A Mark Of A Faithful Servant

As a young culinary apprentice, I couldn’t help but stare at my tattered chefs arms and ask

“How did you get all those cool scars on your arms?”

“It’s from all my years hard work and dedication to the kitchen” he replied


10 years later, it is easy for me to spot a well seasoned chef. They have burns marks on their arms from working while short staffed, knife marks on their fingers from dicing turnips, dry skin from washing dishes, and the infamous blister on the inside of the index finger from holding a knife for hours.

You can feel it when you shake another chefs hand. It’s like a secret handshake that lets us know that we share a commodore of hard work, passion, and service in the kitchen.

Even the best skillful chefs have burns and scars. In fact… they have more!!!

It’s a rule of the kitchen. A culinariane code;

If you are going to work in the kitchen you ARE going to get burned and cut.
You cannot avoid this fact.

The scars we keep are what separate us from the home cooks and hobbyist who dare step into the fast paced professional kitchen. Yeah I know it a little brut …but it’s a mark of hard work, devotion, and loyalty to what we are passionate about.

Indeed, all who desire to a legitimate career in the kitchen will get burned.

The Bible has something very similar to this

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
2: Tim 3:12

Most of the godliest Christians have been persecuted.

In fact, the Christian church has been built on the blood and souls of martyrs. And to this day the Gospel and Christianity is spread by some of the most tired, weak, and poor and spirit people.

Persecution is never sought out but it is inevitable for those who labor for the Gospel.

Much like the physical scars of the culinary industry, the emotional and spiritual scars that we carry as Christians are a testament to the fact that we are passionately following God’s will. These scars are a mark of someone who has been fervent, loyal, and faithful to the minsitry.

Persecution is what is going to separate those who labor and serve in the ministry and those who choose to become apathetic spectators in the body

It very much a Christian code.

If you labor for the Gospel of Jesus Christ you ARE going to get burned.

photo credit: Jeff Martin

For the sick

My fiancée and I always wanted to do a mid-term missions trip to India to help spread the gospel. But I could not help but have fear in my heart and second guess my desire in light of the persecutions within the last couple of months and with the recent attacks in Mumbai this week.

Well a friend who has immediate family and loved ones who do mission work in India said something convicting to me this week. He said “These events are even more evidence that the gospel needs to be spread in India!”

My heart broke that instant. I was reminded of a simple yet straightforward verse which I need constant reminder.

And Jesus answered and said to them, It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:31-32

Persecution In Rome

Christians are no strangers to persecution. While persecution has not always been as intense or frequent it has generally always existed except for brief periods of peace.

Give a listen to Dr. David Calhoun's 3rd lecture from Ancient and Medieval Church History, which he teaches as Covenant Theological Seminary. Here is a recap of this lecture plust some other thoughts on Christian suffering.

From the time of the 1st century til around year 320 A.D. Christians experienced persecution at the hands of the Jews and Roman citizens.

The methods of persecution were many. To name a few, Christians were beaten with whips, boiled, burned at the stake, crucified, ripped apart, cooked on large frying pans and fed to the lions.

Here is my ever-so-rough summary of one account that I read in Foxe's Book of Martyrs some time ago.

