SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/11/2024 10:06 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Accept Your Suffering”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
2 Timothy 1:8a
Message of the verses: “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel”
Just a note to help us move on I want to say that even
though Paul was in a Roman prison he knew that he was not a prisoner of Rome,
but a prisoner of the Lord, and so we move on with this SD.
Now because he was a prisoner not only resulted from his faithfulness to Christ, but also it resulted in the promotion of the cause of Christ. I have to believe that Paul being in that terrible Roman prison and having the godly attitude that he had must have been seen by other prisoners and perhaps there were a few who noticed that and wondered how he was able to be as calm about his situation as he was, and that is because Paul knew it was his time to be promoted into heaven and for that he certainly looked forward to that. Paul told the church at Ephesus, “I, Paul, [am] the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (Eph. 3:1). Then to the believers at Philippi he said, “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear” (Phil. 1:12-14).
I remember a difficult story that John MacArthur
told about something that happened in China during what was called the Boxer rebellion
which took place from November 2, 1999 until September 7, 1901. The story was about what happened to a group
of young believers who were at a school and the rebels came into town and
closed all the gates of the town but one which was in front of the school. They took the cross down and laid it on the
ground and told the students that if they walked over the cross they could
continue to leave unharmed. The first
seven did just that, but then a young lady did not walk over the cross but
knelt and prayed by it and then she was killed.
I don’t remember how many others followed, but it was many, and none of
them walked over the cross but did as the slain girl did and all were
killed. It took one brace young lady to
show the courage to die for the cause of Christ and then the rest of them
followed. Paul tells us something a
little similar in his writings to the church at Philippi. I realize they did not die, but they had the
courage to stand up for the cause of Christ.
John MacArthur writes “Paul would not ask Timothy to do
what he would not. Join with me, he
said, in suffering for the gospel (cf. 2:3).
Join with…in suffering translates the single Greek word sunkakopatheo, which here is an active
imperative. Paul called on Timothy to
share his own greatest desire, his supreme purpose in life: to ‘know [Christ],
and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His death’ (Phil. 3:10).”
Exactly
what kind of suffering is Paul writing about here? Well he is writing about suffering for the
cause of Christ and not just suffering because you have done something wrong
and deserve to suffer for that. Remember
what he prisoner who was with Jesus on another cross said to his fellow
prisoner. 39 One
of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying,
"Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" 40 But the other answered, and
rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same
sentence of condemnation? 41 “And we indeed are suffering justly,
for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done
nothing wrong." 42 And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You
come in Your kingdom!" 43 And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’”
MacArthur writes the following “We should give ‘no
cause for offense in anything, in order that the ministry be not discredited’
(2 Cor. 6:3), ‘If you are reviled for
the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God
rests upon you,’ Peter explains. But ‘by
no means let any of you suffer as a murder, or thief, or evildoer, or a
troublesome meddler,’ (1 Peter. 4:14-15).
Rather, ‘Let those also who suffer according to the will of God,’ Peter
went on to say, ‘entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is
right’ (v. 19).”
Now the truth is that if believers live a kind of
life, a godly moral life before family and friends and then share Christ with
those who are lost, there will be some kind of persecution for doing that. When we as believers confront sins of those that
we are talking to for the cause of Christ there will be problems, but doing
this in the correct manor is what believers are to do. We are not to start a verbal confrontation
but we are to deal correctly if one begins.
Now
later on in this letter to Timothy Paul echoes Jesus’ promise that in the world
you have tribulation’ (John 16:33), and this assured Timothy that, “indeed, all
who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim.
3:12). Suffering is the inevitable cost
of godly living.
Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today: Knowing
the truth about suffering for the cause of Christ and never doing anything that
will harm the Lord by not standing up for the Lord is at times difficult to
do. It takes courage, and that courage
comes from the Word and the Spirit.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
I desire to continue to listen again to a sermon that I listened to
yesterday that it seems like the Spirit of God caused me to listen to that has
to do with some issues that I fight with for a very long time.
12/11/2024 11:05 AM
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