Bold for Christ 2

 Losing your job. 

We read things like this.

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:12-13

We read things like this. Yeshua, or Jesus, said this

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they keep my word, they will also keep yours.” John 15:18-20

In His famous “Sermon on the Mount,” He told us this.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12

"Rejoice and be glad?" "Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ WILL be persecuted." The World WILL hate you and you WILL be persecuted. This is the Word. This is a warning of things to come. This will happen and I, God, am warning you that it is coming so you are not caught off guard. So that you are not surprised.

Peter warned us of this too.

“But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will than for doing evil. 1 Peter 3:14-17

One of the biggest risks and fears people all have is losing their jobs. There are people where you work that are lost, that are going to hell, that need a Savior. You are a child of God. You have the keys to the Kingdom and Hell, death, and the grave. Your Father, God, gave them to His Son, and He gave them to you. All you have to do is tell people about Yeshua, or Jesus, and His sacrifice for them and the fact all they have to do is believe in Him and they too can be saved.

Their response? “I cannot do that. My boss is not a believer, and we are not allowed to talk about religion or politics. I could, {say it with me} lose my job.”

Now I know we are going to cover some of the things we have talked about many times, but this is a reality that you, as a child of God, really need to learn and take for yourself and know, this is a fact told to you by Yeshua Himself. If you have your Bible, turn to Matthew 6, starting at verse 25

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than them?”

You need to get this child of God. He is talking directly to you.

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

God does this. Not man. Not “Mother Nature.” God.

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”

If everyone needs these things, God knows you need them, then how do you guarantee you will get them? How can you guarantee that your daily needs will be met?

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:25-33

This is a fact. It is not your job that sustains and blesses you. I will say that again because someone needs to hear it. It is not your job that sustains and blesses you. Even though some people look at their j.o.b. as their g.o.d. It is not. In the “Our Father Prayer” Jesus even included this aspect of God’s love to us. 

“Give us this day our daily bread,” Matthew 6:11

Is your job in charge of your needs? The company or organization you are working for is at the mercy of profit. If they do not make money, they can not afford to pay you. Due to economic situations, you may go to work on Monday, and find you no longer have a job. They need to find ways to keep the company going, and if that means cutting you, you will be cut. Now, do they do this for a personal reason? No. It just happens. You were costing the company or organization more than they could afford to pay you. I understand it is hard not to take it personally. But for the most part? It isn't.

Here you are, driving home, fearful of the future. I know some that go to work every day, fearful that it is their last. Is there anything you could have done to stop the loss of your job? Probably not. Is there anything you can do driving home, to change the fact you lost your job? Nope. So why worry about it?

You have an unfair advantage. You really do. Remember, you are a child of God. Remember, God promised you that your needs will be met. The God of gods, the King of Kings, the Creator of all that is, was, or ever will be, is your Daddy. Do you think He will not meet your needs?

Think of a rich man. Would he not give all he has to his son or daughter if they became in need? Of course. God is far richer than the richest man. So you do not have to fear the loss of a job. As a side note. You also do not need to kill yourself trying to make that next dollar.

Our Lord tells us.

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice on that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23

“Leap for joy.” “Rejoice.” I love that. "Sorry, Pete, you are fired.” No. I’m not going to try to leap here. But I will rejoice. {laughing} My leaping days may be over. But it took me a long time to get this. I’m going to tell you a story that is going to be hard for you to understand. May even be hard for some to accept. However, you can research it yourself and find it true.

One of my first jobs was working in Mall Security. I started overnight. In the first few months, I became a sergeant. Things were going along just fine for the first 3 years. Then a new Mall Manager took over. He was not such a nice guy. He used and abused not only his staff but some of the tenants of the mall as well. He also used the mall as a personal storage area for his things. Now this was right in the middle of me discovering salvation and receiving a deeper understanding of the Word and God's Way.

Now, Dwight, and I, one of the instrumental people in getting me into my quest for Truth, decided to go to this man and ask him if he knew Christ. His exact answer was "I don't have time for that nonsense." Then he stole my file from the files, and asked my boss, Dwight, for it. Needless to say, it was not there. So I got blamed for stealing my file. Turns out, he had it the whole time and then fired me. He also fired Dwight and a few others. I, to my surprise, remembered this Passage

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath:

for it is written,

I will repay, saith the Lord."

