Counting The Cost

Random thoughts on walking with Jesus in this turvy-topsy world

Holy War

I just had to post this awesome article about the holy war that happened on Christmas Day. Don't worry, it's not what you think!

Violent Night, Holy Night - Christ’s Opening Salvo

By T.M. Moore

December 22, 2005 

This article first appeared in the December 2005 issue of BreakPoint WorldView magazine.   

“Sleep in heavenly peace . . . ” Peace, joy, happiness on earth: the message of Christmas. Everyone loves Christmas because it offers a respite from the violence, suffering, and turmoil that mark so much of our everyday lives. Christmas is all about peace on earth and good will toward men. 

But that’s only one perspective on the most climactic event of human history. Seen in its larger spiritual and historical perspective, Christmas is best compared to D-Day and the invasion of captive Europe. The first Christmas witnessed the sudden irruption of a new order into a world kingdom of slaves and blind men. It was an act of violence that would be met with violence and would issue in violence as the eternal order of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit made its way against the retreating realities of a vanquished domain. 

The Scriptures hint at the violence of that first Christmas. The joy and peace announced by the angels is intended for those with whom God is pleased (Luke 2:14). A different end awaits those who fail to please Him. The political powers of the day rightly understood the threat raised by the birth of Jesus; Herod mounted a violent and bloody attack in a futile effort to crush this invasion while it was still in its infancy (Matthew 2:16-18). The Apostle John saw Jesus descending like a messenger from heaven, a mighty chain in His hand, with which He lay hold on the devil and cast him violently into the abyss for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3; cf. Revelation 1:18). Jesus Himself testified that, from before the beginning of His ministry, the kingdom of God had been exerting violence on the earth, and that violent men were seizing the kingdom, pressing their way against every obstacle into the full light and glory of the heavenly realm (Matthew 11:12). 

The first Christmas was the opening salvo in a spiritual warfare that has been raging for more than two thousand years, and which continues to see the advance of the kingdom of light at the expense of the realm of darkness and death (1 John 2:8). 

It is good to be reminded of this larger meaning of Christmas, lest we become merely sentimental at this time of year. The enemy of our souls would like nothing more than to lull us into complacency with respect to the warfare he violently, but vainly, wages against us. Christmas should be for us a reminder of the violent life-and-death struggle in which we are daily engaged. It should fortify us with confidence for our daily battles in the light of the assured victory of our incarnated, crucified, risen, exalted, and returning King. 

Trust the poets to capture the violence of Christmas in memorable images. John Milton, in his Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, envisions demons, false deities, and pagan spirits fleeing in terror at the birth of the Savior, while the devil paces nervously in the depths of hell, uncertain how best to proceed. A rout is underway, a kingdom is in disarray, and a new order of truth and light has broken into time, as all the foes of men and God are overthrown. Contemplating the whole vast host of the spiritual forces of wickedness, Milton dismisses them with a single couplet: 

Our Babe to shew his Godhead true,
Can in his swadling bands controul the damnéd crew.  

American children may go to sleep on Christmas Eve with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. But Jesus, it seems, must have dreamt larger, more compelling visions as He lay in the straw of that cattle trough, plotting the overthrow of the devil.

Click on the Bible verses (please do - it took me FOREVER to hyperlink them!) to learn about this "holy war" for yourself. Merry Christmas!

posted by: Jrobbins at 15:45 | link | comments |
holy war

The True Spirit of Christmas

JESUS, IMMANUEL By Suzanne Benner   

 

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel" -- which means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).   

This amazing title was given to our Messiah because in Jesus, God was united with man. No longer would God be far off or hard to reach, instead God Himself would dwell among men, as a man.  

God being with us didn't just last for the 33 years that Jesus lived on this earth. Jesus told the disciples that when He left, He would send the Holy Spirit to live within us. "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever" (John 14:16).  

Do you see what that means?  

You are never alone. Not when you are single or old or don't speak the language. You are never alone. Not when you are sad or in pain or bewildered or scared or exhausted. You are never alone.  

Christmas can be a lonely time of year. You may feel left out or forgotten or unnecessary, but you are not alone, because Jesus has promised, "And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).  

Christmas can be a painful time of year. You may feel hurt by the sin and evil of this world, but you are not alone, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6).  

