Why God Hides His Face

Glory Cloud, New Hampshire

In my previous article, I explained the ongoing Hide and Seek interaction between God and man, including why God hides Himself from us and why we need to seek Him.  Today I would like to discuss a related topic, which is the fact that God's face is deliberately hidden. Did you ever wonder why He hides His face, even from those who are in heaven. We know that His face is enshrouded with divine glory, so why do you think He does that? Even the psalmist asked this question when He said, "Why do You hide your face?" (Psalm 44:23-4). This is a valid question, so let's explore it in Scripture.

First of all, do you remember when Moses asked to see God's glory? Here is how the Lord answered him. "And He said, 'I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.' But He said, 'You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!'" (Exo 33:19-20). Then God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and passed by, but He only allowed Moses to see His backside and not His face. God explicitly told Moses why he could not see His face, when He said, "No man can see Me and live!" Therefore, we may understand from this statement that it is out of love for us that He hides His face, because it is necessary for our survival.

Therefore, we may ask why our survival depends on it, and why we would die if we saw His face. I realize that the holiness and power of God have a lot to do with that. The prophet Isaiah attempted to describe the indescribable scenes around the throne when he saw the Lord seated there high and lifted up.

In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isa 6:1-5)

You notice how Isaiah knew he was ruined when his eyes beheld the King on His throne, the Lord of hosts? I'm sure you or I would feel the same way if we saw the Lord, too. John the apostle described a similar sight when He was taken up in the Spirit to heaven and stood before the throne:

"Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance." (Rev 4:2-3)

It's amazing how the luminescent smoke fills the temple during those times of worship, as the light and the glory emanate from God, who is seated upon His throne. John described it as a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. Apparently there are lovely bands of colors in the streams of light and glory surrounding Him. God wraps Himself in light as with a garment (Ps 104:2a). He enshrouds His head with this glory fog so that you cannot see His face. It's awesome to behold, and extraordinarily beautiful. In fact it is perfect in beauty, unlike anyone or anything else you have ever seen or ever will see. Scripture says, "Out of Zion comes the excellence of His beauty." (Ps 50:2, Brenton Septuagint). Other translations refer to it as "the perfection of beauty."

Glory Clouds, at Pinnacle Mtn, NH

The apostle Paul had also seen the Lord, when Jesus appeared to him at noon time while he was on the road to Damascus. At that time the Lord appeared brighter than the noon-day sun. Paul had also been caught up to Paradise and heard inexpressible words that he was not permitted to speak. He described God like this:

"God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honor and might forever. Amen." (1 Tim 6:15b-16, NIV)

David said, "One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." (Ps 27:4). His one desire was to behold the beauty of the Lord.

As the lyrics say in that beautiful, worshipful song, "I Stand in Awe," the Lord is "beautiful beyond description, too marvelous for words, too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard." No words, nor sounds, nor sights, nor anything you can touch or smell could ever compare to God's beauty. As that song says, "Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depth of Your love?" The songwriter Mark Altrogge explained how he wrote that song during a period when he was reading some books on God's holiness and other attributes. He says he was blown away at the thought that, "God is an infinite being, and infinite in each of his attributes. He is infinitely holy. Infinitely powerful. Infinitely loving. Infinitely wise. In fact, because he is infinite, there will always be things about himself that only He knows. Throughout eternity, those he redeemed will never come to an end of seeing new vistas of his glory, majesty and beauty."

So please allow me to answer the question I have posed: why does our survival depend on being kept from seeing the Lord's face, and why would we die if we saw it? Perhaps one reason is that you would not be able to withstand the experience of seeing such beauty and glory; you would be overwhelmed with it to the point of being completely overcome. As the Lord says, if you saw His face while in your earthly body, you would die. And it seems that even for the saints up in glory, it is rare to see God's actual face. I'm not saying that they cannot see God, because the Scripture says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Mt 5:8). But I am specifically referring to seeing His face.

In fact, there are even some people on earth who claim they have seen God the Father. I recall one brother who said that he once saw God's face and He looked like a very handsome young man. You can read other testimonies like that in my article, The Bodily Form of God the Father, which is one of my all-time most popular articles on my blog Sun of Righteousness.

Summing it All Up

I want to close by saying that Jesus came to reveal the Father to us, and He alone can do so (Joh 1:18). When Philip asked Him to show us the Father, Jesus said that His oneness with the Father is such that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father, and to know Him is to know the Father (Joh 14:7,9). If you would like to know God more and see the Father, then draw near to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." (Joh 14:6-7). Jesus Christ is the one and only way to the Father. There is no other way to get to see God's face. This is an experience of a lifetime that you don't want to miss for anything. In fact, it's the experience of all eternity, to which nothing else can compare. 

Why don't you begin to seek God's face now, and press in to know Him? He loves you more than anyone else in the universe, and He has prepared a place for you to be with Him where you can love Him. While He does hide His face in a cloud of glory for your own protection to keep you from dying, He still wants you to seek His face. As David said, "My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek." Let that be your heart's cry, too.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright the Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Images are actual photos of genuine Glory Cloud witnessed in my home state of New Hampshire, in New England, USA during a February 2013 weekend at the Pinnacle Mountain New Hampshire U.S.A. Photos copyright The Stewarts. I did not personally attend that event. Used according to Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.

Author's note: You are invited to read Hide and Seek with God, The Bodily Form of God the Father, Jesus Alone Reveals the Father, The Link Between Two Realms, One Thing, Seeking the Lord, Our God is an Awesome God!, Who is God? -- Part I, Who is God? -- Part II, and Obedient to the Heavenly Vision. You may also like the video, Glory Cloud in New England USA. You may access the Main Directory for this Seeking the Lord blog for more articles like this, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

David, A Man After God's Own Heart

We read in the book of Acts that the apostle Paul said, "After removing Saul, [God] made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’" (Ac 13:22, NIV; c.f., 1 Sam 13:14). Have you ever wondered why God considered David a man after His own heart, despite his failures? In this article, I'd like to explore the reasons why God so esteemed him, and in doing so to show the character traits we should earnestly desire to have, if we would aspire to be men and women after God's own heart as he was.

