Christian Strength

Christian Strength

Guest contributor:   Ed Trego

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the Sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here also in your own country.'” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away.” (Luke 4:16-30)

I believe the Jesus depicted in the above scripture has been virtually lost in today’s Christianity. This Jesus was powerful, self-confident and unafraid to confront those who questioned Him and His divinity. He would not tolerate those who would pervert the faith and mislead the people. He was not afraid of confrontation even when it was obvious that it would result in his death.

Today, confrontation isn’t considered polite or socially acceptable. We will do most anything to avoid it wherever possible. In the scriptural example above, Jesus boldly claimed that Isaiah’s messianic prophecy pertained specifically to Him. When the people refused to listen and began coming up with reasons why that wasn’t possible, He took them to task about the many times the Israelites had rejected the prophets of God over and over in their history. The people became so angry that they attempted to kill Him by throwing Him over a precipice. I can imagine a vision of Jesus looking at the gathered crowd; meeting each of them eye-to-eye with the power of God. The power within Him was apparently so overwhelming they could not lay a hand on Him even though they had planned to kill Him. He walked through the crowd and left.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of Israel with these words over and over. He called them “blind guides”; He told them they were “like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness”. Again and again Jesus condemned the religious elite of the time for actions and inactions. “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” (See Matthew, chapter 23). Jesus knew full well that the Scribes and Pharisees, along with the high priest and his minions, would eventually orchestrate His crucifixion. Still, He didn’t hesitate to call them to task. This is the Jesus who came to change mankind and help him understand the error of his ways. He had no problem with telling it like it is. This is the righteous face of Christianity that we truly need today, but which is sorely lacking. Not only in most of us, but also in many of our religious leaders today. When is the last time you heard a homily which actually addressed the evils of sin? People of God need to be upbraided from time to time about the weakness of their faith. Yet it’s rare in the sermons of today; it’s not polite to point out the sinfulness of those in the pews.

“And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you make it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:12-14) By this action Jesus not only would have infuriated the money-changers and those selling sacrificial animals, He would have angered the Jewish authorities as well. The temple treasury received a portion of all business conducted in the temple so by forcing it to stop Jesus stopped the payoffs to the temple as well. Yet He never hesitated to express His righteous outrage at the misuse of God’s temple.

He spoke just as forcefully to His disciples. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:31-39)

If we only look around, we see that Jesus’ words are very true in many lives today. How many of us have friends or relatives who refuse Christianity and live their lives in sin? How many of us have the courage to confront them? There used to be shame in our society. When someone chose to ignore morality and live in sin, there was a price to pay. Even their own family would shame them and, in some cases, refuse to consider them a part of their family as long as they continued to live in sin. That’s no longer a part of our culture. And, in many ways, people suffer for it. If they are not confronted with their error, what encouragement is there for them to amend their lives”

Today, those who refuse to live their life in a moral way are honored and given praise. Movies are made to glorify immorality; television rarely has a series devoted to a loving, traditional family. Musicians, actors, sports figures, and even some political figures, seem to get more acclaim and popularity as they degrade themselves more and more. The football player might be suspended for an illegal hit in a game, but virtually nothing is done when they are in bar-fights, drunken melees and other acts of debauchery. We accept it, and even laugh and make jokes about it. But very little is done to condemn it or to hold those persons accountable for their actions.

We seem to want a nice, non-confrontational Christianity. An “I’m OK, you’re OK” Christianity. We certainly don’t want to confront anyone about the sins they may be committing. We don’t even want to confront on own sins; it makes us uncomfortable. We choose to focus on the softer side of Jesus. The Jesus who was loving, always ready to forgive those who sin, forgetting that with forgiveness came the admonition to sin no more. The Christ that healed the sick, raised the dead, and cried at the death of Lazarus. We like that Jesus, He fits in with what we want Christianity to be.

Those attributes of Jesus are very real and speak beautifully to His love and His desire that all men should come to Him. However, we must also recognize the Jesus who was strong, forceful, and willing to confront evil and sin. If we are to fully know Him, we need to know the Jesus who didn’t hesitate to confront the Pharisee’s, knowing full well that they were plotting to kill Him. We need to understand the zeal and righteous outrage demonstrated when He took the money changers in the temple to task; driving them out with a whip of cords.

