WOULD YOU BE FAITHFUL? 

It was late in the night of February 19, 2018.  The students at the government boarding school in a small town of Yobe State, Nigeria, were sleeping peacefully.  Suddenly the night was torn apart with the sounds of violence. A group of soldiers from one of the Boko Haram groups was attacking the school. Soon they rounded up 110 young girls and kidnapped them. Five girls died during or shortly after the attack.

The girls were taken to the group's camp and held there. Five weeks after the attack 104 of
the girls were released after being forced to recite the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of
faith, as a condition of release.  One girl was not released, Leah Sharibu, a 14 year old student,  refused to renounce her faith in Jesus Christ. On May 14, 2026 Leah turned 23 years old, still a captive of these Islamic militants.  

When Leah refused to accept Islam, her captors said she would be a slave for life. The only reports about Leah have come through other captives who were in the camp with her and later released. They have said she was forcibly married to one of the soldiers and gave birth to three children. After that she was divorced by the soldier and forced to marry another soldier. All through this, it is believed that she has remained faithful to Jesus.

This is a horrendous story. It should have been properly dealt with years ago, but it is also an inspiring story.  Very few of us are likely to be kidnapped by Islamists. But, we could face a lot of different trials.  The future is unknown to us. The question we must ponder is, "Would I be faithful?"

Scripture contains examples of faithfulness.  Consider Daniel.  Even when the edict went forth that no one was to pray to any god other than the king, Daniel continued his faithful prayers. Daniel ended up in a den of hungry lions. God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions, but Daniel did not know beforehand that God would spare him, yet he was faithful.

Daniel's companions, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were told to bow down to the golden statue Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They were given every chance to bow down as they had been commanded. They refused. They knew that if they refused the king would have them thrown into a fiery furnace. They stayed faithful. God chose to protect them to the point that not even their clothes smelled like smoke when they came out. But remember, they did not know if God would save their lives. They were prepared to die.

There are others; Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Mary, Paul, James and many others. They had to face both physical and emotional pain, but remained faithful.

Of course, the greatest example of faithfulness is our precious Lord Jesus Christ. He knew exactly what he was facing, he prayed to be spared, but he chose God's will.  

God himself is perfect in faithfulness. We can trust him completely. 

We never know what is coming. Pray constantly that no matter what comes your way that God will give you the strength to be faithful and to never deny him.

While you are praying, remember Leah. Pray for her daily.  Pray that she can remain faithful and perhaps become a force for good where she is.  Pray that she can be rescued from captivity.  Pray for the many others who are living in places where Christians face these kinds of dangers daily.

The Leah Foundation was inspired by Leah Sharibu's story.  If you would like to read more and see what kind of work they are doing you can check out their website: https://www.leah-foundation.org/.  Please note that I am not necessarily endorsing this foundation, but I found it interesting.

CONTENTMENT

In my last post I wrote briefly about covetousness.  A lot more could have been said including the idea that contentment is the opposite of covetousness.  A truly contented person has no desire for things that belong to another person.

Contentment doesn't come naturally to us as human beings. As I mentioned in the previous post, we are practically forced to become covetous. It requires determination and a lot of wisdom to resist the temptations.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, God considers covetousness a form of idolatry. It is a much more dangerous sin than we like to think. On the other hand, true contentment comes from a firm faith that God gives us what we need. It leads to a stronger relationship with God and a much happier life here on earth.

Consider what scripture says about contentment.  

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (ESV)

It is so easy to think that something or other will be a great gain for us, but Paul says that godliness with contentment is great gain.  Just think if you are a contented godly Christian you are richer than the richest person in the world.  

Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”  
Luke 3:14 (ESV)

The soldiers asked John the Baptist what they should do.  One of the things he told them was to be content with their wages. That can be difficult for modern people. I suspect it has always been difficult for many.  It seems like many people are always trying to increase their wages even if they have everything they need.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV)

Paul says that he is content with a very difficult existence. We know that he struggled with some kind of health issue (he did ask God to take it away, but was content when God said no), he was treated terribly by his fellow countrymen. He was even stoned and left for dead. Yet, he was content for the sake of Christ.  What more than Christ can we ask for?

