Acts 13:32-33 We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus….

Paul and his traveling companions were in Antioch on the Sabbath day. The synagogue rulers asked them to bring a word of encouragement to the people in attendance. Paul took the floor and addressed them “Men of Israel and you Gentiles, who worship God, listen to me…” Immediately it hits you – the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ is for everyone regardless of ethnicity.

Paul continued to give a recap of 450 years of the history of the people of Israel, chosen by God, went into slavery in Egypt and finally delivered into Canaan. He outlined the historical thread through the time of the judges up to Samuel and then from King Saul up to the time of David whom God called “a man after my own heart.” It was in the line of King David that Jesus was born.

Jesus was preceded by a man named John who preached repentance and baptism.  John   proclaimed that Christ would come, but Paul pointed out that when he came the people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets. But God raised him from the dead.

The history of man is not what man determines it to be. All along events are conforming to the divine will and purpose of God. This is mind-blowing because we listen to the news and see each event in isolation. What is even more amazing is that in the process of time, God chooses people to be conformed to his will and purpose. In John 6:44 Jesus said: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Do you feel that pull from God to be conformed to his purpose? Answer immediately, humble yourself. It is a supreme privilege that God should single you out.

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The KJV of the Bible uses the word “tribulation” in place of the word “trouble”. I’m not even going to the dictionary for a definition of this word “tribulation”. If you have been alive for any length of time, you know what I am talking about. It is not a single event that stretches you, it is a chain of negative events that seem to leave you no breathing room.

Jesus was very realistic. He knew what was going to happen to him and to his disciples in the days leading up to and following his crucifixion. He wanted to make sure that they were prepared mentally and, most importantly, he wanted to give them hope. Hope is the essential thing when you are in deep difficulty. Hope has to be pinned to something or, more appropriately in this case, someone. The disciples were to hope in the fact that Jesus’ love for them was real to the point of sacrifice, that the Holy Spirit would bring them comfort in their sorrow, and that the Father loved them as well and would answer their prayers. Only if they understood all this would they enjoy the peace he was speaking about.

So take a look at your situation in the light of everything Jesus taught his disciples in this 16^th Chapter of John. Are you experiencing tribulation?  Do not allow hopelessness to engulf you. Take Jesus at his word, realizing that even if it came as a surprise to you it is no surprise to him. Now read Daniel 3: 1-27. This is what the Holy Spirit said to me once after reading that passage:

            “I never leave my children to suffer alone. I have said so in my word. The things that invade the lives of my children are ordained by me to the end that they should be purified. But it is at those times that I come to them and I stand with them and I walk with them, and I will talk with them if they desire me to do so. I need them to recognize my presence with them and know that I am the Eternal God and my word is my bond.”

Psalm 150: 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

If you ever wake up one day and find yourself wondering about your life’s purpose, I hope if nothing else is clear to you in that moment, you can come to the conclusion that you are on the earth to praise the Lord. I see the raised eyebrows! And then your question: “Are you kidding me, do you have any idea what kind of stuff is going on in my life?”  No I don’t, but that does not matter. God knows! That is the crux of the whole matter. The child of God has to see things through different lenses. Circumstances are temporary but God remains and he rules.

In Isaiah chapter 6, the prophet had a vision of God seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Then he described creatures called seraphs which were above him. What was their chant? “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Everything around Isaiah began to shake and he realized he was in the presence of a holy God. Something about him needed to change – he was a man of unclean lips! God first dealt with him before he was allowed to do anything about the circumstances around him.

Perhaps you are at a point where you need to ask God to give you a new vision of himself – holy, high and lifted up above the noise and chaos that seems to be engulfing you. Ask Him to cleanse and purify your thoughts, motivation and desires in any area of your life you know you have not yet surrendered.  Then bring a sacrifice of praise through your tears and the Lord God Almighty will undertake for you. The Holy Spirit is quick to affirm:

“Indeed, I will. My kingdom rules over all. I can and will subdue all that oppose my glory. I am the defender of the weak, the oppressed and the fallen. I am God Almighty.”

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

This is an excerpt from what is called “the Beatitudes” or teachings of Jesus to a multitude of people from surrounding towns gathered around him on a mountainside as he traveled throughout Galilee. On the face of it, these Beatitudes sound simple and seem easy enough to incorporate into one’s life as basic principles. But are they?

The term “I’m blessed” is bandied about nowadays as though it is some kind of privileged state which the speaker has attained by competition. Often it is just advertising: “look at me, I have a lot of shiny new stuff and I’m living well.” A closer look will reveal that Jesus had none of this in mind at all. Rather it seems to me he was laying down the foundation stones and walls of a crucible which is will refine our faith every day.

To shed a little more light on verse 4, I turned to the Amplified version of the New Testament which reads: “Blessed and enviably happy, [with a happiness produced by experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of his matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!” Wow!

No one I know, faced with the loss of a loved one, becomes all puffed up with pride, puts a grin on his or her face and says: “look at me, I’m blessed, I am mourning.” Not at all!  How then to experience being blessed while you mourn? Only by welcoming the presence of the Holy Spirit – he is the Comforter. He comes to sustain and speak peace in the midst of the trauma and drama and, in time, healing will begin and happiness will return. It requires you to lay your pain at the feet of Jesus and accept the grace that God is extending to you.

