May God Be Glorified
Grace to you as we find ourselves enduring the mid-July heat!
While most of us are continuing our daily routines, there are those who will do anything to escape the heat. It is hard to face day to day life when you would rather be doing something else. The idea of becoming a hermit to avoid the heat sounds miserable to me, but there are those who would do anything to remain comfortable.
Ahh, comfort! The most sought after of all the American gods! What would a person do to have all their needs met so they could simply be comfortable and happy? How many have we seen who will do anything to avoid having to work! They simply want a free handout. Then there are those who, while they show up for a job, seldom put their all into a full day’s work. They are the ones who show up for the paycheck and nothing else. The truth is, if most of the people who lie, cheat, and steal were to direct their energies toward actually working they might find they could be quite successful.
The reality is that we want our cake and eat it too! We want the easy life! The free ride! No responsibility, no accountability, but all the blessings! If this is what the average human being desires, then the Apostle Paul was a far cry from being average!
Read between the lines and hear his attitude despite the miserable circumstances of his life as a prisoner.
But not only that, I also will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:19-20
Paul does not know if he will live or if he will die! What he does know is that regardless of the circumstances he faces or the potential suffering he might endure, Christ will be exalted! The statement that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body is the statement of a man who is facing potential suffering. He knows he is but a man and that the physical pain of being tortured could potentially yield any reaction to end the suffering.
The idea of physical suffering because of our faith in Jesus Christ is not something that we as Christians in Modern Western culture have ever experienced. The suffering endured by Christians throughout history and even today in other parts of the world is heart wrenching. Not long ago I read an account given by a pastor of being chained to a chair and placed in front of a window where he was made to watch his wife tortured. Their captors burned her, electrocuted her, pulled out her fingernails and toenails, whipped the bottom of her feet, raped her, and cut out her tongue – all while he was made to watch. Her suffering would end if he, her husband, would deny Jesus as God and confess faith in Allah. This pastor watched his wife die. All he could say is that whenever she could turn her head and look at him through the window, she would mouth, “Never deny Jesus!” What faith and what courage on the part of both the wife and the husband to hold onto Jesus in spite of the grievous circumstances.
Paul’s desire is to remain faithful to Jesus even if he faces the onslaught of pain, suffering, or even death. This heartfelt desire of Paul should be the resolve in every Christian’s heart! We live everyday just like every other person in this world with the reality that death is looming on the horizon of our future. Every time we attend a funeral the truth of our own mortality is reinforced in our lives. The question is not, are you going to die! The real question is this, How are you going to die? Will you die whimpering in fear and crying out for just a little more time. Will you bargain and deal with the devil himself to spare your life? Or will you see your own death as an opportunity to glorify God?
Having been personally present at the bedside of many individuals as they drew their final breath, I can assure you that not all deaths are the same. What makes some more memorable than others with regard to the deceased and their family members is when there was great faith.
Where there was present a great faith in Jesus as Savior, there was also a great peace as death drew near. Fear, worry, heartache, despair, these are all words I could use to describe what I have witnessed when there was an absence of faith. Love, assurance, and confidence are how I can describe the death of true Christians. I have watched families smile with tear filled eyes as they kiss their loved one goodbye with the final words “I will see you soon.” How can the heart of faith not be moved to glorify God in such a moment of absolute faith.
The Apostle Paul wants nothing more than to be a living witness of true faith in Jesus Christ, even as he faces the end of his earthly life. The words, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death are his confession of faith. He wants Christ to be exalted no matter what it takes. If in his life, great! If by his death, so be it! Nothing else matters but that Christ is made known and God and Savior of this world.
None of us knows exactly when our final moment will come or even how it will come! The days of our lives are in the hands of another! For this I am truly thankful. So, each of us must make intentional decisions concerning our lives. Will we seek all the world has for our comfort? Or will we choose to be uncomfortable and live a sacrificial life? Will we set aside what we want and live our lives in such a way that Christ is exalted in our life and in our death!