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:10-13 (ESV)

Paul tells the Philippians that he appreciates their concern for him. He wants them to know that he is content with whatever happens. His secret? That last verse, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." 

Being contented does not come easily, especially when our situation is dire, but if we know where our strength comes from, we can do it.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)

Stay away from the love of money. In another place we are told that the love of money is the root of every kind of evil.  Living in this world we can see the truth of that.  What evil do you hear of on television or online that doesn't have its roots in the love of money? It is a rare thing.  We are called upon to be content with what we have. Even if we should lose everything in a disaster of some kind, He will never leave us.

Truly, we have an abundance of blessings.  How many of you have to walk a mile to get water?  A dear sister who has now gone to be with her Lord showed me the meaning of contentment many years ago.  Her son was deathly ill and several of us were trying to advise her on caring for him.  I asked her if she had a source of clean water.  She enthusiastically answered that she did and that it was near.  Later my husband, who was familiar with the area, told me that the source of water she was so grateful for was a stream about a mile from her house.  She had to take a large container to that stream and fill it.  Yet, she was very happy to have the water so near. Although this happened more than 20 years ago, I have never forgotten it.  Her contentment was a blessing to me.

When temptations to be covetous or discontented come, remember who is with you and who is providing for you.  Have the faith to be contented.

 

 You Shall Not Covet

Exodus chapter 20 tells the story of the giving of the ten commandments.  Immediately after God tells the people not to murder, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to lie, he tells them not to covet. He tells them not to covet anything belonging to another.

As Christians we know that we should not kill.  We recognize the sin of adultery as another thing that Christians should never do. We would not steal. We even know we should not lie. Rarely do we think about the sin of covetousness.  I think that might be because we define it too narrowly.

We look around at our neighbors and see the things they have. We might like the looks of their new car or the pool in their backyard. We begin to think about how nice a new BMW would be but we would NEVER want to take our neighbor's BMW. Instead, we figure out how to go get one of our own. Never mind if we really need a new BMW, but we want one, so we do what it takes to get it.

Or maybe we get catalogs in the mail from some of our favorite stores. We find ourselves leafing through the catalogs repeatedly and thinking of the things we want. Not that we really need any of those things, we just want them. And, hey, they don't belong to our neighbors.

I have heard of people saying that it isn't wrong to covet items in a store or catalog, "After all," they say, "They don't belong to anyone." 

Covetousness is a dangerous sin.  Consider these scriptures:  

¹⁵  And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 13:15 ESV)

²⁸  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. (Romans 1:28-31 ESV)

 

³  But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. (Ephesians 5:3 ESV)

⁵  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5 ESV)

Notice that covetousness is put right there with murder, deceit and other evils. Ephesians says that covetousness should not even be named among us as God's people. But that scripture in Colossians really hits hard.  It says that covetousness is idolatry!  When we are covetous, we are putting some thing ahead of God and that is idolatry. No idolater will enter heaven.

We live in a world that is designed to make us covet.  Advertising is everywhere. Even when we go to the grocery store we see large displays touting some product we must have to make our lives better. Billboards along the road, commercial breaks on television, ads in magazines. Where can you look and not see advertisements?  The whole purpose of those ads is to make us dissatisfied with what we have and to cause us to covet this thing, whatever it is, that is sure to make us happy.

The scripture from Luke above, tells us that our lives don't consist in the abundance of our possessions. We need to remember that covetousness can lead to the loss of our souls for eternity.  We need to examine ourselves. It is so easy to become covetous when the temptations are all around us. Often we don't even recognize that we are coveting. Think about it.

Oh, and by the way, even those items in the catalog and store belong to someone. 

 TRIALS, UGH!

Trials come in every life.  You might be going through a trial right now.  Maybe, you are battling a serious illlness.  It could be that your marriage is on the rocks.  You might have a rebellious child.  A recent loss of a loved one has rocked your world.  You recently lost your job and have financial struggles.  Trials come in all shapes and sizes.

