Christianity, Persecution, Blessing

The persecution of Christianity in its simplest terms, historically and worldwide, can be outlined progressively:

               1. Social Persecution
               2. Legal Persecution
               3. Violent Persecution

Graphic from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/publiccatholic/2013/03/degrees-of-christian-persecution-where-does-america-fit/

Where are we in America?

Social persecution of Christianity is commonplace – even fashionable. Disapproval, insults, hatred, ridicule and criticism. By and large, the media will not tolerate any expression of Christianity.

We have been wading into the waters of Legal persecution of Christianity for years. How many court cases have targeted or successfully hampered the free expression of Christianity? The Gospel of Peace is now officially “hate speech”.

At least we haven’t experienced Violent persecution yet . . . or have we? Take some time and see for yourself. It’s buried, but it’s there. In this country there have been an increasing number of violent crimes and murders against Christians for no other reason other than their faith. But if Social persecution already exists, which it does, you can expect the media to avoid such stories like the Plague.

Whether you are a Christian or not, you need to know how this relationship works. Numbers of people are really inconsequential. Temperature is what matters. The spiritual temperature of Christianity is almost always directly proportional to the degree of persecution.

CHRISTIANS! Have you ever noticed that the capstone of Jesus’ Beatitudes is this:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Everyone wants a blessing, but they won’t take what the Lord gives. Stop fighting and arguing with those whose understanding is darkened. Stop useless boycotts with no power behind them. Stop feeding your natural desire to get even and win and stand up for your rights. Stop wasting your life.

READ THE WORD.

DO WHAT IT SAYS.

GET READY.

Perilous Laughter...Good for you?

I had a rough day today. My littlest boy is sick, and I don't feel well. I didn't sleep good last night. The country appears to be falling apart. Whine, whine, whine, etc. Anyway, I came across this note I wrote on Facebook back on Friday, April 24, 2009. I don't think it was a coincidence either that I happened across it on a bad day almost 4 years later. Thank you LORD. Y'all enjoy:

Bad day for the guy with the scooter

Have you ever remembered something that was kind of funny when it happened, but when you remembered it, it was the funniest thing of all time? That happened to me while I was eating my lava-hot left-overs today.

Just to set this up, Sunday evening when we were all at the Ponstein's house, there was a show on about a dead whale that exploded in the middle of a city in China or something. That's funny, but that's not it. Wednesday night, me, Chris, and Tommy were talking about that show, and all of the possible scenarios that would have accompanied this Chinese inner-city whale explosion. It took about 5 minutes for us to get as silly as a bunch of little girls.

Well, as I was eating, I remembered our little silly session, and one thing in particular that was a little bit funny to me at the time. It doesn't even matter what it was, what was amazing was how funny it was this time. I started laughing hard, like comedy club hard. Next thing I knew I blew Dr. Pepper out my nose and my arms are all sticky, and I'm laughing harder than ever. Now I'm doing that crying, coughing, choking laughing, and to make matters worse, I'm also laughing at how funny my own laughing is. I almost fell out of my chair. That kind of laughing could kill a person.

What's weird is that it made me think of a verse in the Bible: 

A glad heart makes a cheerful face,
but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. (Proverbs 15:13)

There's plenty of us that have things going on that can make us sad and crush our Spirit. I read that "The indulgence of a disposition to sighing tends to destroy life. Every deep sigh throws off a portion of the vital energy." That's the truth. Anyone who's ever been down knows that it sucks the life out of you. 

It's much better to have a glad heart, even if you almost die from laughing. There's another verse that says: 

All the days of the afflicted are evil,
but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. (Proverbs 15:15)

I can't control all the circumstances in my life. I can't just decide not to be afflicted if tough times are here for a spell. But because of God's Spirit in me I can have a good attitude, and I can be cheerful even when it may seem to some there's no reason to be. I'm thankful for those little laughing episodes, and all the cheerful and silly people I know that lift people's spirits. 

So, in the words of Meher Baba (capitalized on by Bobby McFerrin in the 80's):
"Don't worry, Be happy."

A Door of Opportunity

. . . a great door for effective work has opened to me,

and there are many who oppose me.

1 Corinthians 16:9

The Apostle Paul wrote those words to the Corinthian church that he established sometime after he arrived in Ephesus to work. He ended up staying longer in Ephesus than he did anywhere else in all his missionary journeys. It sounds like he was pretty excited about what God had in store for him. But it’s also a curious verse, mainly because of the last part, “and there are many who oppose me.” Is that supposed to be good, or bad?