Devoted to His Will

The first reason why David was esteemed by God that way was that he would do everything the Lord wanted him to do. That was the explicit reason God Himself cited (1 Sam 13:14). As a man who was fully devoted to the Lord His God (1 Ki 15:3), he was surrendered to the will of God, or you could say he had given himself over to it, which was in stark contrast to Saul, who at best only partially obeyed the Lord.

King David Playing the Harp
by Gerard van Honthorst

David did not fail to keep the Lord's commands. "For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord's commands all the days of his life -- except in the case of Uriah the Hittite." (1 Ki 15:5 cf., 1Ki 11:34, 38; 14:8, NIV). Any understanding of being a man or woman after God's own heart is truly incomplete that does not take into account the need to do what is right in His eyes and obey His commands.

The Psalms provide us with a very good picture of David's attitude in this respect. David wrote, "Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, 'Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.'" (Psa 40:6-8). Aside from the fact that this is a Messianic prayer that prophetically describes Christ's attitude toward the Father, it was David's attitude as well. His desire was to do God's will. It was like the slave that says to his master, "Your wish is my command." In other words, if the master even wishes for something, I will act upon it as if it were a command.

We see an actual example of such an instance when David once wished for water from the well in his hometown, and his three mighty men jumped at the opportunity to satisfy his desire, even risking their lives to do so. Scripture states: "David had a craving and said, 'Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!' So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord; and he said, 'Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?' Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did." (2 Sa 23:15-17). While David did not expect them to do that, they loved him so much they were willing to risk their own lives to fulfill his desire. That's the attitude that David had toward God.

Referring to Christ, the apostle quoted Psalm 40 in Hebrews when he wrote, "Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure.' Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.' After saying above, 'Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will.' He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Heb 10:5-10)

The reason for the difference of wording from Psalm 40 is that the apostle in Hebrews quoted from the Septuagint, which was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. In quoting this, the apostle shows that this was the attitude of Christ toward the Father: "Behold, I have come to do your will." In saying so, He declared His purpose in life, which should also be my purpose and yours if we desire to be men and women after God's own heart.

That's exactly what the apostle Peter taught, saying that we should live the rest of our lives on earth for the will of God. He wrote: "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God." (1Pe 4:1-2).

Likewise, the apostle Paul admonished the Ephesian church to "find out what pleases the Lord." (Eph 5:10, NIV). He told them, "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." (Eph 5:17). We, too, should find out what pleases the Lord and understand what His will is.

As Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, "He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." (2Co 5:15). In saying this, he taught that everyone who is alive on earth should live for Christ and not for himself.

Moreover, the apostle John taught the same thing when he wrote, "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." (1Jn 2:17). This shows that doing the will of God is necessary for eternal life. Some people would baulk at that, but isn't that what the Lord taught? He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Mat 7:21, NIV).

For more on the topics covered in this section, please see Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Pleasing the Lord, The Way, Will, and Word of God, Obedient to the Heavenly Vision, Is Obedience Optional?, The Obedience of Faith, Doing What is Right and Righteous Deeds and White Robes.

Following the Lord with All His Heart
Another reason why David was considered a man after God's own heart is that he followed the Lord with all his heart, doing what was right in God's eyes. God said:

"I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes." (1Ki 14:8).

Anyone who desires to be a man after God's own heart must follow the Lord with all his heart. The Lord Jesus says to us "Come, follow Me," and He has set an example for us, that we should follow in His steps (Mt 4:19; 1 Pe 2:21).

For more on that topic, please see Following in His Steps.

Knowing the Lord
Another reason why David was considered a man after God's own heart was that he knew the Lord. I don't mean a mere head knowledge, but an intimately personal knowledge. He knew the Lord as his shepherd (Ps 23:1), his sustainer (Ps 54:4), his fountain (Ps 68:26), his rock (Ps 28:1; 31:3), his strength (Ps 18:1; 59:17), his shield (Ps 3:3), his fortress (Ps 31:3), his stronghold (Ps 59:17), his deliverer (Ps 40:13,17; 41:1; 68:20; 70:5), his comforter (Ps 86:17), his Lord (Ps 38:22; 51:15), and his Savior (Ps 38:22; 55:16; 68:19). When you know the Lord this way, it's more than just information about Him that you know, but rather you have a personal relationship with Him.

The Scripture says that Adam knew Eve, and she conceived and bore him a son (Gen 4:1). The Hebrew word for "knew" in this passage is "yada" meaning "to know", which indicates that Adam had intimate relations with his wife. God desires to have a very close and personal relationship with each one of us as well, which is how we will come to know Him and take His heart for our very own.

The apostle teaches us that this is the way it is for each of us who enter into the New Covenant with the Lord. "No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." (Heb 8:11, NIV).

In His high priestly prayer on the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (Joh 17:3). This means that the very essence of eternal life is to know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ. What could be more essential to seeking after God's own heart?

John affirmed the need to know God and His Son in order to have eternal life. He wrote: "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." (1Jn 5:20)

When we know the Lord, God sheds His love abroad in our hearts, and we receive in our hearts the same love that He has for Jesus. For Jesus prayed, "And I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." (Joh 17:26)

Conversely, those who do not know the Lord do not have eternal life, but are destroyed. Paul said, "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." (2 Thes 1:8-10, NIV).

For more on this, please see Knowing the Lord, From Religion to Relationship, and Having the Love of God in Your Heart.

