DEATH OF THE GODLY

How long, Lord?  How long till I won't be trapped in my first response and have to redirect to my second response?

Yesterday when we heard our Jerusalem street preacher was hit by a car and had been killed, my shock said "Lord!  What are you thinking? Don't you need him?  Look what he was doing for you!"

Then, my redirect quietly came. "Of course, Lord, you know what you are doing.  Of course your sovereign Providence is in charge and there's no such thing as being 'taken before his time'.  Of course I can rest in your goodness."

The above Isaiah verse says mankind takes no note of the fact that the godly are saved from the evil that is to come.  The world cannot strain to see over what is in front of them...that death is a warning to all of us about the brevity of life.

The death of the godly also is viewed carelessly by the world.  Perhaps there were not many in the Jerusalem streets who saw Antony's death as a public loss.  They would have no idea of the import of kingdom business that he was about, and some might have even considered him an annoyance.  Sound familiar?

Matthew Henry says that men who belong to the Lord are saved from the sting of death, but not the stroke.  That's because the stroke of death comes to ALL.  I have a $50 jar of face cream, but even that will not help me cheat death.

But as a believer, I am saved from the hurtful power of death (sin) because Christ's death conquered sin and death...providing hope for the future.  I'm so very thankful for the Spirit's ministry that places assurance of that truth into hearts.

In the Lord's great compassion, Antony was spared further heartache.  Antony had seen more suffering than most as he took Toyota trucks of milk and diapers and cleaning supplies and Bibles to meet the basic needs of Middle Eastern refugees.  He had seen depravity that we could not fathom.  So who am I to tell the Lord about timing?  I can't even time my own life.

Therefore I take heart this morning.  In King James language, I will "layeth it on my heart" that the Good Shepherd kindly spared Antony from the things this world offers...as He ushered this faithful brother into glory.  May the Lord enlarge the hope that Antony spoke into many lives.  I take Antony's fearless life as an example of one who squeezed every drop of energy for Jesus.

"Therefore, be very careful how you live - not as unwise, but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil."  Ephesians 5:15,16

COPTIC CHRISTIANS

The days are dark for Coptic Christians in Egypt who increasingly come under attack by radical Islamic terrorists.  On Saturday, 28 people were killed in a bus attack south of Cairo and 25 were wounded.

It's not the first attack.

On New Year's Eve in 2011, a blast in a church in Alexandria killed more than 20 people and the crime still remains unsolved.  Last December, an Islamic suicide bomber killed 30 in Cairo's Coptic Cathedral.  Last month, twin bombings by suicide bombers killed 46 in churches in Alexandria and Tanta.

Since February the series of murders and killings claimed by ISIS in the northern Sinai have led hundreds of families to leave for safer parts of Egypt.

 Do you feel what the Copts are feeling?  Do you know why they are being persecuted?

The answer lies in an ideology which runs fast to take innocent blood.

St. Samuel's Monastery

The Christians who died yesterday were in buses on their way through the desert to a spiritual retreat at St. Samuel's monastery.  The buses were stopped by men dressed in fatigues and black hooded masks.

The jihadists ordered the Copts off the buses, and then one by one...ordered each one to renounce their faith.  ALL REFUSED, even the children.  They were shot in cold blood with a bullet to the head or throat.  First they shot the men and then women/children, including two little girls, aged 2 and 4.

Some reports say the killers saw cars coming in the distance or everyone would have been killed.  In their haste, they sprayed the bus with gunfire.

The Christians who died on Saturday went straight into the presence of their Savior.  In Revelation 6:9, the apostle John wrote about what he saw when he looked into heaven.

John saw the Lamb of God open the fifth seal, and then under the altar he  saw the souls of those who had been violently killed BECAUSE OF THE WORD OF GOD and BECAUSE OF THE TESTIMONY THEY HAD GIVEN.  John must have seen these very people.