Why, when we are trying to live a faithful life, must we face trials?  Elisabeth Elliot, one of my favorite authors, understood trials. Her first husband was brutally murdered by people he was trying to reach for the Lord when their child was only a toddler. Some years later, she remarried and within five years her second happy marriage ended when he died from cancer.  Even later, she married for the third time.  Unfortunately, this marriage was not particularly happy, but it lasted for over 30 years.  She was known to have said, "Suffering is never for nothing."  

Consider James 1 verses 2-4:  "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  Trials of our faith are meant to strengthen us.  The difficulty comes when we are called on to rejoice because we are having trials.  Yet, we are to rejoice knowing that the proper attitude toward our trials will help us to be perfect and complete in our faith.

There are a lot of examples of God's people facing trials.  Consider Job.  He never did understand why he had to lose so much and suffer so much.

Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern. Joseph was sold into slavery. Moses had to deal with difficulties in the wilderness.  David was forced to flee from his own son.  Paul talks about the thorn in his flesh.  Peter warns the people that they should be prepared to face trials. The Apostle James was killed for his faith, as was John the Baptist. We could go on and on.  Even God's own son faced trials while he was on earth.

How will we respond? There is a precious promise in James 1:12   "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."  What a beautiful promise.  Remain steadfast and God will give us the crown of life.

They say that silver and gold have to be refined before they can reach their full potential and value.  The refining process involves heat so high that the metal is melted and the impurities are destroyed.  Refining is not a pleasant process but the result is a bright, beautiful metal. We sometimes wish that we could stop the refining, but if we don't give up our great refiner will make us a beautiful, valuable metal.

ASCENSION DAY

When we took our walk this morning things were different. Where we usually see many people hurrying to work or taking children to the school bus, cars rushing here and there, people on the sidewalks walking to their job or hoping for a lift to town, teenagers walking to their bus stop; there was almost none of that.

Today is Ascension Day and in this country that is a public holiday. Schools are closed, as are many businesses. There are a few churches holding services, but not many.

It is odd that a country that is really still mostly pagan celebrates the day that Jesus ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. These people do love their public holidays.

Sadly, most people don't seem to even know what Ascension Day is or why it is celebrated.

I come from a Christian upbringing. In the church where I grew up we celebrated the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus every Sunday through the Lord's Supper. We chose not to celebrate Easter just once a year and that Sunday was no different from any other Sunday. 

Sometimes we would hear about the ascension of Jesus as a Bible fact, but no emphasis was placed on it and certainly we never celebrated the day.

However, the ascension of Jesus is vitally important to us today. I am not suggesting that we should celebrate a special holiday 40 days after Easter, but we should certainly praise God for the fact that it happened. We should meditate on it and what it actually means for us.

When Jesus was born into the world, the incarnation, he was born a fully human child. He grew up in a physical body just as all of us did. He chose to limit himself to the confines of a human body.  He was also fully God as we can see from his perfect life, his amazing miracles and the way he faced his death. (Even the Roman Centurion in charge of the crucifixion recognized his divinity.)

When Jesus was resurrected after his burial, he still had his human body, but that body had been changed. He was able to join his disciples in a closed room without opening a door, for example. But, that body still confined him to being in one place at a time. 

When Jesus ascended to the Father something changed. From that time on, he was able to be with all of us at all times. He sent his Spirit. Each of us who is in Christ has the Spirit living in us. We are never alone in this world.  That could not have happened if Jesus had remained in a physical body on earth.

So, today and everyday, let us praise God that Jesus ascended to the Father and that he is still here with us.  We have so much to rejoice in. We are highly blessed.

A DAY ENJOYING CREATION

We took a day off recently to visit a nearby wildlife sanctuary.  What a joy to see God's beautiful works.  The animals seemed to be enjoying the beautiful weather as much as we were.  I thought you would enjoy seeing some of the sights we enjoyed.

 

A busy warthog

Isn't this a beautiful creature! This is a Bushbuck.  

This bird is called a Bee Eater.  There are several types of Bee Eaters and I am not exactly sure which one this is.  We saw several of them.  They are beautiful!