Being Made Holy
A third reason why David was called a man after God's own heart was that he desired to be holy, which is something we should all desire and strive for.

Going back to the Hebrews passage I cited earlier, it states, "Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.'...And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Heb 10:9-10). This teaches us that by the very will of God, which Jesus came to do, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of His body, if we have put our faith in Him to save us. This places the process of being made holy in the past tense ("we have been made holy"), which means it is a completed work of sanctification.

However, the apostle goes on to say, "For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Heb 10:14, NIV). This means that by Christ's sacrifice on the cross, He has already made us perfect forever (past tense), provided that we are being made holy (present tense). Here we see that while we already have been made holy and made perfect, we are also being made holy. So it is both a past, completed event and an ongoing present process of sanctification. The past event was our positional sanctification in the sight of God through faith in Christ, but the ongoing sanctification is the practical kind that is worked out and evidenced in our everyday attitudes and behaviors.

This practical sanctification is essential, if we ever hope to see God. The apostle stated, "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Heb 12:14, NIV). So while we are already made holy in the positional sense, through our faith in Christ, we must make every effort to be holy, which refers to the practical holiness without which no man shall see the Lord's face.

Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (1 Thes 5:23-24, NIV).

While we understand that even the best are only sanctified in part, we also realize that we need to pray for God to sanctify us wholly in every part of our being -- body, soul, and spirit. He will do it, so that we will be kept blameless at the coming of Christ. To this end the Lord prayed for us saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth." (Jn 17:17, NIV).

Another passage that teaches us about the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is found in Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. He stated: "But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." (2Th 2:13)

Certainly Scripture teaches us that sanctification is a work of God by His Spirit inside of the believer, but that does not eliminate our involvement in the process. Paul said, "Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." (2 Cor 7:1, NIV). He clearly taught that we each have an active role in purifying ourselves and perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This demonstrates that we are in fact a man or woman after God's own heart.

For more on this, please see Holy Living in a Perverted World, Aim for Perfection, Called to be Blameless, The Knowledge of the Holy, and Walking in Truth, Righteousness, and Holiness.

Shepherding with Integrity
A fourth reason why David was called a man after God's own heart was that he was a man of integrity. The Scripture says, "And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them." (Ps 78:72, NIV). What's needed today are cross-bearing people, who will shepherd God's people with integrity of heart and lead them with skillful hands. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, or moral uprightness. It's easy to find those who claim to be leaders that have plenty of head knowledge, including the knowledge of Scripture, and those with charismatic personalities who are great public speakers. But it's much more rare to find men and women of integrity who lead with skillful hands, whether they be those who have authority in the church, or those who are business leaders, or even those in the political arena. It's been said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and we have plenty of examples of that in both the church and the secular world. Yet David did not let himself become corrupted when God granted him power and authority as king.

Moreover, he actually shepherded the people, which is not just teaching them or telling them what to do. It's not lording it over others. To shepherd people is to care for them, pray for them, guide them, feed them, nurture them, serve them, facilitate their growth, prepare them for service, and lead them by godly example, so that they will one day enter the kingdom of heaven. This too, is something that is more difficult to find today in churches. It's more common to find pastors who act like CEOs of big businesses in corporate America. How we need true shepherds once again to shepherd the people of God and equip them for works of service, which is God's own heart!

Receiving His Mercy
Although David was a man of integrity, shepherding the people, leading them with skillful hands, devoted to doing God's will, knowing the Lord, and becoming holy, he still fell short of God's glory like the rest of us, and needed God's mercy. He would have been a much better example for us if he had not fallen into adultery with Bathsheba, and his own life would have been better for it, too. But then we might assume that the reason he was a man after God's own heart was that he was so perfect and without sin in his life. So the Lord used even his great sin to teach us something. We learn from it that in our pursuit of doing God's will, knowing Him, and becoming holy, that if we sin, we, too, will need to receive God's mercy.

David prayed, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." (Ps 51:1-2, NIV). While he could not undo the sin he had committed, he knew he must repent and seek forgiveness from God. He sought hard after God for mercy to wipe out his transgressions, wash away all his iniquity, and cleanse him from his sin. That's the example we need to follow, too, if we would be a man or woman after God's own heart.

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb 4:16). We should always know that if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One (1 Jn 2:1), so we can approach the throne with confidence, because it's a throne of grace. There we can find mercy to help us.

"Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts  I will remember no more.' And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary." (Heb 10:17-18). When you have been forgiven of sins and lawless acts, the Lord remembers them no more. At that point, it's no longer necessary to offer any sacrifice for sin. The price has been paid at the cross for us by Jesus Christ. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom 8:1). Don't let the devil beat you up and heap condemnation on you. Instead, repent and go to the throne of grace, asking for mercy and grace. Then receive it from the Lord. Jesus said, "But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mt 9:13, NIV).

For more on this, please see and God Forgives and Forgets.

Finding His Grace
Just as David cried out for God's mercy, he also relied on God's grace as well. This, too, was part of being a man after God's own heart. Here are some of the prayers he prayed regarding God's grace:

"As for me, I said, 'O LORD, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.'" (Psa 41:4)

"But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, That I may repay them." (Psa 41:10).

"Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to You I cry all day long." (Psa 86:3)

"But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your handmaid." (Psa 86:15-16)

This unwavering trust that David had in God's grace is an important part of how he sought after the heart of God. Likewise, we too, must boldly approach the throne of grace to find grace to help us in our time of need (He 4:16).

The apostle said, "Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin." (Heb 10:18). While receiving forgiveness is a result of God's mercy, it is His grace that frees us from ever having to make any sacrifice for our sins. Once a person is forgiven, he no longer needs to offer a sacrifice for his sins. For to do so would be to question God's grace and seek to earn His forgiveness.

