It Has Me Contemplating

And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.  Mark 13:5-8 NASB

there are times when we experience mistreatment that comes from a betrayal and sometimes good people experience bad cir umstances so the glory of God can be made known through their lives. John boldly took a public stand for his faith and was punished for his courageous obedience to God. OUR circumstancesmay not result in a physical rescue from Christ, but it is in our trapped condition that He wants our reliance on Him to grow deeper. 

When people see Jesus in your humble, non-defensive attitude, they hear His voice of truth. Learn your lessons from the Lord during stressful situations and leave it with Him to educate others in what needs to be done. Perseverance pays with respect and results. Cling to your core values as your compass for behavior. 

Your optimism is an insurgent against others’ insecurities. Let the Lord be your source of strength. Faith forged on the anvil of adversity becomes solid steel in mental toughness, emotional stability, and spiritual maturity.

Jesus Christ, and all He represents, who He is and what He has done for us, comes to every person ever born as a gift of choice and while it cost the Messiah His very life as ransom for mankind - we Gods people are freely offered that gift of choice - There isn’t a more suitable simple word than that - a gift - It is not something we earn or something we make, not a badge for our boasting, not a credit to our creativity. Jesus is not our handyman. He has been given. He is God. 

When we say to Jesus, with trust in our hearts and love in our voice — sometimes with tears in our eyes — that there is no other name, we do not mean that we are strong and deserving, that we have it figured out, Rather, we say precisely “Jesus You are the Saviour Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord, And I will sing praises to Your name”

There have been times in my life when I feel like I can’t see through the fog, I can sense the enemy uncomfortably close, and the knowledge of impending danger is looming large. And it’s hard get my voice to squeak out a prayer let alone shout out a praise. 

But then I imagine the Israelites in the wilderness as they found themselves facing the red sea with Pharaoh and his army breathing down their backs. They were in a deep haze as a pillar of cloud stood behind them coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. 

Exodus 13:21-22 NASB The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

That gets me contemplating with Holy Spirit and asking Him - what if there are moments where the haze is God’s grace? What if we could see through the fog with eyes of faith? What if in the moment of turmoil with waves crashing over our ship we decided to get prepared?  

Psalms 148:13 NASB Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.

We can choose to stare at the rubble, the fog, and the shadow, or we can keep our eyes on God. We can be prepared or we can be scared.  By the power of Holy Spirit may we choose to  join Jesus and face whatever comes down the road confident and living out faith.