Monday, 04 January, 2021

Welcome everyone. I'd like to apologize for not updating on a Sunday. I do pray that you forgive me. Thank you so much for joining me today. My prayer is that God blesses your heart as you prayerfully meditate on the word of God. Lets just pray together: Father Lord, reveal to me all I need to know through these pages. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen

5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives."

7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had []earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of []spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. - Hebrews 12:5-10 NASB1995

I want to share with you something that you might not exactly love to hear. But I do believe that the Holy Spirit will be a better teacher than I can attempt to be in the few minutes we have together. So now, why would I begin the year with such a topic? Couldn't we have started on a lighter note? I think this will be more helpful to us and it will also help us to understand the times we are in. I don't intend to instill fear within you, but through these words, I know you will find spiritual strength.

When I received Jesus as my Lord and personal savior, I was excited as most converts are. I was ready for my walk with the Lord. I told God I wanted to be His child, to walk in His path and to be able to please Him. I think every child has a natural desire to want to please their Father. I do not think I have ever met anybody that didn't want to please their Father.

So there I was. Excited like a little boy and walking tall, exuding all the confidence in the world. But not too long after, I started to experience rather difficult circumstances. And just there and then, I learned that Christianity wasn't what I imagined it to be. Growth doesn't happen on the mountain tops, it rather occurs in the most trying circumstances. But why go through all this trouble anyway?

I hope you had a few minutes to read the portion of Scripture I shared above. But let's begin with verse 6. The bible says, "For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives." Whenever you are in a very difficult situation, always remember that God is with you and He loves you.

When you start to advance a bit in your level of spirituality, you'll be doing it in midst of a battle. While you prosper, there's someone that wishes for your downfall. David prospered in the midst of persecution from King Saul.

Prospering in persecution

David was []prospering in all his ways for the Lord was with him. - 1 Samuel 18:14 NASB1995

David prospered during persecution from his enemy. Prospering is always beyond what wealth is. When we think of prosperity, a lot of us just reduce it to being wealthy. But in the Hebrew language it means a little different.

And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. - Genesis 39:2 (KJV)

The Hebrew word for 'prospered' is Tsalach. It means: To break out. To go over. To be profitable. But you see, these people never would have prospered without the persecution. Persecution is good for us. The Early Church was birthed through persecution. It was during that period when martyrs like Stephen were raised. In persecution, the glorious Church will be birthed.

God is with you

The one thing that is common about both David and Joseph is that they had the presence of the Lord with them. They only managed to prosper in the presence of the Lord. The only way we can make it out of our troubles, is if we acknowledge that God is with us. Without that acknowledgement, it makes it even harder. There's nothing harder than doing Christianity without help. But we have Help. Our help comes from God.

God's children will always face persecution

If you are a child of God, you will face persecution. Persecution is important for our walk in the Lord. Let's look at the book Hebrews one more time.

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? - Hebrews 12:7 NASB1995

The bible tells us that we cannot make it without being disciplined. Sometimes this discipline comes in the form of a persecution or some sort of problem. There are many people who walk away from God. Usually, people that do not like to be corrected. It doesn't always feel good. But it's necessary for our growth in the Lord.

But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. - Mathew 24:13 NASB1995

The one who endures is the one who has also faced persecution. Because it brings out of us the righteousness that God wants us to partake of.

Persecution is beneficial to us

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. - 2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB1995

There is something Paul must have realized to have written something like this. The bible says, "Though our outer man (body) is decaying, yet our inner man (Spirit) is being renewed day by day." What a beautiful thing to say. While we are persecuted, while we suffer through the toughest of situations, it benefits our Spirit. Glory to God!

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NASB1995

Paul calls our troubles light. He tells us that everything we go through produces for us an eternal weight of glory. Instead of looking at our circumstances, we should rather look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. What we go through is only temporal. It could last years or weeks or a couple of months, but it is still temporal.

In trouble, we receive Holiness

For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. - Hebrews 12:10 NASB1995

In our sufferings, we become more of who we are meant to become in Christ Jesus. Without persecution, we'll easily compromise and lessen our Christianity for a weaker faith. If we get to share in the holiness of God, we'd better be excited about every challenge that comes our way. And remember, having challenges doesn't always mean you suffer in everything. David and Joseph prospered in their persecution.

Note: Happy new year Readers! May this year bring out the holiness of the Lord as you seek Him. Thank you for reading and God bless you.