If we are to follow Him, we too must be willing to speak up in defense of our faith, even when it may be difficult, or even dangerous. In order to truly serve God and Jesus, we too must be willing to draw on the strength of our faith when needed to confront those who would deny or lessen our mission as Christians. “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24)

Can you imagine Jesus, in today’s world, saying that although He doesn’t personally approve of abortion, He won’t impose His belief on others who might disagree? A Jesus who would accept homosexual marriage? A Jesus who would accept men and women living together without benefit of marriage? A Jesus who would not be outraged at the violence and misery man perpetrates against man, many time in the name of religion? Yet many, who claim to believe in Jesus, refuse to confront these things. While there are some who are outraged and ashamed of such sinfulness in our society, very few are willing to stand up and say so. They don’t want to hurt others’ feelings. They use the biblical admonition against judging others to justify their refusal to a stand against sinfulness in our world.

Today we, as Christians, are under attack from our own government. We are told we can’t express our faith in public; we can’t say a prayer before a high school football game; we can’t post the ten commandments. Yet those who would condemn Christianity are given full reign to slander, insult and even attack Christians. It seems those of the Christian faith are the only ones who are forbidden to express their faith. If we are to maintain the right to practice our faith, in public as well as in private we must look to the strength Jesus demonstrated when he confronted those who would subvert or weaken the faith. We must become the Church militant! We must take a stand and not allow those who would try to push our faith into secrecy or even try to destroy it.

First, and foremost, we must pray daily for the strength to confront the evil that is being used against us in the public square. We must recognize that this attack is being orchestrated by Satan, as it has always been. We must pray that others, our friends, family and all Christians, will take up the fight. We must ask the Saints to pray for us and help us in this battle. Because a battle is exactly what it is; do not mistake this for anything less than an all out war on Christianity led by the father of all lies, Satan.

I’m certainly not suggesting violence; violence only begets violence. What is needed is the fortitude and courage to allow us to be the shining example of Christianity that Jesus calls us to be. We can’t remain in the background, we must demonstrate our faith in every aspect of our daily life. If the people you work with, or the people you socialize with, or even your own family, are not fully aware of your walk of faith, you have some work to do. If we allow Satan and his followers to continue to push us out of the public square we may soon find ourselves in the same situation as the early Christians, hunted down and persecuted for our faith. If you think this to be an exaggeration, simply look to China, Syria, and Egypt today. Christians are in hiding, being burned alive in their churches and forced to flee whenever possible.

We must not allow that to happen in this country, or any where else in the world if we can prevent it. We must seek to elect leaders who will respect and protect our religious rights. Too often those rights are being eliminated in the name of “tolerance”. Their version of tolerance all too often include only those who agree with them or are willing to contribute to their reelection campaign. We must be willing to confront our elected leaders and demand that they recognize our rights to express and practice our faith in the public square.

God is there to help us if we ask. He will give us the strength and confidence to fight this battle. But understand that it will get worse before it gets better. We have allowed this anti-Christian movement to progress so far today that it will not be easy to reverse it. Jesus showed the way when He confronted the Pharisees, Sadducees, High Priest, Pilate, and even those believers who were lukewarm in the faith. We must draw from that strength and exhibit the same determination to follow our faith and not allow anyone to limit or deny our right to do so.

Thankfully we do not have to fight this battle alone. We have the most powerful support imaginable on our side. The angels stand ready to aide us. The Saints stand ready to pray for us. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit stand ready to give us all the strength and power needed to defeat Satan. All we need to do is ask in sincere prayer.

“Saint Michael the Archangel defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the Divine Power of God thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.”


The above meditation is a chapter from Ed’s new eBook “The Narrow Gate”.

Available now for only $1.99 on Amazon,

Apple,

Barnes & Noble,

Smashwords,

Kobo

and other fine publishers.

Believing Christ

Believing Christ

Guest contributor:   Ed Trego

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

This is probably one of the most well-known verses in Christianity. It’s on display at virtually every sporting event and most anywhere else someone can manage to get a sign of some kind to display it on. I would expect that virtually everyone reading this, if asked, do you believe in Jesus, would respond with a resounding “Yes!”

We would all agree that we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and our savior. But there’s more to being a Christian than simply making that statement. While we all may believe in Jesus, we must also believe Jesus. You see, there’s a difference here. Believing in Jesus as the Son of God is not the same as believing what He tells us.

Some people who profess belief in Jesus chose to be very selective in their belief of what He taught while on earth. Even people who proudly proclaim John 3:16 are sometimes not so certain they believe it as it is stated rather than as a concept of Christianity. For instance, some say that Catholics should not pray for intercession from Mary and the Saints. They are dead, we are told, and we shouldn’t pray to the dead. But if we reread John 3:16 it states very clearly that those who believe in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life. If we believe what is said, rather that just accepting the concept, we must believe that Mary and the Saints are alive and well. They are quite capable of praying for us just as still living friends pray for us. While they may have died physically, their soul remains alive and in the presence of God. Otherwise John 3:16 is not factual.