Around the year 305 A.D., Pitiless & Asclepiades invaded the city of Antioch. Their mission was to cause Christians to apostasize. When a Christian named Romanus heard that they were coming, he ran to the Christians who were gathered in worship and told them that these wolves were coming. His instructions to them were, “Fear not!” And by Romanus’ influence, young and old, men and woman, fathers and mothers, were all united and ready to shed their blood to defend their Christian beliefs. When Pitiless and Asclepiades heard of Romanus, they ordered his capture. He was brought to trial that he might speak on behalf of all the Christians. During the inquisition, Asclepiades threatened Romanus with torture but Romanus gladly accepted whatever would be invented to cause suffering. Asclepiades anger burned hot against Romanus and he commanded that Romanus be stretched out to have his guts torn out. The executioners had pity on Romanus simply because he was a son of a nobleman. So instead of gutting him, they beat him with a whip with lead tips as Asclepiades then ordered. While Romanus was being beaten tears flowed from his eyes, groans came from his mouth. But during the times he was able to get his breath he sang songs to the Lord. And during his beating he pleaded them to them that they might treat him as a Christian, not as a son of a nobleman. These words cause Asclepiades to get even more angry. So he ordered that knives be taken to slice up the sides of Romanus until his ribs showed. Romanus responded by preaching the living God. He preached that people can only have eternal life through the blood of Jesus Christ. Upon speaking, Asclepiades ordered that Romanus be punched in the mouth so as to knock out his teeth. His eyelids were torn with their fingernails and his cheeks were cut with their knives. They plucked his beard from his face so that holes began to appear in his cheeks. Romanus responded by saying, “Thank you for giving me many mouths by which I can now preach Jesus Christ. The holes in my cheeks are simply mouths that I can use to praise God.” Asclepiades said, “Your crucified Christ is but a god of yesterday. Our gods are the most ancient gods.” At this Romanus took the opportunity to declare the eternity of Christ, the fact that he became flesh and satisfied God’s anger in His death on the cross. Asclepiades said, “Bring me a child that is seven years old. They are at a young enough age so that they are innocent and not infected with such religious thinking as Romanus.” A little boy was called out of the crowd and asked, “Do you believe that we should worship Christ or many gods?” The child responded, “God is One. Christ in unique in that He is the true God. We children do not believe that there are many gods.” Asclepiades snapped back, “You young villain and traitor! Who did you learn this from?” The child responded, “I learned it from my mother!” The mother was called to the front. At this point the child was strung up and beaten with whips. Everyone around was crying at the terrible things that were taking place, but there the mother stood with dry cheeks. The child cried out for some cold water and the mother rebuked him for craving water and counseled her son to remember Isaac who willingly laid on an altar to be sacrificed to the Lord by his father Abraham. While she was talking to her child, the torturers began to pluck the skin from his head. The mother cried out, “Suffer my child and when you die, know that Christ will put a crown of glory on your naked head.” At this the child was encouraged and took his beating with a smile and happy face. The child was thrown in prison and eventually beheaded. Romanus’ tongue was cut out, he was thrown in prison and eventually strangled to death.

This is pretty intense. It's almost unthinkable that things like this ever happened or could ever happen again. But the truth is that contemporary Christians around the world are suffering similar fates. Perhaps not in America, but elsewhere persecution is a very real threat to very real Christians. Pray for them.

Now back to Dr. Calhoun's lecture. Calhoun lists several reasons that the early Christians were persecuted (either by Jews or Romans).

1. They were charged with being incestuous. How in the world could that be? Well, Christians were calling each other "brothers" and "sisters" and it was common to great each other with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26).

2. They were charged with cannibalism. The language that Jesus used and the church used in regards to communion was "cause" for this (John 6:53, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25).

3. They were charged with a lack of patriotism. Seeing themselves as citizens of God's Kingdom, they knew that they were not of this world (Ephesians 2:19) and so accused of being unpatriotric. While living on earth, they knew that they must cooperate and function on it as earthly inhabitants while living in a way that gave testimony to the fact that they were eternally citizens of heaven.

4. They were charged with causing all sorts of disasters. It seems that the people of that time where heavily superstituous towards the Christians. Listen to how Tertullian described the atmosphere and attitude of others towards early believers.

"If the Tiber reaches the walls, if the Nile does not rise into the fields, if the sky does not move, if the earth does, if there is famine, if there is plague, the cry is at once, 'The Christians to the lions!'"

5. They were charged with atheism. I'm guessing that this was a charged leveled by the Romans. Obviously we know that God is not like the worldly idols that are created. He is Spirit and does not have a body. Of course, I am not speaking of the incarnation here. And because Christians worship an invisible God, it seemed to others that they were atheists.

6. They were charged with novelty. Novelty is described as the quality of being new. Some were under the impression that Christianity was a new religion. In fact, you hear echoes of that today: "Christianity has only been around since Jesus." In a sense that is true, but in reality, we Christians are "children" of Abraham. Christianity is really a continuation of all that God has decreed in eternity past. It is not something novel.

7. They were charged with hating the family. They were accused of hating their fathers, mothers and relatives. Was it true? No, but their love for the Lord and for each other was such that it seemed like they did not love their family (Luke 14:24-27). So great was their love for God and His family that they earned a reputation for despising their own relatives.

