Believing
My husband Brandon, our son Logan and I went to The National Vietnam War Museum in Weatherford, Texas on Friday. It was wonderful. I used photos from the museum throughout today’s post. Get ready to see the children, the choppers and the chaplain.
Last time on Choosing Peace we dug into joy in affliction. Today we’ll peruse joy in believing—a decidedly easier topic. Or is it?
Verses for perspective
While I was at work this past Wednesday, I told Father Daniel where I put the bookmark my mom cross-stitched for my antique Bible. I placed it at Habakkuk 3. Why? Because of the last three verses—the same verses Father Daniel featured in last week’s article for the good people at St. Matt’s.
For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The LORD is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places.
Habakkuk 3:17-19, New Heart English Bible
Do you belong to Jesus Christ? If so, even when all seems lost, King Jesus is Lord and Savior. He is our Sovereign Lord in life, in death and for all eternity. He called and saved us into his family and his army. His majesty, his care and his power transcend our circumstances. That’s why the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk wrote this core truth:
The Lord is our joy and our strength.
Two sides
“The Lord is our joy” emphasizes joy in believing—today’s topic. How so? God is not everyone’s joy. He can be joy for those we call believers. Joy for his own, joy for his children, joy for the elect, called and chosen. Watch Jesus, the Soul Shepherd to explore the important contrast between God’s own—his sheep—and the goats. (See more recommended documentaries on this page.)
Strength
Before we explore joy in believing, let’s consider Habakkuk 3:19a: “The Lord is my strength.” Why? Because God didn’t save us to watch us shrink in fear. He saved us so we could shine the light in the darkness.
Because God saved us, we can help rescue others from lies, darkness and death.
To help rescue others, we must be strong.
When we think of the word strength, we usually think about physical strength. Three different New Testament writers describe the Christian life as a race. Every race requires training and perseverance. To run the Christian race, we need spiritual strength—an active, right relationship with God. We need mental strength—right thinking and corrective strategies during extreme times. We need emotional strength—right regulation of our emotions and dear friends. And we need physical strength to do what God has called us to do. Hebrews 12:1-3 paints a vivid picture and gives us encouragement. Where faith is concerned, I am strong. Physically? Well, not so much. My arms are strong, but my legs are weak. I need to do more training in that area.
The Olympics
Speaking of training and physical strength, the Summer Olympic Games in Paris ended on Sunday. And they painted a painful picture of the lies and evil gripping our world. The evil was not hidden. It was in-your-face evil. After hearing about the profane opening ceremony depicting a transgender Last Supper, many people—myself included—refused to watch.
Even though I boycotted the Olympics, some news snippets snuck their way into my world. Here are a few.
Problem #1
The terrible accommodations for the athletes included bad food, cardboard beds, no air conditioning, no curtains on the windows, no closets, etc. I’ve seen multiple videos and was absolutely appalled. The Olympic Village rooms were worse than a crummy college dorm. Way worse.
What were the lies and evil? “The planet matters. Virtue signaling matters. The carbon footprint, the largely-vegan menu, the recyclable materials show how very much we care.”
In summary: “Our agenda matters; the people don’t.”
Problem #2
Athletes became seriously ill after swimming in the Seine River. The organizers spent $1.5 billion to purchase their façade of a “clean and safe” river for Olympic events.
What were the lies and evil? “We control nature. We can purchase anything and anyone. If it looks good, it is good.”
In summary: “Our image matters; the people don’t.”
Problem #3
Men competed in women’s boxing (and won gold medals). Most people found this to be extremely disturbing. The thinly-veiled deceptions, the assaults and the thefts were travesties. I wonder if lawsuits will follow.
What were some of the lies and evil displayed in these boxing events at the Olympics? “We get to choose our gender. We are who we say we are. (Translation: Our biology and chromosomes are irrelevant.) We can purchase and acquire a gender via surgeries, drugs, makeup, hairstyles, clothing, names, pronouns, public opinion and/or documents, like passports. Our transgender identity does not harm others. Because we’re automatically the victims when our actions are questioned, we’re justified in verbally attacking and publicly accusing our detractors.*
In summary: “Transgender people deserve protection, exceptions and honor; other people don’t.”
