The World Loves the Darkness and Rejects the Light

 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:6-7)

Cain had some problems.  He was the oldest and his younger brother was making him look bad.  Abel's offering was pleasing to God.  Cain's offering was not.  In reality, Abel was not the one making Cain look bad.  Cain was making Cain look bad.  In fact, Cain was bad because he was offering sacrifices to God out of duty, not love.  Hebrews 11:4 tells us that it was Abel's faith that made his sacrifice better; it had nothing to do with what was being sacrificed.  Abel's faithfulness exposed Cain's lack of faith to himself.  

Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. (1 John 3:12)

This is the same reason why the world hates Christians.  Because Christians have been made righteous through faith in Christ.  The righteousness of Christians exposes the world's evil rejection of Jesus.  Our light exposes others' darkness to themselves; and like Cain they can't stand it.  It makes them angry.  This is why Jesus told his disciples that the world would hate them.  This is why the world hates you for openly, and freely, confessing your faith in Jesus. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:3-4)

Don't get angry when people insult you or belittle you because of your faith in Jesus.  Instead, have pity on them.  They are on their way to hell!  Love them enough to keep telling them about everything Jesus has done for them.  Some will listen and be saved.  Keep publicly proclaiming Jesus until the day you die.  Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.  I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.  Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Why is Life so Tough?

 "Did God really say...?"

This one little question is the reason life is so tough today.  God created a perfect world for Adam and Eve to live in.  He had created that perfect world for each of us to live in as well.  This question from Satan to Eve undid all of it.

When Eve listened to this question and the lies of Satan, she stopped trusting in God's Word.  She saw her opportunity to be equal to God and to have some really nice stuff (Genesis 3:6).  These temptations were too much for her and she abandoned God's Word and plunged head-long into sin.  And today we still pay the price for her selfishness.  Eve and Adam's sin ruined God's perfect creation.  "For Adam was formed first, then Eve.  And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner." (1 Timothy 2:13-14)

Thankfully, God also gave us the remedy to sin on that same day.  In Genesis 3:15, God promises to send a Savior who would defeat Satan and sin.  That promised was fulfilled when Jesus came into the world: he lived a perfect life, he willingly died on the cross, and he rose from the dead on the third day to defeat sin, death, and the devil.  That is why even though we are all sinners we have the hope of eternal life in heaven.  Jesus has redeemed us!

So even though this life has its challenges and pain, we know it is only temporary.  "Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Greatness Comes from Humble Beginnings

 God's people are not strangers to oppression and persecution.  In fact, this reality goes all the way back to Genesis.  First Adam and Eve were persecuted by Satan (~4004 B.C.).  Then after the Fall, Abel was persecuted by his brother, Cain,  because he was faithful and found favor in the sight of the Lord.  Cain was not faithful and his offering was rejected by God.  This made Cain jealous and he hated Abel because of it. So Cain murdered his brother.  You can't get much more persecuted than that.

Today, as we look at the "Birth of Moses" (Exodus 1 &2), this same thing was happening to God's people.  The good old days of Joseph were long gone, and now the Israelites had been forced into harsh slavery in Egypt.  As they cry out to the Lord, he hears them and sends a baby.

This is how God still works today.  When we pray to God for help he doesn't just snap his fingers and fix our problems.  Instead, he puts people in our lives to help us with our problems.  He gives us wise counselors that we can turn to for guidance.  He gives us our spouse and family members to help us through our tough times.  He gives us opportunities to grow in faith, wisdom, and courage.

Moses' beginnings were pretty humble:

He was born to slave parents.  He was supposed to be killed as soon as he was born by order of the king.  When he was too big to hide anymore his mom put him in a basket and placed him in the Nile River hoping someone would find him.  

The point is this: When God's people needed a hero, God sent a baby.  God still does this today.  A number of years ago he sent you, and me.  God sent each of us for a specific purpose.  What's yours?  Have you figured it out yet?  Have you even thought about it yet?