8. They were charged with setting fires to Rome. Nero accused them of doing this but only after it was suggested that he had set fire to his own empire in order to be able to rebuild it. Read through 1 Peter to see how the Christians were encouraged to live as they faced such horrible persecution for following and believing the gospel. And next time you click on your CD/DVD "burning" utility and you see that it's called NERO, remember the martyrs.

As I was mulling over the reason that early Christians were persecuted, I began to wonder what it was that we are known for in America. Are we known for taking communion? Are we known for loving our God and church such that it looks like we do not love our earthly families? Are we ever considered anti-American because we are so looking forward the coming reign of Jesus Christ?

It's something to think about in regards to myself as well as the people I shepherd. Am I teaching, encouraging and modeling Christ-likeness in such a way that they'll learn to live in like manner? Will Christian in America ever be known for their radical devotion to the church or will they be known for their radical devotion to the trivial like reality television? Will Christians in American ever be known for their love of the sacraments and worship or will they be known for their love of cars, food and sensual clothing?

When will this generation be known to the world as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd century generations of Christians were known in the times of Rome? If a seven-year-old boy could join Romanus and stand in the face of persecution, surely, with God's help, today's Christian can live and die for the One who lived and died for them.

Hostile Minds

Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in
mind, doing evil deeds...

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to boast of Christ to some men who were hostile towards the Lord and His Word. I was at work looking for a guest to help but there were none at that time. One co-worker pointed out to another that I was a pastor. The 2nd gentlemen replied, "Oh, really." And the conversation started from there. Gentlemen #2 began to ask questions and state why he did not believe the Bible. Before I could reply to anything, Gentleman #3 jumped in and began to grind his axe as well. Sparks were flying everywhere and all I did was barely affirm that I had been a pastor for some time and studied the Bible most of my life.

With their axes sharpened they tried to tear down Christianity and the Word of God. I waited patiently for them to quiet down and I said, "If you like I can try to answer some of your questions. I have heard them before and I believe that Scripture offers reasonable responses to the objections you've raised. Now whether you believe them or accept them is another issue altogether. But I will tell you what the Bible says."

Their questions and statements ranged from: "Why would God order the slaughtering of babies?" "How is it fair for the native who's never heard of Jesus to be damned to hell?" "How do you know the Bible wasn't just written by men who had some great stories to tell?" I don't know about you, but I had never heard these tough questions...wink, wink.

In their hostility towards God they assumed that there were no valid explanations. I said, "Whoa! Let's slow down and try to answer them one at a time. You're asking some great questions and there are good answers to them. Let's start with the first one you mentioned." Knowing that some of these questions require some background and prior knowledge to answer them, I started at a place that they were not familiar with...God's holiness and hate for sin. But within a minute or two of the explanation they cut me off and said, "Get to the point." Seeing that their minds were set against God, my only hope was to continue declaring the Word of the Lord. I cast all confidence in my ability to persuade to the side and trusted in the Lord's Word which does not return void.

A fellow believer that was listening to the conversation later expressed to me that he was frustrated with their inability to listen to a Biblical response. They didn't really want answers. They really weren't seeking the truth. They just wanted to vent and grind their axes. Thank goodness the Word of the Lord is sharper than any man-made mental axe. Perhaps God penetrated a hard heart. I may never know.

But the one statement that clearly pointed to their spiritual blindness and natural ignorance had to do with the following Scripture. According to Gentleman #3, the follow Scripture was a clear indication of contradictions in the Word of God.

Matthew 5:38 [38] “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ [39] But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

There is a difference between law and grace. One requires that recompense be paid to the offended party. The other allows for graciousness, mercy and forgiveness. That is what the gospel is all about. They were straining to make a case against Scripture, when the Scripture they were so concerned about could have led them to find salvation from God's wrath in the mercy of Christ. Pray that the Holy Spirit regenerates these dead hearts.

reputation.

We are not promised that we would have a good reputation for the sake of God's truth, in fact the complete opposite is promised.

The Corinthian church was obsessed with reputation. Paul had to call them out by being sarcastic with them comparing the apostles lives to their lives (and what they valued).

1 Corinthians 4:10-13

"We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world."

