Trying Times - “DON'T THINK ON ANYTHING ELSE”
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (5/29/2013, 6/1/2013, 6/15/2013, 6/18/2013, 6/22/2013, 6/29/2013, 7/6/2013)
“And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed… But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt”(Genesis 19:17, 26, King James Version(KJV), [Wicked cities destroyed]).
Greetings to us all, one and all, in the tender loving mercy of Christ Jesus,
One day, I found myself standing outside, in our country town with a neighbor/first cousin, talking about times gone by and childhood memories. She invited me to her personal prayer time. She prays, at about the same time the school bus arrived and supper time. As she departed to walk to her prayer location, near her family's old house, now dilapidated and not yet replaced for historical value as is the same condition of my own family's sect's old house. She walked away and she did not look back, not once.
I met my first cousin on many occasions. We talked as we cared for our families' sects estates. We were the ones left to care for the land. My dear cousin, 75 years old, when I noticed her practice “Lot's wife and the angelic instructions”(Genesis 19:17, 26), is now nearly 78 years old.
I noticed every time she left, she never looked back, not once. Finally, it dawned on me as I stood there watching her walk away, waiting for her to turn around and wave a last good-bye that she practiced “Lot's wife and the angelic instructions”(Genesis 19:17, 26). Now, as I leave her, whenever I visit her, I do not look back because I know she does not want me to look back. She wants me to remember what happened to Lot's wife. She wants me to be steadfast, firm, sure of my beliefs, to live my faith and not draw back.
When trouble abounds, keep your eyes on Christ Jesus and the instructions of God, to escape impending destruction; doom and gloom. Think, Christ Jesus. Don't think on anything else! Tell them about Christ Jesus (Jehovah Hoshe'ah, The Lord saves, Psalm 20:9, KJV “Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call” [God's glory]).
Preferably, most citizens and strangers, want prosperity to abound 'til the moon is no more. They want joy to abound “til the sun cease to shine. However, sometimes we find ourselves, in a mess that God, only, will see us through, from the onset of the mess to the end of the mess. Faithfully, Christ placed us in a well-laid plan, to finish.
God placed Israel in a well-laid plan, on a secret path of deliverance, from Egypt, to escape the throes and pursuits of oppression. “Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin”(Psalm 89:40, KJV [God's great mercies]). “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;”(Psalm 103:4, KJV [The mercies of God]). I don't know about you but I'd prefer to put my trust in the Lord, Christ Jesus; not think on anything else but what God told me to do to escape and not draw back like “Lot's wife”(Genesis 19:26).
Think, Christ Jesus. Don't think on anything else! Tell them about Jesus. Supposedly, good citizens rebelled, rejected and resisted the instructions of God, to their untimely deaths. We must say, if, this happened, then, maybe this would not happen, in their lives.
Those wayward citizens did not die because they loved Christ (innocent lambs), they died because their hearts resisted the love of Christ and rejected the secret path of escape that God provided to lead them to the desires of their hearts, joy and ultimate prosperity. How many times, do you think Christ came to them? There are angels among us. It does not matter at all, to the wayward citizens, how many times Christ came via angels or intercessors, they knew better, so much so, 'til their leaning to
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their own understanding, did not provide them the way, rather it trapped them into sudden destruction; doom and gloom.
I need to tell you about Christ Jesus. I don't need to tell you about those people (citizens), even peoples of the world (world citizens), who wish us bad tidings and mockingly laugh at the possibility of our downfall. We are not the first ones to fall into temptation. St. Mark (14:38, KJV) said, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready but the flesh is weak” [Christ in Gethsemane].
We are not the first ones to be tried in the fire of our hearts. “I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee” (I Chronicles 29:17, KJV [Solomon made king]). “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is” (I Corinthians 3:13, KJV [Manner of Paul's preaching]). We are not the first ones to be put to test, to choose life or death.
In the book of Job (9:23, KJV), the word of God says, “If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent” [Job acknowledgeth it]. The book of Psalms (144:7-8, KJV) says, “Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood” [Faith by meditation and prayer]. God's power; Christ's power, will turn your enemies around, make your enemies your footstool, make your enemies your friends and stop your enemies while they are in pursuit of you. The book of the prophet Jeremiah (15:11, KJV) says, “The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; Verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction” [The forms of punishment].
The gospel according to St. Luke (6:27, KJV) says that Christ said, “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,” [The Pharisees reproved; The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes (St. Matthew 5:3)]. Also, Christ said, in the gospel of St. Luke (6:35, KJV), “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” [Love and good works]. Think, Christ Jesus. Don't think on anything else! Tell them about Christ Jesus.