If we are to be the followers of Jesus, we must be willing to accept His teachings, even though we may not fully understand them in this world. Jesus, during His life, made a habit of raising the bar on what it takes to be accepted into God’s Kingdom. He didn’t preach exceptions, He taught obedience. Anything less is unacceptable. He didn’t require that we understand, only that we believe Him. He recognized that there are many mysteries in our faith. Many we will not understand until we are in the kingdom of God. However, not understanding doesn’t equate to not believing. I don’t understand love in a practical sense, yet I know love exists and I experience it. Just because I don’t fully understand it doesn’t lessen the beauty of love.

Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) I would expect the thief, though physically dead, was spiritually alive with Jesus in Paradise as promised. If he was not alive in eternal life, and therefore unable to experience paradise, of what worth was Jesus’ promise”

The fact of life after death is central to our Christianity. To deny that Elijah, Moses, Mary, the Saints, and the thief on the cross are alive in paradise is to deny the words of Jesus and ignore John 3:16. Remember that Jesus met with Elijah and Moses at the transfiguration. “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus.” (Mark 9:2-4) If Elijah and Moses were not still living, this passage can not possibly be true.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, failed to understand Jesus’ teaching that one must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. “Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can this be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this?” (John 3:4-10) Just because we can’t explain or prove something, we must still believe it if Jesus said it.

Jesus said “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks as a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:72-28) We all would agree that adultery is wrong and sinful. But what if it’s our own son or daughter who is committing adultery? Or if not adultery, fornication by living with someone to whom they are not married. You see, agreeing that something is a sin is not necessarily the same as believing it in our own lives and actions. We choose to ignore rather than lovingly confront such actions. But that isn’t what Jesus said; there were no family exemptions or equivocations involved. Adultery is sinful and those who practice it will not enter the glory of heaven. To believe otherwise is to deny the truth of Jesus as well as the commandments. To allow a loved one to continue a sinful life without trying to convince them of their error, is also failing to love them. What parent would willingly allow their child to jump out of a twenty story window to their death? Yet we allow our children to risk their eternal life rather than lovingly trying to persuade them to change their ways. While we may not have the ability to change their way of life, we still have the responsibility to try, through prayer, and loving admonition.

Let’s also not forget that Jesus clearly stated that we don’t have to physically commit adultery to be guilty of the sin of adultery. If we look at another with lust in our heart, we have already committed the sin. Our culture is awash with pornography, both soft and hard core. To view these images pushes us toward adultery, whether actual or in the spirit. Movies all too frequently glorify wanton sexuality as well as adultery and fornication. Even commercial television has fallen to lows in the barely veiled presentation of these sins. We are tempted to seriously consider these acts when we they are everywhere in our culture. Satan strives to tempt us to sin; these images are a powerful weapon to achieve that end.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” (John 6:53-56) It can’t be said any more directly than Jesus said it; we must eat His flesh and drink his blood if we are to raised up on the last day. Yet many would say that the Eucharist we receive is merely a symbol. As a Catholic, one of my greatest joys is receiving my Lord in the Eucharist. And yes, I am receiving the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ in that small wafer and that wine. I can’t explain how that happens, but I have absolutely no doubt that it does. I can’t prove it scientifically, but I can prove it spiritual. I know that I have received my Lord, just as I know that love exists even though I can’t prove that scientifically either. Otherwise I am putting my own meaning to the words of Christ rather than believing Him. For those who would argue, I would suggest reading John 6:64-66. “But there are some of you that do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who those were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the father.” After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer walked with him.”

Jesus meant exactly what He said. If you doubt His sincerity, think about those who walked away. Jesus did not rush after them and try to bring them back. He didn’t say, “Oh, don’t leave, I was only talking figuratively. I didn’t really mean you have to eat my flesh and drink by blood.” He let them leave. And consider this. By leaving they were condemning themselves to hell. They had known Jesus and had been taught by Him. Yet, when believing Him was too hard for them they turned away from Him. That decision, unless repented and changed, can only result in eternal condemnation. If you don’t believe Jesus meant that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood, then you also have to believe that He allowed those disciples to condemn themselves to hell rather than change or water down His words.

