Count It All Joy

Thought on the Sabbath School lesson for 11.10.12

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,” James 1:2

Have you ever considered how completely foreign that philosophy is to pretty much every other way of thinking on the planet these days? Most folks spend considerable time and money to avoid any kind of trial. Our lives (in the United States, anyway) are all about easier, better and faster – trials of any kind just don’t figure in. When a trial does, inevitably come along, our first instinct is not to meet it with joy but with anger and frustration.

That is doubly true for Christians, sometimes. If we’re stuck in traffic we might get a little indignant with God. “God, you know I have to be to work on time. Why are you letting this happen to me?” In fact, there’s a whole brand of Christianity (Prosperity Theology) that preaches if you are doing it right, your life will be smooth sailing – you’ll have a great job, nice house and plenty of money. It’s a very appealing theory, but pretty hard to sustain even if you have any knowledge about the Bible at all. Many texts say just the opposite.

“‘These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’” John 16:33

If you have a red letter Bible, those words are in red. Jesus, Himself, said them.  I don’t see any way around them – we are going to have to admit that “in the world, we will have tribulation …”

But it’s a pretty big leap between accepting those trials and tribulations and being happy about them, right? Facing trials with joy would be like trusting God enough to give Him complete control of our lives. That’s pretty radical!

The apostles and the early Christians seemed to understand that Christian life wasn't going to be all lollipops and rainbows. They lived every day, knowing that today could be the day that they are arrested, tortured and put to death.

We, as North American Christians, need to remember that we are not so very far removed from people who live every day with the threat of religious persecution.

Another question we need to answer would be, just what constitutes persecution.

“In a recent article on the suffering church, FaithWorks listed the degrees of persecution one could face for practice of religious faith:
1. Disapproval
2. Ridicule
3. Pressure to conform
4. Loss of educational opportunities
5. Economic sanctions
6. Shunning
7. Alienation from community
8. Loss of employment
9. Loss of property
10. Physical abuse
11. Mob violence
12. Harassment by officials
13. Kidnapping
14. Forced labor
15. Imprisonment
16. Physical torture
17. Murder or execution”[1]

Don’t you wish we could ask Peter and John how they were able to face each new day as a gift from God.  Remember the story in Acts 5:12–42? The apostles are standing together on Solomon’s Porch in Jerusalem and they’re preaching and working miracles and “multitudes” of people are giving their hearts to Jesus when up march the Sadducees and the High Priest. The High Priest has the apostles arrested and thrown in jail. He and the Sadducees trot off home to supper thinking they've handled that whole situation pretty neatly.

Meanwhile, Peter and the apostles are sitting in prison. An angel comes and lets them all out of prison and tells them to go back to the temple and start preaching again. Now, I’m thinking at this point, I’d be having some doubts as to whether or not going back to the place I was just arrested and doing the same thing for which I was just arrested is a wise choice…in fact, I’m pretty sure I’d be having a heart to heart discussion with that angel.

Peter and the apostles didn’t question their task at all, though. They went right back and started preaching again,

“Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,  saying, ‘Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!’
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.  Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.’” Acts 5:26-32

Finally, the apostles were beaten and released.  

“…when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” Acts 5:40-43

Can you imagine? “… rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”  Thrown in jail and beaten and they’re happy about it. Wow.

Are we at a place where we can praise God for sending trials into our lives? I’m pretty sure I’m not, but Mrs. White explains why we need to get involved.

“The watchful Christian is a working Christian, seeking zealously to do all in his power for the advancement of the gospel. As love for his Redeemer increases, so also does love for his fellow men. He has severe trials, as had his Master; but he does not allow affliction to sour his temper or destroy his peace of mind. He knows that trial, if well borne, will refine and purify him, and bring him into closer fellowship with Christ. Those who are partakers of Christ’s sufferings will also be partakers of His consolation and at last sharers of His glory.”[2]

Are we doing everything we can to advance the gospel? Are we telling people at work? at the store? on the plane? at school? Are we being working Christians? Are we being bold sharers of the truth about Jesus Christ? We don’t have much time left. We need to get the job done.

---

[1] Andrew Black and Craig Bird, "The Risk of Faith," FaithWorks (July/August 1999), pp.17-20

[2] E.G. White, Acts of the Apostles, page 261

Tale of Two (?) Disciples

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities, page 1.

“I am a follower of the Christ.  He called me; I left everything  and followed Him.  I went everywhere with Him from that day on.  He taught me and touched me.  I have seen Him heal the sick,  and raise the dead.  I heard Him speak the Words of Life to multitudes of followers.  I was there with Jesus, on the boat, when He told the wind and the waves to be still; I saw Him walk on the Sea of Galilee.  I have laughed and cried with Him and prayed with Him.  He is my Best Friend, my Brother, my Teacher.

