A Call to Suffering

            Trials are normal. Everybody everywhere suffers in one way or another. Some people have great physical suffering, while others may have great emotional suffering. Either way, suffering or trials are normal, especially for Christians. Throughout this article, we’re going to look at a few different passages of scripture, but first I want you to open your Bible to Matthew 10:16-26. Let me just summarize these verses in one short quotation, “If you follow me, men will hate you. They will bring you before others and criticize you publicly, but do not fear, because in that hour, the LORD will give you the words to say. You will be hated by everyone just because you are my child.” This is basically saying that everyone will have trials on this earth, but Christians will have the most. Yeah, that looks nice on our business card: Come to Jesus! Side effects include: rejection, lack of friendship, and the reception of immense hatred. Okay, so trials are normal, but why do we have trials? Do they always have to bring pain and despair?

            
            Now, flip over 19 books of the Bible until you get to the book of James. James 1 is well known as being a passage about trials. Read all of James 1 right now. So, this contains the answer to the two questions that I just asked in the previous paragraph. James 1:2-8 covers how people can profit from trials. James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials…” Did you catch that word “joy”? The definition of joy is, “feelings of great happiness or pleasure.” I know that my first thought when presented with a trial is NOT joy. However, written in black and white (literally), is that we should count it all JOY! It’s joy! You don’t have to look forward to trials, but you do have to count it all joy! Trials are defined as the testing of your faith. James 1:3 says that the testing of your faith produces patience or some translations may say “endurance”. James is trying to say that trials can be productive and beneficial, if you allow the Holy Spirit to change you through them.

            
           James 1:19 is another verse that I want to look at very quickly, and it says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath…” These verses were some that I heard a lot as I grew up, and I still hear a lot (many times they’re directed at me). Then, I noticed that the subtitle or passage heading above that verse reads “Qualities Needed in Trials”. This fits perfectly into James 1, because if you are not quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, your trials will become ten times greater. In the time of trials, you need to be quick to accept the advice of others (provided it is good advice). These verses are very good to know in just everyday life as well.

         The next and last passage that we’re going to look at is 1 Peter 1:6-7 which says, “^6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ^7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” These two verses tell of another benefit of trials, and this is that trials test the genuineness of your faith. The trials of your life either (this may sound cliché) make or break you. This means that trials always have an effect on you. They are either strengthening you or else weakening you. Your trials will shape who you are, so this is my one question for you: are your trials going to make or break you?

Compromising Creation

Everybody has their own ideas about everything. You have your favorite colors, food, cars, clothing styles, and your own view about religion. Even people from the same religions have differing theologies. The date of the earth is a highly debated object, which is far more important than your color or your style. Whether you believe in a Big Bang or a 13.5 billion year-old universe and a six billion year-old earth, or if you believe in divine inspiration and an earth that is only a few thousand years old, you have your own idea. You may think that only evolutionists believe in millions and billions of years, but even some Christians believe in that too.

           

            Where you’re coming from affects your decisions and your beliefs. If you start with the Bible, your conclusions about the earth’s age will be radically different than if you start with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. If you start with the Bible, you may believe in a six-day creation, or you may believe in a 13.5 billion year-old universe (6 billion year-old earth). Some have argued that the Hebrew word “Yom” is the word used in the Genesis account of creation, and “Yom” can be translated into any length of time. I contend that if you believe this, then it makes it difficult to accept the translation of Jesus’ resurrection in three days.

            Also, the Genesis account is the only place in the Bible that the words “evening and morning…” follow the word “day”. If you cannot take the word “day” literally in the Genesis account, God put in the words “evening and morning”. In recent years, the gap theory has become popular. If you are unfamiliar with the gap theory, I will fill it in as best I can. The gap theory is basically where some people mix evolution with creation and end up with this theory where they squeeze the millions of years in between the first two verses of the Bible (See Genesis 1:1 and 1:2). The problem is that this is an attack on the Genesis account of creation, and an attempt on finding compromise between the theory of evolution and the creation of our universe by a divine inspiration (aka God), and when someone attempts to mix these, we see a compromised creation.

            A quick point that I want to make is that billions of years and creation are like two puzzle pieces that are from different puzzles. They cannot go together. Also, evolutionists have claimed that they have chosen science over religion, but the fact is that they have chosen religion over science. They have accepted atheistic views, and formed their own ideas about science that contradict science. If the earth were truly even millions of years old, the oceans could literally be walked across on foot, because of the salinity input rate of the oceans. I could go on about several other scientific facts that contradict the theory of creation, but I need to wrap this article up.