In our churches today, there are many who claim belief but fail to believe. There are sometimes referred to as cafeteria Christians. They will accept Jesus as the son of God, but not as truly and wholly present in the Eucharist. They would never dream of murdering anyone, but will accept abortion, the murder of the most innocent of all. No one argues that envy is wrong, yet many jealously desire the goods and wealth of others. The list goes on and on. If we simply read the commandments and reflect on what they truly mean, we will see how common it is to accept the general idea, but reject the specifics. If we are to believe Jesus, the specifics matter. We must not only hear the words of Jesus, we must respond. We must not stop with the overview, we must look for and believe the details as well. Only through believing Jesus and the teachings He left us are we to enter the kingdom of God. Some of the teachings are hard; some we will never understand in this world. Still, if we are to truly believe in Jesus, we must hear the teachings and act upon them.

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)


The above meditation is a chapter from Ed’s new eBook “The Narrow Gate”.

Available now for only $1.99 on Amazon,

Apple,

Barnes & Noble,

Smashwords,

Kobo

and other fine publishers.

Make Disciples of All Nations

Make Disciples Of All Nations

Guest contributor:   Ed Trego

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

This verse, the last verse in Matthew’s gospel, is commonly referred to as the great commission. These are the final words Jesus spoke to the apostles prior to His ascension into heaven. After telling them to make disciples of all nations, Jesus returned to heaven to take His rightful place with the Father. When the day of Pentecost came, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them and they began the mission for which they were commissioned.

Who were these men to whom Jesus entrusted the future of His Church? They were common men; men without education; men who did not have the religious training of the Pharisees or the Sadducees of the time. The fact that Jesus chose the common man to be His representatives was one of the things that infuriated the religious elite of Israel. They couldn’t accept that these men, rather than they, were the ones to bring the salvation promised by the Messiah to the world.

The fact that there were not special, not highly educated, not even particularly religious in the sense of the strict Judaism of the time, should give us comfort and hope. We too, by and large, fall in that category. Yet we too, are the chosen ones of Jesus. We are the disciples He entrusted to His apostles. Both in their time and in our own, the apostles and those who have followed them in their mission have had the responsibility and blessing of shepherding the Church founded by Christ.

Who were these men to whom Jesus entrusted His Church? They weren’t particularly brave. Of the original twelve, one would betray Jesus to the authorities; nine would run and hide when the Romans arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Him and one would deny three times that he even knew Jesus. Yet, with the exception of the betrayer, all would return to receive Jesus’ blessing and commission to lead His Church. Perhaps most ironic is that Peter, the one who denied Him three times, would be chosen as the leader of the apostles and the Church.

Of these men, only one would not suffer a martyr’s death. Matthew was killed by a sword in Ethiopia. Mark died in Alexandria after being dragged by horses until he was dead. Luke was hanged in Greece. Peter was crucified upside down on a x-shaped cross. He felt himself unworthy to die as Jesus had and requested to be crucified upside down. James was thrown off the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny Christ. James, the Great, son of Zebedee was beheaded. The Roman officer who guarded him was so amazed by his faith that he declared his own Christian faith and knelt beside James to accept beheading. Bartholomew, also called Nathaniel was flayed to death with a whip in Armenia. Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross after being whipped by seven soldiers. He hung on the cross for two days preaching to his tormentors until he died. Thomas was stabbed during a missionary trip to India. Jude was killed by arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace Judas, was stoned and then beheaded. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, was beheaded in Nero’s Rome.

John, who remained with Jesus through His trial and crucifixion, would be the only one to die of natural causes. He was boiled in oil during a persecution in Rome but was miraculously saved from death. He was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos where he wrote his prophetic book of Revelation. He was later released and served as the Bishop of Edessa in what is now Turkey. He died an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

Perhaps because Jesus entrusted his own mother to John, He preserved him to care for her for the rest of her time on earth. “When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19:26-27)

These were ordinary men who became extraordinary through faith and the Holy Spirit. They weren’t chosen for their abilities or their education. It didn’t matter that they weren’t part of the religious classes, the Pharisees, Sadducees or the Scribes. They were simple men who came to believe in Jesus Christ, realized that He was the Messiah, and learned from Him. As a result of their faith, they were able to change the world.

Why did Jesus choose to take common men and make them uncommon? Perhaps He was telling all people, including you and me, that you don’t have to be special or exceptional to be a part of God’s kingdom. You don’t need great learning to understand and share the lessons of Christ. Our status in society is unimportant in God’s eyes; He sees our potential and will lead us to make the most of that potential.

Today, we have forgotten many of the simple lessons that Christ taught His original disciples. We have turned away from the morality taught by Jesus and have embraced a morality of relevance. We no longer cling to long held truths, we make up new truths based on our own desires and ideas of how things should be.

We, just as the apostles, need to listen to Jesus and take His words to heart. We need to make His teachings our guidelines for living our life. If fishermen and tax collectors could become the greatest evangelists ever known, there is hope for us as well. We only need to quit judging by today’s standards and look to the standards established by God and reinforced through Jesus’ life on earth.

