“So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.” – 2 Chronicles 30:10

When King Hezekiah led the recommitment of Judah to the Lord and prepared a great Passover celebration, he extended the invitation to participate to the remnants of the people of Israel. He sent messengers throughout the wrecked nation of Israel, inviting all to return to the Lord, to gather in Jerusalem, to come to the temple, and to worship God.

His invitation was not well-received. The people of Israel were largely uninterested in spiritual matters. His invitation seemed quaint, old-fashioned, out of touch, and foolish. It was considered ridiculous for him to even ask.

The gathering that followed was a powerful and joyful time of renewal and fellowship for all who participated. There was tremendous spiritual power and blessing in that celebration. Hezekiah was no fool for holding the service or for trying to call back the lost sheep of Israel. The handful that responded encountered God.

Fast forward many centuries… The people of God should not be afraid of embarrassment or humiliation when we invite people to join our spiritual lives and gatherings. Many will reject, scorn, or mock the invitation. But we know the truth of what we ask and God is pleased by our asking. Renewal and blessing awaits, but many will pass on the opportunity. We must accept that. We must not judge our invitation by the numerical response but by our faithfulness to the Lord.

“If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.” – 2 Corinthians 1:6

Suffering, grief, and pain are all part of living in this fallen world, which is beset by sin and brokenness. However, that doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about our suffering. He Himself offers comfort to His children, those adopted by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Our Savior experienced unimaginable suffering and promises that He is with us in our affliction.

Moreover, God makes each of us part of His plan to comfort others. Every Christian is called to be a comforter. As we have suffered and been comforted, we are blessed and equipped by our experience to comfort others amidst their suffering, grief, and pain. Our painful experiences prepare us to soothe the pain of others.

It’s no small task to enter into the pain of others, but as followers of Jesus, that’s exactly what we’re called to do, weeping with those who weep. We minister by our prayers, our presence, our tears, and our wise counsel. Our experience of God’s comfort opens doors for others to understand, seek, and experience His comfort. We’ve been called. Will you answer?

“But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” – 1 Corinthians 16:8-9

These verses highlight an interesting reality as we minister, serve, and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, namely that we don’t control the most important element of successful evangelism – the Holy Spirit. Though we preach, teach, proclaim, help, serve, and love, it’s God who opens the doors for effective work. We have work to do, but the fruit comes from the Lord.

At all times, we must faithfully serve as we’re called to serve, but we must be sensitive to when and how the Spirit is moving. We must not be too hasty to move on when the Spirit opens doors. On the other hand, we must be discerning about whether to stay the course or move on when the Spirit has not (yet) opened a door. Should we continue, possibly for years, or rethink our approach – only prayer can answer that question!

The process of discernment isn’t made easier by the presence of opposition. Whenever there is effective Gospel ministry, there is likely to be opposition. We must not become discouraged by that when God is on the move. On the other hand, we must always make sure the opposition we face is because of the message of Christ and not simply because of some deficiency in the messenger!

“And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.’” – 2 Chronicles 18:7

Well, at least we aren’t the first people to try and avoid listening to those who would correct our course and put us on a godly path! There’s a natural tendency to seek only advice that reinforces what we’ve already decided to do with our lives. In fact, one of the prevalent lies of modern American culture is that anyone who disagrees with our choice hates us!

However, God doesn’t exist just to put a stamp of “YES” on whatever our personal plans and preferences might be. He calls us to radically changed lives of faith and obedience that are seldom our first choice. He calls us to the greatness of becoming more and more like Jesus, which isn’t natural for us at all! Far from hating us, the person who tries to guide us onto God’s path loves us far more than all the yes-people surrounding us!

Many today seek to ignore, avoid, or explain away God’s hard teachings about how we are to live. In our comfortable, prosperous, and radically independent culture, we want to do everything our way and seek a god who will simply smile and nod. That isn’t the Living God of the Universe!

Ask yourself, whenever you bump up against God’s teaching and word with your own desires and passions: Will you serve and follow the God who created you in His image? Or will you instead create a parody of God in your image? That was evil King Ahab’s mistake, one he would soon pay for with his life!

“I will pay attention to the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will live with a heart of integrity in my house.”
– Psalm 101:2

Integrity is far more than simply telling the truth. Integrity describes a wholeness and consistency that exists across every aspect of our lives. A heart of integrity takes what we believe about God, Christ, and the Gospel and applies it to every part of our thoughts, words, and actions.

Jesus had perfect integrity – there was no inconsistency between His heart, His thoughts, His words, and His actions. As His followers, we‘re called to be the same way. While we’ll never be perfect, God’s Spirit within us empowers to live lives of ever-increasing integrity.

However, that requires us to pursue lives of integrity. To grow in integrity, we can’t be consuming God’s Word for a few minutes while consuming garbage throughout the rest of the day. Likewise, we can’t be praising God at certain times while trashing people at other times.

Like the Psalmist, we need to desire, pray for, and pursue lives of ever-increasing integrity. Such lives are often quiet, humble, and anonymous, but they are the lives that profoundly change the world and advance the Kingdom of God in their own community!