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Showing posts from May, 2021
 When we hear the name “Jesus,” we tend to imagine a skinny, poor-looking peasant (with nice hair of course). Although I’ve never seen Jesus, it would not surprise me if he indeed looked poor and simple. After all, Isaiah 53:2 does tell us that “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” What’s interesting is that Jesus’ 33-year lifespan was only a small blip in the timespan of his existence. Throughout the rest of history, he was/is much more, well, epic. In Revelation 1, Jesus shows up to John, and it’s quite a sight: [12] Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, [13] and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. [14] The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, [15] his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was
There was probably a small measure of suffering even in Eden (when Adam stubbed his toe on a tree-root, would it not have hurt?). What made Eden such a delightful place cannot have been the total absence of pain, but the presence of God (Genesis 3:8). What has made the sufferings of the human race so unbearable ever since is our banishment from God’s presence as a result of our rebellion (Genesis 3:23,24). Job’s suffering is compounded by his sense of abandonment by God. His prayers for relief, for justice (or, at the very least, for an explanation) go unanswered. Yet despite his many afflictions, Job holds on to his conviction in the goodness and justice of God. This is what gives him hope and sustains him through his suffering, even while God is silent (Job 19:23-27). But his torment ends only when God finally speaks to him, and he once again becomes aware of God’s presence and favor (Job 38-42). We Christians have an advantage over Job, in that we can see how God has chosen to inter
 What is your response to suffering? There is no escape from intense pressures in this life, but it helps when we get God into the picture. The apostle Peter wrote to a group of suffering Christians with words of encouragement. “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10). “After you have suffered for a little,” says Peter. The suffering is temporary, in contrast, and comparison to the eternal glory that is in store for the believer. Before God blesses us there come times of trouble, distress, grief and pain. We can rejoice knowing the suffering is for a short time, but out of the suffering comes blessings that cannot be had any other way. “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Our suffering is temporary, but it produces in us character that will last tho
 Have your convictions ever been tested? Many of us are put in situations all the time where our belief system is pushed to the limit. Often we fail to handle these pressures appropriately. We live in a world of compromise and tolerance. It’s often easier to roll over and give in to the tendency toward conformity than to fight for the truth. Sometimes we let our emotions get the best of us and we tarnish the truth by how we defend our convictions. While standing up for our beliefs is difficult, we are called as Christians to be witnesses and watchmen of the truth. Jesus is our role model in this area. Jesus always stood up for His convictions. Sometimes he took physical action. The driving of the moneychangers out of the temple would be an example (John 2). He was righteously angry at the greed that was manifested by the money changers in the temple courts, but this was holy anger for a good cause and controlled in a godly fashion. Jesus expressed Himself appropriately in this instance