Jesus taught us that He isn’t looking for those who are prepared to be called. He is looking for those who are willing to be called. Our current state in life doesn’t matter; where we will go when we follow Him is what is important. He will provide all the preparation needed to serve him as a disciple.

Peter wasn’t prepared to become the leader of a religious movement that would change the world. Peter was a simple fisherman, just as were James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them to greatest from obscurity.

Matthew belonged to one of the most hated professions in Judea. He was a tax collector for Herod and Rome. He earned his living by taking not only the taxes due the authorities but by extorting additional funds from the people to pay his own way. He certainly would not have been looked upon as a member of the Messiah’s inner circle. Yet, Jesus chose him.

Saul of Tarsus was one of the most enthusiastic persecutors of the Christians. He held the cloaks of those who would stone Stephen, the first deacon of the Church. He traveled far and wide to persecute the Christians. He was known for hunting them down wherever they were and dragging them off to prison. Still, Jesus chose him.

“Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you Lord?’ And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” (Acts 9:3-6)

Paul became the Lord’s apostle to the gentiles. Even though his earlier life was devoted to eliminating Christians wherever possible, he now became one of the most vocal of Christians, evangelizing and converting others to Christianity for the rest of his life.

Today, Jesus is still seeking those who would answer His call. Like the apostles, Jesus will accept us if we ask and change us just as he did those who followed Him during His life on earth. He obviously chose some very great sinners as his apostle’s. He didn’t wait for them to change, He changed them. Just so, He will change us if we are willing.

In reading the gospels I cannot find one instance of Jesus insisting that someone follow Him. He invited them, He accepted them, and He changed them. Those who felt themselves righteous couldn’t understand that Jesus came to call the sinners, not the righteous. He came to change lives, giving hope for eternal life to those who had no hope. He did not pressure them. He did not demand their faith or loyalty; rather, He asked for their faith and loyalty and promised paradise if they chose it. He taught them the error of their ways and pointed out the error in the ways of those who were supposed to be their religious leaders. He brought the kingdom of God to them and offered it to them. The decision to accept Jesus and become a part of God’s kingdom was a choice offered, not a demand made.

What does this mean to us today? It means that Jesus is calling us, just as He called His disciples when He walked on earth. He is not looking for those who are qualified, but those who are willing. He will give us all the qualifications needed to be His disciple. All He asks of us is faith and willingness to allow Him to be our guide. He will show us the path, we only need to seek His help and His strength in following that path.

Jesus will provide the talents needed to serve Him. He will give us the strength to walk with Him. He is there for our support in everything we do; we just need to ask in faith. “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Jesus isn’t interested in our wealth or the house we live in, or the car we drive. These things are finite and will not last. He asks us to seek the infinite if we are to serve Him. Set your sites on the heavens and strive to achieve perfection. While no man except Jesus can be perfect, our efforts are pleasing to God. He wants us to strive to be the best we can be and will help us in every way if we approach Him in faith, love and service.

Answering Jesus’ call may also require sacrifice, hardship and even death. The apostles knew this. The early Christians certainly knew it given the many persecutions to which they were subjected. The accounts of martyrs giving up their lives in the most horrible, painful ways are plentiful. Yet they considered the reward worth the price. Suffering death in this world to achieve paradise with God was, in their eyes, a bargain worth taking. So much so that the day of martyrdom was considered the birthday of those chosen to suffer. A birth into the glory of God.

Today, we don’t hear much of Christian martyrdom. It exists in many areas of the world but in this country we tend to ignore what goes on in the rest of the world far too often. We complain that the pastor doesn’t give an exciting homily, or that he steps on too many toes in his preaching. In Egypt, the Coptic Christians are burned in their churches and killed in the streets. In China, Catholics have to hide in order to celebrate the Mass. Even in this country there is a movement to equate Christianity with fanaticism. Once Christians are successfully put into the same category as racists, ku klux klan members, and terrorists, persecution won’t be far behind. Are we prepared to stand for Jesus just as the early Christians? By His mercy we may never be required to fully answer that question. However, if we are to be Christians, we need to answer that question for ourselves.

What does Jesus ask? He asks the same of us that He asked of his apostles. Follow Him, love Him, serve Him in all that we do. Be a beacon of light that others may see Jesus within us. Count the cost, whatever it may be, a small price to pay for eternity in the presence of God. For over two thousand years that has been His request. Many have followed, many have fallen away, many are yet to come. Ask for His forgiveness, seek His guidance, and knock on the door of heaven.

