I cherish and think often about this passage of Scripture. I woke up today and as I do daily, thanked God for another day of life. I sat up and through about Psalms 139:2, “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.” I love that Scripture passage, because it continually comforts me that God sees my suffering and loneliness.
I suffer with constant neck pain and burning nerves. It is medically called Peripheral Neuropathy and Cervical Osteoarthritis. I have Cervical Degenerative Disk Disease from getting severely rear-ended by a church bus in 1992 (which permanently misaligned my neck), and then sustained a steep fall at work in 2004 (which worsened my condition and caused radiating pain down my arms and legs). I've already exhausted all convention treatments (physical therapy, EMG test, CT scans, MRI's, three steroid injections, trigger-point injections, multiple chiropractors, four dozen different medications), and I underwent two major neck surgeries in 2009 and 2010, all of which have failed to alleviate my suffering. Consequently, I don't have a social life. I need to stay home where I am safe. I get frustrated, irritated and wear out physically easily, due to the relentless pain in my neck (which is right next to my head). The constant pain and neck stiffness is debilitating, draining my batteries (so to speak).
My faith in God sustains me. Knowing that I have God's promise of a new immortal body (1st Corinthians 15:51-58), and a body fashioned like unto Jesus' resurrected perfect body (Philippians 3:31), greatly encourages me day by day in my present suffering. Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” I heard a Christian lady once say: Our future is so bright as Christians that we need to wear sunglasses. I like that! She is right.
Dear reader, the Lord watches everything you think, say and do. We are being monitored continually by God. Nothing escapes His eyes. Hebrews 4:13, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” I am far from perfect as a human being. I oftentimes wish I could live my life over and undo some of the foolish decisions that I made in the past. Unfortunately I cannot. But even if I could go back in a time-machine and undo those bad decisions, I still would have made other bad decisions, sinful choices that caused pain and heartache. The Bible declares Ecclesiastes 7:20, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”
I have little patience with hypocrites who desire to condemn others for their past sins. Religious people are the worst! A well-meaning Christian man wrote me today, asking for my help to write a book exposing a pastor who committed a bunch of sins at a church over 40 years ago. I won't do it. No way! Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” If a man wants to be a manure-spreader and go around digging up dirt to destroy his neighbour, then he'll do it alone without my help, because I fear God. Proverbs 11:9, “An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.”
God sees everything that we think (Proverbs 24:12), say (Matthew 12:36) and do (Ecclesiastes 12:14). God will hold us accountable for all those things (Romans 14:10-12). You are a horrible sinner friend, and so am I. There's nothing more disgusting than meeting someone who thinks they are better than others. You can identify such a wicked person quickly when they start talking trash about another human being. What they ought to be saying is: There but for the grace of God, go I. We live the Christian life the same way that we got saved, by God's undeserving grace. No one has the power in their own strength to live the Christian life. No one! Jesus lives the Christian life through us (Galatians 2:20).
All my life as a Christian I have been condemned by wicked sinners. The Bible says in 2nd Timothy 3:3b that wicked sinners are “despisers of those that are good.” If you are a Christian, the whole world is waiting for you to fall. I am not a perfect man, far from it, but I was never ashamed of Jesus in the workplace. I let it be known that I am a Christian. I refused to go with co-workers to the strip clubs in Chicago. I didn't want to hear their filthy jokes. I didn't drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes like many of them did. I didn't listen to their rock music when I worked as a mechanic. I was always different, not better than them, and they hated me for it. In their sinful eyes I was “good,” and they despised me for it, just as the Bible teaches.
The adage is true: You may be the only Jesus that someone knows. Pastor Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) wisely said: “Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.” That is so true! What do people see when they read you? I have not always been a shining example of what a Christian should be. In fact, I shamed the Lord sometimes. Like I said, I wish I could go back and relive my life, but I cannot. But even if I could, I would have made different mistakes, sins and failures. The tongue cannot be tamed the Bible says (James 3:7-8). The only safe way to avoid saying something we shouldn't say is to keep quiet most of the time. Let's face it, most of us talk too much. I know I do. Proverbs 10:19, “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.”
Our great God sees us 168 hours a week. He watches over us 10,080 minutes a week. Our human heart beats 100,000 times a day. In a lifetime of 70 years, our human heart will beat an astonishing 2,555,000,000 times! Wow! God is more than amazing!!! Reputation is what others know about us; Character is what God knows about us.
No comments:
Post a Comment