            To finish this off, I could write a number of statements, but let me just simplify this entire article in this one paragraph. You have a worldview, whether you know it or not, you have a worldview because you are a living entity who was created in the image of God. Your worldview is affected by the lens that you see everything through. If billions of years passed between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, then the Bible contradicts itself; if that was true, then the Bible should’ve read, “and there was billions of years, the 2,190,000,000,000^th day…” Evidence for evolution doesn’t exist, and science doesn’t disprove creation, but instead it validates it. 

Lighting Up the Dark World We Live In

Lighting up the Dark World

            As you can see, this is the name of my blog, and it’s based off of Matthew 5:16, which says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” This is my goal, as it should be all believers’ to bring glory to God and to please him. As believers, we should be letting our light shine for Jesus and not be hiding it. Romans 1:16 says “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…” we cannot be truly shining our light for the LORD if we are ashamed of the gospel.

            The world is a horrible, twisted place where evil abounds. Since Matthew 5:16 clearly states that we are to be lighting up the darkness, I want you to imagine this: You are driving down a dark street, where maybe a few people have dim motion-sensor lights that flicker on when you drive by, and then, as you come around the bend, there’s a house that’s decked-out in bright white Christmas Lights (even though it is not Christmas). Now let me define a few of the things that I mentioned. The houses with dim lights that only brighten when someone is looking represent what I refer to as “Christians”.

            “Christians” (please note the quotation marks) are the ones that have the motions down, and they appear to be pretty good believers when someone is watching, but behind closed doors, they’re the same (if not worse) than people of the world. The next think I need to define is the street, which signifies the path of your life. All of the houses lining the streets are everybody you meet in your life and everyone that is around you. The very bright house with all of the lights represents how a Christian should look. I’m not talking about showiness, and not like a “Look at me, I’m doing this, this, and this” mentality, but a heart that has one goal, and that is to serve the LORD and glorify Him in all that we do.

            What does it look like to be that house shining for Christ? Well, look at Romans 1:16, which says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…” are you ashamed of the gospel of Christ? What you love the most will spill over into every area of your life, whether your talk, your actions, or your thoughts. Do you talk about God constantly or think about Him constantly? Or is it Call of Duty, sports, movies, or your girlfriend. Those things aren’t necessarily bad, but if that’s your main focus, then I have a news flash for you. When it has all been said and done, your death-to-kill ratio, or knowledge of World Series winners, or ability to quote nine movies WILL NOT MATTER. God isn’t going to sit there and say, “Wow! Christian you know the Phillies’ roster and statistics like the back of your hand! Get in here!” No, He is going to say, “Do I have a relationship with you?” If yes, you are welcomed in, and if no, He says, “I know you not, depart from my sight.”

            I truly hope that if you are a Christian, God is the NUMBER ONE thing on your mind and in your conversations. A couple of years ago, I was a fanatic about pretty much every sport, except hockey. I could tell you almost every professional baseball player and their stats, but I wasn’t reading the Bible, and I was not exactly following Matthew 5:16. This past year I’ve taken a step back and ditched my original priorities list and started a new one. There is a three-step process to changing your priorities and basically changing your life. Step 1- Put off the old man (Colossians 3). Step 2- Renew your mind. Step 3- Put on the new man. Simple as that. Pray, and ask the LORD to draw you closer to Himself, you’ll be amazed at how much it changes you. So, let me conclude with this one phrase, “Our goal is to be a light in this dark world, but if we are not adequately equipped for fulfilling the task of illumination, we must renew both mind and body to be of use to the mission before us.”

Friendship Part V: A Friend Who Sticks

This is the final part of a five-article series that I have been writing. Let’s turn back and take a look at what we’ve looked at thus far. We’ve looked at Job’s four friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu), David and Jonathan, and then in the past two parts we’ve outlined a perfect (or “good”) friend. For this final segment, we are going to look at several different verses, but first, open your Bible to Proverbs 18:24, which says, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother…” Can you guess, based on the previous article, who this is about? If you guessed Jesus, YOU ARE CORRECT!

            Now, I realize that in today’s culture, sticking closer than a brother may not mean much, since siblings in the world today normally have bad feelings towards each other. In Bible times though, a brother was usually one of the people that you were closest to, and many times he was your best friend (excluding Jacob and Esau and Joseph’s brothers). I have a good relationship with my brother, despite the usual fights, and it’s hard to imagine someone knowing me better than my brother. Or, look at it this way, does anyone know you and love you better than your dad?

