Even our brothers in Christ will abandon us when we hit hard times. When the wolf is at the door, and there are those who wait to take us down, and money is low, and our circumstances are dire; when sickness and weakness are our companions, and sadness grips us, and our lives are failing; when our enemies prowl around us, circling for the kill; when those we counted on are busy doing their own lives, not wishing to be associated with failure; when family backs away and talks against us, and trusted friends doubt us; when our own spiritual leaders quietly fade away, choosing to distance themselves; these are the times we begin to learn that men are �sharp sticks� and we must not lean on them unless they are proven in the sufferings of life themselves.
Rarely will a man die for another man, Jesus said.
Even a close friend. He knew first-hand the fickleness and selfishness and shallowness of men. The Savior of mankind would be abandoned by everyone, even His closest companions, and all would distance themselves, while the wolves tore Him and hung Him up to die.
Jesus didn�t trust Himself to men, which is evidenced in many places in the gospels. He hid Himself, He slipped away. He wouldn�t submit to their whims, whether the whim was to kill Him, or the whim was to crown Him. He was in charge, and He determined the timing of His life and ministry.
We are to live as Jesus did, walk as He walked. Know this, my brother who chooses to follow close to Christ, that you will experience the same suffering He did, and that includes opposition, abandonment, and aloofness on the part of those you lean on and trust. It will happen. And you must expect it. Many of our problems and doubts in our discipleship walk with Jesus come from our wrong expectations. If we go through the Narrow Gate, and walk the Narrow Road, we must expect that it will be difficult. The first apostles and early disciples taught this, because they were taught this by the Lord Jesus Himself.
What were you taught?
If you�ve grown up as I did, in modern America, you were taught an easy discipleship, which we don�t even term �discipleship� anymore. You were taught to expect a normal life, such as the world lives, with the only difference being we trust in �Christ as our personal Savior� and we are now centering our lives around church, instead of the local bar. And we were expecting to live happy, normal, productive lives, with God taking care of our needs, and the church providing activities and fellowship. All we need do is �keep in touch with God� by having �devotions� and making sure we pray a few minutes a day at least. The especially zealous (a small minority) showed their intensity by attending a regular Bible study in addition to church services, and studying for their weekly session.
We were told to listen for the highest calling, which was to go into �full-time ministry�, and that would involve going to Bible College, or getting an advanced degree in some ministry discipline. This would prepare us for a life-long vocation within the churches. Otherwise, we were �lay people�, rank-and-file members of the local church, who attended, tithed, and participated to the extent we wished in the �programs� instituted by the leaders.
The church I grew up in taught us that earnestness in worship, with raised hands and loud voices, and suitably deep emotions, was very acceptable and pleasing to God. This made up for many shortcomings in our lives.
The church you grew up in may have emphasized service, which meant giving a little time to help organize church functions, or to teach Sunday School, or volunteering with this and that charity, or visiting old people in a rest home once a month. Your church might have had evangelistic outreaches, where your youth were taught how to knock on a door, and canvas neighborhoods, asking them to come out to special meetings.
No matter the specifics.
All of it is outside the Biblical model.
There is nothing but Christ. We are the branches, and He is the Vine, and apart from Him we can do nothing. We are His, and everything we do matters. Every moment, every hour, every day. We are either remaining in Christ, and bearing His fruit, or we are not. This has nothing to do with all the above churchy things which men have invented to make the �Christian life� easier and more palatable to the masses.
When Jesus taught, He winnowed out His disciples, getting rid of those He knew were following Him for the wrong reasons. He was tough, giving the hard Word, explaining that to follow Him meant giving up one�s own life, laying down one�s own desires and dreams and goals, and doing only what Jesus did, and the Father instructed. When He informed the crowds they would have to die as He died, and live only on His flesh and blood as their sustenance, they went home in droves.
When He turned away the rich young man because He wouldn�t give away His wealth to follow Jesus, even His own disciples were dismayed, figuring they could never meet His high standards for discipleship. Jesus asked even the twelve at one point if they, too, were going to abandon Him as the crowds had.
We give out an easy Christianity, which is not Christ.
Therefore, when the hard times come, we are shocked. We think all is wrong, but actually, God disciplines those He loves as sons, and they are the ones going through the tough times. So not only do many fall away, but many living the good religious life, the easy churchy life, look down on their brothers who suffer. They think, like Job�s �comforters� did, that it is a sign of sin in their brother, and their own prosperity is a sign of their own obedience to God. The opposite is usually true.