Amazingly secure, in times like these, some citizens are so comfortable in their own lives and even in their own skins, they do not expect trouble to abound in their lives. They do not even imagine that they might awaken from sleep and need to run for their lives to escape death and destruction. It's not even a thought to most of them, that one day their lives might turn inside out, topsy-turvy and the life as they knew it, is no longer the same, causing them to scratch in the dirt, toil in the soil and work harder than ever before, in their lives, to recover lost from natural disasters such as hurricanes, storms, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes and the such, which answered greed of the few people and leveled them into a pitiful heap of equality, to face the real crises questions, Why did my wealth not save me? Why didn't the hurricane know I am wealthy?
The questions loomed in the hearts and minds, of us all. Why must I suffer with the poor, if, not but for a moment in time, then, to see destruction, as a person without substantial means to make a difference? Why did the hurricane come to my neighborhood? Why must I suffer with those people? I'd rather draw back, like Lot's wife did to avoid the impending doom, I imagined.
Initially, I wrote this sermon, in the midst of a troubling world, with all manner of destruction and I chose to metaphorically speak of it all as a storm, illustrating in the mind's eye with many of the different storms that frequented the world sphere in the last ten years. You know when you were knee-deep in the storm, when debt needed to be paid, your children were out-of-control, your home was up for grabs and you felt like a stranger in your own home, your wife was more dutiful to someone else or
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everyone else than she was dutiful to you, you lost your job, your vehicles:cars, trucks were constantly mending-in need of repair and your connection to Christ Jesus was a bother. You know when you were waist-deep in the storm, when God's presence was waning in your life and your belief system was up for grabs, you wondered why you committed to anyone and all the things you felt responsible for, in the first place, you kept trying to overcome while either the pit you were in was deeper than you first thought it was, the slippery slope rejected your progress and pushed you back down again or the people that you now called crabs in a bag kept pulling on you for all you had, not making your load lighter but adding more weight, dead weight, so you could not progress, move forward to get out of the rut, the pit you found yourselves in. You know when you were shoulder-deep in the storm, you disconnected from the Spirit within you and refused to listen to spirit or flesh, your daily operation was in desperation, you participated in a competitive frenzy like piranhas feeding on opportunities while feeding on your competition, as well, at the same time, you believed in cliché' phrases, like “the bounty goes to the swift” instead of tried in the fire, truth, in the word of God doctrine, “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, KJV). You know when you were sinking in the storm, you felt all hope was lost, there was no end to the troubles that surrounded you, your troubles ate away at your liberty, your options were cut-off, your choices now meaningless, instead of limited, no longer believing “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (St. Luke 1:37, 18:27; KJV; St. Matthew 19:26 KJV).
In the gospel according to St. Matthew (8:26, KJV), Christ said, “And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm” [Great tempest in the sea]. Interestingly enough, Lot's wife imagined a far greater destruction ahead of her than the destruction she escaped, only to turn into a pillar of salt for drawing back, which caused her daughters to feel desperation to get their father drunk in order to lay with him,
to bear children. Think, Christ Jesus. Don't think on anything else. Tell them about Christ Jesus.
Tell them about the redemptive power of Christ Jesus (Psalm 23):
“The Lord is my shepherd (Jehovah-Raha/Rohi, The Lord
my Shepherd, Psalm 23, KJV [The confidence in God's grace]);
I shall not want (Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord my Provider,
Genesis 22:14, KJV [Abraham blessed again], I John 4:9, KJV
[There is no fear in love], Philippians 4:19, KJV [Paul thanketh
God for faith]). He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
(Jehovah-Shalom, The Lord of Peace, Isaiah 9:6, KJV [Christ's
birth and kingdom]; Romans 8:31-35, KJV [The efficacy of
divine grace]: he leadeth me beside the still waters (Jehovah-
Raha/Rohi, The Lord my Shepherd). He restoreth my soul
(Jehovah Rapha/ Rophe, The Lord my Healer, KJV,
Isaiah 53: 4-5 [Messiah's sufferings foretold]): he leadeth me
in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake (Jehovah-
Tsidkenu, The Lord our Righteousness, I Corinthians 1:30,
KJV [The wisdom of God]. Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
(Jehovah-Nissi, The Lord my Banner, I Chronicles 29:11-13,
KJV [Solomon made king]: for thou art with me (Jehovah-
Shammah, The Lord who is present, The Lord who is with us,
Hebrews 13:5, KJV [Divers admonitions]; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me (Jehovah Raha/Rohi, The Lord my
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Shepherd). Thou preparest a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies (Jehovah-Nissi, The Lord my
Banner): thou anointest my head with oil (Jehovah Rapha/
Rophe, The Lord my Healer and Jehovah-Mekaddishkem,
Jehovah M'gaddishcem, The Lord my Sanctifier,
Exodus 31:13, KJV [Moses receiveth the two tables],
I Corinthians 1:30, KJV [The wisdom of God]); my cup
runneth over (Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord my Provider).
