The Just God

The Just God

"I will thank the LORD because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High." Psalm 7:17

Does the world weary you? Do you get tired of the hateful speech that arrives in our homes by television and social media? Are you heart broken at the trends and laws being made that profess to guard the rights of all peoples but ignore righteousness?

We don't hear much about ISIS in the media these days, so we aren't seeing pictures of horrible persecutions of Christians, yet they are still happening. Evil abounds everywhere.

"What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter." Isaiah 5:20

In Psalm 7 David requested God to protect him and judge fairly between him and his enemy, referred to as "Cush the Benjamite."  Many commentators believe this reference is either to Shimei or Saul, both from the tribe of Benjamin. In 2 Samuel we see Shimei come out to curse David when he is on the run from Absalom. In effect, he throws stones and curses at David, telling him he is getting what he's deserved for taking the throne away from Saul.

"Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!' he shouted at David. 'The LORD is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul's clan. You stole his throne, and now the LORD has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!" 2 Samuel 16:7-8

Have you ever been bitterly accused of some wrong doing that may or may not have been your fault? Have you been the object of gossip that tore down your reputation--caused others to question your honesty--your motives--your integrity? 

The LORD is the righteous judge. He will judge the nations. He will judge our enemies. He will judge...us. He will not let sin go unpunished--ever.

When we believed God loved the world and sent his Son into the world to save and not condemn mankind (John 3:16-21) our sin was judged at the cross. We received mercy and the grace of his forgiveness. When we stand before God in eternity, we will stand before the Bema Seat where Jesus will reward us for those things in our lives that have pleased God.

In Psalm 7 David pleads with God to end the evil of those who are wicked. He sees God's enemies conceive evil and make trouble for others. Often in Scripture we see the evil plans of the wicked backfire on them.

When we are reeling from something in our lives that seems unfair, we have two options. One is to ask God if we've done anything wrong to bring on discipline and, if so, repent of it quickly. Then, we need to pray for the source of our discomfort. This option, I believe, frees us from carrying the burden of continued hurt and allows us to heal.

The second option may be to ask God to judge our tormenters--as David once said, "break their teeth in their mouth." (Psalm 58:6) That may bring a measure of satisfaction temporarily, but does it bring peace in the long run?

Those who walk in darkness and plan evil will have their day of judgement. They will stand before God at his great white throne of judgement without hope. The righteousness of God demands justice. Do we really want them to reside in eternal anguish in the lake of fire? God tells us to love our enemies and that means to pray for God to have mercy on them and change their hearts.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven..." Matthew 5:43-45a

We can be thankful our holy God will judge everyone in righteousness. He is just.  Praise his holy name.

by Marilyn Allison

Embrace the Cross

Embrace the Cross

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Matthew 16:24-25

Shortly after the Lord gave me these verses from Matthew as a type of “motto” for both the Christian life and daily ministry, he began to speak to my heart in greater depth about the profundity of the meaning behind this passage.

Jesus’ exact words to us were, “Pick up your cross.” When we look to the Scriptures, we're able to see that Jesus did this both figuratively and literally.

The night before our Lord was to be crucified, he was met in the Garden of Gethsemane with a burden he had to bear. As Jesus prayed to the Father in the Garden, we are able to see that he was overcome with unfathomable amounts of fear and stress. However, through this, his prayer and heart attitude remained, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus had an unimaginably heavy cross to bear. Still, he willingly accepted it and picked it up. Despite the fact that it was in his power to discard this burdensome cross in order to seek out another of lesser weight, Jesus still picked up the cross out of love for his Father and love for each of us. Figuratively, Jesus was given a cross to bear, and he bore it incredibly well.

Less than a day after praying that prayer in the Garden, Jesus met with yet another cross to carry. This time, the cross was tangible and could be physically borne. The trek to Golgotha was long and cumbersome. Jesus could have easily used his power to throw the cross to the ground and seek a more comfortable path, but he didn’t. Instead, he continued his walk with the cross on his shoulders. Along the way, he needed help carrying the heavy load, and help from the Father was provided. But, this did not prevent Jesus in any way from continuing on in the task that the Father had placed before him. The Savior pressed on in his walk and chose to bear his cross while doing so.

As I pondered these two examples of Jesus picking up his cross, I came to realize that in both situations he did not merely take a cross into his hands and continue on in his journey. No, Jesus fully embraced the cross that was given to him and he obediently pressed on in the calling that the Father had set before him.

A cross has been set before each of us. It seems that far too often we do not obey the Lord's instructions to fully pick it up. It would appear that many of us are unsatisfied with the crosses we have been given, so we seek other ones to bear. The cross that the Lord is asking us to take up might not be as pretty as someone else’s cross, or it may be heavier than we like it to be. But, it’s the cross that God has given us to bear, and to not embrace it would be to disobey the Lord.

