Fiery Trials

Posted on by korgrocker

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.”
1 Peter 4:12-13 NLT

We Western pilgrims can’t personally identify with the “fiery trials” Peter was writing about. Those early believers courageously stood up for their faith, withstanding all types and severities of persecution; some even experienced long and drawn out deaths. The first martyr was Stephen. He accused the Jewish leaders of disobeying God’s law, and we pick up the narrative in Acts 7:56, “And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honour at God’s right hand!” Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died”. A sad end for a Godly man, but an end that brought glory to God. Stephen was not the only martyr by a long way. Those early believers in Peter’s generation were stoned, torn apart by animals in the public games, crucified, beheaded and so on. They were ostracised in their communities, prosecuted for trumped-up misdemeanours and generally suffered greatly for believing in the same God that we do today.

However, in other parts of the world today, “fiery trials” are still being experienced by Christians. Believers in Asian and African countries particularly are suffering greatly. Pakistani Christians are being violently attacked; I have just read about an Iranian pastor who has been sentenced to a long prison sentence in Iran’s notorious Evi prison; in fact, according to Open Doors UK, 5,621 Christians were murdered for their faith last year, and that’s only the deaths that they have been able to discover.

One thing we pilgrims will have realised is that being a Christian does not make life any easier. In fact, it will probably make it harder. Jesus, in His long John 17 prayer said to His disciples, “I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do” (John 17:14-16).

Peter wrote that believers shouldn’t be surprised when they are persecuted. In fact, he encourages them with the thought that the persecution, the “fiery trials”, that they are experiencing makes them “partners with Christ in his suffering”. Matthew 16:24-25, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it”. In fact, if we are finding that the life of a believer is hassle free, then perhaps we should question our commitment. Following Jesus is not an easy life choice, because it involves setting aside our own personal selfish desires, and instead choosing to live life the Jesus way. Jesus asked the question, “ … what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:26). But we know that with God on our side, we are assured that whatever trials we are facing into, if we persevere we will come out the other side unscathed, and closer to God than ever before. He loves us, His children. And He will never leave us to fend on our own. Every prayer that we utter has four people present, God, the Father, Jesus, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. And us of course. An invincible combination I think we must agree.

Dear Heavenly Father. We pray that You will strengthen us to live faithfully for You, right to the end. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Little Strength

Posted on by korgrocker

“I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed My word and did not deny Me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.”
Revelation‬ ‭3:8-9‬ ‭NLT

Encouragement and love. Jesus’ message to the Philadelphians couldn’t have been better. And there is that door again. Jesus is holding it open for them and we know from the previous verse that only He has the key to this door. “You have little strength” conjures up a picture of a small group of inoffensive but determined Christians. Physically they lacked the ability to defend themselves. They probably lacked influence in their society. A number of them may have been slaves. The reference to “Satan’s synagogue” indicated that they were perhaps suffering persecution. But in all of this they stood firm in their faith. Staying obedient to God’s Word. And always declaring His Lordship in their lives. What an example. And Jesus said He would vindicate them, by forcing the false Jews to bow down to them, acknowledging that the Philadelphians were the ones that Jesus loved. 

There are several examples of “little strength” in the Bible. I’m reminded of Jeremiah, who stood up against the religious leaders of his day, pointing out their corruption and apostasy, receiving threats and even direct action in return. We read in Jeremiah 20 how he was whipped and put in stocks, because of his faith. He had “little strength” but persevered in faith. And there is that wonderful chapter in Hebrews about the faithful, those with “little strength”, who suffered greatly in the face of persecution. In 1 Corinthians 1:27 we read, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong”. The Philadelphians knew by faith that with God on their side, they were invincible, even though they had “little strength”.

Jesus had strong words for the local Jewish synagogue. A place of worship and connection with God instead appeared to be populated by Jews who were worshipping someone else. How did that come about? Jesus Himself encountered people in synagogues who were so fixed in their ideas that they were unable to accept a visitation from God Himself. We read in Mark 3:5-6, “He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus”. A synagogue containing leaders who were so hardened in their hearts that they wanted Jesus to be killed for breaking their sabbath laws. Sadly, I know churches today that would be unable to accommodate a Jesus in their midst. Upsetting their liturgies. Disturbing the furniture. Challenging the status quo.

For the pilgrim today, God knows that we have “little strength”. But all He asks of us is that we are obedient to Him and His Word, and that we don’t deny Him in the face of difficult situations. Thankfully, in our Western societies we don’t suffer the physical persecution experienced by our bothers and sisters in places like Afghanistan or North Korea, but we can still come up against others hostile to our faith. There are always some who ridicule us in our workplaces, schools and universities. And, sad to say, even in our churches. But God sees the big picture and He knows our hearts and one day we will hear those wonderful words, “Well done, My good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

Dear Lord Jesus. We thank You for Your encouragement. We thank You for standing with us when the going gets tough. And we thank You for equipping us with Your Heavenly resources, day by day. Amen.