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Additionally, culture offensively spoke out in the land of the free, to remind us all, that progress was still fleeting, indeed, and in the heat of a moment, all progress made, could be naught (nothing). My double-cousin visited and we spoke of the issue, of name calling, in general and calling out the word “nigger”, specifically, since the latest person, a native of Georgia, my ancestral state, suffered the consequences of confessing she spoke the word, in her lifetime. I reflected, on the truth, of the meaning, mostly thought of as a stingy person who refused to share, without a charitable heart but this word went far deeper than that, in culture. I continued in my reflection, as my cousin commented that it was the meaning that white people held in their hearts as they spoke it to black people, and he said, “The group called Barak Obama, a nigger.” He said it as a matter-of-political-fact or public opinion.
I told him, I understood better now the pain of hearing the word, as he spoke from his heart, dealing with the issue one person at-a-time than before when the remedy was to squash it or “hush it up”. I said, “So, the word “nigger” bound a black person or a person of the black persuasion, from progressing to the level of the presidency or any job that broke the glass ceiling or went beyond the level of achievement, won, thus far and no matter, if a black person, did win the ultimate achievement, then, the black person, was still a “nigger”. It was a word edged in stone, a caste system for black people that controlled their progress and refused to accept them beyond the word, “nigger”. Well, that was one side of the coin and how black people perceived how white people felt about the word.
Pervasively haunting, the pain, from his heart spoke volumes, in silence. I told him, “Jesus called you friend” to calm him, from his perceived reality. I continued, “So, the meaning for black people, was that the word “nigger” grounded a black person to the reality of acceptance that the word “nigger” would be used, more often than not, in our mainstream culture, even our world culture, when they stepped outside of your neighborhood and when they went out into the world. Black people must be mindful that the word would always connect them back to their neighborhood, their family, their brotherhood, their ghetto and it must be their reality, at all times, and they must never forget it because no matter what they achieved, where they lived, one day, it most definitely would be spoken, in their presence, in their face.
So, black people must gain a sort of peace with the word because in the world we lived in the peoples of the world would always breathe life into the word, “nigger” in our lifetimes, as a reminder of where black people came from. It was our reality. It was our history. So, black people, like the hip hop generation might as well make it their badge of honor. But, they must not stop achieving.
Black people must not stop progressing. They must not stop moving forward. Just hang the dreaded word “nigger” on the chandelier of their minds and look to the sky and thank God, thank Christ Jesus, for calling us “friend”. In life, we all were no better than the lowest person,
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since Christ said, “What you do to the least of these, you do to me” placed us all on the same rung, on the totem pole:
“And the King shall answer and say unto
them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall
he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels: For I
was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I
was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was
a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and
ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye
visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in
prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then
shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of
the least of these, ye did it not to me. And
these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into eternal
life”(St. Matthew 25: 40-46, KJV).
Christ is the great equalizer and great witness of the “one body”. My cousin seemed to be satisfied with the discussion, so, we live our lives, abundantly and wait for the next time, life was breathed into the word “nigger” to remind black people, of history. We must educate ourselves to learn more about other cultures and the words they called themselves, such as “dogs” as Jesus called the woman, in the Bible. He said, “I cannot give the bread of the children to the dogs”:
“But he answered and said, It is not meet
to take the children's bread, and to cast it to
dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs
eat of the crumbs which fall from their
masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it
unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter
was made whole from that very hour” (St.
Matthew 15:26-28, KJV).
Summarily, if, we educate ourselves to other cultures, then, we would not feel so “put out” of our mainstream American culture when the word “nigger” was used. Society, both modern, contemporary and early, medieval, even primitive cultures, going beyond, when Christ walked the earth, called each other names. It is a most difficult practice, to squash from the family, neighborhood, schoolyard and mainstream society gatherings. Christ is with us. The Spirit is with us.
