Believer, Follower or Disciple?

This was written for my column last year. I don't think the editor published it. That was one of the reasons I quit writing for the local papers I kept getting preempted for other things like sports.There was a lot of violence last year around Christmas, especially in Colorado, and it effected me more then usual. Anyway I just wanted to share this!

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Silent night, holy nightAll is calm, all is brightRound yon Virgin Mother and Child

“An off-duty police officer being credited with helping stop the shooting rampage said his experience helped him react quickly to confront the gunman.”“Kenneth K. Hammond, who was at the mall for an early Valentine’s Day dinner with his wife, said he first thought the sound of gunfire was construction noise but drew his gun and told his wife to call 911...”“Talovic had a backpack full of ammunition, a shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol, police said.  Investigators knew little about him, except that he lived in Salt Lake City with his mother...” —AP 

Holy Infant so tender and mildSleep in heavenly peaceSleep in heavenly peace

“A 19-year-old gunman who killed eight people and then himself Wednesday at the Westroads Mall in Omaha...”“She said Hawkins was a friend of her sons and "reminded me of a lost puppy that nobody wanted."“The shootings began about 1:42 p.m.  Seven people were found dead at the scene by officers arriving six minutes later; two others, a male and a female, died...”"He just said he wanted to thank me for everything I'd done for him ... and he was sorry," Maruca Kovac said. He told her he had gotten fired from his job...”"I said, 'Come home and we'll talk about it,' " she said. "He said, 'It's too late.'...” —CNN

Silent night, holy night!Shepherds quake at the sightGlories stream from heaven afar

“A man driving a dead woman's car shot a police officer, then opened fire in a parking lot and a mall Sunday, authorities said. By the end of the day, four people, including the gunman, were dead.”“Police shot the gunman to death outside a Target store inside Ward Parkway Center in south Kansas City...” “Target employee Cassie Bradshaw, 19, was in a break room with two other people when they heard shots.  Then, her co-workers saw a man in his 50s with a rifle "shooting everywhere"...” —AP

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!Christ, the Saviour is bornChrist, the Saviour is born

“Five people — including Murray, of Englewood — died and five were wounded Sunday in the attacks 12 hours and 65 miles apart. The first attack was at Youth With a Mission, a training center for missionaries in the Denver suburb of Arvada; the second was at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs.” —George Merritt AP

Silent night, holy nightSon of God, love's pure lightRadiant beams from Thy holy faceWith the dawn of redeeming grace

“Later, at New Life Church, a gunman wearing a trench coat and carrying a high-powered rifle opened fire in the parking lot...”“Assam, a church member who volunteers as a security guard, shot Murray, who was found with a rifle and two handguns, police said.”“It seemed like it was me, the gunman and God..." — Judith Kohler, AP

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birthJesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Suffering for the World or Suffering for Christ?



When I first became a Christian and heard about suffering for Christ, it made perfect intellectual sense.  Since Christ suffered for me it was only natural that I would suffer for Him in my pursuit of His likeness.  Of course, when I first came across this concept, I wasn’t doing much for God, therefore wasn’t experiencing God on any relevant level.  I certainly was not suffering for His son while in the throws of my new found faith.

But, it was when this concept of suffering for Christ became a personal reality that my intellectual acceptance flew out the window and my personal commitment to Christ really began.  It was where the rubber of my Christian walk met the road.

As I grow in my maturity as a Christian, as I grow in my service to the Lord, I have discovered that suffering is just apart of who I am in Christ and have come to embrace it. Suffering is the anvil upon which our strength of character is forged, it is the steel that hones the blade of our faith; it is the field upon which the seed of our perseverance is sown and harvested. 

Christian suffering is not a great inducement for secular society to embrace Christianity; it is not a characteristic of Christianity that would be found attractive to the unbeliever.  But I have suffered plenty before I accepted Christ and I experience times when I suffer today. 

The difference is that suffering for the world doesn’t change you; it is just suffering for the sake of suffering.  Suffering for Christ is life changing.

God doesn’t cause us to suffer.  He allows our sinful behavior to humble us.  He allows our sinful behavior to put us in a place of desperation where He can speak to our hearts without who we are getting in the way.  He allows us to be tempted and to struggle with our faith to strengthen us, to teach us perseverance and total reliance on Him.  And when we conquer adversity through total reliance on Him, God is glorified and we are further fortified and strengthened for greater service.

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. —Psalms 30:5, NIV

From the depths of our desperation Christ Jesus speaks to our hearts.  He proves to us that in times of trouble, that in times of great hopelessness, that in times of great loss, that He loves us, that He strengthens us, and that He will clothe us in victory for our faith and dependence upon Him.

Yes, I embrace adversity; I just haven’t grown to the point of rejoicing in it.  I know that in the desperate times that God not only reveals my character but He also reveals His character.

All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. —2Thessalonians 1:5, NIV