Skip to main content

Fortified City, Iron Pillar or Bronze Wall



 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 1:17-19)
          All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes (Matthew 10:22-23)
          That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.(John 15:19-21)



           Several years ago, R. C. Sproul, Jr. gave a talk about the greatest Evangelical scandal. He said that it is that we are scandalized by non-Christians not liking us. He might be close, but we should at least be more scandalized about the extent to which we call God a liar. Our shock that non-Christians don't like us means that we aren't believing what the Bible says about the world. Today's passages aren't the only ones that discuss this matter but they make it clear that those who follow God will be attacked for it. Want an eye-opener? Read Hebrews 11. 
         Everyone wants to be loved, but God didn't command us to be lovable. He commanded us to love. He warns us that we will be hated and if you're not hated, chances are good that you're doing something wrong. This isn't a call to be unloving or deliberately offensive but a warning that people are going to be offended by you and hate you if you live in accordance with Scripture. 
          God promised us that we would face tribulation. Tribulation should be an honor for us if our suffering is for God's honor. Again, this isn't a call to seek martyrdom or abuse, but to be ready when abuse comes. God tells us to be a fortified city, an iron pillar or a bronze wall when the government, religious folks, and the people of the land attack. It's a kind of zombie apocalypse but there is one safe place to stand: with God, no matter what happens. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the Sky:
Full Moon (set 7:47 am 276   rise 7:53 pm 87)

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

              Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . (John 14:6)           If “I am the gate of the sheep…I am the good shepherd” from chapter 10 is a double whammy, this verse is a triple whammy. And its first victim is the notion that any other so-called god was acceptable or the same as Jesus. He, and He alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to get to the Father. There is no other Savior, or Redeemer, according to Jesus. Now, to be fair, other religions will claim that their religion or god(s) are the only way. That is the nature of gods and of religions. If this and that are equally good and agree on what’s necessary, then this and that are the same thing, so there’s no need to from the other to one. If that’s the case, then why speak against the other or promote the one? There’s a song I’ve been listening to i...
Post a Comment
Read more