I’m gonna work for His ways

The news of a friend’s death hit me like a sledgehammer blow. Last Monday she slipped and fell, and she was critical, then a day later, she was gone! It made me sad and angry all in the same moment. Somewhere deep in me I knew that this tragedy was yet another evidence of the brokenness in this world that is counter to what God intends for His creation. We were made for joy, for life, to know Him and worship Him with delight, which I do. But then come those awful days, those tragic moments, ultimately coming from Evil that mars perfection.

I hate the suffering that sin causes in this world.
When power is used to demean or abuse others – it outrages me.
When I learn about someone who willfully abuses a child, I am deeply angered.
When I learn of the greed of corporation that causes people to die from some toxic product, I am ready to go to battle.

Such anger is right and good. Jesus Himself was angered by abuse and misuse of people, by the pain and suffering that was introduced to this broken world because of evil.

In the 11th chapter of John's Gospel, we find Jesus in a little village where He faced pain. Despite the request of Martha and Mary for Him to come and heal their brother, Lazarus, He waited and when He arrived the man was already dead four days. Naturally, He walked into a scene of great sorrow.

What happened next is stunning. When Mary saw Jesus, she fell at his feet, crying accusing words.  "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. "Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, "Lord, come and see." (John 11:32-34, NLT)

Why did Jesus get angry at that moment? 

Because He knew that Death was the ultimate result of the work of Satan and human disobedience! What God made and declared “it is good” was marred by the entrance of evil into Creation.

God is the Giver of Life, the Lover of Humanity, Light and Joy. Death is none of those things. As Mary and her friends surrounded Him that day, He was stirred to anger because of the suffering visited on people that God loved by sin and the Devil. Another translation of that passage tells us that Jesus was "deeply moved in His spirit."  It was an anger that caused Him to go to the tomb and command, "Lazarus, come out!"  

At that moment a dead man was restored to life and walked into the light. Jesus was the Lord of Glory demonstrating the power of God over sin and death! He had told Martha moments earlier,"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." (John 11:25, NIV)

Christian let’s care enough to become angry but to remember to act redemptively like our Father in Heaven does. Sin angers God but He does not choose to erase this Creation and start over. He loves! He sent a Deliverer, Jesus Christ. God’s anger moves Him to reach out with amazing grace that offers forgiveness and restoration, in place of guilt and alienation. This is truth that -"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8, NIV) By that death, He made life possible.

When we become followers of Christ Jesus we are inducted into His holy cohort, commissioned to two tasks that are parallel –
to invite others to receive the salvation that restores them to Life and right relationship with their Father, AND
to work to make the rule of God and good visible in this present world.

We are sent with a message of salvation and the promise of an Eternal home. In addition to that work, we must, like our Father, care about hunger, abuse, oppression, racial hate, war and such things. With great wisdom and the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we allow ourselves to feel angry enough to give ourselves to bring about change!

Ponder what we learn of Jesus’ work in this passage – “Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him  along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.”  (Luke 8)

Paul preaching included a message of God’s rule on earth, too. In Acts 19, we learn of his work in Ephesus.  “Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.”

Make no mistake, this is not about creating a new theocracy or anointing some politician as the savior of humanity. Nothing corrupts the true Gospel more than marrying it to political power. The good we share comes from within, a changed heart that is born anew through Christ Jesus.  Jesus says our true influence is like ‘salt and light’ – influencing, healing, preserving, and bringing clarity.

We do NOT compel with power; we convince with Love that flows sacrificially just like the love of Christ who gave Himself for us. Let’s get angry, then give ourselves to Him – radically – to do Kingdom work.

Here is a word from the Word. May it inspire us to hunger for the Kingdom come and to work with the Oen whose ‘yoke’ fits well even as we labor for Him.
At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  (Matthew 11)

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Video of this blog  https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

Do You Know How to Be Tough?

Americans are losing the ability to deal with hardship; many of us simply do not know how to deal with life’s realities! We (yes, I include myself!) too often confuse what is inconvenient with what is truly hardship. We grow irritated when asked to step outside of our comfort zone. We refuse to engage with the normal rhythms of life with acceptance; aging, sickness, even death- and become graceless and mean because of it. Parents often work at eliminating every stressful situation in a child’s life, creating a person who is overwhelmed by ‘adulting.’

Tish Harrison Warren, author of What Grows in Weary Lands: On Christian Resilience, reminds us that stress and difficulty can serve the purpose of making us deeper, stronger, and better persons. That may sound ridiculous to a person who has been trained from infancy that being happy is life’s highest aim. Warren said “If your chief identity is as a consumer and your main goal in life is individual happiness or having an ‘Instagrammable’ life, then anything that seems hard and threatens a sense of bliss is something to be avoided. If that is the story we tell ourselves, our goal will be to as comfortable as possible for as long as we can.”  With great wisdom she also says, “What brings our life meaning – faith, relationships, generative work, the commitment to celibacy or marriage, and parenting – is difficult.” (Christianity Today, page 80, May/June 2026) 

The Scripture, which should shape the life and values of those who follow Christ, 
is filled with stories of hardship, difficulty, and resilience 
in the lives of the faithful! 
Revelation lauds those who faithfully remain 
through tests and trials calling them ‘overcomers.’