            Get ready for a news flash! God loves you more than anyone is capable of loving you, and He knows you better than you know you! Nothing you have done or ever will do can change the deep love that God has for you. If He was willing to send his only Son to be killed just so that you could come to heaven with him, then that should prove (like it need to be proven) that God loves you. Most people know the verse John 3:16, which starts off, “For God so loved the world…” God loved the world when He created it, and He loves the world right now. Just for clarification, when I say “the world” I do not mean the current culture, or the literal earth (rocks, animals, trees, grass, etc.), but I mean the people of His creation, whom He made in His own image.

            Think about this: You cannot possibly do anything to make God love you less. God’s love is perfect and complete. A song entitled “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” comes to mind when I think about the love of God, and if you have not heard that song, I encourage you to listen to it. The Father’s love for us is truly vast beyond all measure. God is always there for you, He’s never going to say, “Ah, that’s Christian yapping on again, I’ve just gotta go solve world peace, so he can deal.” No! He will listen and love you; His love is perfect and unconditional.

Friendship Part IV: No Greater Love

I ended with this verse in part three, and now I’m going to begin part four with it. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” This is literal and figurative. Laying down your life for someone doesn’t exactly mean that you die for them (although in some rare cases, this can happen). What it does mean is that you lay down what you want for someone else (hint: your friend(s)). It means not fighting for your way, but giving up what you want or even your comfort for a friend (or anybody for that matter). The literal sense of this verse is about what Jesus did for us.

            The music group Phillips, Craig, and Dean did a song a few years ago called “Friend of God”, which is an accurate assessment of our situation. If we were not friends of God, why would he give his life for us? John 15 continues on to say, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” God has a far greater love than we could ever hope to receive from people on earth, who are fallen. God loved us so that we could learn how to love one another. His love is (or should be) the model that we go off of when trying to love someone (especially if that someone is difficult to love).

            If you think that you are doing well at loving people, or if you are having trouble loving people, or even if you are somewhere in between, open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 13, that’s right, it’s the “love chapter”. I figured that if we’re talking about friendship and love, what better place to look? Just look at the list of things that we need to have in order to perfectly love people: Patience, Kindness, Contentedness, Humility, Purity, and love lasts forever. Hmmm, this list sounds like another one that is listed in scripture (hint: love, joy, peace, etc.). Look at Galatians 5:22-23, which says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control..."

            So I think if we combine both of these lists, they create an image of the best friend… Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can meet all of the requirements to being a perfect friend. We will not be able to do it until we have glorified minds and bodies in heaven. This also means that we always have a goal to strive for in our relationships, which is perfection. Although, in our current state, perfection is impossible, we don’t have to let it discourage us. Instead, we should let it fill us with a renewed sense of vigor to keep striving to be the perfect friend, spouse, parent, or child.

            Colossians 3 describes love as the “perfect bind”, and it is also the strongest bind; a bind that holds relationships together. There is no greater love that you can offer than to lay down your life for your friends. There is only one who can love us perfectly, and that is God. His love toward us is meant to be the example that we follow when we love (or try to love) others. Also, we cannot learn to truly love anyone unless we love God. Through four of the five parts, we have almost completed the full outline of what it means to be a good friend, and how we can learn more about being a good friend, which is by mimicking God’s love toward us. 

Friendship Part III: Outlining a Friend

Do you know how many times the word “love” is used in the Bible? It is used 573 times in the New King James translation. How about the word “friend”? 131 times! I think that friendship and love is very important if it is mentioned that many times. I want to just take a minute and look at the dictionary’s definition of a few terms. Here are just a few definitions for love: somebody much loved, worship of God, very strong affection, passionate attraction and desire that is mostly romantic. So there are a couple ways to look at love. First, there is a romantic and sexual attraction to someone, which is not the love that is most often mentioned in the Bible. Second, God’s love for his creation, which is the type of love most mentioned in the Bible. The third kind of love is deep compassion or a strong friendship, which is the type of love I want to talk about the most.

            Before we can talk about that kind of love, we must define one word there, and that is friendship, or friend. Friend means someone who you trust and are emotionally close to. Friendship is a relationship between friends (simple enough). So now that we have the “official” definitions; throw those out the window and grab your Bible. We are going to make our own definitions of love and what a friend is. Before we start on that, you need to understand the different levels of relationships. There is your relationship with God, your relationship with your spouse (unless you are younger), your relationship with your family, your relationship with friends, and your relationship with people you don’t know.