May you experience the presence of Jesus, Immanuel -- God with us -- this Christmas.

posted by: Jrobbins at 15:01 | link | comments |
the true spirit of christmas

He is No Fool

There is a movie coming out in January called "End of the Spear" and it is about five missionaries who were killed by a tribe of native people they were trying to contact. Two of the missionary's wives (and later a missionary's son) later developed a friendship with members of the tribe and lived among the very people who had speared their loved ones to death. That is some crazy forgiveness!! One of the missionaries, Jim Elliot, once said about living the Christian life, "He is no fool who gives the things he cannot keep to find what he can never lose". I found this poem (I forget where) and I think it is a great way to honor these amazing men of faith who gave up everything to follow Jesus.

HE IS NO FOOL  by Scott Wesley Brown

I've lost track of all the Sundays
The offering plates gone by
And as I gave my hard earned dollars
I felt free to keep my life
I talk about commitment
And the need to count the cost
But the words of a martyr show me
I don't really know His cross

Chorus:
For he is no fool
Who gives what he cannot keep
To gain what he cannot lose
Yes, he is no fool
Who lays his own life down
I must make this the path I choose

Obedience and servanthood
Are traits I've rarely shown
And the fellowship of His sufferings
Is a joy I've barely known
There are riches in surrendering
That can't be gained for free
God will share all heaven's wonders
But the price He asks is me.

You can find out more about "End of the Spear" by clicking here.

posted by: Jrobbins at 14:37 | link | comments |
he is no fool

Choking on Self-Esteem

Ugh! I accessed my email this morning to find yet ANOTHER article written by a Christian woman for other Christian women about self-esteem. I never know how I get onto these lists, unless it is the fact that I am a college-aged female who must therefore suffer from a horrible, debilitating lack of self-esteem (which may be true but that is a post for another time!). I especially hate the way these so-called "helpful, affirming" articles use the Bible out of context (my pet peeve of ALL time) to reinforce their pop-psychology. Hmmm, seems to me that the Bible says to love the LORD and your neighbor. Not a whole lot about "affirming your personhood" in the Good Book. Anyway, after reading the aforementioned article (which I will spare you), I needed to get a more Biblical and sensible perspective. So, I went to Randy Alcorn's website and accessed an article called "Self-Love and Scripture". By the way, Mr. Alcorn has tons of great, Bible-based teachings on his website and his fiction book "Safely Home" is one of the best books I've ever read. You can read the entire article here , but I excerpted my favorite parts below. I know that some (most?) people won't agree, especially not after so many years of "positive thinking training" in American public schools, but at least consider some of the main points with an open mind.

William Carey, father of the modern missions movement and a champion for Christ, was used of God in a powerful way ministering the gospel to people of India. Among other things, he helped abolish the practices of baby-killing, widow burning and exposing the elderly and handicapped to die. When Carey himself was about to die, he asked that these words be inscribed on his tombstone. You can rest assured he believed them:

 

 

William Carey
Born August 17th, 1761
Died June 1834
A wretched, poor and helpless worm,
on Thy kind arms I fall.

 

 

The amazing truth is that Christ died for utterly unworthy people (Rom. 5:7-8). To minimize our unworthiness by emphasizing our value is to minimize the redemptive work of Christ on our behalf. The fact that Christ died for us is never given in Scripture as a proof of our value as wonderful people, but a demonstration of his unfathomable love. So unfathomable that he would die for rotten people, "wretches" like you and me. The cross of Christ is a demonstration of God's utter goodness and grace, and our utter depravity and unworthiness. Indeed, the idea that God died for morally good or morally neutral "souls" is a heresy of the worst kind. It is "psychologically correct" (that is, popularly believed in psychological circles) but it is theologically as incorrect as it could possibly be.

Think about it. Suppose a man murdered five children and his bail was set at ten million dollars. Would you then look at the enormity of the price of his freedom and conclude, "Wow, this guy must really be worthy! I mean, he's worth ten million dollars to society!" I doubt his lawyer or anyone else would point to this as an indication of his worth or a basis for his self-esteem.

Yet that's exactly what we do when we say "we must be worthy—look at the price that had to be paid for our redemption." No, the astronomical price of our redemption—the shed blood of God—is a testimony not to how good we are, but to how bad we really are! If we hadn't been so bad, a lower price would have been sufficient. The higher the price, the greater testimony to our depravity, and the wondrous love of God.

Please get your Bible right now. I'm serious. Now read Romans 3:10-18. Ask yourself what God says here about man's true nature, his accurate self-identity. Verse twelve says that apart from God we are "worthless"—obviously God doesn't think our being created in his image or being died for by Christ is a sound basis for our self-worth. How is it that we seem to know something God doesn't? Read Psalm 10 and Romans 1:18-32 to see if the human race's problem is a lack of self-affirmation and a lack of confidence in self. Or is it not precisely the opposite?

