BECAUSE GOD SAID SO. PERIOD!

In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” Romans 4:18

If anyone could have floundered in their faith, it was Abraham.  All he had were the words God spoke to him.  He had no church to fan the flame of his faith.  No bible.  No bible studies.  No fellow Christians.  He was all alone and the only one in his world to hear God speak.  He clung to God’s words in a vacuum.

God calls us to Himself and, through His Word and the voice of His Spirit, calls us to live against the grain of our world too.  Because the world hated Jesus, we were warned that they would hate us as well.  Every great man of God in scripture stood against the tide of society.  The eleven disciples of Jesus were all martyrs, except John.  They had experienced the love of their Savior firsthand, heard His words, and the memory of it constrained them.  Jesus commanded them to go preach to the ends of the earth and so they did.  End of story.

Today, we stand in faithfulness in the vacuum of the workplace.  We’re the only ones who won’t manipulate, won’t engage in dishonesty, won’t use the company for advancement.  What should cause others’ respect can quickly turn to scorn.

We stand in faithfulness in the vacuum of our families.  We are aware, because of the Word and the fulfillment of our times, that Jesus could come at any moment.  Because of that, we live focused and stay ready.  Someone recently said, “You really believe that Jesus is coming out of the sky and to snatch all His followers off of the earth?  You are all nuts.” Yes, I believe because Jesus said so.  Period.

Across the world, others are also serving God in a vacuum.  The love of God, expressed in Christ, constrains them to live out their faith despite the prospect of great suffering.  Entire families and towns have banished them from their homes.  Others are in jail.  Others are being tortured.

Do you know about Andrew White, the vicar of Baghdad?  An Englishman, a husband and father of two small boys, was called by God to go to the Middle East.  He has Multiple Sclerosis yet the love of Christ constrains him.  He serves as pastor of an Anglican church, once 3,000 strong, in one of the better neighborhoods of Baghdad.  He will not leave even though his life is threatened.  He has seen six assistant pastors killed with car bombs.  Out of 3,000 in his church, all the men except a dozen or so are left.  Now, he serves a congregation of widows and orphans.  He goes about town with a security detail of twenty-four armed guards provided by the Iraqi government.  He has seen them all killed.  If you’d like to read more of his story, go to http://www.frrme.org/

What gives me the courage today to obey, and ultimately it could be by threats of persecution?  Daily infusions of the Word and a life characterized by prayer.  As a trusting child of my Heavenly Father, my life should be summed up one way.  God said it.  I obeyed.  End of story.

Give me strength for today and prepare me for tomorrow.  Amen