            Your relationship with God is so much different than a relationship with friends. You and God are not equal, you appeal up to Him, and he is in control of you and everything around you. Your relationship with your spouse (if you have one) should be next in importance, and although you are both equal, you should be trying to please your spouse and be trying to love them. Next would be your relationship with your family. Following that would be your relationship with friends, and lastly, your relationship with people around you that you may or may not know.

            In this article, I intend to focus on the relationship between friends. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” So as Christians, our relationships need to be sharpening us, or in other words, our relationships need to be strengthening us in our Christian walk. A friend can help you in many ways, and just to show you a handful of them, look at these passages: Ephesians 4:15, Proverbs 17:17, and Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. So what is a friend good for? Why have friends? Well, the verse in Ephesians says that a friend speaks the truth in love. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times…” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 has little snippets of advice about friends, “Two are better than one…” and “If one falls, the other is there to pick him up…” and also “One may be overpowered, but two may withstand…”

           

               Something very important for you to understand is that these things are not only what a friend is good for, but also what you should be as a friend. As we draw to the conclusion of this article, I think it very important that you don’t just choose friends wisely, but that you are also a good friend. I just want to conclude this article with two verses from John 15:13-14, which says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” So, are you being a good friend, and if so, have you surrounded yourself with good influences?

Friendship Part II: BFFs In Troubled Times

Sometimes I get carried away when I don’t focus on tiny sections of scripture, so I will limit myself to one chapter, which tells about potentially two of the best friends ever. I don’t want you to take my word for it, though, so open your Bible to 1 Samuel 20. Who is it about? That’s right; it is about David and Jonathan. If you want the full back-story on these two, read 1 Samuel chapters one through nineteen. The basic story behind David is that at this point in time, he is way more popular than Saul, the king at the time (See 1 Samuel 18:7). Another thing that irritates Saul is that David has been anointed as king by the prophet Samuel (see 1 Samuel 16). Basically, Saul hates David, and on a number of occasions has tried to kill David.  

            David is more or less the palace musician, playing the harp for Saul and other members of the court, and while on this job runs into Saul’s son, Jonathan. Jonathan must have been an easy guy to get along with, because they become best friends rather quickly. Now, to get to the passage, 1 Samuel chapter twenty picks up with David fleeing the city of Naioth, and he somehow goes and meets with Jonathan. David is saying, “What have I done that has made your Dad this mad? He will surely kill me!” Jonathan’s immediate reply goes along the lines of this, “No! You will not die! Dad doesn’t do anything without letting me know!” David then explains that Saul has picked up on the fact that they’re BFFs, and he won’t tell Jonathan anything based on that fact. So they talk a little bit more and then devise this plan to find out Saul’s intentions.

            The following day was to be the great celebration, the celebration of the New Moon, which was a mandatory three-day feast in Israel (commanded in Numbers 10:10). So the first part of the friends’ clever scheme was to have David be absent from the palace New Moon celebration/feast. Of course, Saul would recognize that they were missing someone, and when he would ask about it, Jonathan would say that he had given David permission to go to another city (Bethlehem) for the feast, for David had relatives in Bethlehem. Jonathan would then judge his father Saul’s intentions by his reaction; if Saul treated it like no big deal, then David was safe, but if Saul became angry, it could be assumed that David’s life was in trouble. So this was serious, Jonathan going against Saul, who was not only his father, but was also the king of Israel.

            So the second part of their plan was that Jonathan would come out after the three-day feast and shoot three arrows out into this field where David would be hiding. If he sent a servant, who would retrieve the arrows, to one side of this large boulder which was in the field, it was safe, but if he sent the servant to the other side, it meant for David to get out of the city as fast as he could. Jonathan and David part at this point and David hides in the field during the feast. The first night of the feast, all goes well, and Saul is not angry with David’s absence. Then the second night, Saul is really angry, saying, “Why hasn’t David showed up today or yesterday!” Jonathan explains once again that David is in Bethlehem and that makes Saul go nuts. Saul grabs a nearby spear and chucks it at Jonathan, intending to kill him, causing Jonathan to storm off in anger (and probably some part of it was from fear).