A speaker at a children's camp asked the children one reason why they should feel good about themselves. The answer was John 3:16. But the problem is that John 3:16 is not a basis for feeling good about ourselves. It is a basis for feeling good about God who loved unworthy perishing sinners such as ourselves. When self-love becomes a virtue to be cultivated it magnifies our commitment to acting only in our own best interests, not in the best interests of others. I have heard people say that to grow closer to God (God-love) and get involved in ministry (neighbor-love) they first have to learn to love themselves (self-love). Not only is this making a non-commandment into the first and greatest commandment, it is neglecting the fact that the proper sense of "feeling good about ourselves" develops precisely as we obey God and do what he has made us to do—love Him and love others. To wait till we stop feeling bad about ourselves before we go on to love God and others is like waiting till we stop being hungry before we go get something to eat. 

When it comes to affirming and encouraging our children, and building up their "self-esteem," I believe in and practice this. But I also try not to communicate to them that they are inherently good (the Bible says otherwise). I want them to understand that because of their moral vulnerabilities they must depend on God to empower them to live good and pure lives. I constantly commend them for the good they do, and express my unconditional love for them. But I want more than anything for them to develop a fundamental God-consciousness, leading to others-consciousness. As for self-consciousness, the right kind follows, as the caboose follows the engine. But as an engine, as the driving force of a Christian life to be focused on and cultivated, self-love will take us down the wrong track.

It took me a while to check out all the Bible verses Mr. Alcorn referenced to make sure that how he was using the verses agreed with the context (pet peeve, remember?) but I was glad I did. It may be hard to read but I know I need a kick between the eyes sometimes not to get too enchanted with American culture. It makes me stop and consider the danger of getting wrapped up in a society whose number one best-seller every year is a diet book while millions around the world starve to death. What kind of positive self-image does that reinforce?

posted by: Jrobbins at 18:13 | link | comments |
choking on self-esteem

A Christmas Wish

Last night, I attended a Christmas service at my church. We listened to our choir sing a Christmas musical, and then turned out all the lights and sang Christmas carols by candlelight. It was so awesome to be with my Christian family celebrating the birth of our Lord. This morning (in the harsh light of day), I started thinking about Christians around the world who risk their lives to meet together. I have been getting email updates on the crisis situations in Indonesia and Pakistan where Christians are under death threats daily and they remind me how important it is for us to keep praying for those suffering for the Name of Jesus. There are so many people around the world whose only Christmas wish is to be able to worship their Lord in peace and safety. In light of this, I wanted to post this hymn composed by Susan H. Peterson in 1997 for the persecution of the worldwide church. Ms. Peterson's wonderful words sum up my Christmas wish this holiday season:

Faith of our brothers, suffering sore,
Enduring prison, famine, and sword,
O Holy Spirit, give comfort, we pray,
May they this day find strength in Thy Word.
Faith of our brothers, holy faith,
May they be true to thee till death!  

 

Tortured and killed for Thy dear Name,
Lord, give them grace to count all but loss,
May they hold steadfast to the end,
Sharing the sufferings of the cross.
Faith of our brothers, holy faith,
May they be true to thee till death!  

 

Our brothers, chained in prisons dark,
Are still in heart and conscience free,
O may they know thy deep, sweet peace,
Fill them with joy for all to see.
Faith of our brothers, holy faith,
May they be true to thee till death!  

 

Faith of our brothers! May they love
Both friend and foe in all their strife,
And preach Thee too, as love knows how,
By kindly words and virtuous life.
Faith of our brothers, holy faith,
May they be true to thee till death!  

 

And Lord, may we be ready too,
To give our lives, if needed, for Thee,
May we be strong in Thy great strength,
And live each day, committed to Thee.
Faith of all brothers, holy faith,
May we be true to thee till death!

posted by: Jrobbins at 16:02 | link | comments |
a christmas wish

Bird-Brained Devotion

Are you a canary or an ostrich? This morning when I woke up I was completely willing to bury my head in my nice soft bed and never come out again. I was an ostrich and didn't even know it - until I got this devotional in my email this morning! While I spend more days being an ostrich than I care to admit and canaries usually annoy me to death, I really enjoyed this "pep talk" based on the example of the Lord Jesus. Enjoy!