Today the whole world hears the testimony of these dear souls.  Know what else the world sees?  We see the lifework of these butchers.  The martyrs cry out to God: "How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?"  (Revelation 6:10)

The Apostle Mark took the gospel to Egypt, and the Coptic Christians trace their roots back to him. The Copts are our brothers and sisters in Christ...part of the Easter Orthodox Church who hold to the Ten Commandments and practice baptism, confession, confirmation, and the intercession of the saints.  In 451AD they split from the Roman Catholic Church over the nature of Christ.  Copts believe in the immaculate conception of Jesus, but not the virgin Mary.  They do not believe in papal infallibility, or purgatory.  Coptic priests may marry.

Make no mistake.  The dear souls who died in the desert sand of Minya were killed because of what they believed.  WHAT WE BELIEVE IS ESSENTIAL.

It is inaccurate to assume all beliefs are equal.  We enlarge ourselves, awarding ourselves a "broadminded badge" when we accept whatever comes down the pike as a way to God.  Religious pluralism is dangerous because it goes beyond what God set out (see First Commandment).

The faith of Jesus-followers is not equal to one which calls people to murder for their god.  My faith rests on a Savior who came to earth to die in my place...and then calls me to love and forgive others as He forgave me.

Shakespeare told us all the world's a stage and all the men and women are merely players with entrances and exits.  As we get closer to Christ's return, the world's stage is set in complete clarity to show God's pre-eminence.

Not all roads lead to heaven.  Who wouldn't want to follow the One who showed kindness, graciously initiated love toward us, pre-planned a future place for His followers, and imparted assurance and purpose?

Some people just won't humble themselves before their Creator and ask Him to take their sin away.  Jesus didn't say there were many ways to God...He said HE WAS THE WAY.

If you had stepped down out of that hot Egyptian bus, would you have renounced your faith?

REFLECTIONS from JOHN

This year's BSF study seemed particularly tender as we saw the Lord through the eyes of the "disciple that Jesus loved".  The following seven thoughts just came to mind as favorites, but there were MANY things to like about John's gospel.  

Here is the first one about finding shalom with/through God:  

Everyone needs peace. The disciples experienced hostility in the first century, but who could have conceived that in our day, the crucifixion of Christians would still be in play? Our unsettling times would ratchet up anxiety in order to steal our peace, but God offers something the world cannot touch.

We see two qualifiers in this John verse. In order to experience His peace, you must be "in Him"...and you must know what He has said.

A study of God's word assuages our soul; likewise this year's John study has shown me how the apostle tenderly painted the inside of God's heart.

We learned that the indwelling Holy Spirit is the only source of power equal to breaking through our self-despair, self-deception, and self-direction. The Spirit reminds us of God's past faithfulnesses to us, and we are buttressed to know that the Lord Jesus will stand victorious at the end of time.

Knowing how the story ends allows us to turn our faces heavenward in great expectation.

Have you ever been beside the bed of a loved one who was dying? When my Mama died, I remember each word she said, how she surprised us by sitting up in the bed, what her breathing sounded like, and how cold her hands and feet became.

I was an eyewitness just as John was a witness to Jesus' death.

Remember how John was present through it all with Jesus?  It was John who had leaned against Jesus' chest during the Last Supper, John who was in the garden when Jesus was arrested, John who was there during Jesus' trials, and John who stayed at Golgotha when all the others fled. Then it was John (and Peter) who were first to reach the empty tomb.

This means John had eyewitness credibility. And he went on to write a gospel FULL of details, presenting Jesus as the Godman who performed powerful signs so that many would come to faith by believing. In fact, John said there were so many signs that Jesus performed, there weren't books enough to record them.

I look forward to meeting John one day to tell him how his words buttressed my faith.

Toward the end of his book, John made a statement that reflected his loving heart. "These (words) are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name." John 20:31

We know we have an Advocate before the Father who intercedes for our needs. In John 17, it is a special treat to get to listen as Jesus prays His high priestly prayer. Notice three categories:

Jesus' time had come, so first He prayed that the Father would glorify the Son so that the Son could glorify the Father in His mission to complete His cross work. Then Jesus prays for His disciples that they would be able to complete their work as they begin the church and write the New Testament. Now comes the good part.

