troubles

JESUS SENDS US INTO UNPLEASANT AND HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS — and there He joins us

October 18, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

There was a time when Jesus sent 72 disciples to go to various towns and villages to bring blessings of peace and to announce that “The Kingdom of God has come near to you.” He also gave them authority to perform miraculous healings. BUT Jesus also warned them that they should expect opposition, because they would be going out like sheep among wolves. You can find this in Luke 10:1-9.

Those of us who have heard and embraced the good news of Jesus Christ are called to continue this mission, for indeed the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. And we would be well advised to anticipate, as many of you must already have experienced, that there will be all sorts of opposition to the good news, ranging from callous indifference, to skepticism, and even attacks on our person.

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THE OBVIOUS EXPLAINED

May 15, 2020 by Eddie Leave a Comment

Elsewhere I wrote an article entitled, “You Will Have Problems“, quoting what Jesus said in John 16:33 “In this world you will have troubles.” What was His point? Where is the good news in that? I invited my readers to go through a discerned inspiration and assemble the sentences found in 9 verses that I picked form the gospel of John, to come up with a coherent explanation for this verse.

Of course there is no “correct” answer. But let me share with you my personal re-composition of the nine verses mentioned in that article with an explanation of why I sequenced it this way.

In this world you will have trouble. Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. But take heart! Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.You believe in God; believe also in me. I am the way and the truth and the life. I came from the Father and entered the world; I have overcome the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

So there. The obvious and the not so obvious combined to reveal the good news.

For me I choose to highlight the reference of Jesus to the troubles in THIS world, versus THE PLACE that he has prepared for His followers. We are all doomed to a life that will not be without troubles … in THIS world. But for those who believe in Jesus, the good news is that Jesus has prepared a place for his followers … a place that is NOT IN THIS WORLD. It’s a place where there is no death nor mourning nor crying nor pain (Rev 21:4). “In my Father’s house”, Jesus says.

In the meantime that we are in this world, and while we await the return of Jesus, what shall we do, and how should we deal with our troubles? How do we live in this troubled world with peace, and with the joy that Jesus gives? I shall deal with that in a separate article, but for now leave with you the following encouragement:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV)

YOU WILL HAVE PROBLEMS

May 15, 2020 by Eddie 2 Comments

Jesus often teaches in parables and can sometimes be very hard to understand. But then occasionally He swings the other way and just states the very obvious. Take this statement from John 16:33 for instance: “In this world you will have trouble.” I mean, obvious ba? Everybody knows that. Nobody is exempt from suffering and adversity. Whether rich or poor. Whether sinner or saint. Everyone has problems. What’s the good news in that?

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SEEK TO KNOW THE LORD

March 29, 2020 by Eddie 2 Comments

Jesus says, “In this world, you will have trouble” (john 16:33). No wonder. Yet again, Jesus shows us the way to navigate life in this troubled world without anxiety and fear, saying: “Do not be afraid. Believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:`1). The thing is, the pathway from belief to trust requires deep, personal knowledge of Him whom we would trust. Indeed, how can we ever trust someone whom we do not know?

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