GOD Morning! August 16, 2016 / Hated

GOD Morning!  August 16, 2016

Hated

The Widow’s Gift

21 Looking up, He saw the rich people putting their gifts into the treasury. ² And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. ³ He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in [proportionally] more than all of them; ⁴ for they all put in gifts from their abundance; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

So yeah. We have all heard this verse taught many times. Jesus isn’t looking around for folks who have plenty to give. He is looking for folks who will give their all. Sometimes it’s confusing.

We have put a bit of money aside to pour a new driveway. We have lived in our home for 16 years and our driveway is literally dangerous. People have fallen tripping over the giant hump in the middle of the driveway. A dear friend had to spend hundreds of dollars fixing her van after driving over the hump. Are we supposed to give the driveway money to God’s work? I’m leaning towards yes. I have heard countless stories of folks giving everything they had and God stepping in and providing double or triple of the amount given to His work.

⁵ As some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and consecrated offerings [of magnificent gifts of gold which were displayed on the walls and hung in the porticoes], He said, ⁶ “As for all these things which you see, the time will come when there will not be one stone left on another that will not be torn down.”

⁷ They asked Him, “Teacher, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to happen?” ⁸ He said, “Be careful and see to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name [appropriating for themselves the name Messiah which belongs to Me alone], saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not follow them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and disturbances [civil unrest, revolts, uprisings], do not panic; for these things must take place first, but the end will not come immediately.”

Things to Come

¹⁰ Then Jesus told them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be violent earthquakes, and in various places famines and [deadly and devastating] pestilences (plagues, epidemics); and there will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, and bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. ¹³ This will be a time and an opportunity for you to testify [about Me]. ¹⁴ So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for I will give you [skillful] words and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. ¹⁶ But you will be betrayed and handed over even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be continually hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your [patient] endurance [empowered by the Holy Spirit] you will gain your souls.

For many years, maybe even my whole life until lately, I sort of skimmed over these words because I had hoped that this wouldn’t happen in my lifetime. I have always envisioned being caught up into heaven before these things happened.

However, every one of these prophecies that came out of Jesus’ own mouth are happening right now. Pick up a Newsweek. Turn on the radio. Go online. It’s all right there.

The verse that has come home to me is verse 17.

“You will be continually hated by everyone because of My name.”

A few years ago I lost some dear friends. Because of a facebook post in which I stated my strong Bible based beliefs. It turned into a heated argument between some of my facebook friends, which I never in a million years intended for it to be. I was devastated. My heart hurt. We still casually visit with these friends but things are not the same.

Even now, I have to be very careful of stating my beliefs to certain Christian friends. I never know when one of them will suddenly become angry and start lashing out at me. “Continually hated.” Now, when I read this scripture, I have a better understanding of what it means to be hated.

I have grown accustomed to being hated by some folks, but it still hurts. We look at each other, we speak politely, and yet we know in our hearts that we couldn’t believe more differently. How can this be?

Are there going to be different Heavens? So that we can hang with only those who have our same beliefs? Um, I don't think so...

Which makes me think of Matthew 10, verses 21 and 22.

Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will rise up and rebel against their parents and cause them to be put death. And you will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but it is the one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.

And it gets worse… 

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword [of division between belief and unbelief]. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and a man’s enemies will be the members of his [own] household [when one believes and another does not].

³⁷ “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.³⁸ And he who does not take his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] is not worthy of Me.

And then it gets unbelievably, incredibly amazing...
³⁹ Whoever finds his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].

I would be lying if I said that I am not scared sometimes. Do I look forward to persecution, like what is going on in other countries? No.

Remember what happened to Jesus. He was a perfect man, with nothing but pure love in His heart for humanity, and yet His words and actions were twisted to the point of Him being beaten and nailed to a cross. That right there was hatred, plain and simple.

Now I am thinking of John 21.

¹⁵ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

¹⁶ He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁷ He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

“Oh God. Help me. I prefer to be loved by everybody. It hurts when I am hated. It hurts when accusations are made against me. But my life is a bed of roses compared to the Christians around the world who are being persecuted for Your name. I must embrace suffering for Your name. You suffered for me. I must take up my cross and follow you all the way to the Cross. I must pray as You prayed, “Not my will but Thine be done.”