Jesus prays for those who would believe through the disciples' testimony. HE'S PRAYING FOR ME! I'm going to insert my name (you can insert yours).  Jesus says He is not praying only on the disciples' behalf, but also on Susan's behalf so that Susan will be one with the Father as Jesus is one with the Father. And He asks that Susan would know that the Father has loved her as the Father loves the Son.

So in the John 17 prayer, Jesus prays that His work would glorify the Father, the disciples' work would glorify the Father, and the work that future believers were given to do would glorify the Father.

What is my work? The church received her assignment as Jesus left planet Earth: "Go, make disciples".

My joy is that Jesus came for me, filled me with the joy of knowing God loves me, prayed for me 2,000 years ago (as well as today), and gave my life purpose. Jesus says He wants Susan to be with Him where He is. Miracle of miracles? That was the Father's good plan from the foundation of the world.

Want to hear a completely humbling thing? Jesus saved me out of the sea of unbelieving humanity... just as He did for the man born blind that John describes in Chapter 9.

Jesus didn't just restore the man's sight, He created sight. both physical and spiritual. Only God can do that. As our teaching leader pointed out, IF YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED, IT IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE PERSONALLY BEEN SEEN AND TOUCHED IN ALL YOUR BROKENNESS BY AN ATTENTIVE AND MERCIFUL SAVIOR WHO WAS SENT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF YOUR SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS.

She also used a visual that has stuck with me everytime I crack an egg. Know how separating a yolk from a white can sometimes get messy? Well, it was messy when Jesus separated the man born blind out of the sea of humanity.

God the Father directed God the Son to this dear man. Then the Lord's hands picked up dirt and made mud in order to create sight. Later the Lord's hands would be blodied on the cross in order to extend grace to him.

The man was exuberant, but not everyone in John's narrative leaves happy. The religious leaders saw Jesus as a challenge to their authority, so they called the man before them and berated him, questioned his parents, called him back to say he was a liar (who never was blind), and then kicked him out of the synagogue.

Here's what was more troubling. Scripture taught that when the Messiah came, there were certain miracles that ONLY He could perform. Messiah would open the eyes of the blind...and here stood living proof. Kudos to the man. With no schooling or status, he stood firmly against the most religious and educated men in Israel WHO KNEW THE SCRIPTURES.

Who was blind? The ones hurling insults proved to be the ones who couldn't see. The man formerly known as blind...had seen Jesus and could not deny Him before a hostile, unbelieving audience. Lord, give me his courage.

Today it's impossible for me to crack an egg without gratefully thinking of how Jesus separated me from the world. I know I was separated to get dirty for the glory of God's grace in other's lives.

That's how we lean into our purpose.

In John's last chapter, he shows us forgiveness in the story of Peter's rebuke. Through that process, the Lord is teaching Peter (and the watching disciples...and me) a class called YIELDING COMPLETELY/ WAITING BELIEVINGLY 101.

The timeline is after the resurrected Christ has appeared in the Upper Room and given instructions to the disciples to wait for Him on the mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16).  

But the men gave up waiting and in exasperation, Peter goes down to the Sea of Galilee to fish. The translation implies this is more than just a “pass the time” fishing trip, but is more like Peter is returning to what he knew. Six other disciples follow him.

When they have no catch, a man on the shore calls a suggestion out to them. It’s not long until John figures out the familiarity of the situation as he thinks back to the first time they met the Lord. Jesus had told them where to cast their empty nets and the nets were filled. John says “it’s the Lord!” and Peter jumps out of the boat for shore.

Peter has failed the Lord, but Peter loves the Lord. In Mark 14 he bragged about loving Jesus more than the other disciples did, and in Matthew 19 he bragged that he had left everything to love Jesus. Then there were the three times Peter disavowed the Lord during His arrest. Peter’s walk and talk didn’t match.

Peter needs to be restored to his leadership role, and the Lord graciously gives the big fisherman three chances to affirm his love (the same number of times he publicly denied Christ). As our Bible teacher said, OBEDIENCE IS AN ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE OF OUR LOVE FOR JESUS.

