Current devotional reading in Isaiah brings the following verse to the forefront:
"And He shall be for sanctuary; BUT for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense...for a gin (trap) and for a snare...And MANY (not all) shall...stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." (Isa 8.14, 15)
We know, of course, this prophecy is to "the house of Israel." We also see in verse sixteen of chapter eight that the words are to be "(bound) up...among (the Lord's) disciples." (8.16) What is this blogger saying?
To follow Christ is to know, "stumbling," offending others, hurt, brokenness, possibly captivity in some way. Peter told us in I Peter 2.6-9,
"Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the Word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light;"
In other words, just like the Lord Jesus was crucified on an "old rugged cross," so His disciples will suffer and be misunderstood in this world. However, take heart. Peter also told us we are "a chosen general, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, (yes even) a peculiar people..." who have a purpose, to shine the Lord's light in a sin-cursed, dark world.
There is much in the scripture about suffering for the cause of Christ. Read for yourself. (Jn 16.33, I Pet 4.12-19, 5.10, Jms 1.2-4, Rom 8.18, Rev 21.4, 2 Cor 4.8-10, Isa 43.2, 2 Tim 3.12, Ps 34.19).
There is also much in the scripture about the reward for such suffering. Our reward is on the other side of life, of course. But in this life we know that "godliness with contentment is great gain." (I Tim 6.6) We also read that if we "suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him." (I Tim 2.12). The song was written that said, "the way of the cross leads home."
The life of a believer has also been stated this way, "prepare to be unappreciated."
Before despair sets in, read the verses above about suffering, then read all the verses that can be found about heaven at the end of the way.
God bless is my prayer for you. Ps 57.7
No comments:
Post a Comment