THE PAITENCE OF JESUS - by Curtis S. Holman Matthew 5:11 ESV. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” A half a dozen atheists attacked me on Twitter. A friend of mine was being bombarded with posts after she said she didnt believe in evolution. I posted a supporting tweet towards her, and the floodgates opened. Out of nowhere these tweets start coming in, attacking my faith and my God. Even as I type this, I am still sad that many people hold Jesus with such contempt. I tried debating with them, but quickly realized that was a pointless and futile exercise. My emotions quickly switched from shock to anger, so I blocked them. Then, as I sat and thought about it, and pondered the verse above, I realized that blocking them meant that they won. As someone who longs to be blessed by God, I couldnt deny myself the honor and the pleasure of being ridiculed for his name. So I unblocked them. I dont know if they will go after me again, but Im waiting just encase. You may be wondering why I told you this story. Well, it just baffles my mind at how patient Lord Jesus is. Those tweets might have had me mentioned in them, but they were directed towards God. They were questioning his character, his authority, his strength, his love, his truthfulness, and his existence. They were filled with such hate and contempt that my first impulse was to become angry. I quickly lost patience with them. But Jesus doesnt. He died on the cross for the sins of the world, that includes them. He offers forgiveness to any who would repent and follow him, that includes them. He is intensely patient with a faithless creation who denies his holiness, love, and existence at every turn. It is those truths that caused me to unblock them, but God wasnt finished talking to me yet. He quickly reminded me about how patient he was with me, and brothers and sisters, he was very patient with me. God didnt remind me of my past sins and failures, but he did remind me of all the times he forgave me of those sins and failures. He was very gracious and merciful to me. And as I think back to my sins and failures, it baffles me at his patience. Even after I believed in him, I still lived in sin. But did he take back my forgiveness? No. He was patient and lead me on the right track. Someone told me once that if you continue to live in sin after Jesus has saved you, then its like you are crucifying him all over again. That has always stuck with me, and now I ask you. You dont have to comment and answer these questions, but I would hope that you would ponder them, and go to The Lord in prayer with them. How has Jesus been patient with me? Is there a sin in my life that he is being patient with me about right now? God, what can I do to gain patience like yours? In conclusion let me say, thank God for his patience toward us. If you are struggling with a sin in your life, or have anything you need to talk about, please feel free to message me, and I would love to talk to you and pray for you. I pray that this message was in some way helpful to all who have read it. I pray that through it we all can reach a deeper relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ. May he continue to strengthen you, and to conform you to himself. Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 16:22:21 +0000