If the Lord knows everything (and He does), He knew those men would not wait on the mountain and would again be navigating their own course. But in grace abundant, the Ever-Initiating Jesus did not give up on them. There he was, on the shore with a fire built and fish cooking, providing faithfully for their needs just as He provides for ours.

But our greatest need is not to have a full stomach. When we go our own way, life is like an empty net. The Lord waits for us to come humbly before Him so that He can forgive us and restore us to fellowship with Him.

Then we can navigate with Jesus and be fishers of men. "Before destruction the heart of a person is proud, but humility comes before honor." Proverbs 18:12

The whole “choice” thing has long been a sticky wicket for me. For the most of my Christian walk, it just seemed tiring. As I tried to think through it, my mind would go both directions at once until I yelled “calf rope”, gave up, and put the issue on the “find out later” shelf.  

This year I officially pulled CHOICE off the shelf and decided God chose me. Well, what else could I do with all the John verses that say as much? I do know by just plain ole observation skills that out of all the people groups of the world, He chose Israel to be His vehicle.

Maybe (you might say)…in the verse in the picture God was talking to all men. Nope, that 15:16 verse is tucked into the vine and branches section. That is the Lord explaining how those who belong to Him are to show we are His disciples by bearing fruit that remains.

What is fruit that remains? The only thing that goes into the next kingdom will be God’s word and God’s people. So He’s talking about making disciples.

Well (you might say)...maybe it’s a random verse. Surely there aren’t other ones like that? Nope. If you look over to the sixth chapter, the Lord repeats TWICE that nobody comes to the Father except the Father calls him. Verse 44: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." Verse 65: " I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come."

God the Father does all the heavy lifting. He breaks up fallow ground by wooing and giving His gifts of repentance and faith. Then it is my privilege to respond to the God of the universe who has made it so I am able to “want to” come. Otherwise, men would continue preferring to run their own affairs. That comes naturally, you know.

When you were in third grade, you picked the fastest runner to be on your team. Later in life, the most attractive or the wealthiest get picked. But God doesn’t choose on that criterion. His pick is not based on us, but on Him.

Choice cannot be something that leads to pride because God says in He didn’t choose me because of any good I did. He chose that which was weak in the world…to illustrate HIS character. That way, none could boast.

God is loving. He chose me that I might know Him and love Him and tell others about Him. Besides, it’s a relief not to be in charge of things. God is doing a good job and we can trust Him to reign justly from His throne.

So if you are sitting on the fence, quit worrying about whether you are chosen or not. Pursue Him because He says if you draw near, He will draw near to you. Ask Him to reveal His Son to you. Your soul’s satisfaction is found only in Him.

I find it a wondrous thing to know God has chosen me.

You know what the "Walking Dead" are, don't you?  They are re-animated corpses, full of darkness.  That's a pretty graphic illustration of life without Jesus.

Would you be able to guess what Jesus’ last PUBLIC words were? You might guess that He issues a final plea to people to consider their mortality and come to faith in Him. Good guess.  In John 12, Jesus told the crowd that while they had the light, they should believe in the light so that they might become sons of light.

After saying that, Jesus went away and hid Himself from them. What more could He say? What more could He do?

Back in the 1600’s, Matthew Henry wrote about that passage in his commentary. Henry says “Jesus’ listeners had overlooked the prophecies that described Him, and drew false notions from the Scriptures. Jesus was warning that the light would not long continue with them and His exhortation was for them to walk in the light before the darkness overtook them. Those who walk in the light must believe in it and follow Christ’s directions. But those who have not faith cannot see what is set forth in Jesus (lifted up on the cross)…and are strangers to its influence that the Holy Spirit makes known. They find a thousand objections to excuse their unbelief.”

I know I did. Some of my objections were from VANITY (I didn’t want to get “weird” like a Jesus freak) and some were TIME (no time now, but maybe one day…) and some were just like the crowd in John 12…I was a STRANGER TO ITS INFLUENCE. Even though a regular church-goer, I had no idea because I had never studied the Bible.