Paul taught that "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us." (Eph 1:7-8a). It's always according to the riches of His grace, which He gave to us in such large measure.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8-9). The meaning of this Scripture is self-evident, that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. Even the best reach heaven by the grace of God, because even they are not good enough to earn their way in by their own merits. Someone said, "You can't earn God's love. You can only accept it."

In David's case, as I have said, it would have been better for him if he had not committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered her husband Uriah, but once he realized his sin and repented, the grace of God was sufficient for his need. Although his sin increased, the grace of God increased even more. As Paul said, "The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." (Rom 5:20).

If you have never experienced the grace of God like that, then let me tell you that there is no time like the present to do so. "As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor 6:1-2). You may not have tomorrow, but you have today, and now is the time to seek God's favor and receive His grace in your life.

For more on this please see By Grace Alone and Amazing Grace.

Putting it All Together
In our look at the life of David, we've discovered that there were several reasons why God considered him a man after His own heart. He was full devoted to the Lord his God and to doing His will, he was obedient to the Lord, he followed the Lord with all his heart, doing what was right in God's eyes, he shepherded God's people with integrity of heart, he led them with skillful hands, he knew the Lord personally, he desired to become a holy and godly man, yet he also knew how to receive mercy and find grace to help him in his time of need. May the Lord help each one of us to have these same outstanding characteristics in our own lives, so that we too may be men, women, and children after God's own heart.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright the Lockman Foundation. Other Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan. The painting of King David Playing the Harp by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622.

Author's note:  Also see Aim for Perfection, Knowing the Lord, The Knowledge of the Holy, Is Obedience Optional?, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Pleasing the Lord, Holy Living in a Perverted World, Called to be Blameless, A Tale of Two Kings, Sin and Consequence, God Forgives and Forgets, By Grace Alone, Amazing Grace,and From Religion to Relationship. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Amazing Grace

All throughout the Bible we see that God is gracious and compassionate. “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” (Ps 145:8, NIV). I for one am a recipient of His amazing grace! Let’s look at some examples of those who received His grace in Scripture.
Adam and Eve
Through sin they knew that they were naked, so they became afraid of God and hid themselves from Him.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (Gen 3:7-11)

God graciously made garments for them to cover their shameful nakedness. “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” (Gen 3:21). These garments required the shedding of blood. Therefore, we see God's grace all the way back to the garden of Eden.

Noah
All men on earth were wicked in the days of Noah. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.’"  (Gen 6:5-7)

However, Noah found grace in God’s sight. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (Gen 6:8-9).

He was obedient. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did. (Gen 6:22)

He built the ark by faith. “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Heb 11:7)

He was thankful and built an altar to the Lord. “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, ‘I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.’” (Gen 8:20-21)

Abraham 
He was justified by grace through faith. “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,” (Rom 4:2-5)

Lot 
Although he hesitated when he was told to flee from Sodom, the Lord spared his life and that of his daughters. The Scripture says “But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.” (Gen 19:16)

“Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.” (Gen 19:24-25)

The Israelites
God had compassion on them and heard their groaning in Egypt, when they were in bondage as slaves.

"Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt."'" (Exo 3:16)

"So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped." (Exo 4:31)

'I HAVE CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE IN EGYPT AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANS, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM; COME NOW, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT.' (Act 7:34)

Though they worshiped idols and grumbled and complained, and many died because of it, He sent them bread from heaven and water from the rock, which was Christ.

"Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, 'THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.' Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." (1Co 10:5-11)

In the Promised Land, they went astray and worshiped idols again. They committed adultery with the false gods of the nations. Therefore, God gave them over to the hands of their enemies, sending them into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Yet He brought them back to their land afterward and restored them. God was willing to take them back in spite of their unfaithfulness. He preserved a remnant.

Rahab the Harlot
Though she was a harlot, because she had faith and feared God, welcoming the Hebrew spies, she was spared when the Israelites destroyed Jericho (Heb 11:31).

Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the harlot's house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her." So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel. They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. However, Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (Jos 6:22-25)

She became the wife of a Hebrew named Salmon. Together they had a son named Boaz who married Ruth the Moabite, whose grandson was Jesse the father of David (Mat 1:5-6).

David 
"David found favor in God's sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.” (Act 7:46)

Then David the king went in and sat before the LORD, and he said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? "And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man, O Lord GOD. "Again what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD! "For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know. "For this reason You are great, O Lord GOD; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. "And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods? "For You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God. "Now therefore, O LORD God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as You have spoken, that Your name may be magnified forever, by saying, 'The LORD of hosts is God over Israel'; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You. "For You, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You. "Now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. "Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever." (2Sa 7:18-29)

David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, "I am pregnant." (2Sa 11:4-5)

When the time of mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD. (2Sa 11:27)

Nathan then said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. (2Sa 12:7)

Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. (2Sa 12:13)

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved him. (2Sa 12:24)

Gideon 
He is listed in the book of Hebrews as a man of faith, although he took the gold earrings he received and made them into an ephod and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

Yet Gideon said to them, "I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil." (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) They said, "We will surely give them." So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels' necks. Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household. (Jdg 8:24-27)

Barak
Although he did not go to battle without Deborah against Sisera and his army, he conquered by faith and is listed in the Hebrews hall of faith (Heb 11:32).

Samson
Although he fell into sexual immorality with a harlot in Gaza, as well as with Delilah, he walked by faith and was used mightily by God to deliver the Israelites. He too, is considered a man of faith in the book of Hebrews (Heb 11:32).

Jephthah
He was the son of a harlot (Jdg 11:1), who made a foolish vow that cost his one and only child her life, yet he conquered the enemy by faith and was another recipient of God’s amazing grace (Heb 11:32).

Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD gave them into his hand. He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel. When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. (Jdg 11:30-34)

Peter the Apostle
Though he denied the Lord three times, the Lord restored him and used him mightily.

Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. (Mat 26:74-75)

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Tend My lambs." He *said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." He *said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus *said to him, "Tend My sheep. "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go." Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, "Follow Me!" (Joh 21:15-19)

The Adulteress Caught in the Act
Although she was caught in adultery, in the very act, Jesus did not condemn her, but told her to go and sin no more.

The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they *said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."] (Joh 8:3-11)

As the apostle Paul said, the grace of God teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness (Tit 2:12).

Woman at the Well
She was another adulteress the Lord saved wondrously. Though she had had five husbands and was living with a sixth man who was not her husband, the Lord saved her and used her to bring many to Himself.

He *said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus *said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly." (Joh 4:16-18)

From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done." So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world." (Joh 4:39-42)

Paul the Apostle 
Although he did much harm to the saints and persecuted the church, God had mercy on him. He considered himself to have been the chief of sinners.

He said, "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1Ti 1:15-17)

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; (Act 9:10-18)

Therefore, Paul could say of himself, "By the grace of God I am what I am." (1 Cor 15:10)

Corinthian Adulterer
Although this Christian man committed sexual immorality with his father's wife, and had to be put out of the church, he was later forgiven and restored to fellowship. The people comforted him and reaffirmed their love for him.

Paul said, “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife.” (1Co 5:1)

Later Paul wrote to the Corinthians about him saying, “Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (2Co 2:6-11)

Jezebel the False Prophetess
Although she taught and led the Lord’s servants astray so that they committed acts of immorality and ate things sacrificed to idols, He gave her time to repent.

'But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 'I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 'Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 'And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. (Rev 2:20-23)

Putting it All Together
From Genesis to Revelation, we see that while God hates sin, He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. He is constantly showing amazing grace to people all over the world, and will continue to do so until the end of the age. It's no wonder He is known as the God of all grace (1Pe 5:10). Let’s remember that we are saved by grace through faith. As Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2:8-9).

Of course, grace is not a license to sin (Rom 6:1; Jude 1:4). Anyone who is familiar with my ministry knows that I emphasize the necessity of Holy Living, Practical Righteousness, the Obedience of Faith, and Aiming for Perfection. Yet while the Lord is holy and requires of us holiness, perfection, righteousness, and truth, He also demonstrates abundant grace to the humble when we fall short. The key is to repent and confess your sin to him as David did when the prophet Nathan rebuked him. He said, "I have sinned against the LORD." If you read Psalm 51, you can see how deeply he humbled himself in repentance before God.

James wrote, “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (Jas 4:6-10)

In the words of John Newton:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I also recommend reading Costly Grace, Drifting Away, By Grace Alone, The Lord Healed My Backsliding, The Conditional Security of the Believer, The Truth Set Me Free!, Is Obedience Optional?, The Cost of Discipleship, God Forgives and Forgets, The Love of Jesus, Aim for Perfection, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, Repentance That Leads to Life, Holding Fast the Faithful Word, No Flesh Will Be Justified By Works, Separation from the World, The Straight and Narrow Path, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Ask for the Ancient Paths, The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught, The Apostasy Parables, and Salvation with Fear and Trembling. See the Home page of this blog for more of my articles about Seeking the Lord. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Nature of Persecution

Dear God-seekers,

In my previous post, I wrote about The Persecution of the Saints, which seems to be on the rise in these last days. Today I would like to encourage you further, by showing you the nature of persecution. In other words, I want to show you how the enemy persecutes the saints.

You see, some may think that in order for someone to claim that the suffering they are experiencing is persecution, they must be under attack as a direct result of ministry activity, such as preaching or evangelizing. However, I will give you some examples from the Bible and modern times that illustrate how persecution does not necessarily have to fit that pattern in order to be considered "religious" persecution.

Daniel
Consider the way they persecuted Daniel. They knew they could not get him for anything he was actually doing wrong, so far as righteousness was concerned.

Then these men said, "We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God." (Dan 6:5)

He was thrown into the lions den for breaking the law of evil men, not the law of God.

"Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king's injunction, 'Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions' den?' The king replied, 'The statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.' Then they answered and spoke before the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day." (Dan 6:11-13)

They found a legal loophole to get him thrown into the lion's den, which would have been certain death for him, if God had not rescued him from the mouths of the lions. Daniel was not actively proselytizing among the Babylonians, and that was not the reason he was thrown into the lion's den. He was living a righteous life, which they hated. He was in a high position of power, of which his enemies were probably jealous.

Joseph
Likewise, when Joseph's brothers threw him into the “pit” and sold him into Egypt as a slave, it was not for anything he had actually done wrong. Nor was it for preaching the gospel or conducting evangelism. It was for being the "dreamer", who was favored by their father favored above them all, and who dreamed of being ruler over them.

"They said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer! Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, "A wild beast devoured him." Then let us see what will become of his dreams!'" (Gen 37:19-20).

Their motive was jealously. “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt." (Ac 7:9a, NIV).  They knew that Jacob loved Joseph more than any of them, and had given Joseph a robe of many colors, but they did not receive one. So they did not persecute Joseph for actively preaching righteousness or prophesying, but out of jealousy and hatred toward him.

Later when he was in charge of Potiphar's house, he was thrown into jail, based on false accusations by a wicked woman.

"It came about after these events that his master's wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, Lie with me.' But he refused and said to his master's wife, 'Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?' As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her." (Gen 39:7-10)

Joseph refused to do this great evil and sin against God.

"She caught him by his garment, saying, 'Lie with me!' And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside...So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with these words, 'The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.' Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, 'This is what your slave did to me,' his anger burned. So Joseph's master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail." (Gen 39:12,16-20)

Potiphar's wife was jealous of him and wanted to see his downfall. She hated him for not fulfilling the lusts of her flesh. He was not actively proselytizing among the Egyptians. Instead he was simply living a righteous life, refusing to sleep with his master's wife, who was attracted to his handsome form and appearance (Gen 39:6).
                               