Some of us are not willing to take hold of the crosses before us, while others are. Sometimes, although we are willing to take hold of our crosses, we are dragging them around with us—we are not fully embracing them. You may be willing to accept what God has for you, but are you willing to dive completely in and give him your all?

Christ calls us to pick up our crosses and follow him, but the fulfillment of this commandment requires one-hundred percent dedication. Ninety-nine percent of our obedience looks almost perfect, but that one percent hinders us from being true disciples. Touching our crosses or even holding them in our hands is not enough—we have to pick them up and embrace them.

We call ourselves Christians, and the very definition of that word is “a little Christ” or “a follower of Christ”. If we are to be true followers, then we need to completely obey what he asks of us. What better way to do this than to look to the example Jesus Christ set for us? When Jesus had a cross to bear, he bore it in full and he embraced it with a heart of obedience.

Each of us has a cross to bear, and each of our crosses look different. Some of us may bear crosses that resemble delicate pendants, while some of us may bear crosses that resemble burdensome timber. Regardless of how beautiful or miserable your cross may be and regardless of how heavy or light your load to carry, my hope is that you would fully embrace all that Christ has for you.

Fear or stress could have kept Jesus from embracing his Cross in the Garden, but he didn't let it. Difficulty or pain could have kept the Lord from carrying his cross to Calvary, but he didn't let it. __(fill in the blank)__ could keep you from embracing the cross set before you, but please do not let it.

As I daily serve the Lord in ministry, I want to be all in with him. I don't want to give the Savior of the world ninety-nine percent. I want to give him my all.

Carrying a cross is not always easy. It is what the followers of Christ have been called to do, so I want to do it with a heart that is committed to full obedience and full dedication. I'm sure your cross differs from mine. I'm also sure we have different burdens to carry. I hope that--through it all--both of our hearts will always seek to fully follow after Jesus Christ and completely embrace the crosses set before us.

by Elli Jejeran, CCEA Missionary to Romania

Follower of Jesus

Follower of Jesus

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." Matthew 16:24-25

All throughout the Scriptures, we can see how the Lord uses the foolish things to confound the wise. Even when we look at the world around us, we can see how God uses the simple and mundane to speak the profound. It is no different in missions or in ministry—the Lord often times uses the things which seem ordinary to teach me things which can be used to accomplish his extraordinary work.

I’ve spent most of my life growing up on the mission field, but it wasn’t until the last few months that the Lord opened the door for me to plunge completely into serving him full time. At the onset of this new adventure with Jesus, I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea what I was going to do or how the Lord wanted me to specifically serve him.

I spent several months serving the Lord and growing closer to Him while attending Bible College, and I knew that he was calling me to continue to serve him in Romania. However, I didn’t know what that would look like. So, after coming home from Bible College, I took a few weeks to rest and seek the Lord for wisdom. For two weeks, I prayed and asked him to show me what to do, but I still did not have a specific answer. I was looking for God to speak something clearly to me or to give me an epiphany of understanding, but--as I said before--he often chooses to use that which is overlooked to show us that which is to be distinguished as invaluable.

I spent New Year’s weekend at a friend’s house. She and her family had a small party for New Year’s Eve, so I stayed the night at her apartment. Before ringing in the New Year with fireworks and sparklers, everyone was talking about what they thought this year would hold. They talked about what shifts might take place in the economy and how political decisions would affect Romania as a nation.

My friend and I, however, decided that we would spend the final moments of the year thanking the Lord for his blessings toward us. So, we sat on two chairs in her living room and prayed. After that, she opened her Bible and told me that for years she would pick a Psalm to be her theme Psalm for the year. As she sat flipping through the Psalms, I began to turn through the pages of my own Bible.

My eyes gradually surveyed the Psalms looking for one that would speak to my heart. I felt the Lord telling me to open to Matthew 16:24-25. I had this passage of Scripture memorized for as long as I could remember. It is one my father’s favorite passages and we have recited it together since before I could even read the Scriptures myself. To me, Matthew 16:24-25 was as familiar as John 3:16 or the Lord’s Prayer. For some reason, the Lord wanted me to read this particular portion of the Scriptures.

As my eyes scanned these familiar verses, the Lord clearly spoke to my heart that this was exactly what he was calling me to do. I was looking for a revelation from the Lord as to how to serve him in ministry. In his might, he answered me in a way which I least expected. The Lord used a verse I had memorized and read repeatedly from childhood to speak to me in a manner that was both incredibly clear and deeply profound. God used the simple words of his Son--

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25

to teach me that he was calling me to daily pick up my cross and obediently follow what he had for me each day. The Lord used a simple verse to remind me of a simple truth--this simple truth was exactly what he was calling me to do in this new season of life.