JESUS ALWAYS WORKS THROUGH HIS WORD.  HERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW HOW TO PLEASE GOD IF WE DON'T READ WHAT HE WROTE.

After this final plea, Jesus hid Himself from them. We suppose that He may have gone over the Mount of Olives to Bethany for the night. Know why He hid? Jesus’ words stir people. Those who are stirred to the light find salvation, but those who are angered by a personal challenge are defensive and strike out.  Jesus knew that their irritation would end in them seizing Him to deliver Him to the Sanhedrin…but the time was not right for that. The Lord left them without His person or His word because of their choice NOT to be children of the light.

Isaiah had told the Jewish people 700 years before Christ that a light was coming. “The people who walk in darkness will see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness…for a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us.”

Jesus says HE is the light of the world…in a world filled with sinners on their way to their graves. We know darkness symbolizes evil and goodness is symbolized by light. John 1 said “In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.” Praise God!

There is always a kerfuffle around Jesus because His light exposes sin. People enjoy the darkness of a self-directed life, but whoever follows Jesus in a saving way is transferred from the realm of darkness into light. They see their sin and put it away in obedience to God’s word.

Next year BSF will study the book of Romans as we learn why we believe what we believe.  Would you like to join us on the Roman road?  Our Facebook page is called "Bible Study Fellowship, Fayetteville, AR, Evening Women's Class", and our study will begin in the fall.

HYSTERIA

Can we have some facts before we dissolve into a puddle?

Every day brings a new charge against Donald Trump.  All these shots that lack a base in fact...are shots at the back of America's  President.  This rapid fire is destructive to the fabric of our country.

Our National Security Advisor says the President did not give classified information to the Russians.  But do you know who DID give classified information...to the world?

Do you know this man?  His name is Dr. Shakeel Afridi and he is the Pakistani doctor who helped us find Osama bin Laden.

On his Wiki page, you read that it was Leon Panetta (then CIA chief) who outed him.  Panetta was not in a private conversation with a foreign emissary when this information came out.  Panetta revealed his news  to the entire world on 60 Minutes.

As a result, since 2012 the doctor has been in a Pakistani prison with a 33-year sentence and is reportedly tortured daily.  Ask Dr. Afridi about the damage resulting from the sharing of classified information.

Then there was the famous "Uncle Joe" blurb.  Two days after bin Laden's death (on May 3, 2011 at a Washington event) our former Vice President did an unthinkable thing when he publicly revealed the identity of the special ops unit responsible for bin Laden's kill.  Please read this important LINK.

Considering the subsequent ambush and death of the Seal Team 6 on August 6, 2011...the release of that information for any reason (but particularly just to "spike the ball") is sickening.

In less spectacular ways, the last administration chose to reveal classified information.

They talked about interrogation methods used on terrorists LINK.  They exposed Israeli intelligence partners as they claimed credit for the Stuxnet virus which attacked Iran's nuclear program beginning in 2009 LINK (then the former President pardoned the Student leaker just as he pardoned the WikiLeaker, Chelsey Manning).  They ordered the intelligence community to share information with the Cubans LINK.

And, of course, there was Mother-of-all-Disclosers who exposed thousands of classified documents because she was determined to have her own unaccountable server.  Then she got hacked through a phishing expedition which fooled John Pedestal into clicking on a link.

Who would have ever thought classified information would end up on a pedophile's laptop?  That gave all of us a good look inside the reality that was the slow train wreck that perpetually accompanies the Clintons.  Just look at all the reputations (think James Comey/Loretta Lynch) that have been destroyed by associating with the former first couple.

Hysteria is the emotion of the day as people salivate over impeachment and work with gusto to make it happen.  But people are hysterical because the news outlets bang a drum daily that misleads the American public.  We are not in a contest to see who can reveal the most intelligence, but IF the press were concerned about leaks, they might have reported the egregious ones in the last administration.  Those leaks cost us the trust of our allies and actual lives.

Keeping classified information close to the vest keeps the country safe.   There is a Romans verse which, in context, is speaking to the body of believers.  But it sure could come in handy now in our national life.  It says "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification".

Let's put America first.