"Today, I'm an Ostrich" by Susanne Scheppman, Proverbs 31 Ministries

Key Verse:

Luke 4:42, "At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them." (NIV)

Devotion:

Today, I'm an Ostrich. I want to stick my head in the sand and ignore everyone else. I feel like being alone. I don't want to talk on the phone or read my email. This morning I went for my daily gingerbread latte. A chatty woman stood beside me as we were waiting for our frothy cups of coffee to surface from behind the counter. She talked non-stop. She reminded me of a chirping canary. I grabbed my steamy drink and ducked out of the door.

Today I am an ostrich, but maybe tomorrow I'll be a canary.

Some days I need my ostrich-type solitude. Other times, my own canary self tweets for companionship and camaraderie. My introverted self needs time alone; the extroverted part of my personality needs fellowship. God created us with both needs.

Scripture proves this to us by using Jesus as an example. Various verses describe how the multitudes followed and desired to be with him. A passage speaks of the 70 people Jesus sent to work for the Kingdom. The Bible portrays how the 12 disciples were his closet friends. Many verses illustrate that James, John, and Peter became his inner circle of confidants. Jesus loved people and living in community with them.

Yet other Scriptures tells us, "At day break Jesus went out to a solitary place." Another verse confirms His need for aloneness: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (Luke 5:16, NIV). Jesus needed people and He required solitude.

At this hectic time of year, we fill our days with shopping, parties and family feasts. We often feel emotionally frazzled and physically exhausted. We overspend, overeat, and just plain overdo everything.

Time alone by myself refreshes and renews me. It gives me a better perspective on life. Most importantly, it allows me the strength and determination to be the wife, mother and friend I long to be. Isaiah 40:31 applies to my ostrich days: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (KJV). These type of quiet days enable me to be an extroverted canary type on the busy demanding days of life.

Maybe during the month of December we should set aside a couple of days to behave like an ostrich (although, they don't actually stick their heads in the sand). We could let the phone ring, the emails wait, and the activities pass us by. Maybe we could imitate Jesus and slip away for a few moments of prayer and solitude.

So today, I am an ostrich. Perhaps tomorrow I'll be the one chirping at the Starbucks raring to interact with the people God places in my pathway.

Which type of day do you need today?

posted by: Jrobbins at 14:51 | link | comments |
bird-brained devotion

Worth Dying For

What would you die for? For a 15-year-old Nigerian girl named Salamatu Hassan, the answer is clear - the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is her amazing story of "counting the cost" of being a Christian:

Compass Direct: Nigeria - Friday December 09, 2005

A TEENAGER COUNTS THE COST OF EMBRACING CHRIST   

Turning to Jesus can lead to homelessness, hunger and death threats. 

December 9 (Compass) – “If you were my daughter, I would have slaughtered you, killed you here, you bastard infidel, for turning away from Islam.”

These were the words of Malam Kasimu, the uncle and guardian of 15-year-old Salamatu Hassan, because she had embraced Christ. Kasimu and some Islamic clerics ambushed her on her way to school, gagged her, and threatened to kill her on that day in 2003, said Hassan, now 18. He then threw her out of his home and dumped her back at her parents’ house. They had already objected to her faith, and it wasn’t long before she was homeless.

How does a child marooned on an Islamic cultural island in Akwanga, in the mixed Christian/Sunni Muslim state of Nasarawa in central Nigeria, become a Christian? Sharia (Islamic law) has long been practiced by Muslims in Nasarawa, but its criminal code has not been officially imposed as it has in 12 northern states of Nigeria. Hassan’s father, Malam Hassan, is a Sunni Muslim who has three wives and 20 children. Hassan’s mother is his second wife.