*Watch this “Fight for Truth” video about the man who beat a woman in the boxing ring (and actually broke her nose), and then accused his detractors of being the bullies in that scenario. The boxer in question displays a very disturbing, textbook example of projection—a popular attack vector throughout the ages. In other words, I’m guilty of _________, but instead of admitting the obvious, I’m going to accuse you of doing what I just did, to shift the attention off me and onto you. What a performance. A man who broke a woman’s nose dramatically demands our pity. Not in this lifetime, buddy roe—or in eternity.
Gender and LGBTQ resources
Peaceful Readers, we must share the truth in love—with the love and candor of Jesus Christ. God created us male and female. Our gender is a gift from our Creator—a gracious and wonderful gift, with inherent, unique roles. Walk through part 5 of The Beauty of the Bible for more.
Fight for truth
Watch these “Fight for Truth” podcasts by Colin Miller about the Paris Olympics—the opening ceremony and the boxing debacle. Both podcasts garnered many-an “Amen” from Yours Truly.
A podcast, an article, a book and more
Here are more resources from part 3 of this post:
Watch this excellent 12-minute podcast by Brylan Riggs about Max Lucado and more. Also, read this article from Got Questions, entitled “What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?” I’ve started reading Rosaria Butterfield’s book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age, about the world’s lies about sexuality, gender, modesty and more. Brilliant. Dig into gender issues here on Choosing Peace in The Armor of God, part 1. Also, see Gender in the index.
Hold fast
Peaceful Reader, hold fast to God and his word. Reflect on Galatians 1:10. Do not be misled by the disturbing lies of this age. See these sections in the index: The Bible, Evil and Current Events.
The ministry
For 35 years, Living Hope Ministries has served as a beacon of light to a lost world in the area of gender and sexuality. Learn the basics on their Who We Are page and continue from there. My friend Cynthia and I will be attending their annual celebration in October and supporting our friend Millie, who will be one of the keynote speakers. Her amazing testimony demonstrates God’s love and power to heal and change us.
Living Hope Ministries serves people
struggling with gender and sexuality issues,
as well as their family members, friends and churches.
Do you know someone who needs the love and support of Living Hope Ministries? Do you know someone who knows someone? Share this post and/or the Living Hope website with others.
Jesus is The Great Physician.
Standing up and speaking up
Remember from part 3: “We need strength to move successfully through the storms of life.” We also need strength to stand for what’s right, even when others won’t. In fact, the word stand is used three times in The Armor of God passage in Ephesians 6. We need strength to stand up and confront evil. We need strength to say no. We need strength to say stop. We need strength to say that is not okay.
Watch Seth Gruber’s revealing presentation about abortion at last month’s Culture & Christianity Conference. You will learn many things. Old Testament things. Nazi things. Planned Parenthood things. In follow-up, read The Machine here on Choosing Peace. After you drink in the shocking history and truth from Seth Gruber and, likewise, after you experience The Machine, answer these questions.
What is God calling you to study, to share, to say?
Is God calling you to forward this post to someone?
Sitting down and reading
When everyone is going 90 miles an hour, we need strength to choose our family, to choose reading, to choose rest—to decline that invitation, that volunteer position, that other “good thing” in favor of what God is calling us to do. When so many women are saying “I have to work,” we need strength to be stay-at-home moms. Drop the people-pleasing and follow the Lord wherever he leads.
Read Letter to the American Church by Eric Metaxas. It is a serious wake-up call and essential reading. This book isn’t just for preachers; it’s for you. Charlene and I are doing a book study of Letter to the American Church this month—hopefully the first of many. Seth Gruber mentions Eric Metaxas in the presentation I recommended above. Explore Current Events, Evil, Gender and Abortion in the index.
Call to action
Peaceful Readers, there’s an epic war going on in our nation—good vs. evil, God vs. Satan. And the stakes are high. Mutilation and death are all around us. Choose God’s side and enlist in the war.
Be a truth-seeker and a truth-speaker. Do not remain silent in the face of evil. Educate yourself, your family, your friends and others. And do what the Lord calls you to do.
Joy in believing
Let’s turn our attention to joy in believing.
