Suffering...

So last night I talked at Coterie about suffering and hard times.... in preparation I endured some struggles of my own.  A sickness and horrible dreams hit me... attack.

I pushed through though and it turned into a fun evening.

There is just something about facing your biggest fear just about every week.

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On Bad Times

 

 

And everyone will hate you because you are mine and are called by my name. But not a hair of you head will perish! For if you stand firm, you will win your souls (Luke 21:17-19).

 

 

 

Jesus talks about:

 

       Watch you aren’t deceived.

              Many will come in my name.

              Wars.

Luke 21:12-19  “¹² But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you.  They will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. ¹³ This will result in your witness to them. ¹⁴ But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. ¹⁵ For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ All men will hate you because of me. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By standing firm you will gain life.

 

So He is saying that we, as Christians, will be persecuted and attacked for what we believe.  But we are to show love and witness even in the hard times.  Because we know Jesus and follow Him… we have targets.

 

Let me tell you a story…. It’s about the first martyr named Stephen.

       Stephen preached of his Jesus.

       He spoke of how they had acted.

       His face was glowing like that of an angel.

       He looked upward and proclaimed his love for God.

       The mob stormed him and drug him outside.

       Still preached.

       Man there named Saul on a quest.

       Saul looked up.

       Men grabbed stones.

       Saul held coats.

       Rock beat Stephen.

       He prayed and continued to pray.

       “And God”, He made eye contact with Saul, “Do not hold this sin against them.”

       Everyone left and Saul was left there.

       Shortly after, Saul saw Jesus and became Paul.

 

Stephen lived Luke 21:17-19 almost 30 years before it was written.

 

Q: What are some experiences in which you have been persecuted for what you believe?

 

But there is also a myth out there….

 

Myth 1 – God CAUSES bad things and suffering to happen.

And that’s not true… He didn’t cause the stoning…

 

 

TRUTH 1 – God ALLOWS bad things and suffering to happen.

He allowed it…. That event shook Saul to his core…. Although he did not become a Christian because of it, it planted a seed in him.

 

 

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU ASK YOURSELF THE QUESTION:

 

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING?

 

 

 

1. We make our own CHOICES.

I choose, I make so many choices, to magnify Jesus in hard places, it hurts me every day. I would not choose this if it weren't true!! If I couldn’t expect a resurrection from Jesus….I wouldn’t go this way.-John Piper

 

 

2. Suffering shapes our CHARACTER.

When have you gone through a hard time where you struggled…but obviously made it through… and haven’t become a better person because of it?  You learn things… you realize things… you go into a different mode of living.  It builds you.

 

 

3. God MAKES USE of suffering in His plan for our lives.

Mark Drischol says “It is horrible, but God is good.  And I tend to air on giving him the opportunity to use what was intended for evil, and use it for good….”

 

 

4. God does not expect us to ENJOY suffering.

 

 

Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18 NLT).

 

We don’t have a God who stood back and watched, He joined us.

 

 

 

Myth 2 - No GOOD can come from facing trials and suffering.

 

 

Truth 2 – God BRINGS GOOD in every trial and suffering we face.

 

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow (James 1:2-3 NLT).

 

Moses floatin down the river.

His mother put him in a basket.

It was going to be so much safer to put her son in a basket and send him down the river that she did it!  Stress? Struggle? Hard times?  yes!!!

WHO PUTS THEIR SON IN A BASKET ON THE RIVER THINKING IT WILL BE SAFER?!?!?!

God took the situation and protected Moses and he grew up to save thousands.

 

Many major influential people have had days/life’s/periods of times where they thought nothing good could come out of it.  God takes our bad days, our suffering, our troubles and works them for good.

 

2 Corinthians 11:23-28

         23-27I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather.

 28-29And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut

 

Paul…. The same guy who was there when Stephen was martyred.  I mean he should have died numerous times….God took his situation and formed him and he is known as one of the most influential men in the Bible.

 

 

WHAT GOOD CAN COME FROM OUR SUFFERING?

 

1.   It is an opportunity to GROW.

 

 

 

2. Tough times teach us about PATIENCE and WAITING on God’s timing.

 

 

 

3. We are able to see the HOPE and JOY beyond our suffering.

 

 

 

Thought for the week:

 

Remember GOD is on your SIDE!

He walks with you and carries you through the hard times.  He has got your back and won’t ever leave.

 

Footprints in the Sand- Poem


One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”

 

Don’t let the enemy win by giving up when things are hard.  God is there.

So the talk went well and I had fun.  I really hope kids are gettin stuff out of it.  Be prayin for them.  Thanks.

Tough.

So it has been a long while since I have posted last.... lots has happened...