I forgave him. A few months later, I heard that he was in the center of the mall when the owners came in and fired him. Right there in the center of the mall, in front of so many people, he was abusive over the years he was there. He received the same treatment that he dished out. I hear he did not handle it well.

There was nothing I could have done to him, to equal what happened to him. Nothing. However, God did not stop there. If you go to the Newburgh Mall in Newburgh NY, you will find a shell. It no longer exists.

This was the first time, not the last, I have seen, firsthand, entire places disappear. A child of God wronged, and not soon after, the entire business was gone. You can do nothing in comparison to what God can do. Why stress out over it? Forgive them, and allow God to take it from there.

I worked as a manager for a major hotel brand. One in Newburgh and one in Stuart Florida. Both Holiday Inns. I built two award-winning teams in both and everything was going along just fine. However, my mentor in Newburgh was an alcoholic and abusive. He caused me employees and a lot of problems but I was also learning the trade and I toughed it out for seven years. Then due to personal matters, I ended up moving to Florida. I forgave him and continued my career in the Holiday Inn of Stuart. I worked there for three and a half years. I was fired based on a lie, and false allegations. Sound familiar? I forgave them. Skip ahead to today? The drunken mentor? Dead. The Holiday Inn in Newburgh and Stuart Florida? Yeah, they no longer exist.

Am I someone special? YES! I am a child of God! If you are, you are special too. The most powerful words you can possibly say to someone who wrongs you? “I forgive you.” The hard part is meaning it. "I forgive you." Why? Because you take them out of your hand, and you give them to God.

So what happened each time I got fired? I got a better job than I ever had before. God blessed me richly. I never had a fear or a lack of food. The bills were paid. Nothing happened to me. I do not even believe I had even a week off of work before I started a new Job.

Paul says this in Philippians

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, so that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8

Remember, Jesus called the rich man building barns a fool. Why? That very day, his soul was required. In other words, he was dying that day. Then whose stuff does all that become? You come into the world naked and you go out the same way. You do not take it with you. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. So why worry about it?

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:11

Be bold for Christ. What would happen if you lost your job? “Leap for joy.” “Rejoice.” Blessed are you. Forgive those you ought to and allow God to take care of it. There is nothing you can do that is worthy to be compared to what God can and will do.

Are you a child of God? If you have not already done so, and if you truly want to have Yeshua come into your life and set you free from Hell, death, and the grave, having the ability to be bold, then say this prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be, say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Yeshua's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Yeshua, Amen!"

That's it. It is that simple. Now tell someone what you have just done. "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, You shall be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10

The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and the peace of our Lord Yeshua, be with you all. May God bless and be with you, always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Yeshua is Lord!

Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 6

 Chapter 6

The Ark Returned to Israel

1 The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines for seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” 4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5 So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land. 6 Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed? 7 Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9 and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”

10 The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. 13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures and set them upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.

17 These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, 18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

19 And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow. 20 Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”

Bold for Christ

Consider the Cost

Have you ever read that? Is there a cost to following Christ? There is. It comes in many different forms but there is always a cost. Look here.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

 
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and cannot finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'

Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-33

Wait what? I hate my own family? I hate my own life? What is that all about? First, no. God is not telling you to “hate” your Mother and Father. There is a whole commandment that tells you that you need to honor them. No, He is not telling you to “hate” yourself and your life. Yeshua said He came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. So what is He saying? He is saying there is a cost.

When you do what you are told to do.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

We are told to seek first, or put God first, before any and everything, and He will be with us, love us, meet our daily needs, and bless us. Yeshua, or Jesus in your translation, says this.

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name because they do not know him who sent me.” John 15:18-21

What He is saying is this. There is a cost. We are not greater than Him. They hated Him. Why would they not hate us? And this is not all either. It is not just the world, strangers, but loved ones and family. Read this with me. Turn to Luke 12, starting at verse 51

“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." Luke 12:51-53

This is why He is saying that anyone who puts his family before God is not worthy to be His disciple. Once you accept Yeshua, once you accept His sacrifice, you become a child of God and a member of a new family. The Family of God. Because your family rejects Jesus or Yeshua and rejects God and His Word, which you are now becoming part of and sharing, I hope you are sharing, they will reject and may even come to hate you.

