When Contention Moves to Misrepresentation and Outright Anger.
Acts 6:11 "Then they bribed men, who said, 'We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.' "
Acts 6:12 "And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,"
Acts 6:13 "And set up false witnesses, who said, 'This man ceases not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:'"
Pastor's Blog
Have you ever been going along minding your own business, doing what you are supposed to be doing and have someone attack you? Attack not just what you are doing but where the attack becomes personal?
Well if you have then you have been persecuted. Now imagine that happening because you are stepping out in faith and following God. Are we not supposed to be protected from this kind of treatment when we are in His service? The Bible says no, “all those who would live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” 2 Timothy 3:12. If our idea of the Christian life is that we go from faith to faith and glory to glory with no opposition then there is something wrong in our thinking. We are missing a major part of the Gospel message, all of those who wish to grow in their relationship with God will sooner or later find themselves in pain, sorrow, trouble, persecution or something of the like. Scripture tells us, as well as life experience that no one escapes trouble in this world. Scripture tells us that it is not what we go through but how we go through it that makes all the difference. In other words we are not defined by what happens to us but by how we respond. This is not to diminish in any way the pain and sorrow, since of loss or problems we go through. It is to say that we are not to let them define our faith, our view of God or let them rewrite God’s plan for us. This can be a very hard thing to do and one of the many reasons we need others around us to love us and keep us on the right path.
Being a person who enjoys being alone allows a lot of time for reflection and quiet time with God which I love so much yet there is a danger if I do not seek to balance it with time in fellowship, real fellowship. I need others and so do you. I wonder if Paul would have gone on when he was stoned had it not been for Barnabas. Would Peter have rejoiced when he was beaten if it were not for John, would Silas have sung if it were not for Paul? When Jesus sends out the disciples they are told to carry no bag, no shoes no purse just do not go alone. Jesus sends them out in two’s as lambs among wolves Luke 10:1-4. Fellowship is not just a good idea; it is a vital necessity for the Christian life. We all need comfort; healing encouragement and perspective and Gods answer to these needs is others.
It helps to know others can understand what you're going through. It seems at one point in time, God sends someone to help me in understanding my difficult times. That second pair of eyes can help greatly to get my head on straight so I can stop looking at the problem and re-focus on Jesus. It is so important in getting through things, in the good and bad, to keep Jesus in the center. Thank you for sharing that even you have such times. It makes it real.
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