My brother came

went to Oregon

knee pain

work

Coterie

Speaking

bills

Grim reaper

Being the grim reaper was so hard to do.  So fun, but....so real.  When a screaming girls mom ran on to the scene of the accident where her daughter was lying in her own blood and looked at me glaring back....my heart sank.  It was just a role I was playing and instilling fear into the kids...but that's not me.  It was hard.

Recently I have been really involved in reading a new book called Lifestories by Mark Hall.  A youth pastor and lead singer of Casting Crowns.  It is an incredible book with amazing perspective and stories.  I will blog more about it once I have gathered my thoughts.  There are many points on love in the book tho.  Lately everyone I have talked to/listened to/ seen/ read have been "in-your-face" intense with what they say.  In the book Mark writes about how he saw a girl who was running by a crowd of people to get to the abortion clinic... the people were "Christians".  They were clutching signs that were hateful and proclaimed that the girl was a murderer.  Mark followed with a series of questions.  First he said that the screaming people were the last image of Christians the girl had before entering the clinic.  People filled with hatred.  Not showing love. So he asks to the angry mob of "christians".  Where were you when she was looking for a church?  Where were you when she found a boyfriend?  where were you when she sat next to you at school at lunch?  where were you when she was getting tangled up in bad things?   

Why is it that we wait til someone has fallen into our "bad list" before we confront them?

Why as Christians do we judge?  We ought to help and talk to people before they "need" it as we see it.  Where are we when things are going fine?  Where are we when people want friends before they need friends?

Just think about that type of stuff....  it has really messed with me.

I am also workin on a talk for Coterie about love.  The following are my ideas for my talk.  still workin on them and finalizing them...thought I would share for some feedback and so you can see my thoughts:

            As we have been going through the other 3:16’s we have talked about:  

            Jealousy, Reputation and the Bible.

 We are going to be talking out of 1 John 3:16.  Not to be confused with John 3:16, the verse that we first memorize in Sunday school.  1 John 3:16 says this:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Ok, so the start of this verse says, “this is how we know what love is….”

LOVE

What is love?  

The word “Love” is one of the most used words in the Bible.  It is used over 500 times and is preached by Jesus.  But what is it? 

Jesus laid down his life for us.  That’s what 1 John 3:16 starts with, but the second half can be kind of….hard to understand.  Do we have to die for someone to show love?  The Message does a great job explaining what this verse means.  We are going to read 1 John 3:16 and 17 out of the message.

So it says:

 16-17This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

Ok, so in the message it says Christ sacrificed his life.  This is the same as laying down his life.  His dying for our sins was a sacrifice to wipe our slates clean.  So if we follow the theme of sacrifice what are we to do? 

            Live sacrificially

So it doesn’t mean we must die for our brothers to show love.  If we read verse 17 we can see how we are to live sacrificially.

            “If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it….”

So if you are able to help your brothers and sisters in Christ when they need the help...

“…but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.”

What it is saying is that if you CAN help but DON’T, where’s God’s love?  The love He showed us that we don’t deserve.  If we can’t even help…we aren’t showing love.

In Romans chapter 12 Paul writes that offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God is an act of worship.  So living sacrificially also shows our love for not only our brothers and sisters, but to God also.

This isn’t the only point at which love is talked about.  Later in Romans 12 love is brought up.

9Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves….

We see brotherly love here and putting people before ourselves.  This is just one of many other passages that proclaim love and what it is.

1 Corinthians 13 is all about love.  It tells what love is and how we are to embrace it.

If you think loving people is hard, you’re correct… some people we are called to love just seem like an impossible task.  But sometimes love can be as easy as a smile to a stranger. 

A quick story I heard the other day…

            Who has been to the Golden Gate Bridge?

It’s huge and so sweet to see, but it’s also infamous for a horrible thing.  Suicides.  There is a story of one man who jumped over the edge…. But before he did, he left a note on his dresser back at his apartment.  The note read: I’m going to walk to the bridge.  If one person smiles at me on the way, I won’t jump.”  Tragically, he didn’t find what he was looking for.

It’s a sad story but it just shows how easy it is to show love.  Sharing kindness can be all someone needs.

So Christ showed us what love is.

The Bible tells us many times how to love.

Some of the sadducees and pharisees wanted to test God and asked him what the greatest commandment was.

In Matthew 22 verse 37 we find Jesus response:

37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'^[ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.

Who knows an example of loving your neighbor as yourself?

The Good Samaritan.

In your groups, talk about ways you can apply love.  How can you show love to others this week?

1 John 3:16

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

 Go out and have a wonderful week and think about to show God’s love to others as you make your way through life. 

Those are the thoughts I have right now.... still workin on and praying into it.  Be praying for me as I get ready to speak to the kids on monday. Have a wonderful day and smile at someone.  Love you all.  Thanks for reading.

-Tyler