This is the same kind of bird.  I thought you would enjoy this funny picture.  The bird turned its head and we ended up with a full face picture. It is so exact that you can only see the very end of its beak.  You can see the beautiful plumage better in this picture.

There were several of these big boys on an island.  This one seemed to be enjoying the water.  We estimate that they were at least seven feet long. Of course, we took this with the camera on zoom.

I really, really like this picture. I managed to catch this fellow as he turned to look at us.  Just look at the stripes! Notice the gorgeous background. 

We saw quite a few zebra.  Those bumps on the ground are most likely blesbok, another type of antelope. There were a lot in the park.

How can we not praise our amazing God when we spend time in his creation? When I look at a Zebra, I imagine the Lord actually having a lot of fun!

GOOD KING ASA??

As I was doing my daily Bible reading the other day, I came to 2 Chronicles 14.  This chapter begins the story of King Asa of Judah.  Asa was the son of Abijah and verse 2 of chapter 14 says "And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God." 

As we read on, we see that Asa destroyed the idols and led the country in following the Lord God.  God then gave him peace.  Further on in the chapter we read more good news about Asa. 

When the Ethiopians came out to attack Judah, Asa cried to the Lord.  God heard him and destroyed the invaders and strengthened the people while causing the nations around to fear them.

At the beginning of chapter 15, we read about the prophet Azariah who went to meet Asa and gave him the word of the Lord.  God will be with you and if you seek him you will find him.  What an amazing promise, but it came with a warning. If you forsake him, he will forsake you.  

This word through Azariah strengthened Asa and he put away even more idols and repaired the altar of God.  Many people from the land of Israel deserted to Asa because they saw that the Lord God was with him.  

Asa even removed his mother from being queen mother because she had made an idol.  Asa destroyed that idol.  He brought many rich gifts to the house of God.

Asa was a truly good king. 2 Chronicles 15:17 says, "...the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days." Asa's faith and faithfulness were a great blessing to the people of Judah and those of Israel who joined him.

But as we go on into chapter 16 we come to some disturbing events. The king of Israel decided to fight against Judah and to build a city to block his people from leaving and going into Judah.  This was very upsetting to Asa. He took silver and gold from the treasures of God's house and the king's house and sent them to the king of Syria. Asa asked him to accept the gift and to break his covenant with the king of Israel so that he would stop attacking Judah.

The king of Syria listened to Asa and attacked Israel.  Asa got the result he desired when the king of Israel stopped building that city and went to take care of the king of Syria.  Asa then had his people take away the stones and timbers which the king of Israel had been using to build the city.  Asa used them to build some cities of his own. Sounds pretty wise, doesn't it.

Well, God sent a prophet to Asa with some words.  Let's see what he said. 

 “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.  Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand.  For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”  2 Chronicles 16:7-9 (ESV)

God reminded Asa of how when Asa had relied on the Lord, God fought his battles. He ended by saying that Asa had acted foolishly.  From then on there would be wars.

But even worse was Asa's response to the prophet.  Asa became enraged and put the prophet in stocks in the prison.  He even acted in cruelty toward some of the people.  Asa had another chance to rely on the Lord.  A few years later Asa developed a disease in his feet.  It became very severe.  But Asa did not seek the Lord's healing, he just consulted the doctors. He died in the forty-first year of his reign.

As I read this story I thought of what a good king Asa was as long as he relied on the Lord.  Somewhere along the way, Asa developed pride.  He seemed to think the peace and prosperity of the land was due to him and it was his responsibility to be sure it continued.  He started to rely on his own wisdom.  This happened after he had been a good and faithful king for 35 years! 

Now, what does this have to do with us?  Some of us have been Christians for many years. We have been serving God and trying to do his will.  But we must not think that we have it made!  We must always fight against pride and keep focused on God.  No matter how long you have been a Christian, no matter how faithfully you have loved and obeyed him, no matter how much you have relied on God, you must guard yourself.  Satan is always ready to inspire pride.  Fight, fight, fight!