Obadiah�s warning extends to these complacent men who occupy the preferred pews and the places of honor in the churches.
�The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
�Who can bring me down to the ground?�
Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,� declares the Lord.�
--Obadiah 1:3,4
You can show your true devotion to Jesus by not standing aloof at the plight of those brothers around you who suffer. Lay down your life for them.
RK Shared ~ "You can show your true devotion to Jesus by not standing aloof at the plight of those brothers around you who suffer. Lay down your life for them."
*** Jude adds...and while laying your own life aside for others You can also lend a helping hand to lift them up and out of the Darkness they are in...xo
@ PhilipJohn, My friend NONE OF THIS AT ALL is pleasing....To the FLESH.
SOMETIMES GODS BEST looks to Carnal man, as garbage, as nothing, as CRAZY, even as what man preconceived as "evil" and NOT love, but if you have faith, in GOD and trust HIM instead of what man says is Gods blessings, then you will NEVER be let down EVER no matter what happens. :)
@Gods'Jude, AMEN. If our neighbor, friend, or even ENEMY needs it, we should not only lay our life down, but then strap him to our backs and pull him throug hthe muck and mire. to get HIM to salvation...pull him OUT of the fire. Love doesnt let anyone stay in the burning building, sometiems out of fear or pride those being loved(rescued) will break away, and pull away, and fall back INTO the fire, but when we can we go back and try again.
JESUS final comandmen that SUMMED up the Sumation of the LAW was LOVE EACH OTHER LIKE I HAVE LOVED YOU.
Jesus said the WHOLE law was sumemd up in LOVE GOD with all of your heart, soul, spirit, and with ALL your strength. AND love your neighbor as yourself.
We are also to love others like we love ourselves. AND love our enemies.
JESUS THEN said "a new comandment I give you, Love each other LIKE I HAVE LOVED YOU"
So we are to love JESUS like GOD loves JESUS, and then love OTHERS like JESUS loved us. Love our Neighbor like Jesus, Love our Brothers liek Jesus, love our Wives liek Jesus, and love our ENEMIES like Jesus.
And IN DOING THAT, be sure they you will be hated, ridiculed, called evil, called a demon, called a magician, called craazy, and you KEEP DOING IT. because worthy in GODS EYES is important not mens.
JESUS loved us, he DIED to self while alive(didnt do a thign of himself only what the father wanted), and died on the cross for our sins. had ALL SIN AND HELL absorbed into him, and STILL even with all the worlds sin IN HIM, him beccoming it, he STILL loved us, and prayed for GOD to forgive us.
and now HE not only expects us....but COMANDS US to love exactly liek that. Do you think it is possible whiel we listen to teachrs who tickle our ears? while we gather up humans and follwo humans becasue we agree with them?
No. We cant HAVE that love unless we die to self, and LIVE IN HIM, unless we BEG, ASK REPEADEDLY FOR that love. YOu dotn have becasu you dotn ask. YET you are comanded to HAVE IT. SO ask. in faith. it WILL HURT. it WILL make you lonely, and it WILL end up that ALL will hate you, becasue ALL hated HIM. But we are CALELD to be HIM. to be ONE with him, THAT is what this covenant IS, YES its a covenant of Grace through faith. but MORE SO, its a blood covenant We become ONE with Christ, we are his BODY/BRIDE and the WIFE is submitted to the HUSBAND. JESUS is suposed to live through us...its COMANDED. That WE die, and HE lives. that WE decrease, and HE increases.
To love lie JESUS, is ONLY possible BY completely dyign to our life, our desire, and SEEKING HIM his mind, and want HIS Desire to be your BEG hom to change your desire to becoem HIS. to WANT HIM, and HIM only. HEAVEN is JESUS. so lets have heaven NOW, its possible to LIVE i nthe KINGDOM now...it doesnt mean you have jet planes and bentlys adn 5 mansions to be Kingdom chidlren..it means we live in VICTORY over SIN and have CHRISTS LOVE. to be LED by HIS SPIRIT 100% and not led by desire, or fear, or worry, or hatred, whci his ALL SATAN. thats the WILL, Spirit, and body of the WORLD. the WORLD will be burned up, but ALL that is build on THE ROCK Will stand firm.
We must Die so JESUS can live, and then we will LOVE ALL LIKE HE DID, with GODS LOVE walking in GODS NATURE. Compleatly dead to the Nature of FLESH.
