"Jesus' Warning"

  ""I have told you these things so that you won't abandon your faith. For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time will come when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. This is because they have never known the Father or me. Yes, I am telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn't tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer."" (John 16:1-4 NLT)

  "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weened from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." (Isaiah 28:9-10 KJV)

 If you have ever listened to Dr. Chuck, then you might have heard share about the messages between the lines, that they sometimes have more of an impact upon your understanding of the Scriptures, than the actual Scriptures do by themselves. Here in this opening to Chapter 16, Jesus is showing the disciples something a little differently, as a warning of what they will be up against, to be a part in His suffering. 

 Not that it makes much difference now, but back in the day, back when I first accepted the Lord into my life, there really wasn't any thought of being killed for sharing Jesus. As a matter of fact, I was too focused upon all the joy and peace that I was experiencing in my new life in Christ; there was nothing really that seemed negative about this new experience, other than my occasional desire to sin.

 I don't know about you, but it appears that many of the hard facts about what this life brings with it, they are made more and more aware to us, the deeper we get into the journey. The further we go, the more it becomes more obvious to us that we don't fit in with those of this world; the more we feel as though we do not belong here, looking for God to rescue us, sooner than later! 

 The one thing I remember the most, was my passion to share Jesus; no matter what people thought, I just needed to tell them about the wonder-working power of God! That was my passion, because it was all so new to me, and I needed to let it out! Over the years, the passion had settled down, and my life had adjusted into the normal Christian life. 

 As if anything about this life is normal! Each of us have our own experience with the Lord; but when it comes right down to it, until we are crushed, we never get to experience the passion of Christ...

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know him, and the power of the resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Philippians 3:7-11 KJV)