Tag:

opposition

Between a Rock and a Hard Place …

by TerryLema

The Red Sea in front, the Egyptian army behind. That is the situation of the Israelites after leaving Egypt in the Great Exodus. They have nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. And the most amazing thing of all is that God put them there. 

God told Moses to turn the people back and camp between Migdol and the Sea. All the while the Egyptians were massing their army to set out after them, having regretting letting them leave. God’s purpose was two-fold. He intended to eliminate the Egyptian army so that it could not pursue the Israelites and to show the Israelites His amazing power. (Exodus 14:13-14)

All the Israelites had to do was stand still and be quiet and let the LORD God Almighty fight for them: “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” [Exodus 14:14 NIV]

Or, as the Holman translates it: “The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.” [Exodus 14:14 HCSB]

Stand still. Be quiet. Oh, how we hate to stand still and be quiet! Let’s move! Let’s raise a ruckus. Let’s storm the ramparts!

The LORD fought for the Israelites. The waters parted. Three to six million people crossed on dry ground. Then God released the waters as the Egyptians tried the same, killing the entire army, and that all happened in a day. A day!

It may seem like there is a great sea of opposition in front and an army chasing us from behind, but Beloved, the LORD is still fighting for us. Things can change in a moment. Let us look expectantly to the LORD for deliverance! Amen!

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A Given …

by TerryLema

Recently at a city in Northern Idaho, a church gathered to have “Psalm Sing” in front of City Hall. They had been granted permission to do so. At one point, they apparently disobeyed the “social distancing/mask wearing” guidelines and police showed up. It made the news, of course. There was a bit of disagreement over whether the church provoked the response it got. I was not there, so cannot judge.

However, they came back a second night and other churches joined them. This time there was no police presence, several state legislators took part, and it was a peaceful “Psalm Sing,” – except for one thing. This time protestors surrounded them with drums and acoustic instruments to try to disrupt and drown them out.  From what I understand, those gathered just kept on singing.

The protestor’s response was nothing new. It has happened before. There are ample instances in the Bible where those who oppose the message and work of God have tried to discourage God’s people.  When the remnant of Israel returned from captivity in Babylon, they set about to re-build the destroyed temple and city. That annoyed those non-Israelites who were now occupying Jerusalem and they sought to disrupt the work.

Ezra 4:4-5: “Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

 Opposition is nothing new. Opposition to our Creator God has been around since the Garden, and two of the main tactics the enemy of our soul uses are discouragement and fear. I think that is why the Scriptures contain so many references to “Fear Not,” and commands to “encourage one another.”

So beloved, do not be surprised if you find opposition to your walk with the LORD in this world. It is a given!

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Just One Thing

by TerryLema

In Philippians 1, after Paul reminds his readers of his heart (For me, living is Christ and dying is gain), he reminds them of how they are to live their life.  

“Just one thing: Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents.” [vs 27-28 CSB]

We are to live our lives worthy of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, for that is the Gospel. We are to stand firmly in unity. We are to work side by side with each other for the faith. Then Paul adds, we are not to be “frightened in any way by [our] opponents.”

 When we live worthy of the Gospel, stand in unity and work together for the faith, we are going to ruffle the feathers of those who hate God, those who pretend to serve God but have their own agenda, those who teach a gospel that is not a true Gospel. We are going to generate opposition … it has been that way down through history and it will be that way going forward in this nation.

As a nation, we have enjoyed an unusual acceptance of “religious freedom” guaranteed by our Constitution. We have gone about our work for God with little backlash, but that has changed. There are factions that seek to overcome the freedom we have to worship and share the Good News. They want us silenced, made irrelevant, or eliminated.

Paul who was in prison because his preaching of the Gospel created that same opposition in his day, now warns us to stand bravely and courageously and not be “frightened in any way by [our] opponents.”

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No Servant is Greater Than His Master

by TerryLema

I am 73 years old. Born in 1946 that makes me one of the early baby boomers (1944-1964). I remember the Korean Conflict, Viet Nam and the Anti-War protestors, the uncertainty of the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the plague of polio, discovery of AIDS, and many more wars and conflicts and troubles. I am not sure I remember any time as uncertain as what we are experiencing now.

I do not remember another time where the church has come under such attack in our nation for wanting simply to be together. Maybe, we have grown too comfortable, too complacent recently.

Perhaps we have forgotten Jesus’ words to His own shortly before His death. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” [John 15:18-22 NIV]

When we read those words, do we believe Jesus was simply talking about the few who were listening? Was the warning only for those disciples who would be the first to suffer persecution for His name’s sake? Do we think that we are now so “enlightened” as a world that Jesus’ words do not apply to us in our generation or in our society?

Maybe we do. Maybe we do because while our country was founded on the Christian principles of our forefathers seeking religious freedom from oppression, there is no guarantee that future generations are so inclined. We have not been challenged in decades, and like muscles that are not challenged, we have grown somewhat soft.

“No servant is greater than his master.” If they persecuted Jesus, they will also persecute us. The world does not love us – it cannot love us, but as Paul reminds us in Colossians 3, we are still to forbear, forgive, and we are to love.

Colossians 3:14: “…over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” [NIV]

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