Go and make disciples of all nations.

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)


The above meditation is a chapter from Ed’s new eBook “The Narrow Gate”.

Available now for only $1.99 on Amazon,

Apple,

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and other fine publishers.

Seeking God’s Help

Seeking Gods Help

Guest contributor:   Ed Trego

“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalms 18:1-2)

Have you ever noticed that once you have decided to do something to improve yourself, it becomes very difficult? For instance, you make a promise to yourself to eat a better diet and instantly begin to crave donuts. Or you make a commitment that you are going to read a few verses in the bible each day and suddenly your evenings are jam-packed. I’ve experienced these difficulties whenever I’ve made a decision to do something to benefit my spiritual life, my married life, or any other aspect of my life that I wish to improve. It seems there are always obstacles to overcome and weakness in overcoming them.

Improving our lives, even in areas that are already pretty good is a worthy goal. As a Christian, it is a means of serving our God and thanking Him for the many blessings He has given us. God is pleased when we make an effort to make our offering of ourselves to Him as good as it can be.

Satan, however, wants to interfere with anything that improves our relationship with God. His efforts are to convince us that we don’t need to improve. In fact, we are probably already doing more than is necessary. Why add more when we are already doing more than enough? Look around, nobody seems to be worrying about it except us, so why should we worry and fret over things that don’t matter. The enemy can make a very logical argument for us to accept our current state and believe it is good enough. However, if we stop and consider our current state, we will realize there is always room for improvement in our spiritual life and our relationship with God.

When I look at the times in my life when my efforts for improvement are thwarted, I can clearly see the influence of Satan in those failures. It’s often very difficult to see his influence as it occurs, but it becomes quite easy to see Satan’s efforts in retrospect. I think of the times when I’ve decided to improve my diet to better my health and then almost immediately go out for a breakfast of eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy. Then maybe I’ll have another biscuit or two with some jam. Not only is that not in line with my efforts to eat a healthier diet, it’s also far more than I would have normally eaten for breakfast. I can see the hand of the enemy in this scenario very clearly.

As an author I need to set aside time each day to write. If not, the next book will never come. Again I often see that same enemy, Satan, influencing my efforts. There’s too much other stuff that has to be done today. I don’t have time to sit down and write this evening. But I’ll do better tomorrow, or the next day, or next week.

When I really see the work of the devil is when I put off something I’ve planned as to better my relationship with God and find myself watching some ridiculous show on television instead. Not only am I not doing as I planned to improve my offerings to God, I’m wasting the precious time given me by God on worthless, inane drivel. While there is occasionally a show actually worth watching, it’s extremely rare that anything on commercial television is of any real value.

Even my favorite sport, baseball, is used by the enemy to interfere with my efforts. Anyone who is familiar with baseball can tell you that you are hardly ever going to miss anything important if you miss an inning or two of televised baseball. In the event something exciting really happened, it will be replayed over and over throughout the rest of the game, so you aren’t going to miss it completely. And yet, I’ll sit and continue to watch a game that is scoreless through four or five innings rather than take the time to read a few verses in my bible, or perhaps proof-read or edit a book I’m working on. Yes, I love baseball. And certainly there’s nothing wrong with watching a baseball game. But I shouldn’t allow it to take me from those things that will improve my relationship with God.

How do these things happen? How can we avoid them? It takes one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, fortitude, to overcome Satan and his tricks. Fortitude is that ability to overcome difficulty or even pain by the power of God. It’s important to note that we overcome Satan by the power of God, not of our own power. Fortitude and perseverance helps us turn to God when tempted. It urges us to ask His help. God is always waiting for our call, but we must the effort to ask for His help. As with most things in our spiritual life, we have to make the decision to accept the wonderful gifts God offers us. He doesn’t force us to accept His gifts; He offers them out of his love for us. I believe it pleases God greatly when we turn to Him for help in overcoming our difficulties. He wants us to make use of His many blessings. It’s our responsibility to do so.

Prayer and reliance on God’s strength are the only effective weapons in the fight again the enemy. We, as humans, aren’t capable of resisting Satan on our own. We simply don’t have the strength required. But God has more than enough strength for this purpose and is pleased to provide it to us in our sincere effort to overcome the devil’s temptations.

The trouble is, we want to do it ourselves and we want to do it our way. Unfortunately that is playing directly into the strength of Satan. He knows full well that we can’t resist him on our own. From Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, to King David committing adultery with Bathsheba, to Judas betraying Jesus, we see over and over again that we are no match for the Evil One. He knows it and we know it as well. We just chose not to acknowledge the fact. The part that I really don’t understand is why? Why would we continue to try to overcome Satan on our own when we’ve proven to ourselves over and over that it’s not possible? Maybe it’s pride, maybe if just foolishness on our part, but we continue to fight a battle we can’t win.