Well, people, especially Christians, are fond of the old “door of opportunity” expression. I’ve heard lots of church folks say that a door has been opened to them – this door, that door. But I have never in my life heard anyone say it like Paul did.

Think about all the “doors of opportunity” Paul went through after he met Jesus. With most of those he passed through, he planted a new church. But the opposition got tougher as he went. As a matter of fact it became flat out life threatening. By the time he made it to Ephesus, he had passed through countless “doors of opportunity,” planted dozens of new churches along the way, and at times had to run for his life.

Now, what’s this about a “great door for effective work” that opened up to him? Well, I don’t exactly know for sure, but while he was in Ephesus, he and his disciples held discussion daily for two years so that “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” If that ain’t a great door for effective work, I don’t know what is.

Who was against him? Oh, just the people that started a citywide riot against him in Ephesus – estimated population: 250,000 persons. They were angry because Paul had “convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia,” and it was killing their idol business.

So here’s the point of it all. It comes down to a question. Can there be “a great door for effective work” that is not accompanied by opposition? And I’m not talking about that crybaby opposition you’ll get just for being alive in this world. I’m talking about trouble.

I think there are a variety of doors that open up to believers. I think one taken most often is not one that the Lord has opened up to them. That door usually leads to greater comfort, personal success, prestige, money – worldliness.

I think the “great door for effective work” is at first sight, ugly. I think it is surrounded on both sides by trouble. I think there is nothing attractive about it – to the mind that loves things of this world. But the door is transparent to those who truly – and I mean truly – love the Lord, Jesus. They see the Lord’s will carried right on through to the other side. They see the trouble too. They also know the scorn they will endure for passing through. But it’s worth it. They pick up their cross, and follow their Lord . . . and they suffer for it. And he’s pleased with them.

-isms

“Ism’s, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an ‘ism,’

he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon: ‘I don't believe in Beatles.

I just believe in me.’ A good point there.”

~ Ferris Bueller

This comes from one of the greatest movie monologues of all time: the “How to Fake Out Parents and Avoid School” discourse from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Now, I don’t take much stock in anything John Lennon believed in, but I’ve always been in one accord with him and Ferris on their stance on isms. I’m not an ism guy.

First let me clarify something. I’m against a certain kind of isms, not words spelled with i-s-m. For example, prisms are nice. Once upon a time, I gave my wife one in the form of a diamond engagement ring. Schisms, well, maybe that’s not the best example, but I’m sure if you do your homework you’ll see that some good has come of them.

So what is an ism? Well, a definition might be best. Have a look.

***Actually, –ism (suffix) and ism (noun) are two different things. Feast your eyes.

The latter is the one that Bueller, Lennon, and me believe is not good, but I’m coming at it with a Christian worldview. Now you might say, “What about Calvinism or Arminianism? You must believe in one or the other if you are a good Christian.” My answer is this: Ism’s, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an ism. Before you burn me in effigy, hear me.

The Bible is the revelation of God to people, and a great deal of it requires that you have the Holy Spirit residing in you to understand it. That means anyone, given they are regenerated, can understand anything the Bible has to say by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. No degree necessary.

On the other hand, Christian isms are the constructs of men to simplify the Bible. They sum it up, and make things nice and neat. They are meant for good – to teach sound doctrine. But the unregenerate are capable of fully understanding these systems and arguing them until they are blue in the face every bit as much as a Christian is. It turns what God gave us into something man made. 

It’s like this: God gave us what we are supposed to know about him in a treasure chest called the Bible. It takes effort to get to know him. Then smart men simplified the treasure chest down into a basket – but they came up with different looking baskets. The problem is that you have believers looking in one basket or another for treasure, and that’s not what God intended. He gave us the treasure chest. I'll say it again. A person should not believe in an ism.

A person should believe THE WORD. No matter what this person or that person says, you don’t need an ism. You'll be just fine without an ism. Generally speaking, the -ists are usually the ones pushing their isms anyway. They will argue it will keep you from heresy. Hogwash. Heresy from believing the other guy's ism maybe. I’ll take the guidance of the Holy Spirit over an ism any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

To sum it up, isms, in my opinion, are not good. Leave the isms to the ists, and bury your nose in The Word. Let the Holy Spirit teach you. God gave you a treasure chest. Don’t settle for a basket.