He contrasted what his and other apostles reputations were to that of the "noble" and "respected" Corinthians.
Look at what Jesus says regarding the reputation of his followers:

Luke 6:22-23

"Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets."

So, don't shun slander for the sake of the Son of Man, accept it as a blessing!

More thoughts on persecution

The early church father, Tertullian, is quoted as saying - "The blood of the martyr's is the seed of the church."

Despite some questionable beliefs, I believe Tertullian hit the proverbial nail on the head with this quote. Persecution of the early Christians was one of the greatest tools God used in spreading the Good News. Check out what happened to some of the first believers:

Peter - Crucified...however, feeling unworthy to be killed in the same manner as His Lord, he was crucified upside down.

Andrew - Crucified on an x-shaped cross. Hung on the cross for two days, all the while preaching the gospel to passers by.

Bartholomew - Was skinned alive and then beheaded by the king of Babylon.

Thomas - The one who doubted most took the Gospel as far as India. He was killed with a spear.

Jude - Battered to death with a club and then beheaded.

Matthew - Murdered in Ethiopia.

James the Lesser - Thrown from the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem and then upon surviving the fall was beaten to death with clubs and stoned.

Simon the Zealot - Either crucified in Samaria or sawn in half in Sunair (depending on which accounts you read).

Mark - Died by being viciously dragged through the streets of Alexandria.

Luke - Hanged on an olive tree in Greece.

James the Greater - Beheaded. There are some accounts that say someone (accuser, soldier) realized, by James' actions, that the message of Christ was true and chose to be beheaded alongside James.

This has gone on throughout history all the way up until today. If you go on christianpersecution.info you will find stories of Christians in Iraq being crucified while their arms are set on fire, or Christians in China looking for places to meet because the government is bulldozing their homes, or in various Islamic countries where Christians are tortured, kidnapped, and killed.

God, how easy we have it here in this country. May I live a life that is worthy of persecution.

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. (Revelation 6:9-11)

Mmmm...the sweet smell of victory

I read that last post on the "king of all fruit" and it caused me to think. A couple years ago God blessed me with the opportunity to preach on the church in Smyrna found in Revelation 2:8-11:


8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

This church was not admonished for their lack of love or for being lukewarm. Instead Jesus tells them that there are some tough times coming their way (and that is an understatement). Satan himself was bent on torturing and persecuting this church until they would renounce their faith. They must have been doing something right. Better yet they must have believed in Someone right.

Now how is that for irony? Imagine that you are dying daily to your self and following in the footsteps of Jesus. You are growing in your faith, loving God more and more, loving other people. Sounds awesome right? Jesus comes and says guess what you reward is for obeying Me and loving Me...well, you're going to be tested like no other time in your life, you will spend some time in prison, and there's a high probability of death. Gee...thanks for the uplifting message. However, there is some good news. If you remain faithful...you will receive the crown of life and not be hurt by the second death. That's a pretty good deal since our lives are but a vapor in the big picture of eternity.

So how does this relate to smell? Glad you asked. As I studied this I found that Smyrna means "myrrh", a sweet smelling perfume that people wore and a fragrance used to anoint dead bodies. In order to extract this sweet smell, you had to crush the plant it came from and it would produce an aroma pleasant to the nose. What a great metaphor for the church located in Smyrna. They would be crushed down in persecution, all the while giving off a sweet smelling aroma pleasing to the Lord.

It's not about us...it's about God and His glory!

God will always be there...

2 Timothy 4:16-18

16At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. 17But the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

After Paul was deserted and abandoned by his close friends and people he ministered with, he was not bitter or resentful. Instead he was forgiving, asking that it may not be counted against them. He is able to assure Timothy that even though his mentor might be in prison and close to death, even though the church was in turmoil and combating false teachers, even though Timothy would face persecution and false teachers like Paul did, God would give him the strength, courage, and fulfill his promise of never leaving or forsaking him so that he may be able to honor and glorify his name through serving and sacrificing for Him. The Lord will protect and deliver us from every wrong, evil deed, and persecution any man could throw at us. Paul knew he was nearing the end of his life and his long and fruitful ministry serving God, and with that, he also knew that he was closer than ever to the prize that he had faithfully sacrificed and fought for his whole entire ministry.