In part for economic reasons and because of practices in that culture, at age 7 Hassan was entrusted to her father’s sister, who is married to Kasimu. Hassan came to know about Jesus Christ at age 8 through a college student who was a tenant in the Kasimu house, Comfort Auta. “She used to call me ‘Salmy Baby’ [from Salamatu] – she was very kind, loving and caring,” Hassan said. “She was peaceful at all times and never seemed to have problems. This attracted me to her. Most especially, I loved the way she prayed.” Moving into Comfort’s room, Hassan became involved in daily devotional life with her. “When I moved into her room, there was another small girl there too, named Ashe,” Hassan said. “Comfort would always lead us in prayers, teach us how to read the Bible and then pray. Every time Comfort prayed, I would always tell her that I wished to be a Christian like her, and she would tell me, ‘Salmy Baby, you can become a Christian if you want to be. All you need do is pray to receive Jesus into your heart.’” Hassan welcomed this word but waited anxiously for the day when she would be ready to become a Christian. Only after studying the Bible daily for five years, and much meditation, did she decide to receive Christ. Comfort led her in prayer to invite Him into her heart. “When my Auntie found out that I could pray and sing Christian songs, this made her angry with Comfort,” Hassan said. Hassan had roomed with Comfort for five years before her mentor was forced to move out of the house. Though not a clear majority, Muslims have large populations in Nasarawa state. At secondary school in the Akwanga suburb of Alushi, Hassan had the opportunity to mix with other Christian students for the first time. Beginning a deeper search for biblical truths, she joined the school’s Fellowship of Christian Students (FCS) and began evangelistic outreaches to nearby villages. A pocket-size New Testament became her prize possession. “I had to hide before reading the Bible, because I had a cousin Mamuda in the same school with me,” Hassan said. “If he had known I was attending Christian programs or reading the Bible, my auntie would definitely find out, and this would cause problems for me.”

Out of the Closet

Mamuda did find out about her activities, which he reported to her mother. Hassan’s aunt and uncle punished her, beating her and forcing her to go without food for days – a harbinger of persecutions to come. Under the watchful eyes of her aunt and uncle Kasimu, Hassan was daily pressured to recite Islamic prayers, though most of the time she found excuses to avoid doing so. “But whenever I was forced to do so, I would not do the customary washing of hands, eyes and legs before saying the Islamic prayers,” she said. “Instead, I would face the east, bend down and pray in my heart saying, ‘Lord Jesus you know my heart; you know that I have received you into my heart as my savior. Do not hold this against me, but forgive my shortcomings. Amen.” Soon Hassan received the gift of a complete Bible from a young Christian neighbor who heard about her conversion. She devoured every page. Reading the Bible gave her courage to pursue a relationship with Christ without looking back. She began to fast, pray and even secretly attend Sunday worship services. One day while at school, her family members ransacked her boxes and found her New Testament and complete Bible. “When I returned from school, I was questioned, beaten up, denied food for days,” she said. “I became bold after this ordeal and openly told them that I was now a Christian.” Revealing her faith came with elements of teenage rebellion. To her aunt’s shock and disbelief, Hassan demanded to know why she had become a Muslim when her parents were idol worshippers, a practice in the native religion of their ancestors. This infuriated her as well as Kasimu, who went something akin to blind with rage. “That day he chased me around naked – he was so angry that he did not know that he was naked,” she said. “His desire was to kill me.” To ensure that she remained a Muslim, Hassan was forced by her uncle to take evening courses at an Islamic school and received instruction in the Quran. But she renounced the Muslim faith and abandoned the classes. When it became apparent to her uncle that she would not recant her new Christian faith, they chased her out of their home – but not before her aunt had seized her clothing and books. A student with no home, food, books and clothes, Hassan stayed with friends. Her aunt and uncle threatened those friends and families too, however, and Hassan’s life became that of a fugitive. Wherever she might be hidden, she had to sneak out early in the morning to avoid being spotted on her way to school. It was during such sneaking that Kasimu and some Islamic clerics ambushed her and dumped her at her father’s house in Alogani village. Hassan later escaped from the village and returned to Akwanga, where she hid with friends. 

Her Desire and Prayer 

Later she was taken into the house of an Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ pastor in Akwanga, the Very Rev. Dio Adamu. The support given her by the church has enabled her to complete her secondary education, and she is now a beginning student at the College of Education in Akwanga. “A girl who from a very minor age encountered such difficulties because of becoming a Christian cannot be said to have had a pleasant experience,” said Rev. Adamu, in typical understatement. Such persecution abounds in Nasarawa and in northern Nigeria, Rev. Adamu said. “Salamatu’s case is one example of such cases of persecution that are confronting the church today in Nasarawa state,” he said.

Persecution not withstanding, Hassan said she will never recant and return to Islam. “I have found true salvation in Jesus, the right way to God, and cannot see how I can go back into the darkness that is Islam,” she said. “Never will I go back.” Her desire and prayer is that her Muslim friends and family members will come to know the truth that is in Jesus. “I know that quite a large number of Muslims have discovered the truth of the Bible, but the fear of persecution has forced them to remain in darkness,” she said. “It is my prayer that God will touch their hearts and they will come to accept the truth and be liberated. Nobody wants to remain in darkness.” 

 

posted by: Jrobbins at 15:09 | link | comments |
worth dying for

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