This is what we will be talking about in this series entitled “Bold for Christ.” Are you? Did you count the cost? Around the world, people are being imprisoned, tortured, and even killed for their faith. Today the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian is still North Korea, where a 2021 “Law Against Reactionary Thinking” subjects Christians to arrest, confinement in labor camps, or even death. Even owning a Bible is a serious crime. Several other countries are also hostile to Christians, among them

1. North Korea

2. Afghanistan

3. Somalia

4. Libya

5. Pakistan

6. Eritrea

7. Yemen

8. Iran

9. Nigeria

10. India

Thankfully, since we founded this nation on Judao /Christian beliefs, formed our freedom around and because of God, and fashioned our laws after the Ten Commandments, This sort of thing is not happening here. Yet. However, it seems to be coming here. The world has hated and longed to change America into a secular, God-hating country, but we are thankfully not there yet. We are heading there, and although you may not get arrested, they are working on that, or be tortured and killed for the Bible and faith in Yeshua, there is most definitely a cost.

Bold for Christ. Losing a Job.

Bold for Christ. Losing loved ones.

Bold for Christ. Losing property.

Bold for Christ. Losing your freedom.

Bold for Christ. Losing your very life.

Join us for the next few weeks as we tackle these topics, and hopefully, make us all, more bold for Christ, no matter the cost. Remember who you are. You are a child of God. Look here in 1 Peter.

“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:13-15

Trials and tribulations are going to come. No matter where you live, a storm is coming if you wait long enough. Snowstorms and thunderstorms in the north. Tornadoes in the mid states. Hurricanes and typhoons. There is a storm brewing somewhere all the time. No matter how perfect the weather is the rest of the time, something will happen. We have created "safe places." Storm shelters, fortified homes, safe rooms in homes. Shelters outside for the community. ETC.

Life is the same way. It does not matter where you come from. Who you are. What you have in the bank. Saved or not. Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or even Atheist, a storm is coming. Where is your "safe place?"

Mine?

"On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God." Psalm 62:7

We read this in the Word

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

A simpler way to say that is this. It ain't about you. When you fully get this. When you fully understand and accept who you are in Christ, You should find boldness. You should have no fear. It says that God will comfort us, and be our shelter and "safe place" during the storm, but why?

"so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Say "So that," What is the "So that" there for? "So that" is used before the clause which indicates the purpose. Why am I going through this? "So that." or because. Another way to say it is "Here is the reason." We started walking this way "so that" we could go to the destination. We read the Bible, "so that" we can learn from and hear from God.

Now that we can understand what this says, we can understand the total truth of the matter. The storm you are going through? It may not be for you, but "so that" YOU may be able to comfort someone else when they are going through a similar storm.

However, it is not if, but when, for you or not for you, a storm is coming. You may have to stand up and be bold. Look what happened in the boat with the disciples.

“And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?" Luke 8:24-25

What happened? A storm came and they forgot who they were. They forgot that Jesus, or Yeshua, was with them. They allowed themselves to be full of fear. We do not need to be full of fear. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul writes this.

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

We were told plainly by God Himself, that we would not be left here alone. That He would be with us always. Yeshua, or Jesus, whenever you see Jesus, think Yeshua. That is His real name. He tells us that if you accept Him and His sacrifice for you. His blood for your blood. His suffering for your suffering. His death, that you may live. Then the Holy Spirit comes and adopts you into the family of God. He said this.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him; he dwells with you and will be in you." John 14: 15-17

He said He will ALWAYS be with us. In the very next verse, He said this.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet, in a little while, the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, is the one who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” John 14:18-21

You need to understand what Jesus is saying here. Read on some more starting at verse 25

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

You may forget who you are. You may forget who is with you always. Like Yeshua sleeping in the boat. But we are never alone. The one who can calm the storm and make the wind stop is right here with us. We have nothing to fear, so why not be bold?

Join us for the next few weeks and let us learn how to be Bold for Christ together. If you have not already done so, and if you truly want to have Yeshua come into your life and set you free from Hell, death, and the grave, having the ability to be bold, then say this prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be, say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Yeshua’s sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Yeshua, Amen!"

That's it. It is that simple. Now tell someone what you have just done. "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, You shall be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10

The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and the peace of our Lord Yeshua, be with you all. May God bless and be with you, always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Yeshua is Lord!

Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 5

 Chapter 5

The Philistines and the Ark

1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6 The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.