David
David was persecuted by Saul, but not for religious reasons. It was jealousy and spite, because he did not want David to take over the kingdom.

"It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments. The women sang as they played, and said, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.' Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him; and he said, 'They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?' Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on." (1Sa 18:6-9)

He was also persecuted by his son Absalom, but not for religious reasons (2 Sam 15-19). It was a case of tyranny and usurping the throne. These things were no less persecutions just because they were not direct consequences of preaching the Word of God.

Paul
Paul faced many persecutions, but I would like to talk about three of them in particular. One of them was in Pisidian Antioch. The ministry of Paul and Barnabas was so successful in that city and drew such crowds that the Jews became jealous. "But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming." (Act 13:45). So according to Scripture, the underlying reason behind the persecution was jealousy.

The second persecution I want to mention happened in Philippi, when Paul and Silas were on their way to the place of prayer. They were not actively preaching or conducting any meetings, just headed off to prayer. They encountered a slave girl who had an evil spirit by which she predicted the future, and who continued to annoy them for many days by following them and shouting (Act 16:16-17). Paul eventually cast the demon out of her (Act 16:18). When the owners saw that their hope of making money from this girl was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas, and dragged them before the authorities (Ac 16:19). The charges they made against these men of God were completely false.

"And when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, 'These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.'" (Act 16:20-21)

Because of the self-interests of the slave owners, Paul and Silas were falsely accused of "throwing our city into confusion," "being Jews," and "proclaiming customs unlawful for Romans." Because of this, they were beaten with rods and thrown into prison. Aside from the fact that Paul and Silas were of the Jewish race, there was no truth to these allegations, but this is the nature of persecution that I want to show you.

The third persecution of Paul that I would like to mention is when Paul was attacked in the temple in Jerusalem. He had simply followed the advice of James and gone through a seven day period of ceremonial purification with four other Jewish men.

"When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, 'Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.' For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple." (Act 21:27-29)

The accusations they made were false once again. They said he was preaching to all men everywhere against the Law and the temple, which was false. And they said he had defiled the temple, because they had previously seen a Gentile with him in the city, and they incorrectly assumed he was with Paul in the temple. Because of that, they dragged him out of the temple and were seeking to kill him (Act 21:31). When the Roman guard came and arrested Paul, some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another (Acts 21:34). So again we see the nature of persecution, how it is often based on false accusations and not for actual ministry activities.

The Lord Jesus Christ
When Jesus was arrested, He was not doing any ministry activity. He had simply been praying in a private place at night with His disciples. Do you know why they arrested Him?

"Pilate knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous." (Mat 27:18, GW)

It was because of jealousy that they brought Jesus to Pilate for execution. When He was on trial, people were bringing up everything they could think of to try to accuse Him.  But there was nothing there. They found no ground for putting Him to death.

"Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward." (Mat 26:59-60a).

"And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed." (Act 13:28)

"In his humiliation he was deprived of justice." (Ac 8:33a, NIV).

This again demonstrates the nature of persecution. As the Lord said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Finally I would like us to consider a modern preacher who was persecuted. According to Wikipedia, "Dietrich Bonhoeffer (4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church...Apart from his theological writings, Bonhoeffer was known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship, including vocal opposition to Hitler's euthanasia program and genocidal persecution of the Jews. He was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Tegel prison for one and a half years. Later he was transferred to a Nazi concentration camp. After being associated with the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, he was quickly tried, along with other accused plotters, including former members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office), and then executed by hanging on 9 April 1945 as the Nazi regime was collapsing."

He opposed the Nazi's efforts to control the German Protestant churches. He initially avoided military service in the war for reasons of conscience, because He understood the teachings of Jesus to mean that He had called us to love our enemies and be at peace with them. But finally joined the Intelligence for the German military, working as a double agent against Hitler. He staunchly resisted Nazism. As an intelligence agent, he participated in efforts to help some German Jews escape to neutral Switzerland.

Why was he arrested? It was because Hitler's regime was determined to eliminate all opposition and establish total control over society. This was clearly motivated by self-interest. What was the specific crime that Bonhoeffer committed? It was his involvement in helping Jews escape the country. That is what led to his arrest, once the Gestapo uncovered his involvement in this activity. He was not imprisoned and executed for for his ministry of preaching and teaching. Nevertheless, it was still persecution in the sight of God.

Putting it All Together
Based on the examples I have just cited in God's Word and in modern Church history, the persecution of the saints is not always carried out in direct response to some ministry activity. Sometimes true persecution comes in the form of actions taken against the saints for other things they have done that would not be considered ministry activities. Often times the motive is jealousy, ill will, hatred, or self-interest. It is still considered true persecution, but the enemy and his agents often use false accusations against the saints or find some legal violation or infringement of some law that has been committed, in order to attack God's righteous people. Please beware of this tactic and be on your guard against it. Let us be sober and vigilant.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" (1Pe 5:8, KJV)

"Be on your guard against men..." (Mt 10:17a, NIV).

"The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (2 Tim 4:18, NIV).

Image credit:  "The Christian Martyr's Last Prayer" by Jean-Léon Gérôme - Walters Art Museum, image taken from Wikimedia Commons.  William T. Walters commissioned this painting in 1863, but the artist did not deliver it until 20 years later. In a letter to Walters, Gérôme identified the setting as ancient Rome's racecourse, the Circus Maximus. He noted such details as the goal posts and the chariot tracks in the dirt. The artist also commented on the religious fortitude of the victims who were about to suffer martyrdom either by being devoured by the wild beasts or by being smeared with pitch and set ablaze. In the painting, you can see one martyr standing and praying in the midst of other kneeling saints huddled in prayer, and others are hung on crosses about to be burned alive.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures may be taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®.
  
Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, I also recommend The Persecution of the Saints, Persecuted or Popular?, Faithful Until Death: The Glory of Martyrdom for Christ, The Cost of Discipleship, Confrontational Evangelism, The Rise of Antichrists, The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Popularity of the Gospel, Ask for the Ancient Paths, The Knowledge of the Holy, Separation from the World, Ultimate Accountability, Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, and The Judgment Seat of Christ. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

Unhealthy Competition

Peyton Reed – Sr. – Valparaiso H.S.

As I wrote in a previous article,  we must keep Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God. We must also be careful not to let the devil outwit us in the process and cause us to miss the very kingdom that we are striving to enter.  One area he uses is competition, especially between Christians.

Brother Yong-Doo Kim wrote in his fourth book, “My wife and I always tried to compete for the Lord’s attention. Our competition for His attention caused jealousy and envy between us. When I was a child, my mother used to carry my infant baby brother on her back and she carried a big bundle on her head as we went to the market place. As my mother walked through the narrow alley in the countryside, I would follow right behind her in short steps as I cried and grizzled. I reminisced of my childhood as I walked the narrow path into hell. As I glimpsed at my wife from time to time, I would notice her humming a song through her nose. It appeared as though Jesus was enjoying the situation. The Lord and my wife intimately dialogued to one another as they looked at each other face to face and moved forward. My church members with opened spiritual eyes would tease me. ‘Pastor, you must be very jealous, right?’” (Baptized by Blazing Fire, Book 4)

He said, “People who possess gifts are more inclined and exposed to the forces of evil spirits. They are relentlessly attacked ever more. The devil will make the people with gifts targets. The devil and his forces are greatly attracted to these types of spiritual areas and taste. They will intensely attack. The devil will focus and concentrate a plan of attack. The devil begins by stimulating the consciousness of people. He will plant thoughts of overtaking others, getting ahead, competition, and eventually planting the seed of greed. The greed to win others. As a result, men, women, people of all ages become deluded or degenerated continuously by the indiscriminate attacks of the evil spirits.” (Baptized by Blazing Fire, Book 5)

King Saul's Jealousy of David
This same kind of problem arose between King Saul and David. We read in Scripture:

“So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants. It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments. The women sang as they played, and said, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.’ Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him; and he said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?’ Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on. Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul's hand. Saul hurled the spear for he thought, ‘I will pin David to the wall.’ But David escaped from his presence twice. Now Saul was afraid of David, for the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. David was prospering in all his ways for the LORD was with him. When Saul saw that he was prospering greatly, he dreaded him.” (1Sa 18:5-15)

From this passage we can see that after David defeated Goliath, he became great and won the favor of the people.  For the Lord was with him and caused him to prosper in all his ways.  That is what made Saul very angry.  He was displeased to hear the women giving David praise for greater achievements than he himself had accomplished. Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on. In fact, when Saul allowed that sin to operate in his life, it opened a gap for an evil spirit to come mightily upon Saul, which caused him to be raving mad in his house and to seek to take David’s life. 

Warning Against Sins That Keep You From Heaven
The apostle Paul wrote: “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”  (Gal 5:19-21)

I would like to focus on three words in this passage: jealousy, envy, and strife.  First we will look at the Greek word meanings and then the English dictionary definitions for each word.

JEALOUSY, n.
The word “jealousy” comes from the Greek word “zelos,” meaning “properly heat, that is, (figuratively) ‘zeal’ (in a favorable sense, ardor; in an unfavorable one, jealousy, as of a husband [figuratively of God], or an enemy, malice): - emulation, envy (-ing), fervent mind, indignation, jealousy, zeal.” (Strong’s)

“1. That passion of peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may rob us of the affection of one whom we love, or the suspicion that he has already done it; or it is the uneasiness which arises from the fear that another does or will enjoy some advantage which we desire for ourselves. A man's jealousy is excited by the attentions of a rival to his favorite lady. A woman's jealousy is roused by her husband's attentions to another woman. The candidate for office manifests a jealousy of others who seek the same office. The jealousy of a student is awakened by the apprehension that his fellow will bear away the palm of praise. In short, jealousy is awakened by whatever may exalt others, or give them pleasures and advantages which we desire for ourselves. Jealousy is nearly allied to envy, for jealousy, before a good is lost by ourselves, is converted into envy, after it is obtained by others. (e.g., Jealousy is the apprehension of superiority.); 2. Suspicious fear or apprehension.” (Note: This means the fear of a belief that is founded on sufficient evidence to give preponderation to the mind, but insufficient to induce certainty). (Webster’s Dictionary).

The Bible tells us that it was out of jealousy or envy that the Pharisees had handed Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified (Mk 15:10).  They saw the multitudes who followed Him and listened to Him. They saw the miracles He did.  And they were jealous of Him.  Just as the jealousy that King Saul had for David caused him to try and take David's life, so it was with the Pharisees with respect to Jesus.

STRIFE, n.
The word strife comes from the Greek word “eris,” meaning “Of uncertain affinity; a quarrel, that is, (by implication) wrangling: - contention, debate, strife, variance.” (Strong’s)

According to Webster’s dictionary, one of the definitions of strife is: “1. Exertion or contention for superiority; contest of emulation, either by intellectual or physical efforts. Strife may be carried on between students or between mechanics.” (Webster’s Dictionary)

For example, a student can think to herself, "My classmate is always getting excellent scores, so I have to be as good or better than her."  Or "She is such a gifted artist and is always receiving accolades for her artwork, I must outdo her and create more impressive artwork."  They are always trying to "one-up" the other person. 