If we look at the world today we can see how very obvious it is that Satan is winning the battle as long as we refuse to call on the strength of God in our efforts to defeat him. Prayer is the best defense we have to win this, our most important, battle. If we want to be successful in our attempts to defeat Satan and in resisting his temptations we must remember that it’s not possible without the grace of God. Without God’s strength Satan will win every time. Only through the grace of God and the strength He offers can we hope to overcome the Devil and his temptations of evil.

When we pray, Satan cringes. Our prayers are his greatest fear. For if we are in communion with God, Satan can have no power over us. Frustration, anger, pride, disappointment; these are some of the weapons the enemy uses against us. Sadly, when experiencing these trials we too often fail to go to God for his help to overcome them. The devil knows we humans think we can do all things and he uses it to his advantage whenever possible. However, when we turn to God in these times, Satan is shut out. His strength can’t begin to compare to the strength of prayer. For this reason, maintaining a vibrant, faithful prayer life is one of the most important things we can do to repel the enemy and his attempts to pull us away from God.

As we improve our prayer life, we will improve our spiritual life. But we must expect that Satan will challenge us at every opportunity. When we wake in the morning he will try to distract us from simply thanking God for another day. As we go to work, he will do his best to feed our anger when someone cuts us off. At work, each frustration will become an opportunity for the devil to pull us away from God and make us focus on our frustration rather than the solution. As we travel home, he will fill our minds with all of the things we think we must do that evening and before we know it we are going to bed. We’ve hardly spoken to God throughout the whole day because of Satan. Even as we attempt to pray before sleep, the enemy will try to fill our mind with worries and concerns about the day to come.

The only way to overcome him is through the very thing he tries hardest to stop; our prayers. A healthy prayer life relieves those daily frustrations and anger points. It gives us the ability to look at others differently. Rather than seeing an unreasonable boss, perhaps we can begin to see he is only reacting to the demands being placed upon him. Maybe we can consider that the person who cut us off in traffic truly didn’t see us and would have loved the chance to apologize for their action. If we have a prayerful relationship with God, we will begin to see His presence in others. We can recognize the suffering of Christ in the truly down-trodden and homeless. We can see the rejection of Christ in the unloved child who turns to crime and violence because they’ve never know the joy of being loved. We can truly begin to recognize that we are all creations of God and understand that we are called to love each other as Jesus loves us.

God waits for us. He stands ready to help us in all of our trials and temptations. Whether our problems be big or small, He will respond to our prayer. He is delighted by our plea to Him for help. We must reach out to Him and ask for His help.

“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened for you.” (Matthew 7:7)


The above meditation is a chapter from Ed’s new eBook “The Narrow Gate”.

Available now for only $1.99 on Amazon,

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Smashwords,

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and other fine publishers.

The Potter and the Vase

The Potter And The Vase

Guest contributor:   Ed Trego

“As clay in the hand of the potter – for all his ways are as he pleases – so men are in the hand of him who made them, to give them as he decides.” (Sirach 33:13)

Can a vase crafted by a accomplished potter say to his maker, “Why did you shape me such? I would have preferred a longer neck. I don’t like the colors you used either. I would have chosen greens and shades of yellow rather than the blues you selected. Perhaps you should remake me.” A guitar can’t tell the guitarist, “I really think the G-chord would have been better there. Oh, by the way, your fret work is really pretty poor.” Can the sculpture criticize the artist? “You should have made my hands bigger, you know. I think I should have been taller as well.”

Sounds pretty silly, right? But isn’t that what we humans do on virtually a daily basis? We had no hand in our making, yet we feel free to complain to our maker that we don’t like what He has made. Our legs are too short, our waist too big. I wish I had auburn hair rather than this dishwater blond. I wish I still had hair. What was God thinking? How dare He not ask us how we wished to be made? Shouldn’t we have had say in how were made? After all, we’re the ones who have to live with what He gave us.

Therein lies the clue most people miss; we are to live with what God gave us Shouldn’t we have had say in how were made? Apparently not. Listen to the Psalmist: “For you formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalms 138:13). God formed us with a purpose, not by accident.

Our longing to change ourselves physically has resulted in the development of several industries to respond to our desires. If you nose is too big for your liking, they’ll make it smaller. Need fuller lips, just inject some collagen. If we don’t like how we look as we age, we can fix that too. Face lifts, tummy tucks, Botox to eliminate wrinkles all play into our self-absorbed obsession with our appearance. Virtually every part of your body can be altered in today’s world.