“Unfortunately, though, I haven't always been the best friend He needed.  I have often fallen far short of Jesus' expectations and disappointed Him.  I could even say that I have broken His heart on more than one occasion.  In fact, when He needed me, I betrayed Him.

“For one brief moment, I put aside everything He had taught me and did what I thought was best.  And at that moment, our eyes met and He looked straight into my eyes, into my heart.  The expression on His face stopped my heart and took my breath away.  He knew what I had done and His heart was broken because I had done it.  He wasn't angry.  He had tears of love and pity in His eyes, and I wished that I could run to Him and tell Him I how sorry I was – that I hadn't meant to hurt Him...and in that very instant, I saw that He knew all that was in my heart and my mind and He loved me.  Through His tears, I could see He still loved me.”

So, which disciple is it?  Which disciple failed Jesus the most?  Judas?  Peter? Who was the most evil disciple?  We all jump to say it was Judas don't we?  But when you think it through, every single one of the disciples failed Jesus in his own way, didn't they?  They all left him to be carried away by the Roman soldiers.  So why do we think of Judas as the worst?  I mean, at least, we could argue that Judas thought he was doing something to forward what he thought was the mission of the Messiah.  All of the rest of the disciples were just plain scared! 

A big question is, was Judas doomed from the very beginning?  Some of the articles I've read seem to say so.  That's really sad to think about isn't it?  I mean, Jesus had a choice but Judas didn't?  What kind of thinking is that?  Now, I had a thought while I was studying this, that absolutely nobody mentioned, but it kind of makes sense to me.  Now, this is just my thought, but could it have been that Jesus knew that one of His disciples would betray Him, but not which one.  That it could have been that any one of the twelve could have turned against Jesus...What do you think?

I have two reasons for asking.  One, because I believe that everyone has betrayed Jesus.  We are all capable of selling Jesus out for next to nothing, and have done so, more than once.  We betray Jesus every time we take our lives out of His hands because we're too impatient or too arrogant to wait for His timing and His wisdom.  That's really what Judas is guilty of, isn't it?

We betray Jesus every time we deny that we know Him because we're afraid that the people around us won't understand and laugh at us or think less of us because we consider ourselves one of His followers.  That's all Peter is really guilty of.

And that leads me to the second part of this question:  Could Judas have been forgiven?  Could He have repented?  Again, some of the things I read imply that He did repent and was denied forgiveness.  That doesn't sound right.  And, again, this is just me, but I want to believe that he could have repented and Jesus would have forgiven him...in fact, that Jesus had already forgiven him.  But that Judas did not accept Jesus' forgiveness. 

Because, if even one of us has been denied forgiveness, than salvation becomes the arbitrary gift bestowed by an arbitrary god.  And that's just not the God I believe in.  So what would you do if you got to Heaven and Judas was there too? (I'm not claiming to have any inside knowledge; I'm just speculating.) 

We have Jesus' promise; check this out: 

“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”  James 5:15 and “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9

Spend a few minutes thinking what an amazing gift Jesus gave us when He spread His arms wide and took all of our sins upon Himself.

East To West

Casting Crowns

Here I am Lord,

And I'm drowning

In your sea of forgetfulness

The chains of yesterday surround me

I yearn for peace and rest

I don’t want to end up where you found me

And it echoes in my mind,

Keeps me awake tonight

I know you cast my sin as far as the east is from the west

And I stand before you now as,

As though I've never sinned

But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away

From you leaving me this way

Jesus can you show me

Just how far the east is from the west

Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been

Rising up in me again

In the arms of your mercy I find rest,

Cause you know just how far the East is from the West

From one scarred hand to the other.

I start the day the war begins

Endless reminding of my sin

And time and time again your truth is drowned out

By the storm I'm in

Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away,

From you leaving me this way

Jesus can you show me,

Just how far the East is from the West

Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been

Come rising up in me again

In the arms of your mercy I find rest

'cause you know

Just how far the East is form the West

From one scarred hand to the other.

I know you've washed me white,

Turned my darkness into light

I need your peace to get me through,

To get me through this night

Can’t live by what I feel

But by the Truth your work reveals,

I'm not holding on to you

But you're holding on to me,

You’re holding on to me

Jesus you know

Just how far the East is from the West

I don't have to see the man I've been,

Come rising up in me again

In the arms of your mercy I find rest

'cause you know just how far the East is form the West,

From one scarred hand to the other.