Psalm 37:4-6  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

What delights you and when was the last time you felt that feeling? In order to answer this question you are probably rummaging in your mind to find an answer. Yet for the believer this Psalm is saying it should actually be a permanent state of mind.

When your relationship with the Lord is a source of constant delight, it changes your perspective about everything because you no longer focus on your circumstances, as real as they maybe, you have a certain confidence that God sees and knows all about them, he loves you and he will work everything for his glory and your good: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

The circumstances around us change constantly both in our families, the workplace and society in general. After a while you come to realize that you really do not control much of anything. The only thing you can control is your response. So resolve to commit to the Lord all the things you would love to see changed, knowing that as you delight in him he will take care of the details.

Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

This passage in Ephesians 6 alerts us that war has been declared against God and his people and the enemy has been identified. All the hate, divisions, war-mongering, unrest, drug trafficking, people trafficking, disintegration of families, oppression and so on come under the broad heading of “the devil’s schemes”. Who are the enforcers? Rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms. Not so long ago, one would be tempted to whisper if you wanted to mention “the powers of this dark world”. Now we even hear much talk in media about the “dark web”. Just one manifestation of how mankind keeps busy pursuing evil. This “darkness” or the crowding out of God from our consciousness has existed since Adam. It is only now magnified because of the speed and volume of information being shared today.

So war has been declared and the enemy has been identified, but the defense strategy and armor have also been revealed. “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:14-18). You enlisted, now put your armor on and fight daily! Push back against the darkness.

Ephesians 1:7-10 In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

God is working his purpose out not just in your life and mine but in his whole creation. His aim is “to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” This brief blog post can only serve to help you understand how God has already made provision for you as an individual to be “in Christ”.

He has provided redemption through Christ. Redemption for anything of worth is costly. Our redemption has been paid for by Christ’s blood. Our acknowledgement of this brings forgiveness of sins. These blessings have been lavished on us by God out of his wisdom and understanding that we could in no other way atone for our rebellion against him.

The mystery of God’s will has been made known – it is in his Word and Christ is the central theme literally from Genesis to Revelation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. ” “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” His disciples testified: “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-2 and verse 14).  Jesus then returned to his Father and has fulfilled the promise to send the Holy Spirit who is now ministering in the earth to the Church and individual believers. There is a time line with God. Where are we on this time line?   How about Matthew 24? Dig into the Scriptures and let it speak to you day by day so you can discern what your part is in this great drama of God.

Ephesians 1:3-6 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Wow, that is a mouthful! Reads like a will, doesn’t it? As you probably know, the drafting of wills have to follow specific format and even the punctuation is often different from a regular document to ensure there is no confusion as to what is meant by the statements made in it. This chapter of Ephesians is that kind of document, conveying redemption through Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of sins, revelation of his will, and the deposit of the Holy Spirit in each believer.

The first thing I observe is that there is equality. These blessings are for every believer in the sense that each believer was chosen by God, in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of the world. Then each was predestined for adoption as sons, all by the grace of God. And sons have rights as heirs, don’t they? [If you are a woman, please don’t take offence at the use of the word “sons” here. Bear in mind that in many cultures, then and now, women inherit little or nothing. In Christ, however, there is equality so “sons” is inclusive of sons and daughters.] (See Galatians 3:26-28).

What are some of the other spiritual blessings conveyed here? Holiness, blamelessness, his unfailing love, and union with God! No one can work to earn these blessings.  So they are gifts then? Yes! You are beloved of God, and these you inherit because of your relationship to him in Christ. Amazing grace!

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

So you think you are at your breaking point? You say “yes, I can’t take it anymore.” I am sure it feels that way, whatever your “it” may be. The above Scripture says “it” is common to mankind. So take heart that no matter what you are going through, you are not the first person to experience it and you won’t be the last. “That’s of little consolation to me” you protest.

Let us look at your situation through another lens. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1). Jesus received no exemption from temptation. As his follower, why should you? So don’t curse your desert experience even though it is stretching you. The devil challenged Jesus’ identity and his authority and demanded his allegiance in exchange for possessions. Jesus responded wielding the Word of God like a sword. That is our example!

At the end of Jesus’ temptation we are told: “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” (Matthew 4:11). The principle of this holds for you as well. God is not insensitive to your pain and exhaustion therefore you must count on his faithfulness. He will not let the situation continue beyond your ability to bear it and will sustain you while it continues. It is noteworthy that it was only after Jesus had gone through this trial, that he began his ministry. Could it be that you are in the Refiner’s fire?

1 John 2:1-2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Every believer at some point will come face to face with doubt concerning his or her salvation. You ask yourself “am I really saved?” That is normal, especially if you are new in your faith in Christ. What is not normal is for you to allow yourself to succumb to that doubt. Your salvation is based on the finished work of Christ and the covenant relationship that God has brought you into.

In the Old Testament salvation was obtained by works. Prophets were sent to warn the people about the consequences of their sins and priests were appointed to make sacrifices for sins by the killing of bulls and goats. In our day Christ’s death is the sacrifice once for all for sin. (See Hebrews chapter 1). Christ is the better sacrifice, the superior Savior, our great high priest whose priesthood is permanent. “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he ever lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25) Christ sits at the right hand of the Father representing the believer so that you can rest assured that sin confessed is forgiven.