I suspect that very few people would consider Mother Teresa to be beautiful in a physical sense, but her sole and her spirit were beautiful beyond compare. The love she shared with the poorest of the poor, those suffering horrible disease and affliction was the beauty that God had given her. She shared that beauty wherever she went. Each of us has the opportunity to share God’s love with others, just as Mother Teresa did. Unfortunately we tend to look at the poorest of the poor as people we avoid rather than welcoming them and caring for them in Christian love. We forget that they are the children of God as well. Without benefit of two thousand years of Christian history and teaching, how would we have looked upon Jesus carrying His cross through the streets of Jerusalem? Would we have seen a savior, or an outcast on His way to death. We must look for Jesus in every face we see, for we are all wonderfully made by God.

The truth is we sometimes forget is that God isn’t interested in a beauty contest. He isn’t looking for physical beauty. Rather, He is interested in spiritual beauty. We fail to seek our purpose in God’s plan, focusing instead on what seems to be important to us and the world. We forget that the world will pass away, but God’s plan for us is eternal.

We must also keep in mind that God does not make mistakes. That can be a very difficult concept to accept and live with. Particularly if we, or someone we love, suffers from a painful or even life-threatening disease. How can someone who has watched their child waste away with cancer still accept that God’s plan is perfect. We can’t know the reason for such an occurrence and it can be extremely hard to simply accept as part of the bigger plan of God. We want to know why. We can see no reason for such suffering. How could such a thing be of God? How many times have you heard someone say, “How could a loving God let this happen?”. We don’t have an answer for that question. We know that God is a loving God but we can’t know why such a thing happened. To simply say that it is God’s plan does little to alleviate the pain and suffering of someone who has lost a loved one or someone who suffering themselves. I am confident that at some point we will understand God’s purpose, but not in this world.

We have no reason to doubt that we are perfectly made and that each occurrence in our life is a part of God’s perfect plan. God’s creation is always perfect, whether it be us, the weather, the earth, the galaxy or the entire universe. But it is perfect to His plan, not ours. The problem begins when we try to add or subtract to God’s plan. We don’t know the entirety of his plan, so who are we to believe we should meddle in it? As God told Job when he questioned God’s plan, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know!” (Job 37:2-5). Job didn’t know and neither do we.

In fact, we insult God if we deny that He made us perfectly. Not, perhaps, to our idea of perfect, but to His. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29). Jesus wanted His disciples, and us, to know of their worth to the Father. The knowledge or our worth to God should relieve our concern over our well-being. After all, God considered us worth the death of his son to provide a path for us to share eternity in His presence.

We can’t place the responsibility for our faults and sins on the way God made us. We can’t use “that’s just the way God made me” as an excuse for sinfulness. God did not make us to commit adultery, fornication, murder, theft, envy or any other sin. We choose what actions we take. It’s called free will. We have the freedom to accept or reject God’s plan. When someone tells you they aren’t responsible for their failings, it’s just the way they were made, they are choosing to reject God. Not only are they rejecting God, they are attempting to hold Him accountable for the evil that they do. God is never the agent of evil. All evil is the result of turning from Him in one way or another.

If we want to question God about how He made us, shouldn’t we owe it to Him to find out the purpose for which for which He made us? We want to say that we are a self-made person. Our place in life is the result of our efforts. We’ve been taught from childhood that independence and self-reliance is a good trait. However, we are all God-made. God designed us as He desired and we are to use the gifts He gave us to the best of our ability. He knows His plans for us and it is our responsibility to make the effort to understand His plan for us. In order for this to happen we must have a relationship with God based on absolute trust. Trust that God wants only what is best for us and will provide it if we allow Him.

He is the potter, we are the vase. We need to accept the fact that some vases are larger and more ornate that others. Perhaps we are a simple vase in order to allow us to ignore ourselves and serve others, as Mother Teresa did. If we are a larger, beautifully accented vase, perhaps our beauty is intended to bring joy to others in some way. It certainly isn’t for us to take pride in and keep to ourselves, for our benefit only. Whether small or large, simple or ornate, we are made by God with a specific purpose in mind. It is our duty to discover that purpose and fulfill it as God desires. This is the path to true happiness.

“I praise you, for I am wondrously made. Wonderful are your works!” (Psalms 139:14)


The above meditation is a chapter from Ed’s new eBook “The Narrow Gate”.

Available now for only $1.99 on Amazon,

Apple,

Barnes & Noble,

Smashwords,

Kobo

and other fine publishers.

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