THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT

“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53)

Hello beloved,

I will be very transparent with you today. Throughout my Christian walk I have found this section of scripture to grow more and more true as I try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Just last night, my sister called me up to let me know what she thought about my beliefs. Oh, she did it in love. She did it weeping, in fact. But, nonetheless, the division grew. You see, she was the last of the family I grew up with that still saw me as a somewhat sane person. She even made a commitment to Christ around two and a half years ago. It hurt to hear the things she had to say. To me, it seemed as though I had become a terrorist in her eyes. I realized, last night, that I had now been divided from my entire family.

In light of all of this, I there are two places I could turn. I could allow this division to throw me into the pits of despair, realizing that those I love dearly have rejected me; or, I could look to “Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4) A dear friend of mine once preached a message concerning this. We are not called to throw a pity party for ourselves when we find ourselves in the midst of calamity. We are called to comfort those in trouble, as God comforts us in all our troubles. That is what I have set out to do.

Beloved, I know that many of you are in deep despair today. Whether it be financial problems, family problems, whatever it may be; I can honestly say to you that our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, has suffered far more. You might ask, “Well, how does that comfort me?” Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. “

Beloved, this is a race. We must lay aside every weight. How? Lay them at the foot of the cross. That might sound like a warn out cliche, but look at it. In the midst of our sorrows, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. As Jesus endured the cross, He had His eyes fixed on the Father. There was joy set before Him. What was that joy? The joy of redeeming those He loves. What a Savior! Though He never did a single thing wrong, He bore all the sin of the world and was crushed by the Father. I can only imagine the sorrow of Jesus as He hung, naked and beaten on the cross, and His Father had to turn away from Him because He had actually become our sin. What a Savior!

As I was praying about my situation last night, I focused on the cross. The words, “despise the shame” pierced my soul. I immediately grabbed my Bible and found this passage. Oh, beloved, what Jesus went through! He endured the cross! He despised the shame! And He is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God! He is interceding for you and for me. He is the One we must turn to.

Ask yourself this question, “What shame did Jesus despise as He endured the cross?” Beloved, what shame did He not despise? It hurts when our loved ones reject us. Just imagine what it felt like for the Son of God, when those He came to set free mocked Him, spit on Him, and nailed Him to a cross! In perspective, it should make our problems seem insignificant. We must look to the cross!

Beloved, a piece of my heart was ripped from me last night. Yet, I praise God for it. It has cause me to catch just the smallest glimpse of what our Savior did for us on the cross. Beloved, it is only through Christ that you will find comfort. For, He is the God of all comfort.

In our nation, there has never been a darker time. I am certain that many of you are going through trials. Let me assure you that I am not trying to minimize your sufferings. But, know this, “God is still on the throne!” He will deliver those who call on Him. Just remember this, His idea of deliverance might not line up with ours. Paul, in 2 Timothy 4:18 said, “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Many theologians believe that 2 Timothy was the last letter he wrote, shortly before he was executed by Nero. You say, “Paul was wrong! Where was God when Nero killed him?” Beloved, God was right there, Paul was rescued, and God did deliver him from the hands of Nero…right into the arms of Jesus.

Beloved, that is where our hope lies, that we will one day rest in the arms of Jesus.

I hope I have succeeded in comforting some of you, with the comfort I have received.

In Christian love,
Adam Tennant

I’M GLAD YOU FOUND SOMETHING THAT WORKED FOR YOU…

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

Hello beloved,

I was thinking about something tonight. When I told my family and friends about how Jesus saved me from my sin,  there was one statement I kept hearing over and over, “I’m glad you found something that worked for you.”

You know, that’s a very popular response these days, when you’ve told someone about Christ. It’s as if they don’t want to hurt your feelings. It’s as if they feel sorry for you because you have lowered yourself to believe in a God that loves mankind so much that He died for them.

Well, I’ve got news for you. This “thing” that has worked so well for me, worked for fifty-four of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence. The next time someone tells me that they are happy I found something that worked for me, I’ll ask them if they realize that the ground they are standing on was set apart for a people whose one goal was to shine the Light of the Gospel to a lost and dying world. I’ll let them know that they live in a free country because our founders lifted up Jesus Christ and founded this country on the Word of God. And the only reason this, once godly nation, is losing her freedom is because we have forsaken the very God who gave us life. And, now, athiest’s are robbing us of our freedoms.

It’s as if these people don’t even care that Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross so we could be set free from our sin.