            Morning came; making it the third day of the feast, and Jonathan took the arrows and shot them to the side that meant danger. After his servant retrieved them and was on his way back to town, David emerges from behind the rock. Jonathan runs out into the field and embraces David in what was probably the saddest parting of any two friends, as they knew that they would likely never see each other again (which they never did). Before finishing this article, I want to touch on something that Saul says in 1 Samuel 20:31, which says, “For as long as the son of Jesse [David] lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom…” Now this is very important in understanding the friendship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan was the heir of Saul, and under normal circumstances, Jonathan would’ve been king after Saul died. This was not a normal circumstance, however, as David had already been anointed king, and therefore, Jonathan would not get his “rightful” place as king. This fact had no effect on their relationship, and Jonathan saw that David was God’s appointed king, and he was happy for David. So this has been part two of the friendship series, and I pray that this has also given you some insight into what a good friend should be like. 

Friendship Part I: Choosing Wise Friends

          Stop! Whatever you are doing right now, DROP IT! Go grab your Bible and open up to the book of Job (Hint: it is located right before Psalms). If you don’t know the story of Job, read Job chapters one and two. If you DO know the story of Job, read Job and two. So to sum it up, Job had a great life! He was the Bill Gates of the Bible times, the richest man around! Then Satan goes to God and says, “Uh, yeah, you think that Job guy really loves you, God? Well, that’s because he’s got it made! Let me take away everything he owns, and I’ll bet you he will curse your name.” So God gives Satan the OK, with the exception that no physical harm is caused to Job.

            So Satan goes and obliterates everything that Job has, and sits back to watch Job curse God. Satan is in for a surprise, for this is what Job says, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Satan is like “WHAT?!” So he goes to God and says, “Yeah, so he didn’t curse you, God, but men, you know how they are, they will give up everything they have for their life. Let me get him physically.” Again, God says OK; with the exception that Job’s life is spared. Satan goes and gives Job boils from head to toe and again sits back to watch Job curse God. I don’t think so. Job does not curse God! Now, with that part of the story told, look at Job 2:11-13. This is the introduction to Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. This also shows one of the only things that Job’s friends do that’s right. Job 2:13 says, “So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.” Too often, when someone is grieving, people come and try to comfort them by talking with them, but most often the grieving person would rather just have someone there grieving silently with them.

            Job 3 is where it gets boring, right? No, in fact this is where the true character of Job’s friends shows. Eliphaz speaks in Job 4, 5, 15, and 22. Also, in Job 42:7-9, Eliphaz is rebuked strongly by the LORD and is told to immediately offer a large sacrifice. In Job 4, Eliphaz tries the theory that Job had sinned and that had brought judgment on Job. However, in Job 1:8, Job is described as blameless, upright, and one who shuns evil, so it doesn’t sound like Job had sinned. We’ll come back to Eliphaz, but I want to touch on the other two right now. Bildad speaks in Job 8, 18, and 25, and is mentioned again in Job 42:7-9. Zophar speaks in Job 11 and 20, and like the other two is mentioned again in Job 42:7-9.

            The debate throughout the book of Job is why Job was suffering. Did he sin? Did his children sin? Job’s friends are of little to no help to him during this period in his life. Job is despairing, and his friends are bringing him even more grief. Then, a younger guy named Elihu steps in and says, “Wait! Hold the phone!” He says this, “I know that I am young and you are old, and for this reason, I’ve kept my mouth shut, but no more!” Elihu goes on to rebuke Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar and goes on further to snap Job back into reality. Elihu proclaims God’s goodness, justice, and majesty. He is the voice of reason in the matter during this period of time. Elihu is our start to what a friend should look like; he tells Job the truth about God and His goodness. He tells Job that there is really a plan and purpose in all of this.

            Then, in Job 38, BAM! God appears in a whirlwind and asks Mr. Woe-is-me several rhetorical questions such as, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Have you entered the treasuries of snow or have you seen the treasury of hail?” Job’s response is this, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further. God is not done yet though, as He continues with several more rhetorical questions. Job is immensely humbled at these questions, and chapter 42 contains his repentance, and eventually, his restoration both in health and in wealth. Job can be confusing on whose advice is good and whose advice is flawed, but my belief is that Zophar, Eliphaz, and Bildad are all flawed in their thinking and advice, while Elihu gave good advice and tried to set Job straight. 

Friendship: Bind Us Together, Lord

               We are stuck on this earth with over six billion other people, so that implies that you will make friends (and sometimes enemies). Since there are so many people around us, no matter where you live, you like to have friends right? I know I do! The Bible says a lot about friendship, and even more about love, so I think it’s pretty important, don’t you? This is just a short introduction to a five-part series on friendship. We’ll look at just a couple friends that are mentioned in the Bible, and we will also look at what the Bible says about being a good friend. I pray that anyone reading this will hopefully learn something new about choosing friends, being a good friend, and what the Bible says about friends.