Paul made his choice! May we be so bold as to make ours!
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
While most of us are continuing our daily routines, there are those who will do anything to escape the heat. It is hard to face day to day life when you would rather be doing something else. The idea of becoming a hermit to avoid the heat sounds miserable to me, but there are those who would do anything to remain comfortable.
Ahh, comfort! The most sought after of all the American gods! What would a person do to have all their needs met so they could simply be comfortable and happy? How many have we seen who will do anything to avoid having to work! They simply want a free handout. Then there are those who, while they show up for a job, seldom put their all into a full day’s work. They are the ones who show up for the paycheck and nothing else. The truth is, if most of the people who lie, cheat, and steal were to direct their energies toward actually working they might find they could be quite successful.
The reality is that we want our cake and eat it too! We want the easy life! The free ride! No responsibility, no accountability, but all the blessings! If this is what the average human being desires, then the Apostle Paul was a far cry from being average!
Read between the lines and hear his attitude despite the miserable circumstances of his life as a prisoner.
But not only that, I also will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:19-20
Paul does not know if he will live or if he will die! What he does know is that regardless of the circumstances he faces or the potential suffering he might endure, Christ will be exalted! The statement that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body is the statement of a man who is facing potential suffering. He knows he is but a man and that the physical pain of being tortured could potentially yield any reaction to end the suffering.
The idea of physical suffering because of our faith in Jesus Christ is not something that we as Christians in Modern Western culture have ever experienced. The suffering endured by Christians throughout history and even today in other parts of the world is heart wrenching. Not long ago I read an account given by a pastor of being chained to a chair and placed in front of a window where he was made to watch his wife tortured. Their captors burned her, electrocuted her, pulled out her fingernails and toenails, whipped the bottom of her feet, raped her, and cut out her tongue – all while he was made to watch. Her suffering would end if he, her husband, would deny Jesus as God and confess faith in Allah. This pastor watched his wife die. All he could say is that whenever she could turn her head and look at him through the window, she would mouth, “Never deny Jesus!” What faith and what courage on the part of both the wife and the husband to hold onto Jesus in spite of the grievous circumstances.
Paul’s desire is to remain faithful to Jesus even if he faces the onslaught of pain, suffering, or even death. This heartfelt desire of Paul should be the resolve in every Christian’s heart! We live everyday just like every other person in this world with the reality that death is looming on the horizon of our future. Every time we attend a funeral the truth of our own mortality is reinforced in our lives. The question is not, are you going to die! The real question is this, How are you going to die? Will you die whimpering in fear and crying out for just a little more time. Will you bargain and deal with the devil himself to spare your life? Or will you see your own death as an opportunity to glorify God?
Having been personally present at the bedside of many individuals as they drew their final breath, I can assure you that not all deaths are the same. What makes some more memorable than others with regard to the deceased and their family members is when there was great faith.
Where there was present a great faith in Jesus as Savior, there was also a great peace as death drew near. Fear, worry, heartache, despair, these are all words I could use to describe what I have witnessed when there was an absence of faith. Love, assurance, and confidence are how I can describe the death of true Christians. I have watched families smile with tear filled eyes as they kiss their loved one goodbye with the final words “I will see you soon.” How can the heart of faith not be moved to glorify God in such a moment of absolute faith.
The Apostle Paul wants nothing more than to be a living witness of true faith in Jesus Christ, even as he faces the end of his earthly life. The words, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death are his confession of faith. He wants Christ to be exalted no matter what it takes. If in his life, great! If by his death, so be it! Nothing else matters but that Christ is made known and God and Savior of this world.
None of us knows exactly when our final moment will come or even how it will come! The days of our lives are in the hands of another! For this I am truly thankful. So, each of us must make intentional decisions concerning our lives. Will we seek all the world has for our comfort? Or will we choose to be uncomfortable and live a sacrificial life? Will we set aside what we want and live our lives in such a way that Christ is exalted in our life and in our death!
Paul made his choice! May we be so bold as to make ours!
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
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