Matt 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. 1 Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory & of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. — One day I fear that we will in fact no longer have the freedoms we have today in this country as Christians! But we really need to fear not, because God has already spoken the words that it is us that will be blessed in the end! — Acts 28:22 We desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against. — So even when the world no longer wants to hear from Christians, we must continue to desire the words of our God! —Matt 24:13 He who endures to the end shall be saved! — For those who endure are saved! Love Mel
The Hidden Blessing of Being Nobody
Is it better to…..
However, from my limited experiences I will hazard a guess at answers to the following questions. As I am sure you realize, the answers depend on the maturity of the person and most importantly, on the purpose that person has in God’s kingdom.
God trained Moses to be SOMEBODY while in Pharaohs house for 40 years. Then He trained Him to be NOBODY in the desert for 40 years. Then as D.L. Moody said: “Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody; forty years learning he was nobody; and forty years discovering what God can do with a nobody.”— D.L. Moody
A NOBODY depends on God for everything. A nobody is not deceived by his or her own importance.
- Is it better to have nothing to lose or a lot to lose? I think it better to have nothing to lose. The more you have, the more your mind dwells on preserving what you have and, very often, getting more. This is especially true with money. The Bible tells us we cannot serve God and money and it also says that the LOVE OF money is the root of all evil. As Christians we want our main love and focus to be on God. It is difficult to do that when we are preoccupied with possessions and money. If you do have a lot, be sure to share with others and to give thanks often. And always remember that everything belongs to God.
- Is it better have a great deal of influence with man, or very little? This is kind of a tossup in my book. A lot of influence can be very good if you are solidly grounded in the faith and know what you are talking about. However, the Bible warns us in the Book of James that the judgement of teachers will be greater than that of the average person. This is clearly because you might just lead people the wrong way. This is very serious. That’s a major problem I have with those who seek high public office. Why in the world would a person who does not fear God, nor employ/advocate His principles when governing seek a high office? All you bring at that point is your opinion – which matters very little – unless it is rooted in the oracles of God.
- Is it better to have much material wealth, or a little, or just enough? Once again if you have wealth and it does not “have you”, then you have the ability to help others in the name of the Lord. More often that not however the person with a lot of wealth gets hardened to the needs of the poor and stops sharing. This is why you really do not see mega-giving among the mega-rich. Also, I think it most unwise to seek to have “too little” – finding that somehow virtuous. If you cannot make ends meet your focus will again not be on God, but rather on the meeting of your own basic needs. It is not good to be intentionally poor. David says in Psalms that he has never seen the Lord forsake His anointed, nor his seed begging bread. Elsewhere in the Bible, the writer of Proverbs asks that the Lord not give too much nor too little. Proverbs 30:8 8Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. This is very wise.
- Is it better to know a great deal about things, or only a little? I think the more we know the more prideful we can become. If we are mindful that the revelation of all truth is provided by God, and that saving grace knowledge is in itself a gift from God, then that is a good start. Knowing a lot is good, but knowing the wrong things or things that are not strictly true is clearly not a good thing. Truth is found in God’s word. It is good to stick to scripture and not one’s own personal experiences to establish doctrine. Remember there is always more truth to be learned. And remember that absolute truth is only found in scripture. So, I recommend humbly searching the scriptures to find truth. Once you find it on a certain subject you must realize that in some cases, there can be more than one interpretation of a truth. For example, there are many teachers of scripture that are absolutely sure they know the end times scenario. Don’t be too dogmatic about anything other than the centrality of Jesus Christ to eternal life.
- Is it better to be very blessed with few challenges or to have a mixture of life experiences? Well there is no way in which I would advocate seeking sadness and/or misery. However, the better things get, the more we can forget God. So, remember God in the day of blessing and seek Him in the day of adversity. Ecclesiastes says “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them”. You can also read that to mean to remember God in the good days when all is well. You will need Him even more when the days of evil come upon us. The bad times cause us to experience the suffering of Christ who died on the cross for us. They cause us to cry out to our God and to feel His comforting presence when most needed. These experiences all together build a strong and complete faith.
Come Into Me All You Who are Heavy Laden.
Matt 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour & are heavy laden, & I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, & learn of me; for I am meek & lowly in heart: & ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, & my burden is light. — He is the only one that offers rest in difficult times! We need only to accept His invitation to “Come”! Come & find rest! This is the relationship that He is seeking, that is to take our problems & give us peace in return! We need only let go & let/trust Him! Love Mel
Ephesians 5: Walk in Love By Letting Jesus Live Through You
Eph 5:1-2 (ESV) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us & gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering & sacrifice to God. 1 Cor 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. — Imitator, this world is filled with these in some form or another, but we are told to imitate Him! I don’t think I can explain this as well as William Temple does, “It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like his. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like His.” — This is the key – letting Him live thru us, guiding us & directing us! Learning to enjoy the life He has set before us! Learning to LOVE Him & Love our neighbors! Love Mel
Why Then Are We Saved?
Romans 8 (KJV): 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
2 Tim 2 (KJV): Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. 10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Ephesians 2:10 (KJV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
1 Corinthians 6:1-3 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.’
Revelation 20:4-6 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Well then – it appears we are saved to perform good works now and to rule and reign with our Lord Jesus Christ as His bride forever.
Consider yourself an instrument of God to perform good works and to be a net plus in the eternal ledger. Pray, give, love and serve daily and you will be rewarded at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Don’t let anything distract you from your purpose. You are called and elected, saved forever, and destined to be sanctified and conformed to His image to love and serve The Lord. Now and forever – with the Lord Jesus.