What it looks like
We can experience joy in believing apart from our circumstances, which may be excruciating. What does joy in believing look like? From Time for Grieving, part 3:
Consider these words, spoken by Pastor Edward Payson shortly before his death in 1827:
“Christians might avoid much trouble and inconvenience, if they would only believe what they profess—that God is able to make them happy without anything else. They imagine that if such a dear friend were to die, or such and such blessings to be removed, they should be miserable; whereas God can make them a thousand times happier without them. To mention my own case—God has been depriving me of one blessing after another; but, as everyone was removed, He has come in and filled up its place; and now, when I am a cripple, and not able to move, I am happier than ever I was in my life before, or ever expected to be; and, if I had believed this twenty years ago, I might have been spared much anxiety.”
Rescued by Jesus Christ
To me, joy in believing means joy in Jesus. He is our rock-solid foundation and he never changes. Do you know Jesus? Do you love him?
These words of Jesus are quoted in the documentary I recommended earlier in today’s post, Jesus, the Soul Shepherd:
“Truly, truly, I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has everlasting life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
John 5:24, New Heart English Bible
Have you passed from death into life? Have you been rescued from yourself and the sin that entangles you? Do you know Jesus personally? Come to him. Take your time in the Thanksgiving posts to explore right thinking, humility and salvation.
Clarity about belief
In his book Letter to the American Church, Eric Metaxas does an excellent job covering the stark difference between (1) believing who Jesus is—acknowledging his identity, and (2) believing, knowing and trusting him personally. The first reality involves knowing a fact. The latter involves knowing Jesus, loving him and walking with him through life. A person in the first group says, “That’s a boat.” A person in the second group steps away from the familiarity and security of the dock, gets into the boat and stays in the boat, with Jesus at the helm.
Peaceful Readers, I spent so many years in the first group. I believed the Bible was true. I believed that Jesus was who he said he was—the eternal son of God and the Savior. So I thought my soul was safe. I got baptized as a child, so spiritually-speaking, eternity-speaking, I was good, right? I was safe, right? I was saved from judgment and hell, right? Wrong. Not remotely. Remember—the demons know who Jesus is. Acknowledging his identity is one thing, but it isn’t salvation or trust or a relationship. It’s like seeing a photo of someone and saying, “I know him,” but you’ve never actually met or had a conversation, much less an actual friendship. Knowing someone’s name isn’t knowing him. How did I step from death to life? Enjoy my salvation story: part 1 and part 2.
Trusting Jesus changes us. Drink in 1 Peter 1:8. Love. Belief. Joy. Glory. Even though we haven’t seen Jesus, we love him.
Spiritual realities
We learned in part 5, the post about persecution and affliction, how to spiritually step out of hard circumstances and into joy by reflecting on Psalm 118:24 and giving thanks for important realities about today.
What about permanent spiritual realities? What about joy in believing? For both joy and strength, cling to these truths: I’ve been saved. I belong to Jesus. I am loved. I’m in the Lord’s hands, and he is faithful. I have a glorious eternity awaiting. And many more.
Key verse and a Psalm
Paul wrote our key verse about joy in believing in his incredible letter to the Christians in Rome.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13, New Heart English Bible
Psalm 4 speaks great truths into our times. In the midst of heavy trials, David experienced joy in believing. So can we.
A Psalm by David.
Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. You set me free in my distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
You sons of man, how long will you shame my honor, love what is worthless, chase after a lie? But know that the LORD works wonders for his godly one; the LORD will hear when I call to him.
Be angry, but do not sin. Ponder in your heart, but be at rest on your bed. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
Many say, “Who will show us any good?” LORD, lift up the light of your face upon us. You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and wine and oil abound.
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me live in safety.
Psalm 4, New Heart English Bible
A friend and a son
Let’s end today’s post with a verse written by Jesus’ very close friend, John.
I have no greater joy than this, to hear about my children walking in truth.
3 John 1:4, New Heart English Bible
“Walking in truth” means walking in a close relationship with Jesus. I can testify to the truth of that verse. Yesterday I told Logan that the best thing I ever showed him was my love for Jesus.
Coming next: I have no idea which piece of joy we’ll dig into next, but I’m excited to see how it unfolds. Until next time, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Romans 10:8-15
Song: “Believe on Jesus” by CAIN
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