Came across this story on Fox News about the persecution of Christian Missionaries...and while that in and
of itself is newsworthy the thing that touched me most, the thing that humbled me most was the reactions of
the Christians. It doesn’t really matter who did what in this, just look at the reactions of the missionaries.
Oh, to be more and more like Christ!
A portion of the story by Todd Starnes is below...
Could you imagine the international outcry if Christians had burned 45 mosques?
But that’s not what happened in Niger. The Christian community did not retaliate. They did not
respond with angry voices.
“That’s because we are people of mercy and grace and faith,” Neal told me. “We don’t react in the
flesh and we don’t react out of anger.”
Indeed, Christian leaders in Niger held a press conference and announced they forgave those who
burned down their churches.
“The church is recognizing this is something to be joyful over — the church and their faith have been
proven,” Neal said. “Jesus said rejoice and be exceedingly glad when men persecute you, for great is
your reward in heaven.”
The Muslim mobs may return, but that’s OK with Neal.
“We are preaching the Gospel and living as an example before the people,” he said. “It was
demonstrated in our response. It is not our nature to be aggressive or violent. We forgive those that
attack.”
Good words spoken by a man with a deep and abiding faith in our Lord.
And yet I still can’t seem to get over the image of that charred Bible found in the ashes of that church
house. I’m reminded of a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
Grace and Peace!
Our Church is doing a series on true community and we have spent several weeks
looking at what true community looks like; community focused on studying and
learning from God’s Word, focused on fellowship (more than a potluck dinner), focused on
eating and sharing meals – both the Lord’s Supper and in homes, and focused on
prayer.
We recently had a passage from Nehemiah 8 as our call to worship and as I dove
into this passage a bit I could see even more true community:
Nehemiah 8:9-12
“This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people
wept, when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions
to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not
sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be
grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and
rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.
This passage is about a scattered people brought back together and restored into
relationship with God and with each other, which to me is key and vital for true
community. And if you dig into this a bit you can see that as they were in
relationship with each other and as they started to understand God’s word they
found true joy. Joy in the Word, joy in grace and forgiveness and even joy in a
troubled world. Can’t we all relate to that?
Then as they found this true joy, it became their strength – the Joy in the Lord is
their (our) strength. I had to keep digging so I looked up the Hebrew for strength
and this word has in its essence this feeling of a safe harbor. So Joy in the Lord
found through His Word and through relationships with Him and each other is our
safe harbor. It is our literal safe harbor, our safe place for rest, for relationships, for
peace and for love.
It is a safe harbor like no other!!!
Grace and Peace!
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
A new year, a fresh start...perhaps a new attitude? I believe many Christians would
list Jeremiah 29:11 among their favorites and no doubt this is a very hopeful verse. I
have seen it on plaques, signs, etc. It is a verse that tells us we have a God that we
can trust – Amen.
There is more to consider, if you look at verse 10 the Lord says after 70 years He
will fulfill His promise. So there is thing called God’s timing and don’t get me wrong
here, I believe it is also His perfect timing. But, if we truly believe we have a God
that we can trust there will be times when we must wait, we must experience ups
and downs, we must persevere and to me that is a key aspect of trusting God.
And during these periods of time where we have to trust God what is our attitude?
Should we be angry, should we be negative or should we be confident and joyful? I
know this is hard to do at times and Lord knows when it comes to this I slip – I
forget – maybe I find it easier to trust myself? Ouch! But, if we can truly center and
focus on Jesus and all He has done – His finished work, His love for each of us, then
perhaps we can get through life with a humble confidence, trusting God and His
plans for us.
I recently had the opportunity to travel on a particular airline and have you noticed
one of the requirements of a flight crew these days is comedy? Anyway, the Captain
comes on and welcomes us aboard his flight, he tells us the weather conditions, the
temperatures and the time we can expect to arrive. He concludes by telling us that
we can either sit back and enjoy the flight or we can lean forward, tense up and be
miserable. Everyone laughed, but that stuck with me.
Couldn’t the same be said about our Christian walk? Most days shouldn’t we be
humbly confident, trusting, joyful people. I know it will be tough and there are
circumstances where we won’t always just be happy smiling people, but in general
as we trudge through life may we all sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
Grace and Peace!