This can even occur in spiritual aspects of life.  For example, a young man can strive to pray as much or more than his brother in Christ.  If he sees that his brother prays for one hour, then he prays for at least an hour or more.  If his brother prays for two hours, then he will pray for two or more hours. And so it is.

But it is not just the quantity of your prayer that matters.  It is the quality of your prayers. Our Lord Jesus told a parable about two men who went to pray.

"And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 'Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: "God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get." But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.'"  (Luk 18:9-14)

Both men could have prayed in the temple for the same amount of time, let's say one hour.  However, only one man returned home justified.  God was pleased with one and not the other, even though they prayed in the same place for the same period of time.

You can be like the Pharisee and pray for just as long as the other person beside you. But if your heart is not right with God, if you don't have love, if you seek to put yourself above that other person, if you trust in your righteousness, if you seek to be superior to them, and you view them with contempt, then you will not be pleasing God at all.  In fact, he may be pleased with the other person, rather than you, even though you pray just as much or more than them. So watch your attitude and be careful. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

EN'VY, v.t.
The word envying in Paul’s letter to the Galatians comes from the Greek word “phthonos,” meaning “ill will (as detraction), that is, jealousy (spite): - envy.” (Strong’s)

According to Webster’s dictionary, one of the definitions of envy is: “1. To feel uneasiness, mortification or discontent, at the sight of superior excellence, reputation or happiness enjoyed by another; to repine at another's prosperity; to fret or grieve one's self at the real or supposed superiority of another, and to hate him on that account.”  Webster’s also gives the Latin origin of the word envy: “L. invideo, in and video, to see against, that is, to look with enmity.”

As I stated in my article Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, the apostle Paul said, “I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:21b).

In that same passage he said, “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” (Gal 5:15).

This can even find its way into the heart of God's ministers. If you are a pastor, don't envy another pastor, because he has a larger church with more members or a better building. Be content with what you have. (Also see Popularity of the Gospel and Persecuted or Popular?).

Regarding One Another as Better Than Ourselves
So what kind of attitude should we have toward one another? Paul said, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” (Gal 5:22-26).

He also said, “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Gal 6:3)

And he wrote to the Philippians, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Php 2:3-4).

If we are all regarding one another as better than ourselves, then we will be lifting each other up, helping each other to reach heaven, and the Lord will be pleased.

Members of One Body
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; or again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.” (1Co 12:12-31)

We are all members of one body, the Body of Christ.  We need each other!  Not all of us are called to be an eye or a mouth.  Some are called to be a hand or foot.  And we should be content with our identity in the Body. We should be satisfied with who God made us to be. Each member has it’s own unique purpose, and that does not make it better than the others.

For example, even utensils have their own unique purpose. A spoon has its purpose and a fork has its own purpose. There are times when we need a spoon, like when we need to scoop honey or eat soup.  In those instances a fork will not do.  But what if the spoon envied the fork, because it was used so much more and for such important tasks like eating meat and potatoes. Likewise, the butter knife is so important for tasks like spreading butter or peanut butter on our bread.  But what if the butter knife was jealous, because the steak knife was so sharp and could cut through the toughest meats?  Not everyone can be the sharpest knife, but we all have our own purpose for which God created us, and let us be content with that.  Let’s walk with excellence in the purpose God has called us to, not wishing we could be like someone else.

The More Excellent Way 
As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he wanted to show them a more excellent way, which is the way of love.  He wrote:

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1Co 13:1-13)

We should earnestly desire the greater gifts, as Paul said. However, let's be careful that in our pursuit of the greater spiritual gifts that we always continue to walk in love. Otherwise, you can be a very gifted person and it will profit you nothing.

Motivated by Others
Paul wrote to the Hebrews, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." (Heb 10:24). There is nothing wrong with being motivated by others to do the right thing and to please the Lord, as long as we are walking in love and not in jealousy, envy, or strife.  Often times we are motivated to excellence by the godly actions of others.  When you see someone living in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, it should encourage you to do the same. It is not only with words that we encourage one another, but also by our actions. Therefore, if your brother or sister's walk with God spurs you on toward love and good deeds, that is a healthy thing.

Divine Revelations about Sports
Finally, I would like to say a word specifically about sports. These sins that will keep you from heaven, including jealousy, strife, and envy, are especially evident in the realm of professional and collegiate sports, where there is hatred, anger, brawling, envy, greed and covetousness, which is idolatry. Both the players and the fans are guilty.

In my article Vision of Hell by Emmanuel Agyarko, I wrote that in this vision, Emmanuel saw people in hell for involvement in the occult.  This included many famous and not so famous football players. He also saw Marc-Vivien Foé, the Cameroonian footballer who died during a football match in France in 2003.  He even saw the fans on their way to hell, because many of them were involved in idolatry.

Putting it All Together
If you are always striving to be better than someone else or to be like him or her, you will miss what God has in store for you. Don't covet people's spiritual gifts. If you are envying others, being jealous of them, and striving with them, you will surely miss heaven. This can even happen with respect to how you view yourself in relation to the spirituality of others, such as their prayer lives. It also applies to every area of life, including ministry, Church life, academics, fine arts, business, and sports. 

This sort of unhealthy competition or spirit of "one-upmanship" should not even be named among God's holy people. Beware of any such sinful attitude that may creep into your heart. Those who live like that do not inherit the kingdom of God. So let us be completely humble and determine in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in love, which is the greatest of all. It’s the more excellent way.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Photo of runner used with permission by Indiana Runner.

Author's note: You may also want to read my other posts called, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God, Pressing on Toward the Goal, Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, Taking Heaven by Force, Holy Living in a Perverted World , Salvation with Fear and Trembling, The Obedience of Faith, Doing What is Right, Faith Works!, The Apostasy Parables, and Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth? You may visit the Seeking the Lord Directory, and also find a collection of my most popular blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.