2023-09-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
God’s hope is that we will either have or develop all the gifts of the Holy Spirit from GA 5: 22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.” Today, I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to discuss forbearance, which is another word for patience. This is a difficult lesson to learn –at least it was for me, and I’m far from perfect with it. How about you? Suppose someone insults you because of your faith in Christ. This has happened to me many times. Comments such as “Your religion is a psychological crutch.” No one wants to hear that! Or how about: “The Gospel is a fairy tale?” These are common tacks that atheists and agnostics will take. The Scriptures address this subject in 1 PET 3: 14-17, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than it is for doing evil.” We must consider what Christ did for us. Verse 18 tells us: “He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.”
Sadly, there are many people all over the world that have become atheists (people who deny God exists), agnostics (people who believe there is a god or “higher power,” but don’t subscribe to the Scriptures of other so-called religious books that define Who is that “higher power,” or secular (people who were raised in a belief system, but don’t practice it). At one time Europe was filled with Judeo-Christian believers and ones in Christ. The Jews were wickedly made to leave their homes in eastern Europe during the 1880’s and later maliciously slaughtered in the Holocaust (1938-1944). Christians lost interest in their denominations, leaving gorgeous churches in most villages empty, to become secular (practicing no religion). For example, in Istanbul, Turkey, the church of Hagia Sophia [“Holy Wisdom”], a large Byzantine structure dedicated in 360 AD by Emperor Constantius, son of the city’s founder, Emperor Constantine, to be used as a church. It is now a Mosque and a tourist destination. All this evildoing is in the cause of attrition and prejudice.
We need to be patient, as taught in HE 10: 35-36, “So do not throw away your confidence (in the Lord Jesus); 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.” HB [Habakkuk, one of the minor prophets] 2: 3-4 is quoted in HE 10: 37-38, “Just a little longer and He Who is coming will come; He will not delay. My righteous people, however, will believe and live; but if any of them turns back, I will not be pleased with them.” Those with faith shall be saved. Yet one more definition of patience is long-suffering. The word for it in Greek is “macrothumia” [pronounced “mak-roth-oo-mee’-ah]. It means steadfastness, showing saying power. This results in endurance without regard for circumstances but in line with God’s will. God enables true believers to endure this way, even against life-threatening circumstances. Surely, those going through the judgments of the end times will be given this kind of divine support [REV 6: 9-11; REV 7: 3; REV 8: 1]. That silence in heaven for half an hour is when all those who persevered in their faith in the Lord, are sealed by God and won’t be destroyed with those who rejected Christ. Let me conclude today’s devotion with 1 THESS 1: 3, “We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” If God is in leadership of our lives, He remains alert to our lives and never stops loving us. We can always turn to Him when the going tries our patience!
PRAYER: O Lord, when we lean in human understanding only, we are likely to lose the patience we need for the challenges in our lives. Even more importantly, we have little to no patience as we await the second coming of Christ. That is why You are willing to give us divine intervention and assistance in being longsuffering in waiting for the end times. With strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can endure what is necessary for His anticipated arrival and the keeping of Your promise to end evil [DN 9: 27; REV 20: 10]. Coupled with the salvation, eternal forgiveness of sin, and justification that comes with having obedient faith in Your Son that believers already have, this is a winning combination for gaining eternal life. Our task is to openly and honestly confess our sins to Him, stopping the thought or behavior that offends Him. We are capable of doing this, and God can be counted on to keep His promise, first given to Abraham and to his Seed (Jesus) [GA 3: 16]. For those of us who are patient, the future will be a blessing. We thank and praise You for the hope we keep close to our hearts. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: There is more for the Holy Spirit to give us on developing patience; so I will continue writing about that next week. We’ll also get a look at the hope that we have, hope that needs to be a part of our witnessing. My experience working for several years for “In Search of Shalom,” was a demonstration that God had for me, which I would like to share with you. This Toronto based organization brings seekers from all over the world to people with a working knowledge of the Scriptures in several formats, e.g. computer chats in real time. I’m grateful for that opportunity because it gave me a chance to learn what issues other people have that get in the way of them feeling God’s love and acceptance. There isn’t anything I can think of that is more important to us than it. We must consider from what sources do we get that acceptance we all seek-humans or God Himself. We must ask what criteria for gaining acceptance do we use? God can help us with that by what He has to say in the Scriptures.
Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2023. All Rights Reserved
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