moments of struggle...moments of disappointment but she always let me know when her next meet was so I could pray for her.

Then.....Saturday came. I was out of town but I got a text message on my phone: "I QUALIFIED!"

As soon as I saw those words appear on my screen, I felt a grin spread across my face. I am sure it reached from ear to ear. For weeks, track meet after track meet, I had prayed for her and watched her work hard to accomplish her goal and that day her goal was met!! I was overjoyed for her but also I was so very happy that I was able to partake in her victory in a small way.

Christian, don't hesitate to sometimes share your requests, struggles or trials with other believers. We are to bear each others burdens and at the same time, we can celebrate together in each other triumphs! We can sharpen each other. Just as iron needs iron to be sharpened, so does a believer get sharpened by another believer.

Love demonstrated

"So when they had dined, Jesus saith unto Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, 'Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.' He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith unto him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, 'Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.' He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, 'Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.' Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."
- John 21:15-17

Three times.

Three times Peter was asked by Christ if he loved Him and each time Peter answered, Yea Lord, thou knowest I love thee. But yet, Christ still asked three times.

Now, I agree with Peter. Jesus Christ did know that Peter loved Him and yet, he asked him three times and each time after Peter responded with a Yes, Christ asked Peter to do something. He asked Peter to feed His sheep. He asked Peter to not go back to fishing, not go back to the life he had and knew before Christ, but Jesus was asking him to accept and fulfill the task He designed for Peter.

He was asking Peter to not just proclaim his love for God but to demonstrate it.

Is it not the same for us?

Jesus Christ knows our heart. He knows our desires and where our true devotions lie. He knows and yet, that doesn't mean that we are to not strive to demonstrate our love for Him.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17,"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." Once a person comes to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, they are changed. Everything changes. Once you know Christ, you ought not to just go back to your life. You can't - you're changed! The Holy Spirit is now dwelling inside of you and that allows God to change your mind, your heart, your desires....change you.

Jesus Christ demonstrated His abundant love for us (for you and for me) when He shed His blood as payment for our sin. He started in the garden by sweating drops of His precious, life-atoning blood and it continued, through brutal beatings at the hands of those whom He loved. His love was shown as each thorn of that crown was driven deep into His brow. His love was demonstrated and marked in each footprint that lead up that hill as He bore OUR cross. He love was demonstrated as his arms were stretched out and laid across the rough wood. His demonstrated love was pierced as the nails were pounded through His hands and through His feet. He didn't deserve any of this and yet that was the way He demonstrated His love for you. He hung there, on a nail...because He loves you.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
Who are Jesus' friends that He "laid his life down" for?
"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." John 15:14

Jesus Christ gave the greatest demonstration of love that is comprehensible to man.

If you have accepted this love and you, like Peter, love Him...what will you do to demonstrate your love for Him?

Doubt

A Few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast that was broadcasting a story about a man who had grown up in an evangelical Christian home and went to a Christian college for religious studies. He states that from the first lesson in his scholarly class, his faith began to crumble and it eventually was gone altogether. From that point on, he felt the need to go back to his family and prove to them that their faith was wrong. He goes on to discuss a conversation he had with his brother-in-law regarding the passage describing how God made the sun and the moon stand still.

"And the sun stood still and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel." Joshua 10:13-14

Joshua and Israel were in a war and Joshua cried out for the Lord to help and so He did, by stopping the sun and the moon.

So this man on the podcast continues on to discuss with his brother-in-law this passage. He poses the question of how this could scientifically be possible...gravity would have to stop...the planet would have to stop and so on. This man goes on persistently asking his brother-in-law if he really believes that God would do such a thing. He states he debated his point for over 7 hours. And then it happens. The brother-in-law states it is a weird thing and he wished it wasn't in there but then he retaliates with this statement: if I doubt that, where do I stop?

As soon as I heard that statement, it was lodged in my mind.

"If I doubt that, where do I stop?" If I doubt that God, who spoke the sun and the moon into existence, could stop or pause them for just one day, then what else would I doubt? Would I doubt that Jesus died on the cross as a payment for my sins? Would I doubt that He is "the way, the truth and the life?" Would I doubt God's love for me? Would I doubt His very Word?

Where would the doubt stop and who says where it stops?

Well, let me address this topic this way: doubt does exist. In order to fight against our doubt, we need to increase and strengthen our faith. To do that, we must dive deep into the Word of God. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17

Allow me to use Peter as an example of doubt. Matthew 14:31 shows us Jesus calling Peter out on his doubt. "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, 'O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Let's set the stage here a bit and describe the happenings of the day that led up to that statement.

This statement came as Peter and Christ were walking on water. That's right - Peter was WALKING ON WATER towards Jesus Christ and yet, when the winds blew boisterous, he doubted. If Peter can doubt while walking on top of water, then boy, how much more susceptible are we to doubt.

But hours before this midnight stroll, Peter saw Christ do some miraculous things. That evening for dinner, Peter watched as Christ took 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes and fed over 5,000 hungry, traveling people, and they even had left-overs!!

So after dinner, Peter and the others went aboard and set sail. The Bible then tells us that at the 4th watch, which I believe would be around 3 a.m., Jesus began approaching the boat, which was in the midst of the sea. The men on the boat feared it was a spirit but once they realized who it was, Peter requested Christ to bid him come. So Christ did and the next thing you know, Peter is out there...walking on water!! Then. All of a sudden. The wind begins to pick up. Peter became afraid. He began to sink. He cried, "Lord, save me."

"And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, 'O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Matthew 14:31

"And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased." Matthew 14:32

Peter got distracted by the winds and it caused him to doubt. Even though Christ was standing right there in front of him, physically, right there, he still doubted, feared and cried out.

Christian, we too will be distracted and something (a trial, a struggle) will cause us to take our eyes off Christ. It will cause us to doubt, to question, to fear. But hopefully, we will cry out to God in those moments because He is there. He is always there. He caught Peter, He will catch you, too.

Personally, when I fear and doubt and struggle with really, fully trusting God, I think back to my "moments on the water". Moments when I got paid and still had no money - God provided - provided in a way that was impossible to man but only possible with God. When I got bit by a spider and couldn't walk - God was there and healed me up when doctors wrote me off. When I prayed for a friend's child and God was there, listening and answering the prayer. He is always there. The more you trust Him with, the more He proves Himself to you. When you reach that moment of doubt, think back to a time in your life when God worked. He worked it all out then, He will work it all out now and He will always work it out.

Doubt does exist. The line of doubt, well, that is drawn by you. You have the choice of how much trust you give to God.

I believe God made the sun and moon stand still that day. I believe that there was no day before that day and there has been no day like it since. I choose to believe God can do that. I choose to serve the Lord God that did that!