Abraham left the city where he was born to follow God’s call to become a ‘great nation’ through which the whole earth would be blessed. He was promised an heir and waited through disappointment for many decades before the miraculous birth of his son.

Joseph, pressed through 2 long decades of rejection, false accusation, and imprisonment before he experienced the promise that God had made to him in his teen years. Those hard years formed the character in him that made him the Prime Minister of Egypt in a time of national crisis. He summarizes his life with these words – “Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, ‘It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.’  The second son he named Ephraim and said, ‘It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.’  (Genesis 41:51-52)

David was anointed to be the next king of Israel by Samuel but then found himself chased through the hills as a fugitive, threatened with death by a mad king, and struggling with mutinous followers. He waited through many long years to take the throne. In times of hardship, we learn that “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.”  (1 Samuel 30)

Jesus left the perfection of His Glory to embrace humanity and ultimately to suffer death on the Cross. He did so for the purposes of our salvation. Paul writes that Jesus “made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.”  (Philippians 2)

Not for a moment I am suggesting that we go looking for hardship or that we try to make martyrs of ourselves, but for Christ’s sake (literally!) we need to stop running from hard things and avoiding the call of God. James says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, a whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. … Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”  (James 1)

Peter, who knew a thing or two about hardship and failure, urged us to choose to be faithful as we hold onto this promise. “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So, after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”  (1 Peter 5) He sees that the obvious experience of the disciple of Jesus is to live counter-culturally and thus, to know hardship.

Friend, the best life, one that is fully engaged with others and committed to excellence, will be hard from time to time. Choose to really LIVE, refusing the call of the ‘broad way’ to destruction and following the way of Jesus.

Here’s a word from the Word. “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
 “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.
And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”
But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.” (Hebrews 10)

Press on. Choose the best way. Faith is our victory.  Amen.

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Video of this blog

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You need more than Social Media!

Social Media – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok - some hate it, some love it, a few are casual users. I confess to signing into my accounts on a daily basis. I enjoy seeing pictures of friends and family, reading about where people have been, what they are doing in life.

Can social media be a time waster? It sure can. Mindless scrolling through video reels can eat an hour without conscious thought.
Can it be addictive? Yes, again.
Is it a great way to connect with people? In my opinion, yes, too! Last night our pastor posted a prayer need on our church’s ‘virtual prayer room’ and in just a few moments, a dozen people connected and promised to pray!
You are I are mostly connected for this devotional thought through some social media platform, and I hope that the time spent ‘together’ is beneficial.

However - the virtual connection can never replace flesh and blood friendships. There is no way a Facebook post will ever replace a shared meal; laughing together, being around each other. Our church offers an ‘online’ experience for those who cannot make it to the church building. But it is a poor substitute for being in the same room, singing, prayer, and hearing the Word with others.

Yet I am convinced that virtual ties enhance the living one.

Why do we enjoy connections?

God made us to be social! The circle of friends in our lives steady us, encourage us, and help us to avoid that sense of meaninglessness that so often accompanies anonymity. Real and living social interaction keeps us healthy- physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

The Proverbs reminds us that "A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need." (Proverbs 17:17, NLT) Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, said “In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. They keep the young out of mischief; they comfort and aid the old in their weakness, and they incite those in the prime of life to noble deeds.”

Friendships do not simply form and sustain themselves. Like all things of value, they must be cultivated, protected, and strengthened by investment of time and energy. Are you building friendships? Are you forming and nurturing connections with other people?

A healthy Christian cannot be a Lone Ranger, even though he realizes that relationships can be trying as well as a blessing. He will not give in to misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Jesus said, "This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other." (John 13:35, The Message) The quality of that love is such that relationships take priority over convenience, work obligations, and even personal feelings! We are committed to one another.

Paul’s prime illustration for the Christian’s connection to others is the human body. My body is a collection of limbs and organs, different parts, still - a unit- each part critical to the function of the whole! Of Christians he says - "You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything." ... The wisdom of the Word reminds us that “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. …

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.” (1 Corinthians 12)

Let’s be friends – real, loving, deeply connected with others. You might think you’re strong, not really in need of others at this time. Let me tell you from personal experience – the time will come, sooner or later, when you will need others. I am now in a season of life when I cannot even imagine how I would live well without the amazing friends that share life with me, who cry with me, who laugh with me, who share my worship of God.

Here is a word from the Word. "If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:10-12, NLT)

We are, indeed, better together!

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Video of this blog

https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55