God is present (Jehovah-Shammah). He is with us. His spirit is with us. God spoke to
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Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:16-18; 3:9, 13, 16-17, KJV). The LORD appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day (Genesis 18:1, KJV). God spoke to Jacob between Beersheba and Haran when he lighted upon a certain place to rest for the night (Genesis 28:10-11, KJV [Vision of Jacob's ladder]). In the Egyptian houses, the LORD gave Israel favor to borrow jewels of silver and gold as well as raiment so that the things they borrowed they could take when He led them out of Egypt (Exodus 12:35-36, KJV [The firstborn are slain]), God appeared on Mount Sinai and spoke to Moses (Exodus 18:18, KJV), God spoke to Joshua to go over Jordan (Joshua 1:2-18)...
“Firstly, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre, after resurrection – first appearance (St. John 20:18, KJV [Christ's resurrection]); next, Jesus meets the women (Mary mother of James, Salome, and Joanna) on their return to the city – second appearance (St. Matthew 28: 8-10, St. Mark 16:8, St. Luke 24: 9-11, KJV), Jesus seen by Peter (Cephas, I Corinthians 15:5 – third
appearance (St. Luke 24:34), seen by the two disciples on way to Emmaus – fourth appearance (St. Mark 16:12, 13, St. Luke 24: 13, 35, KJV), later, after eight days, Jesus came again to the disciples and Thomas who missed him the last time, was there (St. John 20:26-29, KJV [the incredulity of Thomas] (Jesus appears to the ten, Thomas being absent) – fifth appearance (St. Mark 16:14, St. Luke 24: 36-49, St. John 20:19-23), to the disciples came Jesus and stood in the midst, and breathed on them so that they received the Holy Ghost (St. John 20:19, 22 KJV [Christ's resurrection]), Evening of Sunday after Easter day, Jesus appears to them again, Thomas being present – sixth appearance (John 20: 24-29), The eleven go into Galilee, to a mountain appointed. Jesus appears, and commands them to teach all nations – seventh appearance (St. Matthew 28: 16-20, St. Mark 16:15-18, KJV), Jesus shows Himself to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias, he stood on the shore, -eighth appearance (St. John 21:1-24, KJV), Seen of above five hundred brethren at once (I Corinthians 15:6), probably along
with the eleven – ninth appearance (St. Matthew 28:16), He is seen by James, then by all the
apostles (Acts 1:3-8; I Corinthians 15:7) – tenth appearance. In all, 538 (549 if the eleven (Matthew 28:16) be distinct from the 500) persons are specified as having seen the risen Saviour:
also, after His ascension, St. Paul (I Corinthians 15:8)” (Holy Bible, n.d.).
In reflection, the salvation history of woman reminds us, Eve disobeyed God (Genesis 3:13, KJV), Sarah laughed at God (Genesis 18: 12-13, 15, KJV), Hagar despised (competed against) Sarah; for the wrong of Sarah's decision was upon her when she gave Hagar to Abraham. Hagar had to flee away pregnant with Abraham's child, Ishmael (Genesis 16: 5-11, KJV), Lots' wife drew back in the escape to the mountain, from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, which caused both of her daughters, in desperation to get their father drunk so that they could lie with him, to bear children (Genesis 19:17, 26, 30-36), Rebecca switched Jacob for Esau to take Esau's blessing (Genesis 27:15-23, KJV), Rachel took her father's idol god when she left with Jacob (Genesis 31:30, 32, 34, KJV, [Laban pursueth Jacob]), Tamar dressed like a harlot
to deceive Judah, her father-in-law, in order to bear children, under her dead husband's name (Genesis 38: 13-16, 26, KJV [Tamar deceiveth Judah], God made a covenant with Israel so they (daughters and sons) would not covenant with the inhabitants of the land to go whoring after the gods of the inhabitants of the lands (Exodus 34:14-16 [God's covenant with Israel]), Rahab, the harlot saved her family by hiding Joshua's spies (Joshua 2:1, 3-5, 6:25 [Rahab's covenant with the spies and Jericho is destroyed]... Esther replaced Queen Vashti, who refused to come at King Ahasuerus' commandment by his chamberlains (Esther 1:11-22, KJV [A queen to be chosen]). In trying times, like these, we find an even stronger need to draw nigh to God, so he will draw nigh to us...than ever before, forgetting the past...as we press toward the mark for the prize... and run our course to the finish (James 4:8, KJV; Philippians 3:13-14, KJV; II Timothy 4:7, KJV).
