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"If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free...So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed!" (John 8:31-32,36)

A Thorn, You Say?

September 20, 2017 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me – to keep me from exalting myself.” (2 Corinthians 12:7)

Why do we always wonder about someone else’s thorn? Theologians and Bible expositors have done that for years. What was Paul’s “thorn”? Was it his eyesight? Was it a mother-in-law? Was it some awful weakness he had in that fleshly part of his old nature? Those aren’t the questions we should be asking. The problem is not with Paul’s thorn; I think we need to be thinking about our own thorns.

What is a thorn, anyway? The Greek word for “thorn” is SKOLOPS (σκολοψ). It can mean anything pointed and is used as a metaphor for a thorn or a plague. And that tells our story. What is our thorn? Could it be a physical weakness, an ailment, a physical handicap, or could it be a weakness in our very nature – something like the “sin which so easily entangles us” that we find in Hebrews 12:1? You know, that sin of omission or commission that seems to war against us in our climb up that steep hill on our pilgrim journey to the Celestial City? Is it that sin we are exhorted to despise, lay aside and from which we should run? It unmercifully plagues us! Could it actually be our ill temper, our cursing, or some baser lust of our old, fleshly nature?

One thing is sure about Paul’s thorn: God allowed Satan to use it to attack Paul. The word “buffet” comes from KOLAPHIDZO (κολαφιζω). It can mean to beat with a fist (Jesus beating in Matt. 16:67), to treat roughly (Paul, in I Cor. 4:11), or to punish or treat harshly in general (I Peter 2:20). Those aren’t very comforting prospects, are they? But God in His providence allows it for good reasons.

In Paul’s case it was to keep him from getting the “big head” for learning some very special, heavenly, godly truths. The truths were great; but the beating he was getting from Satan to entice him to think of himself as a fantastically smart guy was something from which he wanted to be delivered. He supplicated the Lord three times for relief; but God gave him His remedy. It was the remedy that sustained Paul all the way the headman’s axe in Rome, under the sentence of that evil emperor Nero, in 67 A.D. God answered him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). [Read more…]

Christian Witness, Courage, Devotion, Discipline, Faith, Grace, Holy Spirit, Life Struggles, Mercy, Pain, Sin, Spirit, Spiritual Growth, Trials, Vocation Tagged: faith, forgiveness, mercy, prayer, Spirit, spiritual growth, suffering, trials, vocation

Is Suffering Necessary for Christians?

August 13, 2015 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him,
but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict
which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”

(Philippians 1:29-30)

The mission of Jesus Christ in His incarnation was to bear witness to the truth of the Triune God, bear the penalty of the sins of many, to die in their place, to rise from the dead and ascend to His Father’s throne in Heaven. He came to redeem His people. As He suffered, so did His disciples. With the exception of John, Christ’s main followers all died as martyrs.

In a recent interview on NRB network, Ravi Zacharias was asked, “Is suffering necessary for Christians?” He provided an answer that bears repeating. He referred to suffering as “the fine tuning of one’s own life” and gave four truths we would do well to embrace: [Read more…]

Christian Witness, Courage, Eternity, Faith, Holiness, Life Struggles, Mercy, Pain, Sovereignty, Spiritual Growth, Suffering, Trials, Worship Tagged: courage, faith, life struggles, mercy, pain, sovereignty, spiritual growth, suffering, trials

Yes There is Hope

May 28, 2015 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33)

In a chapter in the recently published book, Why Suffering, co-author Vince Vitale talks about how:
“We try to convince ourselves with hopeful phrases:

The world is your oyster.
The sky is the limit.
The only thing to fear is fear itself.
You can to anything if you just put your mind to it.
Things can only get better.
Such nice phrases. But here’s the thing: They’re all lies. Everyone of them. They are simply false.”[1]

Jesus was right! Our lives are filled with tribulation. Hymn writer Isaac Watts asked the questions, “Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help me on to God?”[2] The Apostle John gave us the answer,

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.”
(I John 2:16-17)

Every day of our lives we are confronted by the world, our own flesh, and Satan – the arch-enemy of our souls. We may be getting older, but not necessarily wiser. We may be eating healthier, but our bodies are still in the process of dying. We may have made some preparations for the future, but only God knows the future. And that’s where our hope resides – in the very words of Jesus. “In Me you may have peace…I have overcome the world.” Hope for tomorrow resides in our relationship with the Living Christ. Paul told us the answer to our physical, emotional, spiritual dilemma:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21)

Last week I lost a dear friend of over thirty years. He was ten years younger than me. As I stood by his bed in the hospital, I hoped he could hear me speak to him. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the fact that we must be asking, thinking, and realizing that the Holy Spirit of God has invaded our human spirit to produce the life of Christ in wisdom, power and grace – divine sufficiency – to enable us to be overcomers in this world where we have been placed to represent the God of Heaven. As the Father sent the son, so the Son has sent us to a lost and dying world.

Yes, there is hope! Grasp it. Rejoice in it. Revel in God’s call to you in Christ!

[1] Zacharias & Vitale, Why Suffering? (New York: Faith Words, 2014), p.165

[2] From “Am I A Soldier Of The Cross.”

Christian Witness, Culture, Holy Spirit, Life Struggles, Pain, Sin, Sovereignty, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Truth, Worldview Tagged: Christianity, culture, Holy Spirit, salvation, sin, sovereignty, suffering

Beryl Smith

AvatarBeryl has a great love for studying the Bible and Christian theology. Beryl is a 12th generation descendant of Ralph Blaisdell, an English Puritan who came to America from Bristol, England in August, 1635 on the sailing ship “The Angel Gabriel.”
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