‘The one passion of
Paul’s life was to proclaim the gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreak,
disillusionment, and tribulation for only one reason— these things kept him
unmovable in his devotion to the gospel of God.’ CHAMBERS
When I read the Chambers devotion today, it caused
me to think back over events in my life. Particularly the times when I was unjustly
accused. At the time, I did not see it
as related to my faith so much as it was to disagreeable people who wanted something
for themselves. At the Bible study with the Haitian staff yesterday, we had an
interesting discussion about the primacy of who we are as Christians. In other words .. I am a Christian before
anything else (2 Corinthians 5:17)..
my denomination, my nationality, my ethnicity, my social and financial status …
everything .. all of these other things can become gods in our lives and set
themselves up against God.
What that means with respect to heartbreak, disillusionment,
and tribulation is that we must hold fast to who we are in Christ in the midst
of those storms. Rather than respond
with our flesh to what happens to us .. we must respond like Jesus did. Remember Jesus in the garden. The people came to seize Him. Peter pulled a
knife and cut off an ear. Jesus rebuked
him and replaced the man’s ear. Peter said
“Oh no they are not taking Jesus.” Jesus
said “Oh yes they are.” He would fulfill
His purpose for coming to the Earth which was to redeem it. We must fulfill our purpose for being in the
world after we are Christians which is to proclaim that redemption through
Jesus. It doesn’t matter what happens to us ..good or bad .. our message is the
same … our testimony true … in all things and in all circumstances .. good or
bad .. God is to be glorified and Jesus lifted up.
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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