I had assumed that in order to truly serve the Lord in a worthy manner I had to have a specific calling which would allow me to move mountains for him. But, my assumptions were based on my own standards and not on the standards of the One who is capable of moving every mountain.

Serving God looks different for diverse kinds of people in varying cultures and nations, but the root of it all comes down to our obedience to Christ. Each one of us has a specific calling from the Lord and we've received specific giftings to be able to live out that calling. At the end of the day, we're all being called to do the same thing—we're all being called to live lives that are not led for our own desires, but that are lived out to the obedience of Christ.

God has called me to serve him by serving the people of Romania. He may be calling you to do the same in your community, or he may be calling you to serve him as a teacher, a secretary, a grocery clerk, a nurse, or a stay-at-home mother. Regardless of where he's placed each of us, we're all called to obey the same instructions: lay down ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow him.

Your cross might look much different than mine. My cross certainly differs from the girl next to me, but the attitudes of our hearts should look exactly the same because all of our hearts should be following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

For the last six months, Matthew 16:24-25 has been at the head of my “job description." It's my prayer that it will remain there for the rest of my life.

Whether you serve the Lord in ministry full time, part time, or only occasionally, it's my hope that these simple words of Jesus Christ will be at the forefront of all that you do. The instructions are straightforward. We must have obedient hearts that are willing to adhere to them. It doesn't matter what walk of life we belong to—if we're to be true daughters of the King, then we all need to lay down ourselves, pick up the crosses that Jesus has given each of us to carry, and follow steadfastly after him.

by Elli Jejeran, CCEA Missionary to Romania

Plea for Help

Plea for Help

"O LORD, don't rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage. Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony. I am sick at heart. How long, O LORD, until you restore me? Return, O LORD, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love." Psalm 6:1-4

Two of my friends are dying. We've been praying for their healing for some time. This past week their families were called upon to make what we've learned to call "end of life decisions." It's a difficult place to be, even for believers who are looking forward to eternity with Jesus.  I know. I've been there twice. 

Oh, how I wanted them healed. I know total healing is to be with the LORD, but I wanted them back--back the way they were when they were healthy.  In that time, Psalm 116 became particularly comforting.

"I love the LORD because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy."
Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the LORD: 'Please, LORD, save me!'
How kind the LORD is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!
The LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me.
Let my soul be at rest again, for the LORD has been good to me.
He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
And so I was in the LORD's presence as I live here on earth!
I believed in you, so I said, 'I am deeply troubled, LORD.'
In my anxiety I cried out to you, 'These people are all liars!'
What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD's name for saving me.
I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
The LORD cares deeply when his loved ones die.
O LORD, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains.
I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people--
in the house of the LORD in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!"

If we live long enough, or if the Rapture doesn't occur before then, each one of us will go through the emotional transition we call death. We'll shed this earthly "tent" we've inhabited. Our spirits will soar to the joyous union with Jesus that he has promised us for eternity.

Until that time, when we are called to stand aside and let our loved ones "go home," may we be comforted by the knowledge that God is protecting them from something worse, and that He is overjoyed to have them Home.

"Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die." Isaiah 57:1-2

"The LORD cares deeply when his loved ones die." Psalm 116:15

May God's words comfort us when we suffer...for ourselves or for our loved ones.

by Marilyn Allison

Stir Up Love

Stir Up Love

"Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. For He who called us is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

God is faithful and not like anything or anyone we’ve known before. God’s faithfulness is based on truth, His love for us, and His grace and mercy. Our hope in Christ is not misplaced, but proven throughout history. Daily I see it in my life--not because of me--but because He does what He says.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works."
Hebrews 10:24

As God’s love and grace is poured into us, let us encourage one another in the same way. He is genuinely interested in us and His example is one we should follow. If you know someone in need, pray for them. Let them know you care. Send a card or a text telling a friend you’re thinking about them. Bring someone coffee or flowers to brighten their day.

"Not neglecting to meet together as is a habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near." Hebrews 10:25

Fellowship doesn’t end with the church service. We need each other more than ever. This world is so messed up. We have to live in the world and not be part of it. That can be exhausting, so refresh each other with the joy of the Lord.

"And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David and encouraged him in God."
1 Samuel 23:16

The love of God refreshes and renews. Sometimes He puts people in our lives to be His hands and feet. He also uses us in the same way.  

Be a Jonathan

by Eve Montano