If you're not quite sure what your purpose is, what you're supposed to be doing, I will give you some ways to help figure that out.

First, get a notebook and start journaling with these questions in mind:

• What are some ways you have already impacted the lives of others?
• What are you passionate about?  What gets your heart rate up when you talk about it, or think about it?
• What are your strengths?  What are your gifts?
• What do you see as the biggest problem in your life?  ...in your community?  ...in your country?  ...in the world?
• What injustice do you see that you just can't stand?
• What do you have that you would love to share with the world?

Second, pick out one thing from your brainstorm and act on it.  Do something about it.  Right now.  Does that thought scare you?  You need to start acting on what matters most to you if you are going to figure out your purpose in life.  You will not do anything meaningful if you let fear and comfort run your life.  Imagine if Moses' mom would have selfishly held on to her son.  He would have been killed.  By trusting God and letting go of him, Moses' mom, and Moses, were blessed.  

His mom got to nurse him and raise him without fear.  Moses got to grow up and fulfill God's purpose for his life.  This all started when Moses' mother took some action, some difficult and scary action.  This is what you will need to do as well.  Stop hanging on to the life that you don't want.  Put it in the hands of the Lord and take one difficult and scary action today!

Finally, once you start to figure some things out and get some momentum, start assembling your team.  Who's going to help you accomplish your purpose?  Who do you know that is like-minded and passionate about the same things as you?  Who do you know who's strengths compensate for your weaknesses?  Some of these people already exist in your life.  Some you will have to find.  Keep your eyes open.  Moses didn't lead the Israelites out of Egypt on his own, he had help from his brother, Aaron.  Ask God to help you assemble your team with the right people as you go.  He will bring you the right people and opportunities when the time is right- in his time.

Are you sick of playing the victim and ready to take control of your own life?  It has to start today.  It starts by making the decision to do the exercises outlined above.  It starts by taking responsibility for your life and killing the victim mentality.  It starts when you stop complaining about the problems in the world and start doing something productive towards fixing them.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

An Eye for An Eye? Maybe Not.

 1 Peter 3:9

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  Instead, speak a blessing, because you were called for the purpose of inheriting a blessing.

People like to misuse the Bible verse that says, "...an eye for an eye," but look at what Peter says here.  He says don't repay evil for evil.  This is a more impactful way of saying, "two wrongs don't make a right."

In fact, "an eye for an eye" is the authority  given to the governing authority to punish crime, not to individuals to seek out selfish revenge.  If you read further in that section of the Old Testament, God also says, "It is mine to avenge."  So Peter's point here is consistent with God's commands throughout all of history.

Peter's point is that we are never justified to sin.  Just because someone breaks one of the Commandments and hurts us, we don't then have license to break one of the Commandments and hurt them.  We are each held accountable by the Lord for our own actions, not the actions of others.  Retaliation and revenge are tools of Satan.  We see him implementing those tools very effectively all across our country right now.  

It is pride and arrogance that fuels hatred and destructive behaviors.  Rioting isn't about justice, it's about advancing personal political agendas.  It's about advancing Satan's agendas: his tighter control over his foolish slaves, and his war against Jesus and His children.

That's why Peter tells us how to live for Jesus: don't retaliate and bless even those are attacking you.  This is how Jesus expects his children to act in the face of oppression.  Jesus is not some detached deity who issues these decrees from an ivory tower, he experienced greater persecution and injustice than any human will ever know.  Jesus is the Son of God and people rejected him for telling the truth.  They killed him for telling the truth.  People still reject him and hate him for revealing his true identity to mankind.  This is why Jesus can, and does, tell us not to avenge ourselves.  Instead, we are to model him.  We are to live for him.  Our lives are to be living sacrifices to him.

If you truly are a follower of Christ it is time to stop living for this world, and start living for him.

Jesus loves you!  He died for you!  He rose from the grave so you can be with him for all eternity in heaven.  It's time to stop living for your selfish desires and store up your treasures in heaven.

Your life matters to Jesus, and his opinion is the only one that matters.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,

    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.